ODT120515

=**Li selected for Olympiad team**=




 * Problem:** White to play and mate in 5.

The column of four weeks ago covered the match between the promising 14 year old Auckland player, Luke (Zuhao) Li and IM Herman van Riemsdijk. Since then Li has added to his already impressive chess CV.

The reward for being the New Zealand Junior Player of 2011 was that the New Zealand Chess Federation supported Luke to compete in two back-to-back international events in Australia over the Easter period. Li played in the Doeberl Cup in Canberra and then the Sydney International Open. He performed very well in Canberra, scoring 5½/9 against an impressive field to finish equal 15th and the highest untitled player. In Sydney Li also started well, but couldn't sustain the pace into the third week of a punishing schedule. He lost his final game to finish on a still respectable 4½/9.

Li's steep improvement over the past year has not gone unnoticed. He has been selected for the New Zealand Open team at the 2012 Chess Olympiad to be held in Istanbul, Turkey in August and September. This will be another opportunity for him to play strong overseas players and learn from his teammates, who are more seasoned in international competition.

Today's game is a quick win by Luke Li from the sixth round of the Doeberl Cup. He is Black against Australian FM Domagoj Dragicevic. media type="custom" key="25351716" This move signals the Kings Indian Attack. A system playable against a number of Black openings, since White limits his central ambitions to the e4 square, with the intention of expanding on the kingside later. Adopting a setup that avoids ...Nf6 so as not to give White's advancing pawns any targets and to be able to advance his f-pawn to meet White's expansion. Usual here are 9...f6 or 9... f5 as indicated in the previous comment, or 9...dxe4. The text reserves all these options and pushes on with Black's queenside counterplay. In Stanojoski – Galego 2002 White played 10 f5 and after 10...exf5 11 exf5 f6! 12 g4 Ne5 White's f-pawn was blocked and Black had a strong point on e5. White's chosen move takes the squares b4 and d4 away from the black knight, but also raises targets on c3 and d3. Playing actively, but the straightforward 11...exd5 was safer. Although Black appears to be putting pressure on c3, the black pieces on the long a8-h1 diagonal are vulnerable to the white bishop and need untangling. Now White could have made more of this by the continuation 12 Ne4! bxc3 13 bxc3 Bb6 14 Kh1 when 14...Rb8 allows 15 f5! opening the f-file, whereas the tempting 14... f5?! leads to 15 Ng5 h6 16 c4! Nde7! 17 Ngf3 Rb8 18 Bb2 when both sides have weakened their structure but the white bishops have more scope. After 13 c4 Nd4! 14 cxd5? Nc2 and the knight will be able to capture on a1 and escape again, while 14 Rb1 Rb8! 15 cxd5 exd5! and there is no way of stopping the fork on d3 again with material advantage to Black. White seems to drift off over the next few moves, until he suddenly comes in for a rude awakening. Opening the f-file and the bishop's diagonal by 14 f5 seems better. A rare example of the queen being trapped in the middle of the board. Certainly a lucky finish, but after say 17 Nf3 Nxc4 18 dxc4 Nf5 there is no doubting Black's advantage, though with potentially a long struggle ahead.
 * 1.e4 e6**
 * 2.d3 ---**
 * 2.--- d5**
 * 3.Nd2 c5**
 * 4.Ngf3 Nc6**
 * 5.g3 Bd6**
 * 6.Bg2 Nge7**
 * 7.O-O O-O**
 * 8.Nh4 Bc7**
 * 9.f4 b5!?**
 * 10.c3 ---**
 * 10.--- b4!**
 * 11.exd5 Nxd5!?**
 * 12.Qe1?! Ba6!**
 * 13.Nc4 ---**
 * 13.--- Rb8**
 * 14.Bd2 ---**
 * 14.--- bxc3**
 * 15.bxc3 Nde7**
 * 16.Qe4?! Na5!**
 * 17.Be3?? Bb7**
 * White resigns**


 * 0-1**


 * Solution:** 1 Ng5+! Kg6 (1... Kf8 2 Nxh7#) 2 Qf7+! Kxg5 (2... Kh6 3 Rh4+ Kxg5 4 Qh5#) 3 Qxg7+ Kh5 4 Qxh7+ Kxg5 5 h4#.