Wei Yi and Zhu Jiner emerged as the winners of the 19th Asian Games chess individual competitions on home turf in Hangzhou, China
Both events, 9-round Swiss tournaments with rapid time control, took place from September 24-27, 2023.
The men’s tournament was a close race, with top-seeded GMs taking turns at the top of the standings. Suffice it to say that neither of the top finishers completed the event unbeaten.
Wei Yi started with a draw but then caught up with the leaders, Nodirbek Abdusattorov and Javokhir Sindarov (both of Uzbekistan) after Round 4. However, after Wei’s loss to Abdusattorov in Round 5, his gold medal prospects looked bleak.
Unfazed by this setback, the Chinese GM reeled off four straight victories (including a very important one over the leader, Vidit Gujarathi, in Round 6) to clinch the title with an excellent score of 7.5/9.
Nodirbek Abdusattorov (7/9) and Javokhir Sindarov (6.5/9) pulled off crucial wins in the final ninth round to secure silver and bronze, respectively.
The women’s individual event saw the triumph of Zhu Jiner, who netted 7/9 and took gold.
Low-rated WIM Umida Omova made a real splash in the event by finishing second. The 17-year-old from Uzbekistan confidently navigated through a very strong field, scored 6.5/9 and tied for second place with none other than Hou Yifan.
The silver went to Omonova thanks to better tiebreaks, while the four-time Women’s World Champion Hou Yifan had to settle for bronze.
Photos: Han Chuanhao, Xinhua News Agency
Official website: hangzhou2022.cn/
