As in past editions, the Hong Kong International Open is held at the St. Benedict's School Hall in Choi Hung district over the Christmas holiday period from 24th - 29th December this year. Looking at the starting list, it is heartening to see the numbers increase from 80 in 2018 (when I last visited) to 176 participants, with the main bulk of players from Singapore contributing about 30 players and another 54 from China. This year 14 titled players competed, notably 3 GMs, 3 IMs, 1 WIM, 6 FMs and 1 CM. Another feature of this tournament was the introduction of recording games into a tablet which was linked to the Lichess live broadcast, in place of the DGT equipment which was cumbersome to set up. We could follow the course of the first 60 games played when the system was running smoothly from round 5.
3 of my students played in it upon my recommendation, skipping the Penang Open which we had been to many times. I was encouraging them to gain exposure by playing different players and it was indeed a learning experience.
Ray Ee had a mixed tournament here, having scored 4 points and dropping some 38 rating points. The most painful loss was against a 1219 opponent who was obviously well prepared for the game. He was visibly tired owing to the punishing pace of 2 games a day for 3 days straight and it took a toll on his performance. So game preparation is not sufficient to do well in a gruelling test of stamina - one needs good rest and be fit to play one's best.
This tournament had the most teachable moments for Kyan, mainly because it boiled down to a test of confidence. There were a few games against higher rated opponents waiting to finish him off with a knockout but he stubbornly hung on and played till the tides turned when they were short on time. I was impressed when he took advantage of 2 consecutive weak moves from his rated 1825 opponent to win, staving off a lost position by creating complications till the opponent had to settle for a draw in the 6th round. The game vs Adrian Wong from HK was another crucial game which he came up tops. Though material was equal, he was fighting against the odds till Adrian allowed counterplay trying to land the final blow and lost a queen in the melee of threats. That win gave Kyan the confidence to play for bigger gains in the last 2 rounds. He did have the edge in the Dragon vs Samuel Lam but went astray after sacrificing the Exchange and weakened his King position, a mistake which he repeated in the last game against Tang Tzh Sang. Both these losses saw him erode some gains but overall a satisfying 78 pt rating gain.
It really boils down to trusting oneself in preparation - I had hoped he would play the Smith-Morra against the Sicilian rather than the 3 c3 line as his opponents clearly knew how to play against it.
Ryan settled down well in the first 3 rounds of the tournament, even securing a draw against a 1500 opponent. 3 consecutive losses took the wind off his sails and he had to coast home with only 3.5 points. His opening preparation let him down, as he walked into unfamiliar territory in the transposed Vienna (after playing 2 Nc3 against the Alekhine allowing e5 by Black) and misplaying a Scandinavian middlegame though he had the edge in the opening. Going into the Bg5 French was certainly a bad idea as he had no bearings and drifted into a loss soon enough.
Several of the young Chinese juniors were unrated but they were not to be trifled with, a lesson Kyan learnt in Round 2. Through a move order transition the opponent played the Botvinnik English and had no problems converting his position without any risks. Anyone playing an unrated Chinese, Vietnamese or Indian junior should know better than to see them as innocent but really they are indeed well schooled and battle hardened.
There may be some shortcomings owing to the accelerated pairings which were employed till Round 5, in addition to the rule of no 2 players from the same country should meet in the final round (this was practiced only for the first 10 boards). However, in general the tournament was conducted with no incidents and thanks go to the team of IA Chan Kwai Keong with Robin Lai as Deputy overseeing the manning of the tablets. There were at least 6 ground arbiters to assist in any umpiring issues and thanks too to them for a successful tournament.
I received a heads up that next year the event shall be moved to the Queen Elizabeth Indoor Stadium, which promises a larger capacity as it is well located in Wan Chai with easy access. Tentative date 26th to 31st Dec 2024.
Thanks to Mr Ng Hui Kwang for the lovely photos taken at the tournament!
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