ASTANA – Kazakh grandmaster Rinat Dzhumabayev defeated 2016 world vice-champion Sergey Karyakin during the fifth round of the 2019 World Team Chess Championship in the Kazakh capital.
Photo credit: kazchess.kz.
“It was a difficult game; however, I managed to seize the initiative from the opening. My opponent, as always, demonstrated a high-class game, but after spending more than five hours in defence, he could not stand the strain and made a mistake that cost him the game,” said Dzhumabayev, reported kazchess.kz.
Rinat Dzhumabayev. Photo credit: David Llada.
Karyakin, famous for his ability to defend the worst positions, has earned the name “defence minister.”
“In the endgame, there were almost no resources left for victory; a small group of white pieces of a rook and a bishop, headed by the king, went ahead and suddenly managed to create a mating network for the black king. As a result, Dzhumabayev beat a contender for the world chess crown,” said the Kazakhstan Chess Federation.
Rinat Dzhumabayev and Sergey Karjakin. Photo credit: David Llada.
Despite the victory, the Russian men’s team defeated the Kazakh team by a score of 3-1. The men won in the second round March 6 after defeating their Swedish rivals 3-1.
The women’s team played to a draw in the fifth round March 9 against the Ukrainian team.
Before the tournament, women’s team leader Zhansaya Abdumalik shared her opinion on the opponents’ teams.
“I believe that our main rivals are Russia, Ukraine and China. We have very good chances with the rest of the national teams if we brace ourselves and play concentrated and if luck is on our side,” she said at the press conference, reported sports.kz.
Kazakhstan Chess Federation Vice President Zhandos Abishev stressed the position improvements are also a good achievement.
“If women and men perform in full force and show good creative results, then these will also be achievements. For the women’s team, getting into the top five would be a good result. Based on the fact that the men’s team takes ninth place in the ranking, then seventh-ninth place will also be a good result for the men’s team,” he said.
The World Team Chess Championship, held March 4-14 at the Astana International Financial Centre, involved 10 men’s and 10 women’s teams from 14 countries – Armenia, Azerbaijan, China, Egypt, Georgia, Hungary, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia, Sweden, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The participants included the current world and continental champions.
The Kazakh national team included Abdumalik, Bibissara Assaubayeva, Gulmira Dauletova, Dzhumabayev, Anuar Ismagambetov, Murtas Kazhgaleev, Denis Makhnev, Guliskhan Nakhbayeva, Peter Kostenko and Dinara Sadvakassova.
