Posts by: Etery

In the second half of the “regular time”, the Champion of the World possessed the initiative. After missing excellent chances with White, she managed to equalize in the fourth game, and the title went on tie-break.

In the third game, Lagno, with Black, entered the King’s Indian variation in which she had defeated Socko at the last year European Rapid Championship. On the move 10, Ju Wenjun employed a rare capture with knight. Lagno’s reaction was far from perfect: she delayed with development of her queenside and lost tempi on taking a pawn (to grab an exchange as well would be too risky). Further procrastination with mobilizing her forces might cost Black dear.

Ju Wenjun – K. Lagno

It was time to play 16…Nd7, planning …Ne5. After 16…c4? 17.Bxc4 Rxe4,there already emerges the motif of a combinational blow that could have decided the outcome in a few moves: 18.Qc2 Re5 (18…Bf5 19.Bd3; 18…Re8 19.Nh5) 19.Ne6!

Less energetic 18.Bd3 Re5 19.f3 h5 20.Be2 allowed Black to return to the idea of developing queenside– 20…Nd7, though even here she also faces difficulties.

Instead, Lagno chose 20…Qd7?, clinging to the g4-pawn.

Here Ju carried out an awkward maneuver 21.Rb4 Na6 22.Re4 and promptly frittered away almost all her advantage.

After 21.fxg4 hxg4 22.Ne6!, Black’s position collapses: 22…fxe6 (22…Rxe2 23.Nxg7 Qe7 24.Nh5 with a “free” crushing attack) 23.Bxe5 dxe5 (on 23…Bxe5, there is already a very strong retort 24.Rb4!) 24.Bxg4, and, to parry threats, Black has to give up at least a piece.

Having wormed out of an unpleasant situation, Lagno immediately makes a positional error.

After 28…Nd6 29.Bb4, the knight is unable to remain on the blockade square, but with 29…e4! Black manages to retain a healthy pawn formation and has every right to hope for a desired outcome.

In the game, after 28…Bd7 29.Bxe4 fxe4 30.Bg3 Rf8 31.Re1, the Chinese player had another chance to play for a win in a bishops-of-opposite-color ending with major pieces, disconnected black pawns and obvious difference in the levels of kings’ safety, but was too hasty with exchange of the queens. However, even after that the position remained very sharp. Already after the time-control, mutual inaccuracies led to another “scoring chance.”

If 48.Kf2? Rxf4+! 49.gxf4 g3+, then black pawns are first to reach the target.

After the text continuation 48.Rb4+ Kd5 49.Kf2, Lagno forced exchange of the rooks: 49…Re8 50.Bd2 (50.Ke1 Ra8) 50…Rf8+ 51.Bf4 Re8 52.Bd2 Rf8+ 53.Rf4 Rxf4+ 54.Bxf4 Ke6. White had to give up her d-pawn for the opponent’s e-one, with an elementary drawn ending on the board.

The indirect defense against queening was 48.Rb7!, and even after 48…e1N+!? 49.Kf2 Nf3 50.Re7+ Kf5, two passed pawns were enough to win, although White would have to demonstrate precise play and avoid dangerous traps.

51.h7 (there is a threat of 52.Rf7+) 51…Ra8, and now not 52.d7 Bb5 53.Re8?? Ra2+ 54.Ke3 Re2#, but 52.Bc1! Ra2+ (52…Bb5 53.Bb2) 53.Ke3 Bc4 (threatening with mate on е2 again) 54.Rf7+! Bxf7 55.h8Q.

It must be admitted that here conditions of a search for a decisive continuation are much less comfortable than in the position after move 20.

Despite all her unfortunate slipups, Ju Wenjun managed to tune up for the next game very well.

In the Rossolimo System, Lagno chose a rare scheme. Before that, the position after White’s move 12 had occurred only in the game Boleslavsky-Taimanov played in 1955.

K. Lagno – Ju Wenjun

Taimanov took on f5 with bishop and gradually seized the initiative, exploiting opponent’s faltering performance. After making sure that she had a worthy reply 13.Ng5+ to the one-move attack 13.Ng5+, Ju, aiming at a more complex play, opened up the g-file with 12…gxf5. Still, the Russian should have made the same move and then continued 14.Nxe7+ Nxe7 (if 14…Qxe7, then 15.Nh3 and, depending on circumstances, either f2-f4 or Nf4) 15.Nf3 (15.Ne6 Bxe6 16.Bxe6 d5 is unclear). Now White would meet the immediate enemy king’s “homecoming” with check once again, silently offering a draw, and in other lines, her chances in the struggle for the initiative were no worse.

In the continuation chosen by Lagno, her pretty-looking knight is actually rather useless, while Black, under the cover of her strong pawn center, starts to prepare her pieces for the attack against the king.

White’s desire to thwart those plans led to a tactical error, which, however, was left unpunished.

White had just moved 19.Nh4, and the World Champion overlooked the jab 19…c4! that would cut off both knights. After 20.Nxg6 Bxd5 21.dxc4 Be6 22.Nh4 Bf6 23.Nf3 Qb7, White finds herself in the crossfire and loses material.

In the game, Black continued her positional assault with 19…Bh8 20.Nxg6 Rxg6 21.Qh4 Rag8 22.g3 Qf7 23.c4.

Computer does not approve of the exchange 23…Bf6 offered by the Chinese player. However, for one thing, even variations that definitely “smack with silicone” do not promise any considerable advantage here. From the human point of view, the only exception may be a logical attempt to include the knight into attack, but, after a rough continuation 23…Nb7 24.Bb1 (preparing to meet …f5-f4 with d3-d4) 24…Nd8, Black faces a rather difficult task of further regrouping, as in various lines she would have to reckon with either queen’s or knight’s thrust to е7.

And secondly, after the text move, all black major pieces are gathered on the g-file waiting for a proper moment to deal a decisive blow.

Who, at the sight on the threat …Rxg3+, would be cool-headed enough to leave the key point to its fate and play 28.Qh5!, preventing a possible march of the h-pawn into the bargain? The immediate sacrifice does not win, while attempts at preparing it give White enough time to fortify her position.

In severe time-trouble, Lagno made a self-suggesting move 28.Kh1 and after the reply 28…Bc8!, it turned out that white king cannot hide in the corner. In a few moves, White resigned because of unavoidable mate.

During the tie-break, both 25-minute game were smoothly drawn. In the first 10-minute game, early simplifications led to an equal endgame. Even after Lagno had ceded a pawn for no reason at all, a draw remained the most probable outcome. However, the Russian made a mistake of leaving another pawn defenseless and soon had to give up a piece for the opponent’s passed one. Having taken the lead, Ju Wenjun with White blocked her opponent’s attempts at complicating play confidently. In a quiet level position, Lagno quite unexpectedly blundered away her queen, and the World Champion won the match by two points.

On November 23, Sergey Kosilov, Deputy Minister of Sports of Russian Federation, and Arkady Dvorkovich, FIDE President, paid an official visit to Khanty-Mansiysk. They attended chess events taking place in the city and visited several locations of UgraMegaSport.

Sergey Kosilov started with a simultaneous display that took place at School #4. 200 pupils from several educational institutions of Khanty-Mansiysk participated in the simul. Ugra Chess Academy was represented by 29 sportsmen – students, trariners, and seniors. The Deputy Minister was accompanied by Maksim Ryashin, Mayor of Khaty-Mansiysk, Yury Lichkun, Director of the Department of Education of Khanty-Mansiysk, and Sergey Atramonov, Director of the Department of Physical Culture and Sport of Ugra.

The Winter Sports Center named after A.V.Filipenko was the next stop for Sergey Kosilov and Arkady Dvorkovich. Its VIP stand hosted two chess tournaments – 14th Governor Cup (a stage of the 2018 Russian Cup), and Ugra-2018 All-Russian Open tournament.

Sergey Kosilov had a chance to appreciate the infrastructure of the world-famous biathlon center, which will host the Russian Cup on December 4-10. Oleg Dress, Deputy Director of Sport of UgraMegaSport, showed the guests the training facilities and other assets of the Winter Sport Center. After a short sightseeing trip the Deputy Minister observed chess tournaments for a while.

Arkady Dvorkovich together with Valery Radchenko, Director of UgraMegaSport, and Yury Yuzhakov, Deputy Governor of Ugra, examined conditions of chess tournaments that were taking place during the Women’s World Championship.

The delegation observed the tournament that attracted more than 140 players, and then focused on the exhibition stand with children’s drawings on chess topics.

After that the guests went to the Ugra Chess Academy for the Women’s World Championship Final between Ju Wenjun (China) and Kateryna Lagno (Russia).

After the tie-break the VIP guests went to the Museum of Nature and Human, where they participated in establishing a chess club under the project “Removing blank sports from Ugra chess map”. After the ceremony, the delegation members took part in an excursion and learned about the history and traditions of the Ugra land.

The tie-break of the Women’s World Championship Final between Ju Wenjun (China) and Kateryna Lagno (Russia) took place on November 23.

The game was attended by Sergey Kosilov, Deputy Minister of Sport of the Russian Federation, Arkady Dvorkovich, FIDE President, Andrey Filatov, RCF President, Sergey Artamonov, Director of Physical Culture and Sport Department of Ugra, and other officials.

In the first rapid game Ju Wenjun had White. It was a relatively peaceful game in the Queen’s Gambit Accepted. Black managed to equalize, and the game logically ended in a draw.

In the next 25-minute game the players went for the Catalan Opening. Once again they were reluctant to take risks. The game ended peacefully in an endgame with opposite-colored bishops and an extra pawn to White.

Lagno had White in the first 10-minute game. The position was balanced for a while, but in a minor piece ending Ju Wenjun utilized the opponent’s error, won a pawn and gradually converted her material advantage.

In the second blitz game Lagno tried to create a sharp game, but Ju Wenjun remained fully in control. In an equal position Lagno blundered a queen and lost.

The final score is 5-3 in favor of Ju Wenjun, who successfully defended her title in a knock-out World Championship.

Kateryna Lagno qualified to the 2019 Women’s Candidates Tournament, together with Alexandra Kosteinuk and Mariya Muzychuk.

Photos

Videos

 The fourth game of the Women’s World Championship between the defending champion Ju Wenjun (China) and Kateryna Lagno (Russia) was played on November 22 in Khanty-Mansiysk. Lagno had White.

The players went for the Rossolimo Sicilian, where Black managed to create counterplay by carrying out the f7-f5 breakthrough. Concrete play emerged on both sides of the board. In the middlegame Lagno was spending a lot of time, however, by the move 16 Black’s position was already better due to the semi-open g-file and dangerous attacking prospects.

After White’s queenside play was exhausted, Kateryna switched to the other side of the board. However, the raid of her knight could become crucial, had the Chinese found the most principled reply. Ju Wenjun preferred a more solid move.

The computer does not approve Black’s decision to trade the dark-squared bishop for the knight, however, it allowed Ju Wenjun to triple her major pieces on the g-file.

White needed to play with extreme precision to hold the balance, which proved an overwhelming task under the heavy time pressure. One blunder made White’s position hopeless. The game ended in Black’s favor after a swift attack with a rook sacrifice.

The match score is now 2-2. The tie-break will be played on November 23 at 1 pm local time. Ju Wenjun will start with the white pieces.

The tie-break will start with two games with rapid time control: 25 minutes plus 10 second per move. If the match is still tied, it will continue with two slow blitz games – 10 minutes plus 10 seconds per move. After that, if the winner is still not determined, two 5+10blitz games will follow. Finally, those matches that are still tied, will proceed to the Armageddon game.

Results 

Photos 

Videos 

The third game of the final match between Ju Wenjun and Kateryna Lagno was played on November 21. The defending champion had White.

It was a sharp battle in the Benoni Defense. White sacrificed a pawn and was ready to sacrifice an exchange for Black’s dark-squared bishop. In the opening Ju Wenjun acted considerably quicker than her opponent. White got excellent compensation for the pawn and seized the initiative.

On the move 16 Lagno opted for a very sharp pawn push, creating serious complications. Her opponent began to tank, calculating countless variations, and soon the players were even on the clock. Black made a serious mistake at some point, but White missed the most principled reply, opting for a safer approach. The players ended up in a mutual time trouble, which led to an imperfect play from both sides. Black should have avoided trading her central knight, which would give her good chances to equalize. Soon the position with queens, rooks, and opposite-colored bishops emerged.

With aggressive play White could create fatal problems for Black, but Ju Wenjun preferred to trade the queens, losing some of her advantage. Still, with perfect play White could have obtained a decisive edge. However, she missed her chances, and Lagno managed to hold a draw.

The match score is 2-1 in Kateryna Lagno’s favor.

The fourth game will be played on Thursday, November 22, Lagno being White.

The final match consists of four games with classical time control. If the match is tied after four games, a tie-break will ensue.

Pairings and results 

Photos 

Videos 

After two games of the final match, the reigning Champion of the World loses to the only semi-finalist who has never captured the chess crown yet.

In the first game, Ju Wenjun and Lagno played out a rare hybrid of the King’s Indian and the Grünfeld Defense. Black, despite having continuations that were healthier from the positional point of view, entered the variation where her pawn structure became compromised and her dark-squared bishop ran the risk of remaining shut-in until the end of the game.

Ju Wenjun – K. Lagno

The best move here is 17.Qb1!, with rough variations 17…Qxb1+ 18.Rxb1 b6 19.h4 or 17…Qa3 18.Qb3 Qxb3 (after 18…Qa5+ 19.Kf2, White has to defend her е6-pawn) 19.axb3, and then, again, h4. In both cases, Black’s position is difficult. However, after the text move 17.Bf2 g5!, the play sharpened.

18.Rb1 Qa3 19.Qb3 (more prudent is 19.0-0) 19…Qa5+ 20.Kf1 gxf4 21.gxf4 Rf8 22.Qf3.

Computer points out that the White’s last erroneous move does not defend the f4-pawn at all: with 22…Bxf4! 23.Nxf4 Rxd4!, Black sacrifices her rook and launches a powerful attack, for example, 24.Bxd4(24.Rxb7 Qa6+; 24.Bg3 Qxe5) 24…Nxd4 25.Qe3 (25.Qf2 Qxe5 26.Re1 Qb5+ 27.Kg1 e5) 25…Qxa2 26.Rc1 (26.Re1 Qc4+ 27.Kg2 Nc2) 26…Rxf4+! 27.Qxf4 Qe2+ 28.Kg1 Nf3+, winning both white queen and the game. The lesser evil is 23.Kg2 Bd2, resigning herself to a loss of a pawn.

On the next move, Lagno had a chance to gain an advantage without resorting to such strong remedies.

22…Qxa2 23.Kg2. Again, this is not the best decision. After 23.Rxb7 Qa6 24.Qh5+ Rf7 25.Rb3 Nxd4 26.Bxd4 Rxd4 27.Kg2, White is able to blunt the onslaught, though not without difficulties, but now, after 23…Rg8+ 24.Kh3 Qc2, her position becomes rather alarming.

However, Black continued 23…Qd5, her pieces backed out in the ending, and soon it was already Champion of the World who had an edge.

Immediate attack 32.Rcc8 is parried with 32…Rb2. While activating her knight through 32.Ng3, White keeps in mind an amusing opportunity 33.Rcc8 Rb2 34.Nh1!, and Black is in for difficult problems. However, Ju preferred to return to the 3^rdrank with her rook instead and contented herself with a peaceful outcome.

Another draw, just like in five previous games with regular time-control between those opponents in the period from 2011 to 2013. In their 7^thgame, the balance has been broken.

In the opening, the Russian, who was playing White, employed the continuation 9.Nfd2 that quickly comes into fashion now (previously, there almost solely occurred 9.Nbd2). Ju Wenjun herself introduced it into practice at a high level in her game with short time control against Guo Qi; more than that, the game was played according to the Bronstein (or Basque) System, where opponents simultaneously play each other on two boards. Later the move was adopted by such players as Carlsen, Karjakin, Ding Liren, Dominguez, Fedoseev… White gives up a pawn and agrees to double pawns on an outer file for the sake of activating his bishop pair quickly.

K. Lagno – Ju Wenjun

However, in the current game Lagno traded her light-squared bishop for the knight almost immediately and restored material equality. The resultant rooks-and- bishops-of-opposite-colors ending looked perfectly safe for Black; nevertheless, after making several obvious-looking moves, she found herself in a position where her active chances were practically non-existent, while White was able to display the initiative on both sides of the board.

Worth attention is 17…Rfe8 18.Bc3 Bf5 19.Rd2 Rad8, and after 20.Rad1 Rxd2 21.Rxd2 f6, it is rather difficult for White to carry out f2-f3 in view of …Re3, and if 20.Rxd8 Rxd8, then Black temporarily controls both open files. Even if White manages to avoid exchanging the second pair of rooks and put the question to a bishop through f2-f3 and е2-е4, the weakening of the d3-square would be in favor of her opponent.

With 26…Kf7 27.g5 h5, Black was able to keep the h-file closed. In the game, after 26…Rd7 27.g5 hxg5 28.hxg5 Kf7 29.gxf6 gxf6 30.Rh1, white rook gained additional space, so it became more difficult for Black to follow its movements.

Here Ju missed her chance to restrain this obnoxious spy with 33…Bc8. In the continuation she had chosen, White loosened her opponent’s defense with her last-rank maneuvers, got close to weaknesses in the Chinese player’s camp and eliminated the с5-pawn.

Even after that, the engine points at serious resistance – after all, White has no passed pawns yet, and her edge pawns do not correspond with her bishop’s color. However, in the practical game, psychological problems added to Ju’s objective difficulties on the board; the World Champions made more unlucky moves, and her defense crumpled.

Throughout the game, Lagno’s play was faultless.

The second game of the final match between Ju Wenjun (China) and Kateryna Lagno (Russia) was played on November 20 in the Ugra Chess Academy. Lagno played White.

In the Catalan Opening with the early exchange of the queens White employed a temporary pawn sacrifice, obtaining the bishop pair in return. She regained the material soon, however, one of her bishops was exchanged for a knight, and an ending with rooks and opposite-colored bishops ensued.

White’s position was slightly better due to favorable pawn structure and more active pieces. Kateryna traded a pair of rooks and made a pawn break on the kingside. Ju Wenjun was forced to defend passively on both sides of the board.

With precise maneuvers Lagno won a pawn, and then the opponent’s mistakes allowed White to claim the game. Ju Wenjun resigned on the move 59.

The third game will be played on Wednesday, November 21. Ju Wenjun will have the white pieces.

The final match consists of four games with classical time control. If the match is tied after four games, a tie-break will ensue.

Pairings and results 

Photos

Videos

The first game between the defending World Champion Ju Wenjun (China) and Kateryna Lagno (Russia) was played on November 19 in Khanty-Mansiysk. The World Champion had White.

A hybrid of the King’s Indian and Gruenfeld Defense arose. The game quickly became very concrete, and demanded a lot of calculation from both players. White claimed an opening advantage, as Black’s dark-squared bishop remained enclosed on the kingside. The players abstained from castling for quite a while. If White had maintained the grip and traded the queens, Black’s position would become precarious, however, Ju Wenjun played a little too soft, and Lagno was able to carry out a freeing break.

Both sides were under the heavy time pressure and missed a number of promising opportunities in the subsequent sharp battle. At some point, the champion made a serious mistake, but was not punished for it. Kateryna decided to simplify the game, once again giving White an edge, however, Ju Wenjun played very solidly, with a draw in hand. A draw was agreed to on the move 36.

The second game will be played on Tuesday, November 20. Kateryna Lagno has White.

The final match consists of four games with classical time control. If the match is tied after four games, a tie-break will ensue.

Pairings and results 

Photos 

Videos 

November 18 is the only rest day at the Women’s World Championship in Khanty-Mansiysk. Tournament participants, arbiters, members of the Appeals Committee and organizers got their first chance to digress from chess, relax and have fun.

In the morning, the tournament officials took a sightseeing trip around Khanty-Mansiysk. Although this city has hosted more than a dozen of major chess events, some of this year’s guests were not yet familiar with history, traditions, and sights of the Ugra capital. And, of course, a traditional photo shoot with the bronze mammoths, symbols of the city, was not forgotten as well.

In late afternoon, the chess group came to watch hockey. Not all of them were mere spectators. Kateryna Lagno, one of the two finalists of the World Championship, did the ceremonial first face-off for the Higher Hockey League game between Ugra (Khanty-Mansiysk) and Lada (Tolyatti).

Katerina confessed she was very happy to do it. “I did it for the first time and really liked it. My eldest son plays hockey; I was happy to receive the puck as a gift, and I will give it to him.” Kateryna also said that she supports the same team as her son – CSKA Moscow.

The first game of the final match between Kateryna Lagno (Russia) and the defending champion Ju Wenjun (China) will be played tomorrow.

The struggle in semifinals was not particularly fierce. Six game were enough to determine participants of the Championship’s main match.

In the opening of the first duel in the match Kosteniuk vs. Ju Wenjun, the World Champion’s play was more precise that in the game she lost to Adams in the previous year. This time, the march of the White’s outside pawn was not enough to stop her from placing her pieces harmoniously. After move 14, the а6-pawn was defended with rook, bishop and queen, so it was hard to imagine that it would find itself in danger in the near future. However, Kosteniuk’s active plan did not give due consideration to a certain tactical subtlety.

А. Kosteniuk – Ju Wenjun

18…Nxa6! It turns out that 19.Rxa6 is going to run into double blow 19…Qb7. In fact, White could have held the balance in a highly inventive manner: 20.Nc6! Qxa6 (if 20…Qxc6 21.f3, then the а7-pawn is lost) 21.Nxe7+ Kh8 22.Qe3! (White promptly creates threats on the kingside) 22…Qb7 23.Qh3 Qxe7 24.Bg5 h6 (24…g6? 25.Qa3!) 25.Bxh6 gxh6 26.Qxh6+ Kg8 with perpetual check. However, the former Champion of the World did not employ this variation and simply continued playing a pawn down; moreover, her moves only looked solid and safeguarding, but actually could have resulted in a snappy finish.

19.Be3?! (she should have chosen 19.Bg5) 19…Rd7 20.f3?! Nb4 21.Ba4 Bc5 22.Rad1 Rfd8 23.Qf2.

Here the Chinese player was not aggressive enough. 23…Qe5! would have critically increased her pressure against the d4-knight, which shielded both insufficiently defended rook on d1 and bishop on e3. After subsequent а7-а6, White suffers bad losses.

After the text 23…Qc8 24.Nc3, Black has at his disposal a blow 24…Rxd4! 25.Rxd4 (25.Bxd4 Rxd4 26.Rxd4 e5) 25…Bxd4 26.Bxd4 Nd3 27.Qh4 (27.Qe3 Nxb2 28.Bxf6 gxf6) 27…e5, and then Nxb2, magnifying her material advantage.

Ju once again chose the continuation24…Nc6 that was not the strongest one;exchanges followed, and then Black faced a long realization. However, even during the current championship, the World Champion has more than once demonstrated that she does not mind technical work. After queens had been exchanged, White started advancing her kingside pawns, thus assisting her opponent in creating an outside passed pawn. This soon led to the loss of pawns on the opposite flank, and the rest was elementary.

In the second game Ju, just like she had done in a similar situation during her match against Zhai Mo, played out the Maroczy Bind, never allowed a single sharp continuation to happen, drew and guaranteed an extra day-off before finals for herself.

There seemed to be nothing remarkable about regular games of the match M. Muzychuk vs. Lagno. In the first one, the position after opening was level and symmetrical; in the second, in the rare branch of the Spanish Opening, Open Defense, Muzychuk accepted a pawn sacrifice with Black, promptly returned material and obtained comfortable equality. Then she unnecessarily transposed to a rook ending with bishops of opposite colors, agreed to a pawn weakness in her camp, but drew effortlessly enough. However, in retrospect we can say that the former Champion of the World’s excessive belief in the redeeming quality of bishops of opposite colors was to do her a disservice later.

In the first 25-minute tiebreaker, the Open Defense was played out again. Lagno carried out an exchange sacrifice that had already occurred in practice and yielded poor returns to White. Muzychuk also gained a good position and could have struggled for the advantage in the endgame, but returned material instead and transposed to pure bishops-with-opposite-colors ending.

K. Lagno – М. Muzychuk

Black should have kept her king on е7 in order to have an opportunity to move it either to f6 or to d6 at the right time. Should white king depart for the queenside to help his a-pawn, Black would play …h3; after gxh3, she would deflect the white bishop with her f-pawn and take on е6, or give up her bishop for the a-pawn with a draw.

Muzychuk allowed the enemy king to move to d5, and after the white bishop turned up on the diagonal h3-c8, it was already impossible to stop distant passed pawns.

In the return game, the Ukrainian castled queenside when most of her pieces were on the opposite flank. Then there followed an erroneous knight maneuver that was an invitation to a crushing attack for Black.

M. Muzychuk – K. Lagno

18…Na4! 19.hxg5. On 19.c3, there follows 19…Ba3!; a rough continuation is 20.bxa3 Qxa3+ 21.Kd2 Qxc3+ 22.Ke2 (22.Ke3 Nb2) 22…Qc2+ 23.Kf3 h5, and the king has nowhere to hide.

19…Bd4 20.Kd2. After 20.c3, any sacrifice wins: 20…Nxb2,20…Nxc3, 20…Bxc3.

20…Qb4+ 21.Ke2 Qxb2 22.gxf6 Nc3+. Black obtained material advantage and continued her assault that was crowned with success fairly soon.

The tie-break between Kateryna Lagno (Russia) and Mariya Muzychuk (Ukraine) ended in favor of the Russian, who won the match 3-1. Yesterday Alexandra Kosteniuk (Russia) lost to the defending champion Ju Wenjun (China).

Thus, Kosteniuk and Muzychuk received the bronze medals of the Women’s World Championship. The medals were presented to to them by Sergey Artamonov, director of the Ugra Department of Physical Culture and Sport.

The 12th World Champion Alexandra Kosteniuk (2543) and the 15th World Champion Mariya Muzychuk (2545) were among the rating favorites of the Championship. On the way to the Semi-final, Kosteniuk defeated Daniza Vasquez Maccarini (Puerto Rico), Ni Shiqun (China), Harika Dronavalli (India), and Anna Muzychuk (Ukraine). Mariya Muzychuk eliminated Shahenda Wafa (Egypt), Ekaterina Atalik (Turkey), Mobina Alinasab (Iran), and Zhansaya Abdumalik (Kazakhstan).

The tie-break between Kateryna Lagno and Mariya Muzychuk took place on November 17 in Khanty-Mansiysk.

Lagno played White in the first game. In the Open Variation of the Ruy Lopez Muzychuk improved her play compared to the previous game, and White did not get anything real out of the opening. Lagno went for the most principled continuation, trading an exchange for two pawns, but after the queens went off the board, it was White who needed to play accurately to hold the balance. However, Mariya returned the material, transposing to the opposite-colored bishop ending, which turned out difficult for Black. In the time trouble, Muzychuk was unable to defend precisely. Lagno won two pawns and then stretched Black’s defense to break through her blockade. Muzychuk resigned on move 62.

White went for the Anti-Berlin setup in the second game. Both players castled queenside. Black’s position in the middlegame looked more pleasant, as the white bishop was out of play. Black developed a strong attack against the king, utilizing remote positions of White’s pieces. The monarch was forced to run, losing a lot of material along the way. Muzychuk gave up having made her 28th move.

Kateryna won the match 3-1 to qualify for the Final of the Women’s World Championship.

Therefore, the fate of the chess crown will be decided in the final match between Ju Wenjun (China) and Kateryna Lagno (Russia). The Chinese player will start with the white pieces.

November 18 is a rest day.

The final match consists of four games with classical time control. If the score after four games is 2-2, a tie-break will ensue on the November 23.

Pairings and results

Photos

Video

The return games of the Semi-final were played on November 16 in Khanty-Mansiysk.

Ju Wenjun had White against Alexandra Kosteniuk and obtained a stable advantage after the opening. In a Hedgehog position White maneuvered slowly, refraining from any breakthroughs almost until the control move, and even then did not follow it up with more energetic action. Black carried out her break on the queenside, which simplified the position considerably. In the subsequent game, the World Champion did not give her opponent a fighting chance, and the game was drawn in a rook ending.

Ju Wenjun won her match 1.5-0.5 and advanced to the Final.

Kateryna Lagno and Mariya Muzychuk discussed the Open Variation of the Ruy Lopez. Lagno sacrificed a pawn, which seemed to have taken Muzychuk by surprise, as the Ukrainian began to spend a lot of time on her moves. Later White regained material under favorable circumstances, and obtained a pleasant ending with rooks and a bishop. However, the opposite-colored bishops helped Black to hold a draw.

This match will be played out on tie-break tomorrow. Lagno plays White in the first game.

The tie-break will start with two games with rapid time control: 25 minutes plus 10 second per move. If the match is still tied, it will continue with two slow blitz games – 10 minutes plus 10 seconds per move. After that, if the winner is still not determined, two 5+3 blitz games will follow. Finally, those matches that are still tied, will proceed to the Armageddon game.

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The Semi-final of the Women’s World Championship started in the Ugra Chess Academy.

The defending World Champion Ju Wenjun had Black against Alexandra Kosteniuk. The players went for the French defense. After the opening, White’s position looked promising, as she enjoyed a spatial advantage. However, Black regrouped nicely and won White’s overextended a-pawn. Alexandra did not find the best move at the critical moment, and her position deteriorated quickly. However, then the Chinese missed the strongest continuation, which could give her a decisive edge. Further simplifications followed, but the extra pawn remained and eventually proclaimed itself. Ju Wenjun celebrated victory.

Mariya Muzychuk made a draw with Kateryna Lagno. In the Berlin Variation of the Ruy Lopez neither side could claim any advantage. A draw on the move 23 became a logical conclusion of the game.

The return games will be played on November 16. If the matches are drawn after two games, the tie-break will ensue on the next day.

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Participants returned to the second round’s pattern: the outcomes of two games were determined in the regular time, while the other two went into tie-breaks. The time for sensations was over – only famous players whose chess strength had long been known, qualified for semi-finals.

The best player of the round was Lagno who had shut out Lei Tingjie. In the first game, the Chinese was unprepared for a rare scheme in the Petroff Defense that Grischuk had recently employed in a couple of his blitz games. She relinquished space and obtained passive position; exchange of the queens served only to add to her problems. The Russian player was building her pressure smoothly, and when her rooks invaded the 7^th rank, Black’s position became critical. White’s only inaccuracy on the move 40 allowed her opponent to prolong resistance, but not for long.

In the second game, Lagno played actively during transition from opening to middle game and, by launching her pawn assault on the left area of the board, gained quite a good play. After opening of the center, tactical complications began, where Lei was unable to retain material balance.

Lei Tingjie – K. Lagno

29.Rc1? White cannot play 29.Rxc2 immediately because of 29…Re8 (but not 29…Bxe2 30.Bc5); however, she was able to eliminate that annoying pawn through 29.Bc3!, planning to meet 29…f4 with unexpected retort 30.Qa7!, and Black would have to be distracted with defense of the g7-square.

29…Re8. Stronger is 29…Rb3!, and after 30.Qf2 (if 30.Bc3 Qxd2, then Black is left with an extra knight) 30…Rxb2! 31.Bc3 Qxd2 32.Bxd2 Rxd2 33.Qe1 Rd1 34.Rxd1 cxd1Q 35.Qxd1 Rxe2, pieces are stronger than queen.

30.Ba7. And here White should have changed routes for her queen and bishop! After 30.Qc3 Bxe2 31.Ba7, she regains both the exchange and the c2-pawn with roughly equal chances.

30…Qb4! 31.Qd4. Relatively better is 31.Qc3 Qxc3 32.Nxc3 Rb7 33.Bc5 Bb3 with an unpleasant position despite material equality on the board.

31…Rxe2. Also wins 31…Rbd8 32.Qxd8 Rxd8 33.Rxd8+ Kh7 – both the knight and the b2-pawn hang, and 34.Rxc2 runs into 34…Qe1#.

32.Rxe2 Bxe2 33.Qd5+ Kh7 34.Bxb8.

34…Qb6+!Asplendidmaneuver! Every other move throws away the advantage.

35.Kh1 Qe3!?A quicker and more elegant way to finish the matter is 35…Bd1!, and only then Qe3.

36.Bf4. After 36.Rxc2 Bd3!, weakness of the last rank leaves its mark.

36…Qxf4 37.Rxc2 Qxa4! The last touch.

38.Rc1 Qf4 39.Re1 Bb5. Combinational storm calmed down, and Black won easily.

On the second day, it seemed that the reigning Champion of the World would be the first to qualify for semifinals. The day before, Tokhirjonova held out with Black rather confidently; however, while playing with White in the opposite castled position, she gave up the initiative quickly.

G. Tokhirjonova – Ju Wenjun

Black is already a pawn up, and her precisely calculated combinational maneuver allows her to magnify her material advantage considerably.

17…Nd5!18.Bxe6, stressing shakiness of the “bishop-on-f5+knight-on-h4” construction.  If 18.g3 Bxh4 19.Bxe6 Bg5 20.f4 Rxe6 21.fxg5 Qxg5, then White is two pawns down in a cheerless endgame; 18.Rxe6 would be met with the text thrust.

18…Bg5! 19.f4. After 19.Be3 Nxe3 20.fxe3 Bxh4, both bishop and rook are under fire.

19…Bxf4 20.Bxf7+ Kxf7 21.Ref1 Re1+!A powerful blow, after which some sensitive persons would have resigned on the spot.

22.Rxe1 Bxd2+ 23.Kxd2 Qg5+ 24.Kd1. Now the toughest move was 24…c5, but Ju was late with it, and the inventive Uzbek girl went for complications by sacrificing the bishop that her opponent had neglected to eliminate in time. The World Champion failed to cope with this reversal of the situation immediately and threw away almost all her advantage. However, on the technical stage she was able to “re-win” the game. First, she had gained a knight for her passed pawn, then coordinated her forces by exploiting the opponent’s inaccuracies and managed to keep the only remaining Black pawn alive.

In the regular games, both Kosteniuk and A. Muzychuk demonstrated their excellent opening preparation and made two academic draws.

In the first 25-minute tiebreaker, the discussion in the Chelyabinsk Variation continued. Having obtained a favorable change of the pawn structure, the former Champion of the World got carried away with the idea of an attack on the kingside, and lost coordination of her pieces. Her threats to the king had dwindled away to nothing, and Black’s central passed pawn was more than adequate compensation for the one she had given up. However, at this moment, Muzychuk made two bad moves in a raw, and her main trump was eliminated.

Kosteniuk attempted to benefit from her achievements immediately and gave the opponent a chance to escape.

А. Kosteniuk – A. Muzychuk

39…Be7! 40.Qxe7 Rcxf2?The previous move would be justified by another capture: 40…Rfxf2! 41.Rxf2 Rxf2. If 42.Rg3, then Black sacrifices her rook to boot and gives perpetual check: 42…Qb1+ 43.Kxf2 Qc2+ 44.Kf3 Qd1+ 45.Ke3 Qxb3+ – the king has nowhere to hide. Attempts at successfully combining offense with defense fail, for example, 42.Qd8+ Kh7 43.Rg3 Rd2, and it is already White who has to force a draw with 44.Rxg7+ Kxg7 45.Qe7+.

And in the game there followed 41.Qxf8+! Rxf8 42.Rxf8+ Kh7 43.Rf1, and Kosteniuk cashed in on her material advantage.

In the return game, her reaction to the Dutch Defense Reversed employed by her Ukrainian opponent was far from perfect, so Kosteniuk found herself in a highly unpleasant situation. Undaunted, the former Champion of the World kept searching for resources to continue the struggle. After mutual inaccuracies, the opponents came to an endgame where White completely dominated in spite of the lack of a pawn. Kosteniuk managed to find the best practical chance: she gave up her knight that kept brooding hopelessly on the edge of the board, and activated the rest of her pieces. Muzychuk lost the thread of the game and parted with both her second-to-last pawn and her hopes for a win. In the ending, the Russian had opportunities to realize her extra pawn but was content with a draw that was her pass to semifinals.

In the duel M. Muzychuk vs. Abdumalik, there were more games played than in all other matches combined.

In the first regular game, the former World Champion emerged from the opening with an initiative but, after Black had sacrificed a pawn for the sake of opening files, she started missing combinational blows.

M. Muzychuk – Z. Abdumalik

27.Qb5?!The strongest continuation is 27.Qd4 Rxc5+ 28.Qxc5 Qa1+ 29.Kc2 Qa4+, and here the engine still hopes for an advantage after 30.Kd2 Nf6 31.Re1 Rd8+ 32.Ke2, transferring her king from one flank to another under hostile fire.

27…Rf5!Cross-pins always look so captivating!

28.Bf2. The only defense.

28…Qe6 29.Rd3?The only guarantee against material losses is 29.Rd2.

29…Rfxc5+ 30.Bxc5 Qe1+ 31.Kc2. Or 31.Rd1 Qe3+ with similar outcome.

31…Qf2+ 32.Kb3 Qxc5 33.Qxc5 Rxc5, and Abdumalik, who had an extra piece, proceeded to win easily.

The struggle in the second game was also complex, and the Kazakhstani player managed to win the exchange. However, Black’s bishop pair was an adequate compensation for this and, after Abdumalik’s rook got tangled in the enemy back ranks during her attempt to prevent her opponent’s counterplay on the queenside, Muzychuk restored material equality and accurately utilized her positional plusses.

In the first 25-minute game, she again showed both her skill and her self-possession in a complicated endgame. When the crunch came, Abdumalik failed to find an interesting defensive idea.

Z. Abdumalik – M. Muzychuk

After 48.f5 Bxb4, White was left a pawn down and lost the game. However, after cool-headed 48.Re1!, Black has no improving continuations, and in the variation 48…Bxb4 49.Re5+ c5 50.dxc5 f6!? (both 50…Bxc5 51.Rxc5+ and 50…Bxd2  51.c6+ lead to material losses, while 50…Ra3+ 51.Kb2 does not promise any advantage) 51.Re4! (after 51.Rxh5?, the continuation 51…Bxd2 52.c6+ f5 already works) 51…Ra3+ 52.Kb2 Bxc5 53.Rxe6, the material balance is retained.

Muzychuk was unable to hold her lead. There were many adventures in the game that continued for 90 moves. After the opening, the Ukrainian’s position was dubious, so she opted for a piece sacrifice in order to create pawn center.  At the proper moment, Abdumalik carried out an exchange combination and obtained a clear edge with her two pieces for a rook; but later she gave counter-chances to her opponent, and it was already White who had her reasons to play for a win in the endgame with an outside passed pawn. However, Muzychuk allowed the exchange of her main trump, and Black once again turned to be a stronger side in the position with pawns on the same flank. She carried out a carefully prepared advance of her edge pawn and, after White’s error that followed immediately, eliminated the main obstacle on its path to a queening square with her dynamic rook maneuver.

The first 10-minute tiebreaker is sure to make a place for it both in the books on chess curiosities and in textbooks for chess arbiters. The quality of play was high enough with an exception of a mutual slipup in the opening, when an artless attack against black bishop could have run into quite an obvious sacrifice that would leave her with considerable advantage. After long maneuvers typical for hedgehog structures, Abdumalik carried out a breakthrough in the center; however, this allowed Muzychuk to gain a long-lasting edge in the endgame. Eventually, everything boiled down to a theoretically drawn rook-and-knight-versus-rook ending, but tension and tiredness made their presence felt here. Black made a fateful error, and her king got into mating net. It was then that Abdumalik missed her final and rather absurd chance.

M. Muzychuk – Z.Abdumalik

Mate is inevitable, so the Kazakhstani player resigned. However, after 135…Rf1 136.Re8+, there is still no mate on the board but check only, and White’s latest capture has happened on the move 86. Thus, adrawbythe50-moverule!

And even after such a defeat, the younger chessplayer managed to bounce back once again. In the second 10-minute tiebreaker, Muzychuk made a strategic error in the level middle game position, which led to an appearance of a backward pawn in her camp. An attempt at improving this positional defect resulted in a deadly pin on the black rook.

Both players’ nerves were frayed, and in the first blitz game Muzychuk promptly lost a pawn with White; Abdumalik returned the favor by overlooking a standard blow. Black’s king that was stuck in the center found itself in a pretty pickle, and she was left a piece down.

The former Champion of the World obtained a comfortable play with Black and, in spite of her couple of inaccuracies, generally remained in control. In a position was that already clearly better, she first destroyed the enemy king’s cover with her rook sacrifice and then forced a draw that was equal to a victory for her.

The Quarterfinals of the Women’s World Championship were concluded on November 14 with two tie-breaks: Alexandra Kosteniuk defeated Anna Muzychuk, and Zhansaya Abdumalik lost to Mariya Muzychuk.

Kosteniuk played the first game with White and obtained a promising position after the opening. Then Black managed to activate her pieces and got a strong counterplay. However, being under heavy time pressure, Muzychuk made several mistakes, giving Kosteniuk a decisive advantage.

Muzychuk started the second game with 1.f4 and got an overwhelming advantage already in the opening. However, with very tenacious defense Alexandra managed to hold a difficult endgame. Looking for possible winning chances, Muzychuk avoided a number of drawing lines, and Black even got an edge. In the end Kosteniuk secured a draw from the position of strength and advanced to the Semi-final with the overall 1.5-0.5 win.

Mariya Muzychuk started the tie-break with a Black victory: Abdumalik failed to convince in the opening and then was gradually outplayed in the endgame. In the return game Abdumalik managed to create a complicated battle. Muzychuk sacrificed a piece, but her compensation proved insufficient. With some adventures in the mutual time trouble Abdumalik converted an extra piece, and the players proceeded to “10+10” stage.

The first 10-minute game was highly dramatic. Zhansaya Abdumalik was defending for the entire game and was very close to a draw. In the endgame R+N vs R she had the right to claim a draw according to the 50-move rule, despite being mated in two moves. However, instead of claiming a draw, Abdumalik resigned. 

However, Zhansaya demonstrated her fighting spirit and came back in the second game. The match continued by two more blitz games with faster time control.

Mariya Muzychuk won the first 5+3 blitz as White, then got a much better position as Black and forced a draw by perpetual, thus advancing to the next stage.

Semi-final pairings:

Alexandra Kosteniuk-Ju Wenjun

Mariya Muzychuk-Kateryna Lagno

All players who had advanced to the Semi-final except for the future champion automatically qualified for the 2019 Women’s Candidates Tournament.

Pairings and results

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The return games of the Quarterfinals were played on November 13 in the Ugra Chess Academy.

Lei Tingjie and Kateryna Lagno entered a complex Ruy Lopez position. According to the Russian, Lei surprised her in the opening, however, Black managed to obtain a harmonious position. The Chinese made a mistake in a time trouble, and was forced to part with material. Lagno gradually overcame the resistance, won the second game as well and advanced to the semi-final.

Ju Wenjun won as Black against Gulrukhbegim Tokhirjonova. The World Champion found the strongest continuation in the position with opposite side castling, after which White had to give up a pawn. Later White made another mistake and lost even more material, however, in a clearly winning position Ju Wenjun made a mistake herself, giving White significant drawing chances. Still, Tokhirjonova’s defense of the resulting endgame was not precise, and Black eventually won this dramatic game. Ju Wenjun also proceeded to the semi-final.

Mariya Muzychuk once again showed her incredible fighting spirit, winning as Black against Zhansaya Abdumalik to equalize the match score. After the opening Muzychuk sacrificed an exchange for a pawn. The bishop pair gave Black sufficient compensation, and Muzychuk gradually outplayed her opponent in the middlegame. Abdumalik had to return the material with interest, but there was no way out for White. This match will continue on tie-break tomorrow.

Anna Muzychuk and Alexandra Kosteniuk made a second draw and will also play the tie-break.

The tie-break will start with two games with rapid time control: 25 minutes plus 10 second per move. If the match is still tied, it will continue with two slow blitz games – 10 minutes plus 10 seconds per move. After that, if the winner is still not determined, two 5+3 blitz games will follow. Finally, those matches that are still tied, will proceed to the Armageddon game.

Tie-break pairings:

A. Kosteniuk – A. Muzychuk

Z. Abdumalik – M. Muzychuk

All players in the Semifinal except the future champion qualify for the 2019 Women’s Candidates Tournament

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