Young Kateryna wins GM tournament

by ChessBase
8/21/2003 – It could be the picture of the year: a bunch of hefty GMs and IMs, posing at the end of a tournament, together with a diminutive 13-year-old girl. But wait, she is holding the trophy! That is because Kateryna Lahno actually won the tournament, a full point ahead of the rest. She also made a GM norm in the process and advanced to number nine in the world women's rankings. We bring you pictures and annotated games.

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Kateryna, 13, wins Kramatorsk GM

The International Chess Title Tournament for the Prize of Ukrainian Federation in Ukraine was held in Kramatorsk from July 29 July to August 7, 2003. Among the participants were three GMs and four IMs – and one woman's GM. The averave rating of 2483 meant it was a category 10 tournament, for which 9.38 points were required for a GM norm.

The winner of this tournament was 13-year-old WGM Kateryna Lahno, who ended a full point ahead of the field. Kateryna also achieved her first GM norm with the 9.5/14 score (performance: 2622). Together with other tournaments her current (inofficial) rating is 2487. That corresponds with place nine in the world women's rankings.


Group photo after the tournament: Alexander Lahno, Alexander Martynkov, IM Georgy Arzumanian, IM Oleg Maiorov, Arbiter Leonid Bodamkin, WGM Kateryna Lahno, IM Oleg Kulicov, GM Zahar Efimenko, IM Eduard Andreev, arbiter's assistant Olga Nikulochkina, club trainer IM Alexander Alexikov. The little girl in red won the tournament a point ahead of the field

Kateryna, who is currently on a two-week stay in Hamburg, has annotated some of her games for us. You will find the corresponding links below.


At the start of a game during the tournament in Kramatorsk


Her nearest rival, GM Zahar Efimenko


Receiving her first prize in the tournament


The winner and the runner-up


Two moments in the tournament

Lahno,K (2439) – Kulicov,O (2460) [B01]
It Kramatorsk UKR (2), 30.07.2003

Kateryna reached this position following the game Sulypa-Zajarnyi, Puchko mem Alushta, 2000. She remembered around 19 moves, but was on her own after that. Still she instinctively continued to follow the game until the postion shown above, when Sulipa played 23.Rde1 and won after 23...f6? 24.Qa6+ Kb8 25.Re3 Rd6 26.Qb5+ 1-0. Kateryna played more convincingly: 23.Rge1! f6 24.Qa6+ Kd7 [24...Kb8 25.Re3+- hangs on a few moves longer] 25.Qe6# 1-0. "So Ivanchuck's trainer Sulypa help me to win this game," she said.

Areshchenko,A (2542) – Lahno,K (2439) [B07]
It Kramatorsk UKR (3), 30.07.2003

"Of course I am much better here," Kateryna writes, "but I made very bad move." 34...Rh4?? "I looked at 34...Qh6! 35.Qxg4, but after 35...Bc8 36.Bd7 I stopped thinking about this line. I did not find the clever move 35...Nf4! because I saw the check 36.Qf5+ and thought this cannot be good. But later I found 36...Kg7 37.Qxe5+ Kf8 38.Qe7+ Kg8-+ and Black is winning!" The game ended on move 49 with a very disappointing loss for the young lady.

A selection of games annotated by Kateryna Lahno

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