My minimalist journey

The first "Shanghai Cup" Chess Masters Open Tournament opened today in Jiading Nanxiang. In the two rounds of professional group matches, 32 top male and female players from the domestic chess scene engaged in fierce competition. In the men's A group, Miao Liming took the lead with two consecutive wins. In the men's B group, Cao Yanlei, Zhao Jincheng, Lu Qin, and Jiang Chuan all had 1 win and 1 draw. On the women's side, Chen Xinglin was the only player to achieve 2 consecutive wins.

In the first round of the men's A group, Wang Yang, playing red, faced Wang Kuo, the newly crowned champion and national championship winner. Both sides opened with a pawn-to-pawn game, with Wang Yang taking the early lead. In the mid-game, the black side's formation was poor, while the red side's pieces were flexible, launching an offensive with the pawn crossing the river on the seventh file. The black side was in a difficult position. After 32 moves, the red side made a clever winning move with a 'fishing horse'.

         In the professional men's B group, the first round saw Hong Zhi playing red and defeating Zheng Weitong, the only decisive game in that round. Hong Zhi opened with a 'fairy finger' against a 'bamboo bottom cannon', choosing a relatively rare variation of cannon 8 to 7. Both sides quickly exchanged pieces, resulting in a situation of red's two chariots and cannon against black's two chariots and horse. The red side had an extra pawn, slightly better. After further fighting, it entered an endgame of red's cannon, three pawns, soldier, and bishop against black's horse, two pawns, soldier, and bishop. Hong Zhi seized the winning opportunity and ultimately won.

         In the second round of the men's A group held in the afternoon, Wang Tianyi playing red drew with Wang Yang. Wang Tianyi, departing from his usual 'fairy finger' and flying bishop openings, chose the 'leading cannon'. Wang Yang responded with a 'screen horse'. Both sides attacked and defended in an orderly manner. The red side once sacrificed a pawn and a horse for a strong attack, but the black side remained unmoved, cleverly resolving the red side's offensive with a move of horse 6 to 4. The red side tried to break the deadlock, but the black side's defense was watertight, ultimately resulting in a draw.

         In the second round of the men's B group, five-time national chess champion and veteran Lu Qin, playing red, defeated Huang Zhufeng, a key player for the Zhejiang team in the National Games team championship. Lu Qin opened with a 'fairy finger' against a 'bamboo bottom cannon', gaining the initiative. In the mid-game, both sides attacked and counterattacked, with Lu Qin making a clever winning move with a 'cannon sinking to the bottom, fishing from the bottom of the sea'.

         Jiang Chuan playing red faced Hong Zhi. Jiang Chuan opened with a 5-8 cannon against Hong Zhi's three-step tiger. In the mid-game, Hong Zhi overextended, losing a bishop and a pawn, falling behind. Jiang Chuan firmly controlled the situation, entering an endgame of horse, cannon, and pawn against horse, cannon, and pawn, proceeding step by step to victory.

         In the professional women's group, in the first round, Tang Dan, ranked first nationally in rating points, playing red, lost to Zhao Guanfang. Tang Dan used a classic opening, 'fairy finger' followed by bishop support, while Zhao Guanfang responded with a 'bamboo bottom cannon', resulting in a roughly even game. Tang Dan took the initiative, sacrificing pieces to attack, but Zhao Guanfang remained calm and collected, responding to each move, ultimately winning with extra pieces.

         According to the rules, the first "Shanghai Cup" men's professional group will have 5 rounds of matches, with the top two from each group advancing to the championship competition. The women's professional group will determine the winner through a 7-round round-robin tournament. The first prize for the men's professional group is 300,000 RMB, and for the women's professional group, it is 100,000 RMB.