Losing because of exhaustion

BU XIANGZHI: MY FRIENDS LOST BECAUSE OF EXHAUSTION



Grandmaster Bu Xiandzhi from China defeated the French GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave on tie-break and answered the questions at the press-conference after the last game.

— How difficult was this match?

— Maxime Vachier-Lagrave is one of the top players in the world. I played the first rapid game really bad and was lucky to escape to a draw after my opponent made a few mistakes. In the second game I played White, the position was complicated, but I managed to enter the endgame with an extra pawn. The more fair result of this game would still be a draw, but Maxime blundered, and the game ended in my favor.

— You are the only player from China who advanced to the Round 3. What is the reason for rather mediocre results by China?

— One of the reasons is exhaustion of the players. We had lots of tournaments this year — the World Team Championship, the Universiade, etc. Fortunately I did not participate in the Universiade, so I could save some energy before the World Cup. Coming to such tournaments in a good shape is very important.

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