Hambleton at Sunway Sitges 2017

[Wayne Komer]

Hambleton at Sunway Sitges 2017

December 16, 2017

This is a 9-round Swiss at Sitges (Barcelona, Spain). The first round is Friday, Dec. 15.

http://www.sunwaychessfestival.com/en/schedule

Round 1 – Dec. 15
Round 2 – Dec. 16
Round 3 – Dec. 17
Round 4 – Dec. 18
Round 5 – Dec. 19
Round 6 – Dec. 20
Round 7 – Dec. 21
Round 8 – Dec. 22
Round 9 – Dec. 23

There are several events for the discriminating imbiber

– A Sangria masterclass
- Cocktail masterclass
- Wine tasting in restaurant Acqua
- Beer tasting

Players include Alexander Motylev, Samuel Shankland, Romain Edouard, Victor Bologan, Awonder Liang and Aman Hambleton

http://chess-results.com/tnr307051.aspx

Aman won his first-round game against Boyer and plays Kaan Kucuksari (2290) in the second.

Sunway Sitges Open 2017
Barcelona, Spain
Hambleton, Aman (2474) – Boyer, Mahel (2168)
D35 QGD, Exchange, positional line

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Bg5 c6 6.e3 Bf5 7.Qf3 Be6 8.Bxf6 Qxf6 9.Qxf6 gxf6 10.Bd3 Nd7 11.Nf3 Nb6 12.Nh4 Nc8 13.Rc1 Nd6 14.Ne2 a5 15.Nf4 Be7 16.h3 f5 17.Nf3 Ne4 18.Nh5 Rg8 19.g3 Kf8 20.Ng1 Bb4+ 21.Kf1 Ke7 22.Ne2 a4 23.a3 Bd6 24.Kg2 Ra5 25.Rhd1 Bd7 26.f3 Nf6 27.Nhf4 Raa8 28.Kf2 h5 29.Ng2 Rg5 30.Nh4 Ne4+ 31.fxe4 fxe4 32.Bc2 Bxh3 33.Nf4 Bg4 34.Rd2 Kd7 35.Rh1 b5 36.Bd1 Rag8 37.Bxg4+ Rxg4 38.Nf5 R4g5 39.Nxd6 Kxd6 40.Rh3 h4 41.gxh4 Rg1 42.h5 Rb1 43.Rg3 Rf1+ 44.Kxf1 Rxg3 45.h6 Rg8 46.h7 Rh8 47.Rh2 Ke7 48.Rh6 Kf8 49.Nh5 f6 50.Rxf6+ 1-0

[Hugh Brodie]

Re: Hambleton at Sunway Sitges 2017

Start times for rounds 1-8 is 10:30 (am) EST; round 9 is 3:30 (am) EST.

[Wayne Komer]

Re: Hambleton at Sunway Sitges 2017

Hambleton at Sunway Sitges 2017

December 16, 2017

Round Two

Round 2, Dec. 16
Kucuksari, Kaan – Hambleton, Aman
E00 Catalan Opening

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.c4 d5 4.g3 Bb4+ 5.Bd2 Bd6 6.Bg2 c6 7.O-O Nbd7 8.Qc2 O-O 9.Bc3 dxc4 10.Nfd2 b5 11.Bxc6 Rb8 12.b3 Qc7 13.Bxd7 cxb3 14.Qxb3 Bxd7 15.Bb4 Bxb4 16.Qxb4 a5 17.Qb2 Rfc8 18.Nb3 Qc2 19.Qxc2 Rxc2 20.Nxa5 Rxe2 21.Nc3 Rc2 22.Rfc1 Rxc1+ 23.Rxc1 Ra8 24.Nb3 b4 25.Nd1 Rxa2 26.Rc4 Nd5 27.Ne3 h5 28.h4 Bb5 29.Rc8+ Kh7 30.Rb8 Bc6 31.Rc8 Ba4 32.Nxd5 exd5 33.Nc5 Bc2 34.Nd7 b3 35.g4 hxg4 0-1

Aman’s Round Three Pairing

Zubov, Alexander (2626) – Hambleton, Aman (2474)

[Hal Bond]

Re: Hambleton at Sunway Sitges 2017

Looks like Aman held against Zubov. Well done Aman!

[Wayne Komer]

Re: Hambleton at Sunway Sitges 2017

Hambleton at Sunway Sitges 2017

December 17, 2017

Round Three

Round 3, Dec. 17
Zubov, Alexander - Hambleton, Aman
E52 Nimzo-Indian, 4.e3

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.c4 d5 4.Nc3 Bb4 5.e3 O-O 6.Bd3 b6 7.O-O dxc4 8.Bxc4 Bb7 9.a3 Bxc3 10.bxc3 c5 11.Bd3 Qc7 12.Re1 cxd4 13.cxd4 Be4 14.Bf1 Nbd7 15.Bb2 Rac8 16.Rc1 Qb7 17.Nd2 Rxc1 18.Bxc1 Bc6 19.f3 e5 20.e4 exd4 21.Bb2 Nc5 22.Bxd4 Rd8 23.Qa1 Qd7 24.Be3 Bb5 25.Rb1 Bd3 26.Rb4 Ne6 27.a4 Qd6 28.Rb2 Bxf1 29.Nxf1 Nd7 30.a5 h6 31.Rd2 Qc7 32.axb6 axb6 33.Ng3 Ne5 34.Rd5 Nc4 35.Bf2 Rxd5 36.exd5 Nf4 37.Nf5 Qe5 38.Qxe5 Nxe5 39.Bxb6 Nxd5 40.Bd4 f6 1/2-1/2

Final Position



Round Four Pairing

Hambleton, Aman (2474) – Bologan, Victor (2607)

A nice pairing indeed! Aman has 2.5 points so far and is tied with Shankland, Bologan, Zubov, Liang, Sokolov, Motylev etc

[Hans Jung]

Re: Hambleton at Sunway Sitges 2017

I happy to see Aman hunting his final GM norm (what a Christmas present that would be!). Good luck and happy hunting Aman!

[Hans Jung]

Re: Hambleton at Sunway Sitges 2017

A nice win by Aman over GM Bologan this round. Congratulations Aman!

[Neil Frarey]

Re: Hambleton at Sunway Sitges 2017

I happy to see Aman hunting his final GM norm (what a Christmas present that would be!). Good luck and happy hunting Aman!

^ ... +1!!!

[Wayne Komer]

Re: Hambleton at Sunway Sitges 2017

Hambleton at Sunday Sitges 2017

December 18, 2017

Round Four

Round 4, Dec. 18
Hambleton, Aman – Bologan, Victor
A20 English, Kingside Fianchetto

1.c4 e5 2.g3 Nf6 3.Bg2 g6 4.Nc3 Bg7 5.e4 Nc6 6.Nge2 d6 7.d3 Nd7 8.O-O Nc5 9.Be3 O-O 10.h3 a5 11.Qd2 Nd4 12.f4 f5 13.Kh2 c6 14.Bg1 a4 15.Rad1 Qa5 16.Nxd4 exd4 17.Ne2 fxe4 18.dxe4 Be6 19.Bxd4 Qxd2 20.Rxd2 Bxc4 21.Bxg7 Kxg7 22.Ra1 Bxe2 23.Rxe2 Rfe8 24.Rd1 Re6 25.Rd4 a3 26.bxa3 Rxa3 27.Red2 Kf7 28.f5 gxf5 29.exf5 Ree3 30.Rh4 d5 31.Rxh7+ Kf6 32.g4 d4 33.Rxd4 Rxa2 34.Rd6+ Kg5 35.Rh5+ Kf4 36.f6 1-0

Final position after 36.f6




Round 5 Pairings/Results on top ten boards

Bo. No. Name Rtg Pts. Result Pts. Name Rtg No.

1 2 GM Shankland Samuel 2662 3½ - 4 GM Melkumyan Hrant 2633 4
2 21 IM Dann Matthias 2517 3½ - 3½ GM Kozul Zdenko 2607 8
3 11 GM Predke Alexandr 2599 3½ - 3½ IM Hambleton Aman 2474 29
4 31 IM Saduakassova Dinara 2460 3½ - 3½ GM Aravindh Chithambaram Vr. 2586 14
5 16 GM Liang Awonder 2573 3½ - 3½ GM Narciso Dublan Marc 2456 35
6 1 GM Motylev Alexander 2675 3 - 3 FM Karthik Venkataraman 2475 28
7 3 GM Salem A.R. Saleh 2638 3 - 3 IM Sosa Tomas 2460 32
8 5 GM Zubov Alexander 2626 3 - 3 IM Bilguun Sumiya 2459 33
9 34 GM Romanishin Oleg M 2458 3 - 3 GM Edouard Romain 2621 6
10 13 GM Sokolov Ivan 2589 3 - 3 GM Starostits Ilmars 2427 41

[Wayne Komer]

Re: Hambleton at Sunway Sitges 2017

Hambleton at Sunway Sitges 2017

December 19, 2017

Round Five

Round 5, Dec. 19
Predke, Alexandr – Hambleton, Aman
A46 Queen’s pawn, Fianchetto (Lasker)

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.g3 d5 4.Bg2 b5 5.O-O Bb7 6.Nbd2 Nbd7 7.Nb3 a5 8.Bd2 b4 9.a3 a4 10.Nc5 Nxc5 11.dxc5 bxa3 12.bxa3 Bxc5 13.Rb1 Ba6 14.Bb4 Bd6 15.c4 Bxc4 16.Nd2 Bb3 17.Nxb3 axb3 18.Qxb3 O-O 19.Rfc1 Qd7 20.Qc3 Rfc8 21.Qc6 Qxc6 22.Rxc6 Rab8 23.f4 Rb7 24.Bf3 Rcb8 25.Kg2 Bxb4 26.axb4 Ne8 27.f5 exf5 28.Bxd5 Rxb4 29.Ra1 Rd4 30.Ra5 g6 31.Bf3 Rd7 32.Ra7 Re7 33.h3 h5 34.Rc2 Kg7 35.Ra5 Rb6 36.Rac5 Ra6 37.Kf2 Ra7 38.Rc6 Nf6 39.R6c5 Nh7 40.Bg2 Ng5 41.R5c4 Rd7 42.Rc6 Ne6 43.Rb2 Ra5 44.Rc3 Re5 45.Bb7 Nc5 46.Rcc2 Rd4 47.Bf3 Ne6 48.Rb7 Rd6 49.h4 Rd7 50.Rcb2 Re7 51.Rc2 Rc5 52.Rd2 Re8 53.Ra7 Rd8 54.Rb2 Nd4 55.Bg2 Rd7 56.Ra4 Ne6 57.Bf3 c6 58.Ra6 Rc7 59.Rd2 Rc4 60.Bg2 f4 61.e3 fxe3+ 62.Kxe3 Rc3+ 63.Kf2 c5 64.Ra4 Nd4 65.Bf1 Re7 66.Bd3 Rb7 67.Be4 Rb6 68.Bd3 Rf6+ 69.Kg2 Nf3 0-1

Final position after Black’s Nf3. The times on the board were Predke 14m 56 sec and Hambleton 2m 08 sec.




- Tremendous results for black in this opening
- Why have I never seen this?
- Push em baby
- Predke cracked despite his time advantage

Pairings/Results Round Six (top ten boards)

Bo. Name Rtg Pts. Result Pts. Name Rtg

1 GM Melkumyan Hrant 2633 4½ - 4½ GM Liang Awonder 2573
2 GM Aravindh Chithambaram Vr. 2586 4½ - 4½ IM Dann Matthias 2517
3 IM Hambleton Aman 2474 4½ - 4 GM Salem A.R. Saleh 2638
4 IM Petrov Nikita 2574 4 - 4 GM Motylev Alexander 2675
5 GM Vasquez Schroeder Rodrigo 2547 4 - 4 GM Shankland Samuel 2662
6 GM Edouard Romain 2621 4 - 4 GM Peralta Fernando 2556
7 GM Manolache Marius 2495 4 - 4 GM Sokolov Ivan 2589
8 GM Zubov Alexander 2626 3½ - 4 IM Santos Ruiz Miguel 2509
9 GM Narciso Dublan Marc 2456 3½ - 3½ GM Bologan Victor 2607
10 GM Kozul Zdenko 2607 3½ - 3½ IM Garriga Cazorla Pere 2406

[John Nguyen]

Re: Hambleton at Sunway Sitges 2017

Aman should be able to secure his last GM norm at this tournament. Would be a great Christmas present for him considering how many times he’s missed out in recent months.

[Wayne Komer]

Re: Hambleton at Sunway Sitges 2017

Hambleton at Sunway Sitges 2017

December 20, 2017

Round Six

Round 6, Dec. 20
Hambleton, Aman – Salem, Saleh
E70 King’s Indian Defence

1.d4 g6 2.c4 Bg7 3.e4 d6 4.Nc3 Nf6 5.Bd3 O-O 6.Nge2 Nc6 7.O-O Nh5 8.Bc2 e5 9.d5 Nb4 10.Bb1 a5 11.a3 Na6 12.Be3 Qe8 13.Qd2 Bd7 14.Bc2 a4 15.h3 Nc5 16.g4 Nf4 17.Nxf4 exf4 18.Bxf4 b5 19.cxb5 Bxb5 20.Rfe1 Rb8 21.Rab1 Bc4 22.Kg2 Bb3 23.Bd3 Qd7 24.Bf1 f5 25.exf5 gxf5 26.g5 Ne4 27.Qd3 Qf7 28.f3 Nxc3 29.bxc3 Qxd5 30.Re7 Qc5 1/2-1/2

Round Seven pairings and Round Six Results for Top 11

Bo. Name Rtg Pts. Result Pts. Name Rtg

1 IM Dann Matthias 2517 5 - 5 GM Melkumyan Hrant 2633
2 GM Liang Awonder 2573 5 - 5 IM Hambleton Aman 2474
3 GM Motylev Alexander 2675 4½ - 5 GM Aravindh Chithambaram Vr. 2586
4 GM Shankland Samuel 2662 4½ - 4½ IM Asis Gargatagli Hipolito 2531
5 GM Salem A.R. Saleh 2638 4½ - 4½ GM Stella Andrea 2505
6 IM Santos Latasa Jaime 2536 4½ - 4½ GM Edouard Romain 2621
7 IM Santos Ruiz Miguel 2509 4½ - 4½ GM Kozul Zdenko 2607
8 GM Sokolov Ivan 2589 4½ - 4½ IM Liu Guanchu 2462
9 IM Gascon Del Nogal Jose Rafael 2479 4½ - 4½ IM Petrov Nikita 2574
10 GM Peralta Fernando 2556 4½ - 4½ GM Manolache Marius 2495
11 IM Saduakassova Dinara 2460 4½ - 4½ GM Vasquez Schroeder Rodrigo 2547

[Hans Jung]

Re: Hambleton at Sunway Sitges 2017

After seven rounds a 2700 performance but more importantly Aman has two wins and three draws against 5 GMs! Awesome and congratulations Aman!

[Alex Ferreira]

Re: Hambleton at Sunway Sitges 2017

Hi,
If I were to guess, he will get his norm even with 2 losses now. But a draw with white will for sure guarantee it, irrespective who he'd play and lose to in Round 9.
Hope he gets 2 wins and takes 1st in the tournament though!
Now the games just have to be played.
Congrats Aman,
Alex F.

[Wayne Komer]

Re: Hambleton at Sunway Sitges 2017

Hambleton at Sunway Sitges 2017

December 21, 2017

Round Seven

Round 7, Dec. 21
Liang, Awonder – Hambleton, Aman
C48 Four Knights, Rubinstein Counter-Gambit, Henneberger variation

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nc3 Nc6 4.Bb5 Nd4 5.O-O Nxb5 6.Nxb5 c6 7.Nc3 d6 8.d4 Qc7 9.h3 Be7 10.Bg5 O-O 11.Qd3 h6 12.Bh4 Nh5 13.Bxe7 Qxe7 14.Rad1 Nf4 15.Qe3 Qf6 16.Ne2 Nxe2+ 17.Qxe2 Re8 18.dxe5 dxe5 19.Rd2 Be6 20.Rfd1 Rad8 21.b3 Rxd2 22.Rxd2 a6 23.Qd3 Bc8 24.Nh2 Qe7 25.Nf1 Qc5 26.Ne3 Be6 27.c3 a5 28.Qc2 g6 29.Qb2 Kg7 30.a3 Qb6 31.c4 f6 32.Qc3 Rd8 33.c5 Qc7 34.b4 axb4 35.Qxb4 Rxd2 36.Qxd2 Qe7 37.Qb2 g5 38.Qb6 h5 39.Qa7 h4 40.a4 Kg6 41.Qb6 Qd7 42.Qb4 Qd4 43.Qxb7 Qxc5 44.Qa8 Qc1+ 45.Kh2 Qd2 46.Qe8+ Bf7 47.Qxc6 Qxf2 48.Nf5 Qf4+ 49.Kg1 Qd2 50.Kh1 g4 51.hxg4 h3 52.gxh3 Qe1+ 53.Kg2 Qe2+ 54.Kg3 Qe1+ 55.Kf3 Qf1+ 56.Ke3 Qe1+ 57.Kd3 Qd1+ 58.Kc3 Qe1+ 59.Kc2 Qe2+ 60.Kb1 Qe1+ 61.Kc2 Qe2+ 62.Kc1 Qe1+ 63.Kc2 1/2-1/2

Round Seven Results, Round Eight Pairings

Bo. Name Rtg Pts. Result Pts. Name Rtg

1 GM Aravindh Chithambaram Vr. 2586 6 - 5½ GM Shankland Samuel 2662
2 GM Melkumyan Hrant 2633 5½ - 5½ GM Salem A.R. Saleh 2638
3 GM Kozul Zdenko 2607 5½ - 5½ GM Liang Awonder 2573
4 IM Hambleton Aman 2474 5½ - 5½ GM Peralta Fernando 2556
5 GM Edouard Romain 2621 5 - 5½ IM Dann Matthias 2517
6 IM Liu Guanchu 2462 5 - 5 GM Bologan Victor 2607
7 IM Saduakassova Dinara 2460 5 - 5 GM Predke Alexandr 2599
8 IM Yankelevich Lev 2435 5 - 5 GM Sokolov Ivan 2589
9 IM Bilguun Sumiya 2459 5 - 5 IM Petrov Nikita 2574
10 GM Vasquez Schroeder Rodrigo 2547 5 - 5 IM Munguntuul Batkhuyag 2397