The young team from Uzbekistan, who took gold medals at the Olympiad in Chennai, came close to repeating that achievement at the World Team Championship in Jerusalem last month. They cruised through the group stage, quarters and semis, and met China in the final, who got there despite fielding none of their elite players, such as world No. 2 Ding Liren. The match promised to be close, and it was China who triumphed. Their star player was Jinshi Bai, who scored 8.5/11, including this crucial win from the final.
Bai Jinshi-Shamsiddin Vokhidov
World Team Championship, Jerusalem, Nov 22
In the diagram position, 34 Qa7 Rc8 is balanced, but Bai found a clever counterblow. 34 f4! The point is that 34…Rxb6 35 fxe5 Rxc6 36 exf6+ Kh6 37 Rd7 wins. But 35…Ng4! (instead of 35…Rxc6) improves on this. 36 hxg4 Rxc6 37 Rd7 Kh6 38 Rfxf7 Rc5! Black’s king will make a cosy nest on g5, with reasonable drawing chances thanks to White’s weak pawns. Qxf4 A clever desperado sacrifice, but it backfires. 35 Qa7 Qe5 36 Rxf6! Now 36…Qxf6 37 Qxb8 wins, so the king is drawn forward. Kxf6 37 Rf1+ Kg5 37…Kg7 was a better try, but after 38 Qxf7+ Kh8 39 Qe7 Rg8 40 Kh1 Black is still in trouble. 38 Rxf7 Rh8 39 Qe7+ Kh6 40 Qh4+ Qh5 41 Qf6 Rg8 42 Bf3 Black resigns in view of 42…Qg5 43 Rxh7+ or 42…Qf5 43 Qh4+
Bai also cooked up a stunning idea which helped China win their semi-final match against Spain.
Bai Jinshi-Alexei Shirov
World Team Championship, Jerusalem, Nov 22
1 d4 d5 2 c4 c6 3 Nf3 Nf6 4 Qc2 g6 5 Bf4 Na6 6 e3 Bf5 7 Qb3 Nb4 This exotic sacrifice was first tried by the late Viktor Kupreichik in 1989. 8 Qxb4 e5 9 Qxb7 Rb8 10 Qxc6+ Bd7 11 Qa6 Players have also ventured 11 Qxf6 Qxf6 12 Bxe5 Qb6 and in this messy position 13 b3! is best. Keeping the Black queen out counts for more than a stray rook. exf4 12 Nc3 fxe3 13 fxe3 Bh6 14 Qa3 Bxe3 (see diagram) White has an extra pawn, but the Be3 prevents castling on either side. Bai (presumably in his preparation before the game) found a magnificent solution. 15 Ke2! Bf4 16 Re1! The king will enjoy relative safety on d1, and White’s Qa3 ensures that Black is not permitted to castle either. Be6 17 Kd1 dxc4 18 Bxc4 Qe7 19 Qxe7+ Kxe7 20 g3 Bh6 21 Re2 Rhc8 22 Bxe6 fxe6 23 Rhe1 White is a clear pawn up, and converts without difficulty. Kf7 24 Kc2 Nd5 25 Ne5+ Kg8 26 a3 Rc7 27 Kd3 Bf8 28 Rc1 Bg7 29 Rcc2 Rb3 30 Nc4 Rd7 31 Na5 Rb6 32 Nxd5 Rxd5 33 Rc8+ Kf7 34 Rc7+ Kf6 35 Nc6 Bh6 36 Ne5 Ra6 37 h4 Black resigns
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