[chessmind] Dennis Monokroussos: Nakamura triumphs in Gibraltar

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Posted by Dennis Monokroussos:
Nakamura triumphs in Gibraltar
http://chessmind.powerblogs.com/posts/1201841052.shtml


   It took quite a comeback, too. Bu Xiangzhi raced out to a substantial
   lead with 7.5 points after 8 rounds, while Hikaru Nakamura entered
   round 6 with only 3 points. From those respective high and low points,
   however, things turned around. In round 9 (of 10) Bu lost to Efimenko
   and then drew quickly with his countryman Ni Hua, while Nakamura won
   out, beating Efimenko in the last round. They were therefore tied for
   first with 8/10, but the Gibtelecom event mandated a playoff. (4000
   extra British pounds went to the winner, so it wasn't trivial.)
   So, the players faced off for two 10 10 games (10 minutes, plus 10
   second increments). Nakamura won the first one with White, but Bu
   looked ready to equalize in the rematch, with an active queen against
   rook and knight. He was unable to figure out a way to brake Nakamura's
   blockade, however, and the end was tragicomic:
   [gibraltar2008_bu_nakamura.jpg]
   White's king has been running around all over the place, to no effect,
   but now Bu chose a less than auspicious location for the monarch:
   68.Kd6?? Nxe4#. (A partial video clip from the playoff and brief
   interviews with Nakamura and Bu are [1]here.)
   So a fine result for Nakamura, whose 2712 TPR will push his 2679
   rating a touch closer to the special and financially significant 2700
   level.

References

   1. http://www.gibraltarchesscongress.com/gib2008/video/index.html