Khanty 02: Hou Yifan solo 2/2

The fourth stage of the the FIDE Women’s Grand Prix series 2013-2014 is taking place at the Ugra Chess Academy, Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia from the 8th of April until the 22nd of April 2014. It is a twelve-player round robin with time controls of 90 minutes for the first 40 moves, with 30 minutes plus an additional 30 seconds per move for the rest of the game. The total prize fund is 60,000, with the winner getting 10,000 Euro.

Round Two

Kosteniuk, Alexandra 0-1 Kosintseva, Tatiana
The Two Knights Opening rears its ugly head every so often in grandmaster chess. It always leads to interesting positions, and this case was no exception. Kosteniuk was as little too eager to keep her extra material; Kosintseva launched a ferocious attack and White was simply defenseless against the incoming threats. Her precise play culminated in a picturesque mating threat that would have cost White too much material to parry.

Tatiana Kosintseva bounced back from her loss yesterday with a powerful win

Tuvshintugs, Batchimeg 0-1 Hou Yifan
Tuvshintugs' opening was less than successful and she found herself positionally worse after only a few moves. Black's superior pawn structure and more active pieces were far more important than White's bishop. White's best chance would have been to trade into a double rook endgame down a pawn and with the worse structure, but instead she blundered a mating attack and lost immediately.

What creature is embroidered in this sweater remains a mystery

Dzagnidze, Nana ½-½ Muzychuk, Anna
White employed the Petrosian (quick a3) system against the Queen's Indian but her experiment, or her attempt of reviving an old line, was not effective and if anyone got an edge from the opening it was Black. However it was very small and it was extinguished when too many pieces were traded off.

Nana Dzagnidze will face the leader, Hou Yifan, tomorrow with Black

Lagno, Kateryna 1-0 Girya, Olga
Girya used a quick b5 in the Paulsen set-up, which has been tried at the top level but only in blitz. The experiment was not completely unsuccessful as Black obtained a playable position from the opening, but from that moment all it was the Ukrainian that swarmed the board. An interesting exchange sacrifice gave Lagno the initiative as compensation, and Girya's response was less than precise. A series of quick punches gave Lagno a winning endgame that she finished off with the following nice deflection:

Kateryna Lagno (left) in a friendly conversation with
Alexandra Kosteniuk prior to their games

Muminova, Nafisa 1-0 Zhao Xue
White's Spanish gave her a permanent and solid advantage that she carried throughout the game. In a beautiful example of conversion of advantages Muminova first obtained a space edge, then the pair of bishops, then the better pawn structure, and finally she won a pawn and converted the queen endgame. A clear message that Muminova can play good chess and is dangerous to anyone.

Zhao Xue was in the receiving end of an uncomfortable surprise by the lowest rated player

Stefanova, Antoaneta 1-0 Ushenina, Anna
White's positional advantages transformed into an extra pawn in the endgame. This coupled with the pair of bishops gave her great winning chances, but the conversion was far from trivial. Unlike yesterday, this time Stefanova was spot on and she slowly pushed Ushenina back until the Bulgarian took the full point.

Stefanova can be pleased with 1.5/2, but it was very close to being 2/2

Round Two Games

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Standings

Photos by Nikolay Bochkarev, from the official website

Schedule and results

Links Official tournament site All Games in PGN 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 a free Playchess client there and get immediate access. You can also use ChessBase 12 or any of our Fritz compatible chess programs.