6th and 7th round of WYCO 2018 has been played today. In round 6, Iran and Belarus played on Board 1. We saw a fantastic fight between IM Zarubitsky and GM Firouzja in which Zarubitsky brutally sacrificed his rook (22.Rxf7) for a heavy kingside attack. Firouzja's king marched from g8 to d7 and although Zarubitsky may have a draw by perpetual check, he did not go for it and arising compilcations brought nothing but a lose for him. Other teammates of Firouzja seemed inspired by his victory and record of 6/6, Iran won 3-1 against Belarus.

 

Despite IM Niemann continued his invincible run of 6/6 by winning with the help of an exchange sacrifice against FM Baidetskiy on Board 2 in behalf of his team, USA lost to Ukraine by 2.5-1.5 on Board 2 of Round 6. Uzbekistan also won against India by 3-1 on Board 3. Uzbekistan, Iran and Ukraine shared the lead by 5/6 at the end of Round 6.

 

In Round 7, on Board 1, Uzbekistan show a great team spirit and all players did their best on boards and efforts paid off to a clear victory of 3.5-0.5 against Ukraine. Uzbeks now share the leadership with Iran by 6/7.

 

On Board 2, the game between Iran and USA was critical to follow the leadership. We had a theoretical discussion in Open Ruy Lopez at GM Firouzja-IM Brodsky in which IM Brodsky did not play 14...c5. Instead, he preferred a passive defence by 14...Nc5. By doing so, he missed his active counter chances by sacrificing a piece in return of an attack against the weak king and underdeveloped white pieces. GM Firouzja handled his attack excellently and converted it into a crucial win for his team who won 3.5-0.5 against USA. He developed his unbeaten record to 7/7. You can see the critical Firouzja-Brodksy game in the link below. 

 

 

IM Niemann's 6/6 has also came to an end by losing against Pour Agha Bala of Iran on board 2.

 

The underdog of the WYCO 2018, China, also won against Belarus by 3-1 in which Wang Yanbin extended his remarkable run to 6.5/7 on board 2. By this victory, China occupied the 3rd place by 5.5/7.