Posts by: Etery

Evgeniy Najer: Who said we would have a new champion?

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Grandmaster Evgeniy Najer successfully works in women chess – he is strong grandmaster and a coach of the Russian women’s national team. He is also an excellent chess commentator. These days he is responsible for the Russian-speaking broadcasting from Khanty-Mansiysk. Those of you who understand Russian are welcome to watch his insightful streams, and for the rest of you we summed up Evgeniy’s impressions from the championship in one interview.

– Evgeniy, you joined the broadcasting team in the Round 3, but have you followed the championship from the beginning?

– Since I have known about this assignment well in advance, and being a coach of the women’s national team, I obviously followed it from the start. However, it is easier for me to discuss the things I saw during my stay here.

– What are you first impressions? Surprises, disappointments?..

– The tournament is very strong and intriguing. There are many complexand fighting games – which is quite usual. Judging by the lineup of the Quarterfinals, most of the favorites confirmed their status – first and foremost, the reigning World Champion Ju Wenjun, also Kateryna Lagno, Alexandra Kosteniuk, and Muzychuk sisters, Anna and Mariya. Some of the strong players have been eliminated – Tan Zhongyi, Humpy Koneru, Harika Dronavalli, Nana Dzagnidze, Aleksandra Goryachkina, and a few others.

– Are there any new names for you?

– There are some. The young Mobina Alinasab from Iran left a strong impression with her play. In the 3rd Round she faced Mariya Muzychuk and had reasonable chances to come through. We all should remember her name.

It goes without saying that very fewpeople expected such a powerful play from Gulrukhbegim Tokhirjonova from Uzbekistan. Just think about it: she knocked out Alina Kashlinskaya, Tan Zhongyi, and Valentina Gunina! Such a feat would be hard to repeat for many male grandmasters, and would be considered a serious achievement for anybody. Tokhirjonova had a very strong opposition and managed to advance quite far, which is remarkable. Now she faces the World Champion. If she knocks out Ju Wenjun as well, it will be a hugesensation.

Zhansaya Abdumalik is in my opinion one of the hidden favorites of the championship. Her overall victory will not be too surprising. Despite her tender age, her play has been very strong for quite a while.

– What is your impression from overall quality of the games?

– I have mixed feelings. Generally, it is not different from other tournaments of similar level. The level of play is solid, the quality of games is quite high. Particularly Ju Wenjun looks like a player without weaknesses. Others are somewhat less consistent with their play.

– Is Ju Wenjun the main favorite of the championship then?

– Although this is a knock-out event, the question whether we’ll have a new champion is legitimate. Right now I can’t imagine who can beat her or how they’ll do it. She plays very good chess and has excellent nerves. However, she is yet to play some of the main contenders, and nobody knows how their clash may end.

– Who is the main favorite for playing Ju Wenjun in the final?

– I do not dare predicting it. There are quite a few possible alternatives.

– What is the critical factor of success in a knock-out event?

– The overall success in knock-out events is largely dependent on how strong is your rapid chess. Yes, good nerves and ability to handle stress are also quite important, but strong rapid chess skill is the key.

– Being the national team coach, do you pay special attention for the Russian participants?

– Naturally, I watch them very closely, but I do not pay them extra attention as a commentator.

– How comfortable are you at the commentary booth?

– This is still a relatively new role for me. I am not completely at home sitting there alone, I prefer towork in tandem with another commentator. Then I have time to analyze the position and understand what is happening, while being alone I have to talk all the time – and this is not easy at all.

– Is it important for acommentator to give precise evaluations, or should he live through each game emotionally together with the audience?

– Do not forget that I am a player and coach first, and only then a commentator. So when I overlook that a queen wins against a passed pawn, as it happened in Kosteniuk – Harika, I feel dread. I want to succeed in everything. The required skill set overlaps with the one of a strong blitz player. Still, I enjoy this kind of work and will continue doing commentary.

– Do you consult with engines during games?

– No, because it obstructs my thinking. When I see the computer line I trust it too much and suppress my own ideas, which may be of some interest. I am unable to synchronize myself with the engine, therefore I don’t do it.

 

 

Round 4: Kateryna Lagno and Zhansaya Abdumalik begin with victories

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The Quarterfinals of the Women’s World Chess Championship started in Khanty-Mansiysk on November 12.

Kateryna Lagno celebrated a convincing victory over Lei Tingjie. The Chinese player went for a very passive opening setup as Black. White gradually developed her advantage and kept pushing even after the exchange of queens, utilizing her strong bishop pair. After white rooks broke to the 7th rank, Black’s position became totally lost. 

Former World Champion Mariya Muzychuk, playing White, lost to the 18-year-old Zhansaya Abdumalik. The Ukrainian sacrificed a pawn for the initiative and soon regained the material with interest. However, holding onto the extra pawn was difficult because of the insecure position of her king. Abdumalik utilized a first clear inaccuracy of her opponent, delivering a nice tactical shot. Muzychuk lost a piece and resigned on the 57th move.

A. Kosteniuk-A. Muzychuk ended in a draw. In the Sveshnikov/Chelyabinsk variation of the Sicilian, Black sacrificed a pawn, obtaining sufficient counterplay in return. A draw was agreed after series of exchanges.

Another rising star of the championship, Gulrukhbegim Tokhirjonova successfully held as Black against Ju Wenjun. The World Champion had an advantage after the opening, but it somehow evaporated in the middlegame. The resulting rook ending with an extra pawn to White was drawn, and the players signed a peace treaty soon after the control move.

The second games of the round will be played on November 13, the tie-breaks will follow on the next day.

All the semifinalists except the future champion will qualify for the upcoming 2019 Women’s Candidates Tournament.

Pairings and results 

Photos 

Videos 

 

Anatoly Bykhovsky: Junior chess is booming worldwide

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Anatoly Bykhovsky, Honored Trainer of USSR, International Arbiter, and member of the Appeals Committee at the Women’s World Championship, met with 18 chess teachers of Khanty-Mansiysk schools and the Ugra Chess Academy. They discussed development of junior chess, demand for teaching chess as a part of the school curriculum, and participation in the Open All-Russian competition Belaya Ladya. The final tournament of the Belaya Ladya celebrates its 50th anniversary next year.

Anatoly Avraamovich noted that he did not want to give a lecture, but wanted to exchange thoughts on the current state of junior chess. To underscore the dynamic changes in junior chess, Mr. Bykhovsky recalled that when he was starting his chess career, there were no international junior events at all, and even a couple of decades later the chess calendar only featured a biennial U20 championship – a sharp contrast with numerous junior and scholastic events of the modern day. “Junior chess is booming, not only in Russia, but worldwide”, summed up Mr. Bykhovsky. “Chess comes to schools, funding keeps growing – everything is great. However, it is important to organize the work and develop the right strategy”.

The greater part of the meeting was dedicated to the history and development of the Belaya Ladya. Anatoly Bykhovsky was one of the founding fathers of the competition, and shared his conceptual view: “I realized that chess must be promoted with a competition that will draw everyone’s attention. I expected the Belaya Ladya to get an impulse from schoolchildren who take part in it, not from above.”

The tournament exists for nearly 50 years, and its final became international in 2015. The number of participants from abroad is growing each year, but Mr. Bykhovsky has an even more ambitious dream – to carry out the World Scholastic Chess Olympiad some day.

During the concluding part of the meeting, Mr. Bykhovsky exchanged ideas with the audience. They touched upon various scholastic chess topics, from teaching chess at schools to organizing the Belaya Ladya qualifying tournaments. In the end Anatoly Avraamovich received a commemorative gift from the Ugra Chess Academy.

Round 3 Review

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At the previous stage, 50 % of the matches had ended in tie-breaks; in the third round, their number increased to 75%. The struggle in the tie-breaks was more vigorous as well: in 2 matches out of 8, 25-minute games were not enough to determine a winner.

 

The reigning World Champion’s advance into quarterfinals was the most confident of them all. Playing with Black in the first game against Zhai Mo, Ju Wenjun had easily solved her opening problems, then refuted the exchange sacrifice attempted by her fellow countrywoman precisely and realized her advantage. In the return duel, Ju played out the leak-proof Maroczy Bind, not giving her opponent a single chance at sharpening the play.

 

The only other player to secure an extra day-off for herself was M. Muzychuk. However, in the first game against sensational Alinasab, the former World Champion escaped by a hair. Having deviated from theoretical mainline in the Chelyabinsk Variation, Muzychuk did not show activity in the center on time and found herself a pawn down in a bad position. After the game transposed into a queen ending, the Iranian successfully managed to hide her king from checks for a long time, while simultaneously pushing her outside pawn.

 

M. Alinasab–M. Muzychuk

 

 

Actually, Alinasab was one accurate move away from win – 49.Kh2! and so on, for example, 49…Qxe3 (49…Qe1 50.Qxf6) 50.Qg6+ Kd7 51.h7 Qf4+ 52.Kh3 Qe3+ 53.g3 Qg1 54.Qg7+ Kd6 55.Qxf6+ Kd5 56.h8Q.

White was too hasty with advancing her pawn, and after 49.h7? Qh1+ 50.Kg3 Qe1+ 51.Kg4 Qd1+ 52.Kg3 Qe1+ 53.Kf4 Qf1+ 54.Kxe4 Qc4+!, her king found itself in a rather spacious cage with no way out. Adrawbyperpetualcheck.

 

On the next day, it was already Alinasab who went for a continuation that theory does not exactly approve of. Muzychuk, following her sister’s game from the Ukrainian Championship of 2014, gained an advantage because of Black’s chronic pawn weaknesses and her king’s exposure. Subsequently, White loosened up the opponent’s position with her clever maneuvers and finished the matter with a combinational storm.

 

After the first day, it looked like А. Muzychuk was not going to have serious obstacles on her way to the next round. Her fifth consecutive championship win was a wipeout. The opening pattern was the same: playing Black in the Petrov Defense she was unaccustomed to, Stefanova turned off from mainstream highway to a side road for some reason  and lost control of her “vehicle.” She was late with developing her queenside pieces, then allowed white rooks to invade along the central file in a picturesque fashion and suffered great material losses.

 

A. Muzychuk – A. Stefanova

 

 

However, in the second game Muzychuk, after obtaining comfortable play, made several ill-considered moves on the kingside, slightly panicked and gave up a pawn. In the ending, she had chances for a draw but kept on playing nervously, and Stefanova realized her advantage.

In the first tiebreaker, the former World Champion’s rook got lost on the kingside, but Muzychuk chose a far-from-perfect continuation and had to return material presently, resigning herself to a draw.

With White, Stefanova entered a variation where she had lost a blitz game to Koneru once and stood worse as early as on the move 12. Later, hoping for her queen’s counterattacking sortie, she allowed black pieces to take threatening positions in the neighborhood of the white king’s residence but overlooked a powerful blow. Muzychuk mated in several moves.

 

Young Asian chess players keep on bringing pleasant surprises.

Tokhirjonova won her first game against Gunina after the latter, wishing to avoid from drawing continuations, allowed White to create a passed pawn and then to advance it with a decisive effect.

In the opening of the return game, the Uzbek girl made her opponent a present of both bishop pair and initiative and then temporarily sacrificed a pawn in the early middle game when her king’s position was insecure. It was more than enough for Gunina – after her breakthrough in the center, the opponent’s position crumbled.

Tokhirjonova won the opening battle in the first 25-minute game and gained an active setup. In order to finish development of her kingside, Gunina gave up a pawn and attempted to overtake the initiative with a bishop thrust.

 

G. Tokhirjonova – V. Gunina

 

 

By means of an exchange combination 21.Rxd7 Rxd7 22.Nc5! Ka8 (there is a threat of Na6+) 23.Bxd7 Bxc1 24.Bxe8 Bxe8 25.Qc3 (engine points out that 25.Qg8 is even stronger), White managed to retain her extra pawn and magnify her positional edge. Soon another tactical operation followed, after which queens disappeared from the board, and Black found herself two more pawns down.

Faced with necessity of striking back for a second time, Gunina launched an unprepared attack in the universally known Queen’s Indian tabia, and this tactics nearly scored a success for her. Having taken two pawns, Tokhirjonova neglected to take measures to secure her king’s safety, and White obtained a chance to continue her assault. However, Gunina immediately made a mistake of allowing another exchange combination. In the end of the forced variation, Black, by means of a clever trick, managed to retain both her material and positional advantage, so there was never a risk of her losing in the unequal battle that followed. With her final blunder, the Russian player allowed the black pawn to queen.

 

In the middle game of the first regular duel, Abdumalik carried out an unsuccessful knight’s transfer. Zawadzka gained an advantage that became decisive after a couple of other aimless Black’s moves and counterraid of white equestrian was far more effective.

In the second game, the Kazakh player played out the Ruy López in the spirit of the Danish Gambit. Zawadzka did not go for material gains and obtained a decent position, but in the interval from move 19 to 24, almost every her decision was at best second-rated. White activated her forces dramatically, regained the second of the sacrificed pawns and, after another error, set about harvesting.

In the first 25-minute game, Zawadzka played out the much-obliging Center Counter Defense, but neglected to develop her forces harmoniously. As a result, Abdumalik had a considerable edge by the move 15. She kept developing her initiative with strong and natural moves, and soon her opponent’s position became somewhat tragicomic.

 

Z. Abdumalik – J. Zawadzka

 

 

Black’s resistance did not last long.

In the next game, Abdumalik’s original treatment of the Scottish Opening allowed her to equalize quickly. Zawadzka’s exchange sacrifice did not work out for her, and so the character of the following struggle never left any doubt as to its favorable for Black outcome. Nevertheless, for one brief moment there was a glimpse of an off-screen variation that promised hope of a revenge to the Polish player.

 

Galliamova and Lei Tingjie quickly drew in both their regular games.

In the first tiebreaker, the Russian gained a solid spatial advantage, the importance of which decreased after all the knights had left the board. Then Lei lured her opponent with an exchange sacrifice and got free play as a compensation. White’s position became difficult for playing out in a rapid game, and a careless advance of her king resulted in a decisive loss of material.

Playing with Black, Galliamova kept provoking her opponent into demonstrating excessive activity, but never succeeded. She became overzealous and was left a pawn down without any compensation. Lei, in her turn, was nearly pulled down with her eagerness to simplify, but immediately after exchange of the queens that gave Black a chance to confuse the game, Galliamova committed her final error.

 

Kosteniuk had to work hard to neutralize Harika’s initiative in the first regular game. On the next day, the Indian managed to solve her problems with black color more easily.

After exchange of the queens in the first 25-minute game, the former World Champion eliminated the isolated black pawn, but Harika’s defense was so stubborn that White seemed unable to retain her last pawns on the board.

 

A. Kosteniuk – H. Dronavalli

 

 

To a draw led 57…Bb6, and 58.Bd4 is met with the bishop’s retreat along the diagonal а5-d8. Black chose a fundamentally different continuation.

57…h4? 58.Bd4 Bxd4. With bishops on the board, there is already no draw– 58…Bb8 59.b6 Kg3 60.Bf6!, and the only possibility to take the g2-pawn is to trade it for the h4 one.

59.Kxd4 Kg3 60.b6 Kxg2 61.b7 h3 62.b8Q h2. Black pawn is on the “correct” file; however, white king is too close to the scene.

63.Qb2+ Kg1 64.Ke3. After black queen appears on the board, White mates.

 

In the next game, Kosteniuk got tangled up in an even more inoffensive endgame and  the score was tied.

In the first 10-minute game, Harika failed to benefit from her far-advanced central pawn. Her rook was seven moves late with appearing on the d-file; during this time, her passed pawn had turned from an asset to a weakness, and Black was unable to hold the resultant rook endgame.

In the final game of the match, Kosteniuk, with her precise energetic moves, managed to retain the Catalan gambit pawn. She had lost a share of her advantage in the endgame, but Harika could only dream of a chance to win anyway.

 

Lagno and Pogonina were the first pair to go into blitz tie-breaks– and were unable to determine the winner even then.

The struggle in the first four games was level and not particularly colorful, so all of them ended in draws. In the second regular game, Lagno had an accidental opportunity to gain an advantage directly before control; Pogonina should have transposed into an endgame with a doubled extra pawn in the first 25-minute duel. With 10-minute control, slipups became more serious, but still both tiebreakers ended in draws.

The first blitz game was smoothly rolling to another peaceful harbor when Pogonina first gave up a pawn in the major-piece ending for no reason at all and then overlooked transition into a king-and-pawn one.

The return 5-minute game was full of blunders, which is both understandable and forgivable. Pogonina, who possessed the initiative, kept missing continuations that won instantly; Lagno kept wasting her drawing chances.

Here is only one (and final) episode for you:

 

N. Pogonina – K. Lagno

 

 

Several moves ago, White has automatically replied to а6-а5 with а2-а4; now it could have backfired on her after 65…Rg6 66.f7 Rg3+!

But Black chooses 65…Rb8? 66.f7 Rf8 67.Kh4. 1-0.

 

In the Armageddon game, luck was with Lagno who played White. After long Spanish maneuvers, she offered exchange of the queens that objectively led to a difficult endgame; more than that, she had practically none of her extra time left by that moment. However, the outside passed pawn created as a result of this exchange had the last say eventually.

Igor Lysyj: Coach is always responsible for the loss

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Grandmaster from Yekaterinburg helps Valentina Gunina, but is rarely seen in the playing hall. After all, he was invited not to show off, but to forge sharp opening weapons for his player.

– Igor, is it tough to be a coach?

– To begin with,  I consider myself a second, not a coach. In my opinion, there is a marked difference. A second helps his player during a competition or training camp, and works on openings only. A coach has a greater goal of improving the player’s overall skill. I have never coached anyone except myself.

– What is your responsibility here?

– Opening work. Obtaining comfortable positions as Black. There are many playable lines, but I need to pick those that suit my player’s style. As for playing White, I must find the lines that do not lead to a forced draw after the move 15. 

– Is today’s chess much different from what it was ten years ago?
– The main difference is in volume of information, which grows in geometric progression. For instance, a single line in the Nimzo-Indian Defense today requires as much time as the entire opening a decade ago. Also, building a base repertoire as Black is much easier than ever before.

– Why is that? Because the computers have improved?

– There are many more engines, and they’ve gotten stronger. Also, a high quality correspondence databases are now available. In before you had to discover a lot on your own, often through painful trial and error approach.

– So, the gap between strong and average grandmasters has diminished?
– Only in the opening. In the past elite players were far ahead, but now one can get much closer to them through high quality work with the computer. Modern players understand promising and unpromising directions of play much better.

– What about other stages of the game?

– Well, this revolution had nearly no influence on the middlegame. As soon as the players, even elite grandmasters, begin to play on their own, they make mistakes on nearly every move.

 

– To sum up, the computers help us finding the best moves quicker…

– Not the best moves, no. The computers help us avoiding bad moves, we aren’t wasting time on those anymore. However, finding the most promising and also sensible move from the list of acceptable ones is, according to Emil Sutovsky (and I agree with him), a true test of skill of a chess analyst.

– How often do you pass this test?

– Sometimes I manage to discover something interesting. Once I showed a fresh idea in the Chinese League. In half a year Karjakin used it against Anand in the Candidates tournament and won a good game. Almost immediately the idea was employed by a hundred players!

– How deeply do you have to dig? Are we talking about improvements beyond the 20th move? Or earlier?

– It is better to find a new idea as early as possible. Recently the London System became fashionable, the 1.Nf3 d5 2.e3opening is also gaining popularity, and so on. However, sometimes one can find new ideas in well-developed schemes.

– How do you find where to look?

– We all have our inner compass, positional understanding, and intuition that relies upon our analytical experience.

– And how do you decide whether a certain idea will work for your player?
– It’s simple – she must understand the ideas behind maneuvers, know things to desire and to fear.

 

– Does the player have a say in picking the opening line?

– Of course, this is totally her responsibility. She knows her likes and dislikes better than anyone. However, even if I do a good job, but the result of the game is unsatisfactory, I do not feel particularly pleased. 

– Who is responsible for the loss?

– Coach is always responsible for the loss. And the player is the one to take a credit for a win.

– What happens if the player does not like the line you prepared?

– I can always offer it to someone else or use it myself. However, usually you begin to understand your  player’s favorite type of positions fairly quickly, after a couple of days of intensive work.

Our approach must always be based on the player’s personality. Sometimes you should analyze everything together, sometimes you do the work yourself and send the analysis with detailed explanations – there is no substitute to words. Sending computer lines without human annotations in totally inefficient.

– How do they manage to memorize everything?

– Some people have better memory than others, but it is always easier to remember something explained with words. Bare variations are nearly impossible to memorize.

– What is the most satisfying moment in your work?

– When the game is finished, the result is right, your player did everything you had planned, and the opponent made a mistake you had expected. Then you realize you’ve made an impact.

– How important for a coach to be near the player?

– Sometimes I work via Skype, and the difference in my efficiency is huge. When you are near the player, it is often sufficient to look in her eyes to realize whether she understands you or not.

 

Round 3 of world championship is over

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The tie-break of the Women’s World Championship was played on November 11 in Khanty-Mansiysk.

The 19-year-old Gulrukhbegim Tokhirjonova surprisingly defeated the higher rated Valentina Gunina. Tokhirjonova won both rapid games in sharp tactical struggle, which is usually considered Gunina’s territory.

Lei Tingjie was stronger than Alisa Galliamova in both 25-minute games and advanced to the Quarterfinal.

Anna Muzychuk and Antoaneta Stefanova drew their first game. In the second game Muzychuk played Black and celebrated a victory, joining her sister at the next stage.

Zhansaya Abdumalik convincingly defeated Jolanta Zawadzka in the first game, and secured a draw from the position of strength in the second game. The player from Kazakhstan is also in the Quarterfinal.

Alexandra Kosteniuk outplayed Harika Dronavalli in the first rapid game, but did not manage to hold a slightly worse endgame in the second one. In 10+10 blitz games the Russian was stronger in the first game and confidently drew the second one, thus advancing to the 4th round.

Natalija Pogonina and Kateryna Lagno produced the first Armageddon at the Championship. They made two draws in rapid chess and moved on to blitz. Long blitz games brought another two draws. In 5+3 games the players exchanged blows: Natalija lost the first game, but showed her famous fighting spirit and came back in the second one. In the “sudden death” game Kateryna Lagno took White and managed to outplay her opponent in the endgame.

Quarterfinal pairings:

Ju Wenjun – Gulrukhbegim Tokhirjonova

Mariya Muzychuk – Zhansaya Abdumalik

Kateryna Lagno – Lei Tingjie

Alexandra Kosteniuk – Anna Muzychuk

Pairings and results

Photos

Video

Ruslan Scherbakov: One should not get fixated on the opening alone

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The graduate and trainer of the famous Panchenko School Ruslan Scherbakov got lucky – his student is eager to work hard. Even after Dinara Saduakassova got eliminated from the World Championship, she only gave her coach three free days.

– Ruslan, you are a player of classical upbringing. What can you say about modern chess?

– It has changed quite a lot, to put it mildly. We have a lot less time to sleep and need to work constantly. General recommendations no longer cut it, people need exact assessments and concrete ideas. Everyone works on the computer, and the overall level of play has lifted up considerably. If you don’t work as hard as the others, you will be punished.

– Do you approve these changes?

– In general, I don’t like them. I prefer the old times with more human thought and ideas. The computer taught players to defend properly, it helps to solve problems faster, it demands precision. Also, thanks to the computer, the players grew more critical of their opponents’ moves. They don’t trust human judgment as much as before!

– Did the computer change any fundamental ideas about the game?

– The most important things remain the same – development, importance of the center, king’s safety. Some strategic aspects have evolved, and everything became much more concrete, from the very start of the game.

Rusland Scherbakov in the centre

– What is the key part of the preparation?

– Professionals mainly work on their openings. Also each opponent is being scrutinized: what does she play, where she can go, where we can lay a trap, which positions are causing discomfort for her… My task is to give my players comfortable positions that are uncomfortable for their opponents.

– How do you distinguish between promising and unpromising lines?

– Our judgment has been strongly influenced by the computer. In the past many positions were dropped off because they did not look safe; now you can not afford to rely on your gut – everything must be proven by concrete analysis. Therefore, we must not trust our first impression. Even a dangerous looking position may in fact be quite playable. And the list of those grows each year.

– But many openings are no longer played!

– Right, but many more have returned to life! Especially in rapid chess, where people often play very suspiciously looking lines and get away with it. People dig deeper and work harder than ever.

1987. Photo: V. Levitin

– What else do you do as a coach at this tournament?

– During the event it is too late to fix general strategy. It is time for such things as offering tactical puzzles and analyzing games.

– What makes you think you did your job right?

– I did the job right when my player is confident at every stage of the game, from a complicated opening to a technical endgame. One should not get fixated on the opening alone, although many players spend up to 80% of their effort preparing.

– Do you usually work at the tournaments in person or prefer long distance help?

– Usually I work from home, using Skype. However, no matter how much you try, it is impossible to do some things when you are not present personally, when you feel your player much better and find the right words much quicker.

– Do you follow the games from the playing hall?

– No; you cannot help, but you can hurt. The player can easily get nervous, misreading your face. When I am in the playing hall, I normally don’t even look at my player.

– You work with both men and women. Is there a difference?

– I mostly work with women. They require much more detailed explanation of variations and ideas. Men absorb information quicker, understand it more clearly, remember and utilize the ideas more efficiently. Top female players, by the way, play much tougher chess, more like men’s.

When discussing openings, you can share your doubts with men, but doing it with women is not advisable, because they may lose confidence, which will adversely affect their play. You should compliment women much more, tell them they did everything right – especially if this was not the case! It will help them believe in themselves. Men cannot care less about such things, and if you try complimenting them, they will look at you suspiciously. They aren’t that bothered about criticism, too.

– What is your impression of Dinara Saduakassova?

– She has good potential, but obviously needs to work a lot. She always does everything properly and gives everything away at the board, no matter how difficult is the situation. She never gives up; in Khanty-Mansiysk she saved two very difficult positions. Looking at them, I was thinking I’d have hard time defending, despite I have always been considered a very good defender. For such student I really want to do my best!

– Did you feel sad when she got eliminated that early?

– I did. However, it is not a tragedy. Her time will come. I like that Dinara always wants to work more. I barely persuaded her to give me a couple of days off after the championship! Such approach is the best way to success.

Two quarterfinalists are determined, six tie-breaks are ahead

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The return games of the third round of the Women’s World Championship were played on November 10.

The reigning World Champion Ju Wenjun was first to advance to the Quarterfinals, drawing the second game with her 22-year-old compatriotZhai Mo and thus securing the overall match win.

Former World Champion Mariya Muzychuk eliminated the most sensational player of the first two rounds, the 18-year-old Mobina Alinasab. In the second game of the match the Ukrainian got an advantage after the opening, gradually improved her position and won a good fighting game, winning the match 1.5 to 0.5.

Valentina Gunina managed to level the score against Gulrukhbegim Tokhirjonova, and the outcome of the match will be decided on the tie-break tomorrow. According to the Russian, this will be her first tie-break ever.

The 18-year-old Zhansaya Abdumalik, who plays her first World Championship, also succeeded in coming back in her match against Jolanta Zawadzka. The fight will be continued on the tie-break.

After a lengthy struggle Antoaneta Stefanova squeezed a victory over Anna Muzychuk, thus tying the match score and advancing to the tie-breaks.

The classical part of the matches Harika-Kosteniuk, Lagno-Pogonina, and Galliamova-Lei Tingjie ended in draws, rapid and possibly blitz games to follow tomorrow.

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:

Pogonina-Lagno

Tokhirjonova-Gunina

Galliamova-Lei Tingjie

Kosteniuk-Harika

Abdumalik-Zawadzka

A. Muzychuk-Stefanova

Results 

Photos 

Videos 

 

Valentina Gunina: I have never played tie-breaks at the World Championships

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Valentina Gunina (Russia) equalized the match against Gulrukhbegim Tokhirjonova (Uzbekistan) and told us about it.

— Valentina, please tell us about the course of the second game.

— It was a nerve-wrecking game, because I needed a win. Luckily, I had White. Yesterday I managed to lose despite the position on the board was drawn.

— At what point during the second game you realized you were winning?

— At the very end (laughs). Actually, it only becomes apparent when the kings are put at the center of the board, demonstrating the outcome, because the pressure is enormous. Also, I have never played tie-breaks at the World Championships, so it will surely be intriguing.

— How did you prepare for the fight after a painful loss yesterday?

— I have a great support group. In the morning we were preparing for three hours straight, so I am feeling little dizzy now.

 

Zahar Efimenko: You must not tell girls anything negative!

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Few coaches of the championship participants decided to arrive to Khanty-Mansiysk in person. The Ukrainian grandmaster Zahar Efimenko, coach of the 18-year-old Zhansaya Abdumalik, is one of them. Personal presence seems to work – Abdumalik played very convincingly in the first two rounds.

– Zahar, how big a role plays a coach in modern chess?

– I think having a coach becomes increasingly important. The amount of information grows constantly, and it is hard to deal with it on one’s own. There must be someone who will prepare guidelines for the upcoming game.

– These days coaches often do not travel with their players, relying on long distance help. Why are you in Khanty-Mansiysk?

– I think having a coach near you is always better. I can quickly react to any changes of the situation, much quicker than another coach working via Skype. For instance, a tie-break is underway, and you need to come up with an opening improvement. It is nearly impossible to do that from home, while here I can just come with my laptop and help.

– Is it important for Zhansaya to see the familiar face of her trainer in the playing hall, to sense your confidence?

– It is indeed important for her. We had a discussion before the championship whether I should join her in Khanty-Mansiysk, and she basically insisted on that. She need both chess and psychological help. When I am near, she feels more confident. And I am happy to do anything to make her play better. Her mother always sits among spectators. I stay there for an hour or so, and then leave to work.

– How did chess change from the trainer’s point of view?

– Chess became more concrete, accurate, computerized; general plans and broad evaluations are not longer in use. The coach must do all the preparatory work for the player and provide him with definite answers. After all, everybody has the same engines, but not everybody can use them in the proper way. And you have to dissect each position you are recommending, listing dangerous and safe directions of play.

Back when Sergey Karjakin and I worked for Kramnik, we arrived at the position with three possible continuations, each evaluated at 0.00. Karjakin asked: “Vladimir Borisovich, where should we go?” Kramnik looked at him and replied: “Serge, but this is why I gave this computer to you, not to Mary Ann from across the street”. Picking the right option is a skill.

Of course, psychological help and other aspects are important as well, but a good trainer makes the difference, seeing what others cannot.

– Does being an active chess player help your coaching?

– Without a doubt. I play these positions myself and can judge, which lines are promising and which are dead end.

– What is the difference between good work and bad work?

– You need to dig deep. I learned that working with Kramnik – examining the position from both sides, finding hidden resources for both sides. And the most important thing is that your player must have excellent understanding of what she will do next. Some trainers I know do not give evaluations at all – they just send their players a block of analyses: deal with it! To me, this is bad work.

– Do you have to attempt changing your player’s chess personality?

– It depends. In my opinion, a coach must be able to find weakness of his player and try to eliminate them. For example, previously Zhansaya worked with Chuchelov, who taught her some openings she continues to use now. I do not force her to learn new stuff, only help her dealing with the weaknesses I see. However, if we decide she needs to learn a new opening, we will do that.

Applying the same approach to both Kramnik and Abdumalik would make no sense. They need different amount of information, different depth of analysis. Of course, I could prepare Zhansaya the way I would prepare Kramnik, but she would be unable to remember and use it all.

– How the players manage to remember such a load of variations?

– It is a common problem, and everybody approaches it in their own way. However, there is a general tendency to play more simple lines. Very few people continue to employ the Botvinnik variation or the sharpest lines of the Meran. Everybody chooses the Italian, the Petroff, the Berlin, or not very challenging setups like Nf3, g3, b3.

– Is that because people do not want to take risks or cannot remember everything in sharper openings?

– The latter, I think. One can usually prepare something sharp for one or two games, but remembering it all in the long run is difficult. Therefore they opt for safety.

– You worked with both men and women. Is there a difference in your approach?

– Well… You must not tell girls anything offensive or negative. It is a very big stress for them. Men, on the contrary, often gain motivation from negative commentary, begin to work harder to overcome the problem. With women you should be more accurate with words. For example, you can tell her that she is very talented, but needs to improve a certain area a little bit (smiles).

– And what about psychology and motivation?

– In women’s chess psychological preparation is about 50% of the success! Having a good mood is sometimes more important that an opening preparation. You need to give your player a boost of confidence. This is less important for men – they’ll be all right if they had a good sleep and quality preparation.

Women also need more help after the games, especially after losses. They need to regain confidence, forget about the defeat, must not lose control of emotions. Chess competition is a long and enduring process and is rarely decided by a single poor game.

Round 3 begins in Khanty-Mansiysk

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The first games of the Round 3 of the Women’s World Championship were played in the Ugra Chess Academy on November 9.

 Antoaneta Stefanova suffered an opening disaster against Anna Muzychuk. According to the Ukrainian chess player, facing the Petrov Defense was rather surprising. “I am not sure whether Antoaneta ever played this opening before, and she clearly was not ready for the variation I chose. Her 9th move was inaccurate and allowed me to seize space and obtain a good game”, said Anna afterwards. 

Already around the move 15 Black was in a serious trouble, and White successfully utilized advantages of her position. The former World Champion resigned on the move 26, unable to defend against mating threats.

Gulrukhbegim Tokhirjonova produced a mild sensation beating Valentina Gunina. Their game was double-edged, but in the mutual time trouble the Russian probably overestimated her chances, refusing a number of drawing options, made a fatal mistake and lost very quickly.

Jolanta Zawadzka surprised Zhansaya Abdumalik in the opening and got a promising position as White. The grandmaster from Poland produced a quality strategic game, won an exchange and eventually celebrated a win.

Ju Wenjun had Black against Zhai Mo. The younger Chinese player miscalculated a combination in the middlegame, lost an exchange, and was unable to survive.

Mobina Alinasab obtained a serious advantage after the opening against Mariya Muzychuk, and methodically applied pressure against Black’s position. The game transposed to a queen ending with an extra pawn to White, however, when Alinasab was on a brink of a victory, she committed a big mistake, allowing Black to survive with a rather miraculous perpetual check.

Alexandra Kosteniuk held as Black against Harika Dronavalli, defending a difficult endgame without a pawn.

Galliamova-Lei Tingjie and Pogonina-Lagno also ended peacefully.

The second games of the round will be played on Saturday, November 10. The tied matches will proceed to the tie-breaks on November 11.

Games and results 

Photos 

Videos 

 

Round 2 Review

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In the half of the second round matches, winners were determined during regular games – and a fair share of those results turned out to be somewhat surprising.

 

Let us begin with duels where favorites were victorious.

 

In the first game of the match Ju Wenjunvs. Krush, an early exchange of the queens occurred, after which Black’s play was too artless and passive. Her pawn majority on the queenside had never started to advance; meanwhile, White consistently launched her attack on the opposite flank. A classic textbook example of the endgame technique from the World Champion! On the next day, the many times Champion of the USA managed to organize considerable pressure against her opponent’s position, but then allowed several exchanges of pieces and her chances for a revenge evaporated.

 

Playing with White against A. Muzychuk, Bodnaruk chose a rare branch of the Chelyabinsk Variation connected with exchange sacrifice; however, after starting her play on the kingside, she let the initiative pass to the opponent. Muzychuk promptly forced exchange of the queens and realized her material advantage with confidence.

In the second game, a complex position arose in the ending of the opening. After the Russian player had neglected to eliminate White’s far-advanced pawn in time, her pieces lost any coordination whatsoever, so the finalist of the latest knockout championship was not slow in launching her decisive assault.

 

Gunina, who had a highly favorable personal record against Ushenina, did not set any serious problem before her opponent with White, so a quiet draw was declared. In the second game, she had a dangerous cramped position at first, but pawn exchanges initiated by her Ukrainian opponent allowed activation of black pieces. An attempted attack on the kingside was quickly stopped in its tracks; Ushenina gave up a pawn on the queenside but gained no compensation for it at all, and her position crumpled in several moves.

 

A formal favorite of the pair Galliamova vs. Goryachkina was the younger woman; nevertheless, the famous chess player once again demonstrated top class. Playing White, she prepared a plan with queenside castling in the Meran Variation that had been tested only once before that. After Goryachkina refused to trade her “good” bishop for the enemy knight, Galliamova gave it up for the “bad” black bishop herself. As a result, White promptly created concrete threats and, by means of a many-move combinational maneuver, won a piece.

 

A. Galliamova – A. Goryachkina

 

 

22.Bc6! c4 (22…Qxc6? 23.Ne7+) 23.Bxa8 Rxa8 24.f4! Bxf4 25.Rxd7! Nxd7 26.Ne7+ Kh8 27.Nd5 Qc5 28.Nxf4and although Black was unwilling to resign for a long time after that, she had to accept the inevitable in the end.

In the second game, Goryachkina sacrificed her pawn incorrectly in the complex double-edged position. White’s attack came to nothing, and Galliamova won again.

 

A success of a player who has made an essential contribution to the Olympic triumph of the Chinese team is hardly a sensation, but still, she has beaten another player with a rating over 2500. In the first game of the match Dzagnidze-Lei Tingjie,Black easily equalized, while in the second one, the Georgian quite unreasonably gave up a pawn and the Chinese girl cashed in on her material advantage with confidence.

 

In another Chinese-Georgian confrontation, the representative of the former Celestial Empire also emerged victorious. In the first game, Zhai Mo’s faltering performance in the early middle game led to Batsiashvili’s gaining a formidable offensive position, but then Black made an error either in calculation or in execution of her planned variation.

 

Zhai Mo – N. Batsiashvili

 

 

24…d4? Correct is 24…Ng5, threatening with sacrifice on h3, and only as a reply to 25.Nf1 – 25…d4. White king would be in for hard times.

25.Nxe4 Bxe4 26.Qxc5 Bd6? Better is 26…Qb7, and, to play for a win after 27.Rxd4 Re8 28.f3 Bxf3, White has to find intermediate 29.Rb4 Qa8 30.Rxb8 Qxb8 31.gxf3 Rxh3 32.Nf4 Rxf3 33.Bf2.

27.Qxd4! The queen is indirectly defended – 27…Bh2+ 28.Kxh2 Rxd4 29.Rc8+, and White is left two pawns up.

In the return game, Batsiashvili overlooked a simple tactics in a complicated but roughly level position and lost an exchange.

 

Thus, Zhai Mo and A. Muzychuk both have four wins to their credit.

 

Alinasab from Iran continues her sensational victory march. In the first game, Socko sacrificed a pawn in an opening variation where White usually plays more reservedly. After failing to find an active continuation, she won back the material in the situation where Black had a bishop pair, an open line and an excellent outpost for her knight. Her positional edge was rapidly increasing, and the Polish player blundered away a piece in an already hopeless position.

Alinasab was careless in her handling the opening with White and presented her opponent with an excellent chance for a revenge. However, after winning a pawn, Socko lost the thread of the game, and her undeveloped queenside suffered a powerful storm. As a result, the score was two to nil.

 

Zawadzka’s win over Koneru was another great surprise. The Indian drew easily with Black, but then lowered her guard with White in a level position and allowed the enemy queen into her back ranks. After missing several opportunities to finish the game then and there, Zawadzka eventually managed to realize her advantage in the minor-piece ending.

 

In eight matches tie-breaks were played and, just as in the 1st round, only in one of them 25-minute games were not enough to determine a winner.

 

In the pair Atalik–M.Muzychuk, the former World Champion really had a great streak of luck. In the first game, she underestimated dangers of the minor-piece ending that arose after a tactical skirmish and had to give up a piece for Black’s passed pawn. Atalik overcame technical difficulties and in the ending managed to mate the lonely enemy king with her knight and bishop on move 122.

In the return game, Muzychuk’s king was feeling lonely again, but this time on the board crammed with pieces: in the heat of the fight, almost all his subjects had left for the queenside. White, on the contrary, had concentrated considerable forces on the kingside and, following her opponent’s error, obtained an excellent opportunity to finish the match in regular time.

 

E. Atalik – M. Muzychuk

 

 

To a win leads 28.Nxd6. If 28…exd6 29.e7 Kh8 30.Qe6 Be5 31.Bxd5, then the game ends in a wipeout; and after both 28…Qxa2 29.Nxc8 and 28…Qxd6 29.Bf4, an extra exchange would be more than sufficient.

White preferred 28.Nh5 Ne4,and here, instead of cool-headed29.Bb3 that allowed to retain great advantage, played 29.Nf4?, hoping to get to the king through a sacrifice to g6. After 29…Qxa2 30.Nxg6 Qxf2+, she withdrew with 31.Kh1in order to avoid an exchange of the queens in case of31.Kh2 Qg3+. However, Black found a sobering continuation 31…Qe1+! 32.Rxe1 Nf2+ 33.Kh2 Nxg4+ 34.hxg4 hxg6, winning a piece.

 

On the third day, Atalik played a strong third game with Black, making the Ukrainian player worry about maintaining equilibrium in the endgame. With White, she employed a recent novelty in the Slav Gambit system that has brought his convincing win over Dreev to Sarana, but, for reasons unknown, deviated from the original as early as on the next move. Muzychuk replied with a combinational blow that gained her a material advantage. The position remained sharp, but Black still won with confidence.

 

The continued presence of another former World Champion in Khanty-Mansiysk was also in doubt. Kosteniuk failed to gain anything against Ni Shiqun with White, and the game was drawn after fruitless endgame maneuvering. Also in the return game, there was a protracted positional struggle with equal chances, but before control, the Russian overlooked a pawn jab on the queenside that changed the pattern for the benefit of White. After further inaccuracies in the knight-versus-bishop ending, the following position arose:

 

Ni Shiqun – A. Kosteniuk

 

 

White could have played 49.f5! and then dealt with the d5-pawn. Counterattack 49…Ba6 50.Nb4 Bf1 could not save Black, for example, 51.Nxd5 Bxh3 52.Kd4 Bg2 (52…Bxg4 53.Nf6+, and the bishop is lost; 52…Kd8 53.Ne3, and it is under arrest) 53.c6, and king gets to d6 with a win.

Instead, there followed immediate 49.Nb4? f5! 50.Nxd5 Kd8. Pawn exchanges are now inevitable, so the Chinese player forces a draw with 51.Nf6 Kc7 52.Nd5+ Kd8 53.Nf6 Kc7 54.Nd5+.

 

Playing for Black during tie-break, Ni Shiqun was first to veer off from the beaten track in the Petroff Defense, but she failed to achieve the comfort she had enjoyed during regular games. The Chinese recklessly pushed her pawns and got into a bad position. Kosteniuk had to show grit and technique in the queen ending, but managed to cash in on her extra pawn eventually. In the second game, the former Champion of the World once again outplayed her opponent convincingly, but it ended on a low note: Black chose the variation that threw away the win, but White missed the saving move and resigned. Nevertheless, Kosteniuk generally played very competently during tie-breaks.

 

In the first regular game of the match Lagno vs. Hoang Thanh Trang, Black went in for a not-quite-correct pawn sacrifice, but after mutual inaccuracies, managed to slip into a major-piece ending with pawns on the same flank. Despite all efforts of the Russian player, she never had a real chance to win, neither with queens on the board nor after their disappearance. On the move 101, the game was drawn.

Lagno equalized much more easily with Black.

In the first tie-break game, she was most persistent in her search for resources to continue the struggle in a slightly better rook endgame and got her reward in the form of her opponent’s error, after which the game transposed into a pawn ending that was won for Black.

In the return game, Hoang, directly after exchange of the queens, was slow with her active break in the center. Having prevented it, White won a backward pawn, and the other ones promptly followed.

 

Khotenashvili and Harika played a long game of little interest on the first day and drawn quickly in the second regular one.

In the first rapid game, Harika, who had a spatial advantage, kept hoarding plusses for a long time, then sacrificed the exchange and obtained winning chances. Khotenashvili returned the material and managed to escape in the end thanks to her mad rook.

 

D. Harika – B. Khotenashvili

 

 

69.e6 h2 70.e7 Rh4+ 71.Kd5 Rd4+! 72.Kc6 Rxc4+ 73.Kd7 Rc7+ 74.Kd8 Rxe7 75.Kxe7. Stalemate.

However, after a more cunning move 69.c5!, the king and his assistants would be able to find a cure for madness. In the rough variation 69…h2 (other ideas do not work because White’s pawns are too far advanced, and she is ever ready to give up her rook for the h-pawn) 70.c6 Rh4+ 71.Kc5 Rc4+ 72.Kb6 Rb4+ (72…Rxc6+ 73.Rxc6!) 73.Kc7 Rb7+ 74.Kd6 Rd7+ 75.Kc5 Rd5+ 76.Kb6, the pawn takes the rook after check from b5 is given!

 

The outcome of the game was decided in the second 25-minute game. Unlike their vis-à-vis, the Georgian’s pieces acted separately in the middle game: first it was her queen that could not find a proper stand for itself, and after Khotenashvili managed to trade it off in a way that was not particularly satisfying for her, it was white light-squared bishop’s turn to start moving in circles around the board. Meanwhile, its dark-squared colleague remained in the original position all along – and perished there on the move 33 because of a tactical misplay.

 

While emerging from the opening in the first game, Stefanova could have gained an impressive advantage after Saduakassova’s reckless one-move attack, but to do so, she would have to calculate complex variations precisely. The former Champion of the World chose more solid continuation. As a result of it, all she was able to gain was a slightly better ending that eventually boiled down to a standard pawn-up rook endgame that Black managed to hold.

In the return game, it was already Kazakh player who was close to a success. Even after choosing a far from toughest continuation in the middle game, she still retained a solid edge in the endgame. However, later she overlooked an elementary loss of her extra pawn, and the position became level.

In the first tie-break game, Saduakassova unsuccessfully regrouped her forces, and her opponent’s active pawn moves allowed the latter to launch the attack against the enemy king that ended in a quick success.

Playing with White, Stefanova gained an advantageous position in the King’s Indian Defense, remained in control throughout the game and settled for perpetual check in an absolutely won situation.

 

While Saduakassova dropped out of the Championship, two other players from former Soviet Central Asian republics created greatest tie-break sensations by eliminating top entries from China.

 

After drawing her two games against Zhao Xue (in both of them, computer evaluations were always close to zero), Abdumalik opted for a serious struggle with Black in the first rapid one. After a kingside break connected with a pawn sacrifice, the Chinese player became confused.

 

Zhao Xue – Z. Abdumalik

 

 

32.Qg3? After32.e5 dxe5 33.Re1 Qxh4 34.d6, situation remains unclear.

32…Bh6 33.Ne3? Loosing time through 33.Re1 Bf4 34.e5 dxe5 35.Qc3 Qxh4 36.Nxe5 looks definitely worse, but White does not lose immediately here at least. 33…Bf4! 34.Nxg4 Qg7, and Black wins both a piece and the whole game.

 

With White, Abdumalik failed to keep the situation under control. At one point, she could have found herself under a mating attack from enemy queen and knight, but luck was on her side.

 

The winner of the last year knockout event Tan Zhongyi drew with Black against Tokhirjonova from the position of strength and then threw away her considerable advantage with White.

In the first rapid game, the Uzbek girl seized the initiative and made her opponent solve complex strategic problems. Black was unable to take care of every weakness and lost her central pawn. Afterthat, herpositionbecameundefendable.

In the second 25-minute game, Tan temporarily won a pawn in the long variation that had occurred in practice on several previous occasions. However, after her inaccuracies, white queenside pawns found themselves under attack, and presently an extra pawn changed owners. Tokhirjonova easily parried the former champion’s attempts at turning the game around.

 

Pogonina had the longest path to the third round. Playing Black in the first game of her match against young Zhu Jiner, she made a mistake of not taking the f5-pawn and found herself under a standard attack on the kingside.

On the next day, the Chinese player opted for complicated struggle. For a long time, her chances were every bit as good, but exchanging dark-squared bishops turned out to be her grave tactical mistake. Employing a pin along the central file, White won a pawn and obtained decisive advantage in the major-piece ending due to a weakness of the opponent’s back ranks.

A sufficiently smooth flow of the first tie-break game was broken up by Pogonina’s blunder: she allowed doubling of white rooks along the 7thrank. After several more moves, three black pieces were under fire – a rook, a knight and a bishop. In order to win, Zhu simply had to capture the strongest one, but she chose the knight, thus throwing her advantage away.

In the return 25-minute game, the Russian was on the verge of a disaster again, but this time her it was Chinese opponent’s guess as to which piece to take the e4-pawn  that turned out to be wrong, so a lion’s share of her advantage went out of the window. In the following, White’s precise defense allowed her to keep out of trouble.

The picture of struggle became quite different in the 10-minute games. Zhu was terrible in her handling the opening with Black and was routed. In the second game, Pogonina successfully kept the opponent at arm’s length. The most White could hope for was a draw, but in the end she overlooked a simple blow and lost. Anyway, it did not really matter anymore.

Children played blitz tournament dedicated to the World Championship

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A 9-round children’s blitz tournament dedicated to the Women’s World Championship took place in Khanty-Mansiysk on November 9. Players from Ugra Chess Academy, Shapsha, and Poikovsky took part in the competition.

During the tournament we asked two participants for how long they study chess and whom they support at the championship.

Liana Gimranova, 13:

— I study chess since I was six. I very much like Olga Girya, because she is from our area. It is a pity she’s been eliminated, but I think she will beat everybody at the next Olympiad.

Veronika Tkachenko, 10:

— I also study chess since I was six. Our teachers always tell us chess news. I managed to get an autograph of Olga Girya here, and I look forward to the end of the championship to take an autograph and make a photo with Alexandra Kosteniuk. Hope she beats everybody.

Daniyal Gamzatov took the first place with 7.5 points. Six players finished half a point behind him. Agata Romanenko got the second place due to superior tie-break, Sherzod Shaimkulov finished third. All these three players are from Khanty-Mansiysk. Kamil Islamov from Poikovsky finished fourth and also received a special gift from the organizers, as well as the youngest participants Semyon Romanenko and Veronika Ivchenkova (both from Khanty-Mansiysk).

16 players continue fighting for the chess crown

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The tie-breaks of the second round of the World Women’s Championship in Khanty-Mansiysk were played on November 8. Once again all matches except one were decided in rapid chess.

The Russians Kateryna Lagno and Alexandra Kosteniuk won their matches against Hoang Thanh Trang and Ni Shiqun respectively with the same score – 2-0.

Zhansaya Abdumalik also won both games against Zhao Xue; in the second game the Chinese player lost on time in a drawn position, but it did not affect the outcome of the match.

Antoaneta Stefanova defeated Dinara Saduakassova in the first game, and secured the match win with a draw from the position of strength in the second game.

Gulrukhbegim Tokhirjonova defeated the former World Champion Tan Zhongyi in the first game and held the balance in the second game.

Harika Dronavalli missed a victory in the first game with Bela Khotenashvili, but showed strong character, winning the second game and a match.

The match between Mariya Muzychuk and Ekaterina Atalik was quite dramatic. Atalik probably missed some chances in the first game, which ended in a draw, and suffered an opening disaster in the second game. Muzychuk won and advanced to the third round.

Natalija Pogonina successfully defended two difficult positions against Zhu Jiner in rapid chess, and then crushed the opponent in the first 10-minute game. In the second game the Chinese fought desperately, but was unable to get realistic winning chances, and eventually lost.

Round 3 matches:

Zhai Mo-Ju Wenjun

Zawadzka-Abdumalik

Pogonina-Lagno

A.Muzychuk-Stefanova

Harika-Kosteniuk

Galliamova-Lei Tingjie

Alinasab-M.Muzychuk

Tokhirjonova-Gunina

 

Games and results  

Photos 

Videos 

 

Favorites keep leaving Khanty-Mansiysk

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The second games of the second round were played on November 7 in Khanty-Mansiysk.

Having defeated Anastasia Bodnaruk in both games, Anna Muzychuk became the first qualifier to the third round.

Mobina Alinasab continues to surprise chess fans: although her position after the opening looked rather suspicious, the Iranian outplayed Monika Socko in the middlegame and won the match 2-0.

However, the main surprise of the round occurred in the match between Humpy Koneru and Jolanta Zawadzka – the grandmaster from Poland, playing Black, defeated the rating favorite and advanced to the third round.

Lei Tingjie was stronger than Nana Dzagnidze in the second game of their match and also moved on to the third round.

Aleksandra Goryachkina failed to strike back in the Russian derby against Alisa Galliamova. The more experienced Galliamova had the initiative throughout the game and won convincingly.

Ju Wenjun successfully defended a difficult position against Irina Krush and secured the overall victory – 1.5 to 0.5.

Valentina Gunina won a complicated game as Black against Anna Ushenina, and advanced to the next stage, winning her match 1.5 to 0.5.

Zhai Mo won both games against Nino Batsiashvili and joined a group of her compatriots in the third round.

Ekaterina Atalik was close to defeating Mariya Muzychuk for the second time in a row, however, she made a mistake in a very sharp position and lost. This match will be continued tomorrow on the tie-break.

Natalija Pogonina also managed to level the score against Zhu Jiner. The winner of their match will also be determined in speed chess.

The following matches featured two draws and will be decided on the tie-break: Lagno-Hoang Thanh Trang, Khotenashvili-Harika, Tokhirjonova-Tan Zhongyi, Abdumalik-Zhao Xue, Stefanova-Saduakassova, and Kosteniuk-Ni Shiqun.

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:

Hoang Thanh Trang – Lagno Kateryna
Kosteniuk Alexandra – Ni Shiqun
Muzychuk Mariya – Atalik Ekaterina
Tokhirjonova Gulrukhbegim – Tan Zhongyi
Harika Dronavalli – Khotenashvili Bela
Saduakassova Dinara – Stefanova Antoaneta
Zhu Jiner –  Pogonina Natalija
Zhao Xue –  Abdumalik Zhansaya

Results

Photos

Videos

Eva Repkova played with students of Ugra Chess Academy

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On November 7, grandmaster Eva Repkova (Slovakia), a member of the Appeals Committee of the Women’s World Champion, gave students of the Ugra Chess Academy a simul.

The multiple-time champion of Slovakia faced ten boys and two girls. The children gave the grandmaster a hard time – the simul went on for two hours and a half.

Ms Repkova won 11 games and drew one against Yaroslav Sukhovershiy. She also noted the performance of Varvara Tsaregorodtseva and Dmitriy Kuznetsov. All participants of the simul received special gifts from the organizers and made a commemorative photo with the grandmaster.

Eva Repkova: “The kids are amazing. They are all between 7 and 10 years old. This is a very nice experience for me. In general, the Ugra Chess Academy is wonderful. This is a perfect place for kids to play, to advance, to study, and to socialize. The Academy has equipment, computer classes, chess boards and clocks. The teachers are great and professional. Atmosphere is very friendly here. I feel happy that there is such a place. I wish every city to have something similar”.

Carlsen – Caruana match: Opinions and forecasts from our participants

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On the threshold of the World Championship Match in London, participants of the WWCC in Khanty-Mansiysk not only took part in the “Who do you support?” photo initiative, but also answered several questions:

  1. Are you going to watch the match in London?
  2. Who is your favourite in this match and why?
  3. Who do you think will win?

Zhansaya Abdumalik, Kazakhstan:

  • Of course, I am. Carlsen – Caruana match is the main chess event of the year. Everyone’s waiting for new ideas and it will be interesting to see what they will invent.
  • Like in all previous matches, Magnus is a favourite. I like Carlsen both as a person and as a professional. He is the most versatile player of the chess elite. A position makes no difference to him, he tries to squeeze everything out of it. I like that he constantly finds finest nuances in any position and outplays his opponents step by step.
  • I think the match will be tough for both participants, their preparation will be on the highest level, but Carlsen will win. After all, his nerves are a little stronger, and this is the most important thing.

Nana Dzagnidze, Georgia

  • Yes, I am going to watch the match. It will be a matter of life or death for them, and we will see. The question remains the same: will anyone beat Carlsen?
  • There no favourite for me. I will be rooting for an interesting struggle. I like both of them. Maybe, Carlsen appeals to me a little bit more because he’s playing rapid and blitz much better than his opponent.
  • I think Caruana has very few chances to win. Carlsen surpasses him completely on all aspects. But I have no idea how it all will end.

Alexandra Kosteniuk, Russia

  • I don’t know any person in the world of chess who will not follow this match. The confrontation of two strongest chess players in the world is always interesting. It will be very instructive.
  • I don’t think about it at all, there is no favourite for me. I can’t say anything even about percentage….
  • I don’t know who will win, and that’s good for the match. I hope that such an intrigue will be maintained until the end and it will only benefit the chess world. A tie-break, like it was in the Carlsen – Karjakin match, will be great for everyone.

Mobina Alinasab, Iran

  • I will try to follow the match. I’m sure it will be grandiose fight that will leave an imprint in the history of chess.
  • My favourite is Caruana. I like the way Fabiano plays; he is a very strong tactician. He can resolve any problem by sharpening the situation. But still Carlsen is the world champion.
  • I don’t know who will win, but definitely the match will be substantial.

Antoaneta Stefanova, Bulgaria

  • Of course, I will watch it, once I finish my world championship. If I stay here long enough, there might appear a problem. I’m sure it will be a very interesting match. Remembering the Carlsen- Karjakin match, we can expect anything from it as well.
  • This is a complicated question, as world №1 and №2 will play there. Both of them are very strong players. If you want to know my prediction, I will bet on Carlsen, because he’s got more experience than his younger opponent.
  • Like I said, Magnus is a favourite, but not by a great margin.

Dinara Saduakassova, Kazakhstan

  • Of course. I hope that I will see the biggest part of it in Khanty-Mansiysk. What are my expectations for the match? First of all, I am looking forward to seeing interesting games. And definitely there will be an intrigue.
  • The majority supposes that Carlsen is a favourite, but something definite can only be said after the first games. As for me, the choice is very hard!
  • It would be good to have a new world champion to maintain interest to chess but it is not so easy to predict anything. In any case, we will benefit from it because the match will be very interesting.

Alisa Galliamova, Russia

  • I will do this after I finish my playing here. The match will be very interesting. I think that both players have more or less equal opportunities and chances, and the outcome of their match seems unpredictable to me. Who knows, maybe it’s a prologue for a multi-year rivalry. Let’s see…
  • I don’t have a favourite. Let the strongest win!
  • I haven’t even thought about it. Still all thoughts are just about myself here. I’m sure in only one thing – there will 12 interesting games and maybe a tie-break that will determine the champion.

Kateryna Lagno, Russia

  • I will follow the match, why not? I expect interesting games and the fight till the last move.
  • I will be rooting for Carlsen. But I don t know why, it seems to me that Caruana will win. I love the way Magnus plays, but my intuition tells me that he won’t hold the crown this time. His opponent is younger, and probably his motivation is higher than that of Magnus.
  • I trust my intuition. Let’s see whether it is not deceiving me.

The reigning women’s world champion Ju Wenjun(China) refused to give her opinion about the match in London. “Sorry, during the tournament, I’m concentrating on my own games”, said she.

Women’s World Championship, Round 2: Surprises keep coming

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The first games of the second round of the Women’s World Championship were played in the Ugra Chess Academy on November 6.

The 15-year-old Zhu Jiner continues to surprise chess fans. The Chinese started the second round with a convincing victory over the Russian champion Natalija Pogonina.

Mobina Alinasab produced another upset, winning as Black against Monika Socko. The Iranian outplayed her experienced opponent in the opening and developed her advantage in the middlegame. Socko’s position was already precarious when she blundered a knight and resigned immediately.

The World Champion Ju Wenjun played a textbook game against Irina Krush, flawlessly converting a spatial advantage in a rook ending into a win.

Nino Batsiashvili had a promising position against Zhai Mo, however, she chose a wrong moment for a central break, and lost two pawns. The Chinese converted the material advantage confidently.

Anastasia Bodnaruk had White against Anna Muzychuk. In the opening the Russian sacrificed an exchange, however, the compensation proved insufficient, and the Ukrainian gradually overplayed her opponent.

Alisa Galliamova showed deep opening preparation against Aleksandra Goryachkina and obtained a very promising position. With series of timely executed tactical blows White won a piece and then the game.

Ekaterina Atalik outsmarted Mariya Muzychuk in a complicated minor piece ending. The former World Champion from Ukraine had to give up a piece for Black’s passed pawn. During the concluding stage of the game Ekaterina showed her skill in checkmating with a knight and bishop.

The following games were drawn: Abdumalik-Zhao Xue, Zawadzka-Koneru, Dzagnidze-Lei Tingjie, Gunina-Ushenina, Kosteniuk-Ni Shiqun, Tokhirdjonova-Tan Zhongyi, Stefanova-Saduakassova, Khotenashvili-Harika, and Lagno-Hoang Thanh Trang.

The return games will be played on November 7.

Pairings and results 

Photos

Videos 

Alisa Galliamova: It is good that we are coming back to candidates tournament

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Alisa Galliamova went through her victory against Aleksandra Goryachkina and replied to a question about the Women’s World Championship cycle reform.

– You played a World Championship match in classical chess. Could you compare your feelings from that matches with modern championships, where everything can be decided in one or two games?

– I won a candidates tournament and played the last classical chess match back in 1999. After that there were no such matches. I think the current system of determining the champion is nonsense. Everybody is on edge, everybody can lose a single game and get eliminated. I don’t think such competitions deserve the World Championship status. I am happy that we are coming back to a candidates tournament followed by a title match. Such formula is much better if we want to pick a deserving candidate. It is more objective, and although it requires more time, the overall winner under this formula is clearly the strongest player. A knock-out event does not deserve to be called a World Championship.

Round 1 Review

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There were practically no surprises in the matches where opponents were divided by a rating chasm of several hundred points. Favorites (Ju Wenjun, Koneru, Lagno, Kosteniuk, the Muzychuk sisters, Tan Zhongyi, Dzagnidze, Goryachkina, Gunina) confidently proved their superiority in one way or another, though not all their matches were perfect. For example, Goryachkina’s performance with White had been rather unstable, but on the next day, she was “calling all the shots”; as for Gunina, it seemed that, after interesting events in the end of the first game, she did not intend to play for a win in the second one.

I. Aliaga-V. Gunina

 

In the roughly equal ending, Black periodically managed to set certain problems for her opponent, but now White seems safe, even in spite of being a pawn down.

42.Ke3. Retreat to the first rank looks better.

42…Nb6! If42…Rxh2 43.Rxg6+ and 44.Be7, then Black would be unable to activate his knight.

43.Rxg6+ Kd5 44.Rg8?? The Peruvian player parried the threat of 44…Nc4+ 45.Kd3 Rf2, but overlooked another idea. After either 44.Rg7 or 44.Rf6, White would have every reason to hope for a draw because of lack of material on the board.

44…Kc4! There is a threat of mate 45…Nd5#, and the only way to prevent it is to give up a rook for a knight because the с8-square is inaccessible for this piece.

The only sensation in this group was Paehtz losing to Alinasab from Iran.

With White, the German player obtained spatial advantage and sacrificed a pawn, but was too slow with decisive actions. The advantage moved to Alinasab who won the game in the end, though in the rook ending that some years before would be defined as “theoretically relevant” (6- and 7-piece chessbases offer precise answers to every question now), White could have escaped with precise play.

In the second game, Paehtz had given up material for the initiative once again, but her handling of the latter was far from perfect. The only reason for Alinasab failing to whitewash the opponent was the Iranian’s slipshod play.

The outcomes of three more matches can be formally considered surprising, but since Hou Yifan’s debut in the World Championships, it has been generally known that young Chinese players are liable to pull anything out of the hat.

In the first game, 16-years-old Zhu Jineer had outplayed her highly-experienced opponent Javakhishvili in complicated struggle rich with tactical nuances; in their second duel, the Chinese player stood worse in the ending but managed to exploit her opponent’s inaccuracy and equalized with active play. Having gained an advantage later in the game, Zhu Jineer rejected possible repetition of moves and made the best of her chance accurately.

The score of the match Zhai Mo vs. Girya was also clean. The rating difference of more than a hundred points must not hide the fact that the Chinese player is a winner of the last Olympiad. The beginning of the first game was favorable for the Russian, but a slight snag in the development of her attack was enough for White to block the access to his king’s position. Compensation for a pawn evaporated, Zhai started massive storm on the kingside and magnified her material advantage.

In the second game, Girya was unable to create serious challenges for her opponent and then missed a nice little tactical blow in time-trouble.

O. Girya-Zhai Mo

 

37.f4? Rxa7 38.Rxa7 Ng4! There are threats of both mate on е1 and check on d4; the move 39.Nc2 Bd4+! cannot solve the problem. White resigned.

Kashlinskaya’s supporters hoped for continuation of her winning streak that had started on the Isle of Man; however, in the first game she made three bad moves in a row in the time-trouble fever.

G. Tokhirjonova – A. Kashlinskaya

 

After 38…Qxg1 39.Rxg1 f3, Black might win as self-suggesting 40.Rgxg7 is elegantly refuted with 40…Rg2!, and, after either 41.Rgf7 Kg8! or 41.Ref7 f2!, White would have to give up the rook for the passed f-pawn.

38…Rg2? 39.Qxb6 f3 40.Re8 Qf4?The only way to avoid immediate defeat is 40…Kh7.

41.Qd8. Black resigned in view of 41…Kg8 42.Rxf8+ Qxf8 43.Re8.

In the second game, the Uzbek player managed to hold a slightly worse ending with confidence.

Zhao Xue had never encountered any serious resistance in her first game against Lujan and, by confidently controlling the course of events in the second one, managed to seal her success.

The struggle in the first games of matches Pogonina vs. Kulkarni and Batsiashvili vs. Arakhamia-Grant was hard enough, but Black’s errors before the time-control resulted in their losses. Opponents gave them no chances to equalize on the next day.

Playing with Black against Ushenina, Mkrtchian failed to emerge from the opening. In the second game, it was already former World Champion’s play in the opening that was far from exemplary. As a result, she had nearly lost her queen but managed to minimize losses and hold her own in a pawn-down ending.

Socko won her first game against Shvayger with Black after the latter had given up the central file on her own free will. In the second duel, the Israeli player managed to create an unpleasant tension in the neighborhood of the enemy king’s residence, but her Polish opponent launched an energetic counterattack and forced a draw.

The story of those matches was merged into one section because in both cases winners managed to gain their desired perpetual checks by sacrificing their rooks.

Khotenashvili and Zawadzka moved on to the second round after winning their second games with White.

The Polish player had no problems in her first game against Guseva. On the next day, she turned out to be more enterprising in the opposite castled position and created decisive mating threats after queens had already been exchanged. Actually, she did mated her opponent.

Vo from Vietnam had an advantage against Khotenashvili but was not sufficiently energetic. The Georgian’s win in the second game can be described as difficult but well-deserved.

In 11 matches the “regular time” ended in a draw, and only in one of those an exchange of blows happened: after having lost her first game to  Zhukova, Ni Shiqun managed to take revenge with Black. They were also the only pair for whom two 25-minute-long tie-break games were not enough to determine a winner!

Harika in her match against Khukhashvili missed quite a good chance to win the second regular game, while in the second rapid one it took a miracle to save her from leaving the championship.

S. Khukhashvili – D. Harika

 

In an equal minor-piece ending, it seemed for a long time that maneuvers occasionally interspersed with pawn exchanges would result in a boring draw. Around move 60 situation sharpened as both sides managed to create passed pawns.

63…Bb2?? Instead of the normal 63…Kc7.

64.Bb7??After 64.a6, the pawn becomes unstoppable.

64…Bxd4 65.Nc8+. It was necessary just to eliminate the d5-pawn as after 65.Bxd5 Bxb6?? 66.axb6, the bishop cannot be captured.

65…Kc7 66.a6?? It was time to give up a piece (66.Bxd5 Kxc8 67.Kf3) and to draw thanks to distant pawns. Now Black’s passed pawn becomes powerful at last.

66…Be4 67.Ne7 f3+ 68.Kd2 f2 69.a7 Bxa7. 69…Kxb7 is more natural, 69…f1Q is more vigorous, but the move in the game is quite sufficient.

70.Ba6 Bg2 71.h4 Bc5 72.Ng6. 0-1. The most dramatic episode of tie-breaks, although there certainly were enough slip-ups caused by nervousness.

In regular time of confrontations Abdumalik – Padmini, Krush – Gaponenko and Atalik – Cori the struggle was equal.

During a tie-break between Abdumalik and Padmini, Black had the initiative. In the first game, the Kazakh player’s resistance was successful, and in the second one she managed to break the opponent’s defense eventually.

Krush had won the strategic battle with White, and then made several errors after opening of the center. However, Gaponenko, instead of exploiting the open position of white king, transposed into a pawn-down ending. In the second game, she rejected logical repetition of moves, went off on a tangent and lost.

Atalik handled the opening with Black rather solidly. Cori had been suffering from her pawn weaknesses throughout the game, so her defeat was generally logical, although she had certain chances for an escape. In the second game White, in a safe pawn-down ending, managed to find a clever plan connected with trapping the enemy knight. The Peruvian did not take into account a simple tactical nuance and gave it up “for free”. All that was left to her after this was to resign.

In her first regular game against Foisor, Stefanova, who was a pawn up, played herself into a lost position; and in the second one, she missed her chance to score.  During tie-breaks, the former World Champion was much more cool-headed than her opponent. In both cases, the outcome was decided by great material gains.

While playing with Black against Vega, Bodnaruk opted for a dubious exchange sacrifice, but then managed to create counterplay in the time-trouble that turned out to be sufficient for a draw. In the second game, she had considerable positional edge but failed to break her opponent’s defensive lines. In the first rapid game the Spanish player rejected repetition of moves in the middle game; however, after exchange of the queens, Bodnaruk captured the opponent’s weak kingside pawn and realized her advantage flawlessly. In the second game, following her reckless exchange sacrifice, Bodnaruk eventually had to defend an unpleasant ending. Vega failed to find an active plan and allowed her opponent to establish cooperation of her pieces; then, after freeing the enemy passed pawn, she could have lost, but the Russian player contented herself with “piece enforcement.”

In the match Nakhbayeva vs. Galliamova, Black was looking better in the regular time, so a couple of draws was more or less logical outcome.

The struggle in the first rapid game was complex and eventful. Galliamova pushed forward her passed pawn but underestimated her opponent’s threats on the kingside; however, at a critical juncture Nakhbayeva suffered a blind spot. He had a spectacular winning blow at her disposal, but chose another move…

G. Nakhbayeva – A. Galliamova

 

35.Rxf7! is worth a Brilliance Prize. If 35…gxf6, then 36.Rxf6 Kg7 37.Rcc6; on 35…Kxf7, there is mate 36.Qd7+ Kxf6 37.Rc6+ Kg5 38.Qg4#. Here it is necessary to see a spectacular refutation of the counterattack (35…Bxf2 36.Rxg7+ Kf8 37.Rc1! Qxc1 38.Rg8+!), but if you missed it, you can continue, for example, 35.Qd7 Rf8 36.Qd6! with the idea of 36…Bxf2? 37.Qxf8+!

But White plays35.Qxg6??, hoping for 35…fxg6 36.Rxg7+ Kf8 37.Rcc7 and forgetting about 35…Qxg6.

In the second game, the Kazakh player chose a passive scheme aimed at avoiding quick exchanges. Her plan did work out, but only in part. After opening of the game, White threw away a considerable part of his advantage, but the fact that the outcome of the match would be favorable for Galliamova was never put in doubt.

In her first game against Saduakassova, Matnadze missed a beautiful winning chance with Black.

D. Saduakassova – A. Matnadze

 

In the text there was 34…Ra8 35.Re5 Rda5 36.Rxa5 Qxa5 37.Qxb3 Qa1+ 38.Kc2 Rc8+ 39.Kd2 Qa5+ 40.Ke3. White’s position remains dangerous, but, thanks to the opponent’s inaccuracies, Saduakassova soon managed to advance her pawn to d7, thus neutralizing the black rook and drawing the game.

After 34…Ra5!, there is a threat of35…Ra1+! 36.Kxa1 Qa5+ 37.Kb1 Qa2#. The move 35.d5 does not work because of 35…Rca8 36.Kc1 Rxd5! 37.Qxd5 Ra1+, and 35.Re5 is now met with 35…Qxd3+ 36.Rxd3 Ra1+! 37.Kxa1 Rc1#.

On the next day, the Spanish player offered a draw on the move 9.

In the first rapid game, she let down her guard and lost two pawns in three moves. In the second one, Saduakassova, who played with Black, demonstrated her better knowledge of the opening variation and managed to gain a won position by the move 20 by simply repeating the game Markowski-A.Onischuk (1999).

With White, Lei Tingjie had frittered away her enormous advantage against Gara and then threw away the exchange; however, the Hungarian lacked both strength and determination to start playing for win in earnest.

After first day’s tribulations, the second game of the match was drawn quickly.

In the first 25-min duel, Gara made a standard move in the middle game without considering tactical opportunities of the position. Employing a pin, the Chinese player gave up her two minor pieces for a rook and two pawns with an advantage. In the second game, Lei Tingjie had once again evaluated consequences of a non-equative exchange better and, after gaining two pawns for an exchange, encountered no serious resistance in the endgame.

Match Hoang Thanh Trang vs. Danielian was abundant in plot twists that were too complex to be described here in detail. After saving the second regular game by sheer miracle, Hoang played strongly in the first rapid one and won through technique. With White, the Armenian once again had real chance to win around move 30, but her knight was much too late to move to с5.

In the first regular game of the Ni Shiqun’s match against Zhukova, the Chinese player had gradually lost the initiative. Black obtained both a better pawn structure and a spatial advantage. Finding herself up against the ropes, White broke under pressure. Exploiting his error, Black executed a maneuver, after which both queens had disappeared from the board, but she immediately gained a brand new one.

On the next day, the Ukrainian first agreed to small concessions in the level symmetrical position and then made a sharp erroneous move that led to a loss of an exchange. Ni Shiqun’s handling her material advantage was far from exemplary, and soon White had a chance to establish cooperation of all his forces by activating his knight. Instead, there followed a blunder that doomed that piece.

In two 25-minute games, the balance remained undisturbed. In the level ending of first 10-minute one, Zhukova miscasted her pieces and sent her king to the queenside, leaving the opposite flank defenseless. Her opponent created a passed pawn there that decided the outcome. In the last game of the WCh’s first round, queens quickly disappeared from the board, and White drew from the position of strength in a structure with an isolated pawn.

First round is concluded

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The first tie-breaks of the championship were played on November 5. Only one match out of 11 was not decided in rapid chess.

Dinara Saduakassova defeated Ana Matnadze with the perfect 2-0 score. Lei Tingjie won against Anita Gara in a similarly convincing way. Inna Gaponenko lost the first game to Irina Krush, and was unable to come back in the second one, thus losing the rapid match 0-2.

Antoaneta Stefanova also won 2-0 against Sabina-Francesca Foisor. Deysi Cori was unable to hold Ekaterina Atalik: the Turkish player won 2-0.

Anastasia Bodnaruk defeated Sabrina Vega Gutierrez in the first rapid game. The Russian had winning chances in the second game as well, but it ended in a draw, which allowed Bodnaruk to advance to the next round.

Harika Dronavalli and Sopiko Khukhashvili ended their first game peacefully. The second game started calmly, but the endgame was head-spinning and full of mutual errors. After the dust has settled, the Indian took the upper hand and advanced to the second round.

Zhansaya Abdumalik and Rout Padmini drew their first game, but in the second one the player from Kazakhstan was stronger and proceeded to the next stage.

Hoang Thanh Trang started her tie-break against Elina Danielian with a win, and solidified her success with a draw in the second game.

Guliskhan Nakhbayeva dramatically lost to Alisa Galliamova in the first rapid game, and did not manage to equalize in the second one. A repeated Russian champion moves on to the next stage.

Only Natalia Zhukova and Ni Shiqun made two draws in rapid games, and their match advanced to slow blitz games (10+10). The struggle in the first game was very tense, but the Chinese player managed to equalize, then to seize the initiative, and eventually won the game. In the second game she held a draw from the position of strength and won the match.

Round 2 pairings:

Ju Wenjun – Krush, Zawadzka – Koneru, Lagno – Hoang Thanh Trang, Bodnaruk – A. Muzychuk, Kosteniuk – Ni Shiqun, Galliamova – Goryachkina, M. Muzychuk – Atalik, Tokhirjonova – Tan Zhongyi, Gunina – Ushenina, Socko – Alinasab, Dzagnidze – Lei Tingjie, Khotenashvili – Harika, Stefanova – Saduakassova, Zhu Jiner – Pogonina, Abdumalik – Zhao Xue, Zhai Mo – Batsiashvili.

Pairings

Photos

Videos