Yu Yangyi Cruising Through Capablanca Memorial -- Midway Report
While most of the chess world's attention is firmly fixed on the ongoing action in Norway, another elite tournament is currently taking place in Havana, Cuba: The 50th Capablanca Memorial, a six-player double round robin with an average rating of 2715 (!).
Chinese superstar GM Yu Yangyi has been unstoppable and is leading with 4.5/5 at the half-way mark. Trailing him with 2.5/5 are GMs Pavel Eljanov (UKR), Dmitry Andreikin (RUS), and Lenier Dominguez Perez (CUB). Rounding out the field is GM Lazaro Bruzon Batista (CUB) with 2/5, and GM Ian Nepomniachtchi (RUS) with just 1/5.
So far Yu has only been in trouble once in the event — after a nice queen sacrifice by Nepomniachtchi — but luck was on his side, as he landed a fierce counterattack and caught White's king in the center of the board:
One of Yu's cleaner wins of the event was his slow middlegame grind against Dominguez:
In the final position, White resigned as he has no answer to the threat of 39...Be8!, trapping his queen.
Accurate and ruthless, Yu shows no signs of slowing down. Photo: Fernando Medina
As White, Yu has faced the Berlin Defense in all three games, though only Eljanov was able to survive:
The action continues with Round 6 on Sunday, June 21st, as the players switch colors and face off against each other once more. Look for a full recap after the event is concluded here on Chess.com.
2015 Capablanca Memorial | Round 5 Standings
| # | Name | Rtg | Perf | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | Pts | SB |
| 1 | Yu,Yangyi | 2715 | 3097 |  |
½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4.5/5 | |
| 2 | Eljanov,Pavel | 2718 | 2716 | ½ | |
½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | 2.5/5 | 5.75 |
| 3 | Andreikin,Dmitry | 2718 | 2716 | 0 | ½ | |
½ | 1 | ½ | 2.5/5 | 5.00 |
| 4 | Dominguez Perez,Leinier | 2746 | 2710 | 0 | ½ | ½ | |
½ | 1 | 2.5/5 | 4.50 |
| 5 | Bruzon Batista,Lazaro | 2677 | 2653 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ½ | |
½ | 2.0/5 | |
| 6 | Nepomniachtchi,Ian | 2720 | 2474 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | |
1.0/5 |
