BCC round 3: seismic shift at the top, and a romantic masterpiece

Round 3 of the Bangkok Chess Club Open witnessed several closely contested battles as the Elo gap between opponents continued to shrink.  Of particular interest to local observers was the encounter on board 5 between Indian GM Lalit and the young Thai candidate master Jonathan Bodemar.  Agreed, it is a rather odd name around these parts, so please bear with us for a moment.

Born in 2006 of a Swedish father and a Thai mother, Jonathan already has the recent Budapest Olympiad under his belt and will also take part in the Sea Games at the end of this year.  

Unlike many young chess talents in this day and age, he has multiple interests including swimming and basketball.  The busy school curriculum in Thailand as well as his Swedish lessons have so far left him with relatively few opportunities to delve in chess, but this could change as he plans to enlist in a university in Sweden next year.  

Although his game today went in favour of his grandmaster opponent, Jonathan will likely continue to challenge his compatriot IM Prin Laohawirapap for the tournament’s first prize rewarding a representative of the Thailand Chess Association.  

On a neighbouring board, former World Championship contender GM Short bounced right back from his disappointing game of yesterday with a spectacular sacrificial attack.  Playing against Andersen must have conjured up shades of another, much more ancient Anderssen, straight out of a romantic game of the mid-19th century…

[Event "22nd Bangkok Chess Club Open 2025"]
[Site "Royal Orchid Sheraton Riverside Hotel Bangkok, Thailand"]
[Round "3.15"]
[White "Short, Nigel D"]
[Black "Andersen, Soren Mikkel"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "2594"]
[WhiteTitle "GM"]
[WhiteFideId "400025"]
[BlackElo "2037"]
[BlackFideId "1411918"]
[TimeControl "90 min / 40 moves + 30 min / rest + 30 sec from move 1"]
[Variant "Standard"]
[ECO "B23"]
[Opening "Sicilian Defense: Closed"]
[Annotator "https://lichess.org/broadcast/-/-/U2y8SOOO"]
[StudyName "Round 3"]
[ChapterName "Short, Nigel D - Andersen, Soren Mikkel"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 d6 3. f4 The Grand Prix attack, a favourite of the British chess circuit back when Nigel Short was a young man.  3… g6 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. Bb5+ Bd7 6. Bc4 Nc6 7. O-O e6 8. Kh1 Nf6 9. d3 O-O 10. a3 a6 11. Ba2 b5 12. e5 dxe5 13. fxe5 Ng4 14. Bg5 Qc7 15. Ne4 Ncxe5 16. Bf4 Qb6?! Right piece, wrong square.  Moving the Queen to c6 instead would grant Black a good position.  17. Nxe5 Nxe5 18. Be3 Rfc8 19. b4 Bc6 20. Nxc5 Qd8 21. Qe2

21… Nd7? Allows White to ignite some serious Songkran fireworks.   22. Rxf7!! Bxa1?! (…Nxc5 was best but also insufficient: 23. Raf1 Rc7 24. Rxg7+ Rxg7 25. Bxc5 Bd7 26. Bxe6+ Bxe6 27. Qxe6+ Kh8 28. Rf8+).  23. Nxe6 Qh4 24. Rxd7 Bxd7 25. Bg5 Rxc2 (or 25... Bxe6 26. Bxe6+ Kh8 27. Bxh4 Re8 28. Bg3 Bf6 29. Qf3 Bg7 30. h4 Ra7 31. Qc6) 26. Nd4+ Rxa2 27. Qxa2+ Kg7 28. Qxa1 28... Qf2? (28... Qxg5 29. Ne6+ Kh6 30. Qg7+ Kh5 31. Nxg5 Kxg5 32. Qxd7 Kh6 33. Qe7 a5 34. bxa5 would have prolonged the game somewhat) 29. Nf5+ Kf7 30. Qf6+ and checkmate.
1-0

The sensation of the round came from board number one, with top seed Jan Gustafsson committing hara kiri in a balanced position,  all while his nearby rivals had a relatively quiet day at the office.

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