GM Gawain Jones’s excellent endgame technique helped him register a comfortable victory over FM Aleksei Kulashko in the seventh round of the New Zealand Open Chess Championship 2016. With this victory, the English GM has now moved on to an impressive 6.5/7, a point ahead of his closest competitors.
However, the 2nd and 3rd boards, featuring GM vs GM clashes, generated a lot more interest. Despite an interesting draw in Fier – Ju Wenjun, it was GM Nigel Short’s convincing win over GM Matthieu Cornette that hogged the limelight. Playing the White side of the King’s Indian Defence, the former World Championship Challenger duly capitalized on his opponent’s mistakes to emerge with a dominant position. Cornette saw nothing better and decided to resign on move 31. GMs Short, Fier, Ma Qun and Ju Wenjun are currently placed joint-second with 5.5/7.
Round 7 Results: Here