Snatching Defeat From the Jaws of Victory at the Kyoto Gion Open

Welcome Everybody, to another infuriating over-the-board tournament review of the Osaka Papers.

The Kyoto Gion Open 3 took place Friday November 30 through Sunday December 1st, in Kyoto Japan. Occurring only once every three years the tournament is one of the crown jewels of the Japanese chess calendar. Once more, it is held on the grounds of the historic Chioin Temple, originally built over 800 years ago, the temple is one of Japan's national treasures.

Over the weekend, the site was home to uncounted tourists and visitors, beautiful young women dressed up like Geisha took photos with their gallants, who were similarly garbed. And as a back drop to all of this the fall leaves draped the mountainside with a kaleidoscope of colours...

It was also the home to uncounted, blunders, mistakes, missed wins...and moves so horrible that they beggar belief...

In multiple instances defeat was literally snatched from the jaws of victory.

But before we get to all that, how about a few pics to prove that any of this happened.

The Fianchetto King

The 3rd edition of the Kyoto Gion Open was a six-round affair, with games being 90 minutes and having a 30 second bonus, 48 players from five chess federations took part.  I set myself the modest goal of scoring three and a half points.

My first-round pairing was a cold shower for those hopes, as I was paired with former Japan Champion Koji Noguchi aka The Fianchetto King. He is known as the Fianchetto King, as no matter what opening his opponent plays, he will invariably reply by fianchettoing one or both bishops.

In our game, I played 1.e4, he replied by playing the modern defense...with a double fianchetto...O_o...

Anyways, the game was fairly equal for about 20 moves...when despite lacking space I decided it would be a good idea to decline a trade of queens, and instead put my monarch on a dubious square, the Fianchetto King didn't let this insolence go unpunished. 

White has just played Rd1, in a pathetic attempt to take over the d-file, can you see how the dubious placement of his queen leads to a gain of material?

Black to play.

A cold shower, but it is hard to expect much against a former Japan Champion. In the second round I played a lower rated player, and despite winning with checkmate on the board, I believe my third-round game was more interesting, so let's fast-forward to there.

The Phantom Menace

I think all chess players are familiar with the concept of a phantom menace: when a player imagines a threat that simply doesn't exist. Well, in the third round this phenomenon befell yours truly.

I was paired with Shinmei Yamada, a player who failed to show-up for his round 2 match-up and whose picture I failed to obtain, so perhaps the man literally is a phantom.

In any case, after a fairly poor opening and middle game, I had an opportunity to draw the game. Yet, that curious peculiar paradox occurred: I can see that the material can be taken, I have calculated it correctly, yet I envision counter-play that doesn't exist, and hence don't play a game saving move.

Can you see how White draws this position?

White to move.

The fourth round saw me again paired with a lower rated opponent. I played an enjoyable game, and was proud I pulling off an aggressive h-file attack, but in the fifth round something inexplicable took place, so let's skip past the fourth round.

A Draw Offer

In the fifth round I was up against Koichi Sugimoto, a higher rated player I had previously beaten at the 2022 Japan Chess Championship, so I was somewhat hopeful that I could do the same here, those hopes were quickly dashed. By move 40 Sugimoto has a crushing advantage...

That is until he pushed a passed pawn instead of taking care of his king safety. I was able to set up a mating net, leading to an equal position, at which point I offered him a draw...

Can you see how I was able to threaten mate in this position?

Black to move.

A Matter of Legality

In the sixth and final round I was paired with WCM Azumi Sakai. I knew this would be a formidable task, as Sakai had just returned from the 45th Chess Olympiad in Budapest, where she was able to overcome a grandmaster. I can say the game was very sharp and closely contested, right up until the point that I forgot a certain rule...

Postmortem

And that was it that was the Kyoto Gion Open 3...

Yes, defeat was snatched from the jaws of victories multiple times in various ways, but despite that I must say I really enjoyed the tournament. My three points out of six may not have been great but nor was it terrible. Moreover, spending the weekend in Kyoto surrounded by the magnificent temples and the picturesque autumn foliage did much to relieve the stresses of an OTB chess tournament.

Unfortunately, it will be another 3 years until the next Kyoto Gion Open, hopefully by that time I will be snatching victory from the jaws of the defeat, rather than the opposite.

As always, thanks for reading, and feel free to share these games with your friends down at the Library or Temple.

Cheers, SheldonOfOsaka.

P.S.

You can check out my best selling print at the link below. I think we all need a little more Tal in our lives...