Dzagnidze leads in Jermuk

by ChessBase
6/28/2010 – After winning three game in the first four rounds 23-year-old Georgian GM Nana Dzagnidze is in the lead with 3.5/4 and a 2800+ performance. She is followed by GM Tatiana Kosintseva, who is being assisted by her sister IM Nadezhda. 16-year-old Hou Yifan, who is the top ranked player in Jermuk, lost her first two games, but has struck back with two wins. Pictorial report.

ChessBase 17 - Mega package - Edition 2024 ChessBase 17 - Mega package - Edition 2024

It is the program of choice for anyone who loves the game and wants to know more about it. Start your personal success story with ChessBase and enjoy the game even more.

More...

The FIDE Women Grand Prix, a series of elite tournaments organised by FIDE and Global Chess, is being held in various countries around the world. There are six tournaments spread over two years, with three tournaments every year. The winner of each gets € 6,500 out of a prize fund of € 40,000. The overall winner of the series receives an additional € 15,000 at the end of the series. The Jermuk Grand Prix is one of the strongest women tournaments of all times. There are eleven rounds in all, with one free day: Wednesday, June 30.

Round four report

Results of round four

Round 4 – June 27, 2010
Dzagnidze, Nana
1-0
Kovanova, Baira
Mkrtchian, Lilit
½-½
Kosintseva, Tatiana
Chiburdanidze, Maia
1-0
Fierro Baquero, Martha
Hou Yifan
1-0
Stefanova, Antoaneta
Xu Yuhua
½-½
Danielian, Elina
Shen Yang
½-½
Cramling, Pia

Top seed Hou Yifan started with a traumatic 0-2 points. But the sixteen-year-old gathered her courage together and has scored two wins since then, rising to 50% and place six on the table. The following game, with one of the sharpest lines in the Caro-Kann, was a very intense battle which could have gone either way.


Catching up with two wins after two losses: 16-year-old Hou Yifan (here in round two)

Hou Yifan (2589) - Stefanova,A (2560) [B12]
4th FIDE GP w Jermuk ARM (4), 27.06.2010
1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.f3 g6 4.Nc3 Bg7 5.Be3 Qb6 6.Rb1 e5 7.Nge2 Ne7 8.Bf2 Qa5 9.dxe5 Bxe5 10.Bh4 dxe4 11.b4 Qc7 12.Nxe4 0-0 13.Bf6 Nd5 14.Bxe5 Qxe5 15.Qd4 Qxd4 16.Nxd4 Rd8 17.Kf2 b5 18.Ne2 a5 19.bxa5 Bf5 20.Rd1 Nd7 21.N2g3 Bxe4 22.fxe4 Nc3 23.Rd3 b4? 24.a3 c5 25.axb4 cxb4 26.Be2 Rxa5 27.Bg4 Ra7 28.Rd4 Kf8? 29.Ne2

After some pressure and optimistic play, the former women's world champion from Bulgaria now takes it too far: 29...Ke7? 30.Nxc3 bxc3 31.Rhd1 f5 32.exf5 Rf8 33.Re1+ Kd8 34.Re3 gxf5 35.Be2 Rc7 36.Bb5 Rf7 37.Red3 Kc8 38.Bxd7+ Rcxd7 39.Rxd7 Rxd7 40.Rxd7 Kxd7 41.Ke3 1-0.


Took a tumble against the first seed: former women's world champion Antoaneta Steffanova

In the following game Maia Chiburdanidze faced a King's Indian Defence in a line that is one of her specialities. Still she did not get a clearly winnin position until her opponent suddenly faltered.


Former women's world champion Nona Gaprindashvili kibitzes in her colleague's game

Chiburdanidze,M (2514) - Fierro Baquero,M (2363) [E97]
4th FIDE GP w Jermuk ARM (4), 27.06.2010
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nf3 Bg7 4.Nc3 0-0 5.e4 d6 6.Be2 e5 7.0-0 Nc6 8.d5 Ne7 9.Be3 Ng4 10.Bd2 f5 11.Ng5 Nf6 12.exf5 Nxf5 13.Bd3 c5 14.Rb1 Nd4 15.b4 b6 16.bxc5 bxc5 17.Nb5 h6 18.Ne4 Nxe4 19.Bxe4 Bf5 20.Nxd4 cxd4 21.Qe2 Qd7 22.Rb4 Rac8 23.Rc1 Rc7 24.f3 h5 25.h3 h4 26.Rcb1 Bf6 27.Rb8 Rxb8 28.Rxb8+ Kg7 29.Qd3 Bxe4 30.fxe4 Qa4 31.Qf3

Martha Fierro from Ecuador, the bottom seed in this event, has lost her first three games. Here she is doing okay against a former world champion. However now she succumbs to temptation: 31...Qxc4? 32.Bg5 threatening Qxf6 and Qh8# – if 32...Rf7 33.Bxf6+ Rxf6 34.Rb7+ and Black loses her rook. 1-0.

A key game in this round was Dzagnidze-Kovanova, a Queen’s Indian in which White gained a certain advantage, and went on to comprehensively outplay her Russian opponent.


The leader after four rounds: GM Nana Dzagnidze, 23, of Georgia

Standings after four rounds


Shen Yang and her coach take a contemplative stroll along the lake


The Kosintseva sisters GM Tatiana and IM Nadezhda, who is assisting her in Jermuk


Our photographer Arman Karakhanyan, armed with a Canon Digital Rebel, is a bokeh artist


The winner of an ancient Grand Prix in Jermuk Park

All pictures by Arman Karakhanyan, courtesy of FIDE


Links

The games are being broadcast live on the official web site and on the chess server Playchess.com. If you are not a member you can download the free PGN reader ChessBase Light, which gives you immediate access. You can also use the program to read, replay and analyse PGN games. New and enhanced: CB Light 2009!


Reports about chess: tournaments, championships, portraits, interviews, World Championships, product launches and more.

Discuss

Rules for reader comments

 
 

Not registered yet? Register