BCC Open round 5: Thai ace Prin comes close while none of the leaders emerges

Mid-tournament syndrome is that moment in the week when games get evenly matched, and hence the action doesn’t decant quite as quickly.  For the correspondent, it’s usually that time when one realises he actually needs that other cup of coffee or that extra kick of insulin.  When things are quiet in the press room, and one would wish Yasser Seirawan were there to delight the audience with some witty anecdote from the defunct century.

Round 4 had left us with a trio of leaders, two of whom were squaring off on the top board.  The game between GM Babu Lalit from India and Indonesian IM Ariz Abdul Hafiz, was a finely balanced affair although Black’s Queen had ventured off to snatch a pawn as early as move 4.  

On board two, Macedonian GM Romanov made short work of the third co-leader, FM Arca from the Philippines after the white Queen went on an unsuccessful fishing expedition on the Kingside.  

Meanwhile, Thai star Prin Laohawirapap was facing a resurgent Nigel Short.  After dominating the opening phase with the Black pieces, Prin got low on time and struggled to maintain his advantage before going astray wih 24… h5, when the position became level but with the momentum firmly on White’s side.  

 There were a couple more plot twists, with White going astray shortly after entering a 4-Rook endgame.  Black however failed to capitalise, capturing the wrong pawn (35…. Rxd4 instead of … Rxb2) after which the soon to be sexagenarian grandmaster had no difficulty steering the position towards a peaceful conclusion.

[Event "22nd Bangkok Chess Club Open 2025"]
[Site "Royal Orchid Sheraton Riverside Hotel Bangkok, Thailand"]
[Round "5.3"]
[White "Short, Nigel D"]
[Black "Laohawirapap, Prin"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[WhiteElo "2594"]
[WhiteTitle "GM"]
[WhiteFideId "400025"]
[BlackElo "2380"]
[BlackTitle "IM"]
[BlackFideId "6205003"]
[TimeControl "90 min / 40 moves + 30 min / rest + 30 sec from move 1"]
[Variant "Standard"]
[ECO "B90"]
[Opening "Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation"]
[Annotator "https://lichess.org/broadcast/-/-/N0sAZIUE"]
[StudyName "Round 5"]
[ChapterName "Short, Nigel D - Laohawirapap, Prin"]

Short, Nigel D (2594) - Laohawirapap, Prin (2380)
17.04.2025

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bd3 g6 7.O-O Bg7 8.Kh1 O-O 9.f4 Nbd7 10.Qe1 Nc5 11.Nf3 b5 12.Bd2 b4 13.Nd1 Bb7 14.Nf2 a5 15.e5 Nfd7 16.Be2 Qc7 17.exd6 exd6 18.c3 Rfe8 19.Qd1 Na4 20.Rb1 Ndc5 21.Bb5 Bc6 22.Bxc6 Qxc6 23.Nd4 Qd5 24.f5 h5 25.fxg6 fxg6 26.Qc2 Ne4 27.Nxe4 Rxe4 28.Qxa4 Bxd4 29.cxd4 Re2 30.Rf3 Rxd2 31.Re1 Kg7 32.Qd7+ Kh6 33.Qe7 Qg5 34.Qxg5+ Kxg5 35.h3 Rxd4 (…Rxb2!) 36.Re6 Rg8 37.b3 Rd2 38.Kh2 Rg7 39.Rf8 Rxa2 40.Rxd6 Ra3 41.Ra6 h4 42.Rd8 Rxb3 43.Rxa5+ Kh6 44.Rb5 g5 45.Rd4

1/2-1/2

As several players on 3.5 points came out victorious, we enter tonight’s blitz final stage - as well as round 6 - with an unexpectedly large squad of competitors leading with 4.5/5.  

Games: https://www.chess.com/events/2025-bangkok-open/games 
Credits: www.bangkokchess.com
Picture database: https://lightboxproductions.pixieset.com/bangkokchessclubopen2025/
Open section: https://chess-results.com/tnr1137279.aspx?lan=1
Challenger section: https://chess-results.com/tnr1137307.aspx?lan=1