The young team from Uzbekistan, who took gold medals at the Olympiad in Chennai, came close to repeating that achievement at the World Team Championship in Jerusalem last month. They cruised through the group stage, quarters and semis, and met China in the final, who got there despite fielding none of their elite players, such as world No. 2 Ding Liren. The match promised to be close, and it was China who triumphed. Their star player was Jinshi Bai, who scored 8.5/11, including this crucial win from the final.
Bai Jinshi-Shamsiddin Vokhidov
World Team Championship, Jerusalem, Nov 22
In the diagram position, 34 Qa7 Rc8 is balanced, but Bai found a clever counterblow. 34 f4! The point is that 34…Rxb6 35 fxe5 Rxc6 36 exf6+ Kh6 37 Rd7 wins. But 35…Ng4! (instead of 35…Rxc6) improves on this. 36 hxg4 Rxc6 37 Rd7 Kh6 38 Rfxf7 Rc5! Black’s king will make a cosy nest on g5, with reasonable drawing chances thanks to White’s weak pawns.
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