WGP Geneva: Lahno in the sole lead

by ChessBase
5/7/2013 – Former Women's World Champion Hou Yifan bounced back after her shock defeat by the lowest seed in round three with a admittedly slightly lucky win against Lithunian GM Viktorija Cmilyte. Nana Dzagnidze and Tatiana Kosintseva also scored with the white pieces, while Kateryna Lahno defeated Alexandra Kosteniuk with black. Full report with analysis by GM Adrian Mikhalchishin.

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Neva Women's Grand Prix in Geneva

The Neva Foundation in partnership with the Internation Chess Federation (FIDE) has organised the first leg of the official Women's Grand Prix series for the first time in Geneva. From May 3 to May 15, twelve of the best women players featuring current Women World Champion Anna Ushenina from Ukraine, will confront each other at the N'vY Manotel. The tournament is an eleven-round all-play-all at classical time controls.

Round four report

It was a day of sacrifices: in four out of six games Kateryna Lahno, Tuvshintugs Batchimeg, Olga Girya, Vikrtorija Cmilyte sacrificed knights, and Bela Khotenashvili sacrificed an exchange. Viktorija Cmilyte had a very strong attack, but missed her chances against Hou Yifan. Tatiana Kosintseva defeated Bela Khotenashvili. The biggest sensation of the round became the draw between Ushenina and Girya. The world champion had a huge advantage and confidently transferred the game into an ending with an extra bishop and knight against the bare king. Surprisingly, Olga Girya managed to survive!

Round 4 on Monday, May 6th 2013 at 14:00
GM Alexandra Kosteniuk 2491
0-1
GM Kateryna Lagno 2548
GM Anna Ushenina 2491
½-½
WGM Olga Girya 2463
WGM Wenjun Ju 2544
½-½
GM Anna Muzychuk 2585
GM Yifan Hou 2617
1-0
GM Viktorija Cmilyte 2522
GM Nana Dzagnidze 2545
1-0
WGM Tuvshintugs Batchimeg 2298
GM Tatiana Kosintseva 2517
1-0
IM Bela Khotenashvili 2505

Kateryna Lahno (above), playing the black side of a Sicilian Sheveningen, allowed Alexandra Kosteniuk win a piece for two pawns. In return the Ukrainian GM had tremendous pressure and her opponent found it hard to defend against all the threats, especially under the time pressure. One of the chances to hold the position for White was to play 35.Qg2 instead of 35.Ng2.

Georgian GM Anna Dzagnidze (above) got a comfortable position on the white side of a Grundfeld. Her opponent Batchimeg Tuvshintugs sacrigiced a knight for three pawns and came under piece pressure in the endgame. She collapsed with a critical mistake on move 26.

GM Tatiana Kosintseva (above) had to face the Caro-Kann for the second time in a row and managed to get a slight advantage. Her opponent IM Bela Khotenashvili missed an interesting opportunity to equalize the game with the move 18…f6. In the time trouble, when things became very dangerous, Bela sacrificed an exchange but it didn’t change outcome of the game.

Summaries of all games are available on the official web site, which also provides analysis of key games by GM Adrian Mikhalchishin. Adrian sent us his analysis of a key game in this round:

[Event "Fondation Neva Women's Grand Prix"] [Site "Geneva"] [Date "2013.05.06"] [Round "4.4"] [White "Hou, Yifan"] [Black "Cmilyte, Viktorija"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B52"] [Annotator "MIKHALCHISHIN"] [PlyCount "69"] [EventDate "2013.??.??"] [WhiteClock "0:03:09"] [BlackClock "0:01:04"] {Hou Yifan lost in round three against an outsider from Mongolia, got a strong reprimend from her mother, who accompanies her to most tournaments and was ready to strike back. But she had not played too convincingly against Viktoria Cmilyte in the past - we remember fantastic win of Viktoria in a Sicilian last year in Kazan. Viktoria used the same approach as I taught my pupil Betul Yildiz in recent years: Hou Yifan is fantastic, fine technical player, and the only way to play successfully against her is to challenge her from the start. It means to attack as soon as possible. But it is tremendousely difficult. You have to show her that you are not afraid of her.} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 {Usually the former World Champion plays main lines, but sometimes she returnes to her junior weapon.} 3. Bb5+ Bd7 4. Bxd7+ Qxd7 5. O-O ({A very modern way here is to transfer to Maroczy structure:} 5. c4 Nc6 6. d4 cxd4 7. Nxd4 g6 8. Nc3 Bg7 9. Be3) 5... Nc6 ({The Chinese Champion had one interesting game here} 5... Nf6 6. e5 dxe5 7. Nxe5 Qc7 8. d4 cxd4 9. Bf4 Qd8 10. c3 d3 11. Qa4+ Nc6 12. Na3 Qc8 13. Rad1 e6 14. Rxd3 Be7 15. Bg5 Qc7 16. Bxf6 gxf6 17. Nxc6 Qxc6 18. Qxc6+ bxc6 19. Nc4 {and obtained sweet endgame in Hou,Y (2158)-Fontaine,R (2539)/ Shenzhen 2005.}) 6. Qe2 Nf6 7. Rd1 g5 $5 {Typical modern attitude - attack on the flank in the opening . But still I would prefer more timid developing moves:} (7... Rc8) (7... g6) (7... e5) 8. c3 ({There are two possible direct approaches to refute Black's counterattack immediately:} 8. e5 g4 9. Ne1 dxe5 10. c3 O-O-O 11. Na3 h5 12. d3 Nd5 13. Nc4 Bg7 14. Be3 Nf4 15. Qc2 Qd5 16. Qa4 h4 17. Nxe5 Bxe5 18. Bxf4 f5 19. Nc2 Bxf4 20. Qxf4 Qd7 {with very good position in Pridorozhni,A (2485)-Nevostrujev,V (2510)/Tomsk 2003.}) ({Very risky seems} 8. d4 $2 g4 9. Ne5 dxe5 10. dxe5 Nd4 11. Rxd4 cxd4 12. exf6 exf6 13. Bf4 Bg7 14. Nd2 O-O 15. Qd3 Rac8 16. Nf1 Qa4 17. Rc1 Qxa2 18. Ng3 Qxb2 19. Nf5 Rc3 {and the White attack is completely stopped, Yandemirov,V (2380) -Amonatov,F (2590)/Moscow 2011.}) (8. Nxg5 $2 Nd4) 8... g4 9. Ne1 ({Much more dangerous for Black seems to be another retreat} 9. Nh4 Qe6 10. d3 (10. Re1 d5 11. d3 dxe4 12. dxe4 O-O-O 13. Na3 Qxe4 14. Qxe4 Nxe4 15. Bf4 Nd6 16. Bxd6 Rxd6 17. Nc4 Rd7 18. Re4 h5 19. g3 e6 {White has no real compensation for the pawn, Bojkovic,N (2390)-Korbut,E (2430)/Zlatibor 2006}) 10... O-O-O 11. Bf4 d5 12. Nd2 Nh5 13. Bg3 Nxg3 14. hxg3 h5 15. Nb3 b6 16. d4 c4 17. Nd2 Bh6 18. Nxc4 Kb8 19. a4 dxc4 20. d5 Qc8 21. dxc6 Qxc6 22. Nf5 {where the white knight is very well placed, Delchev,A (2629)-Morozevich,A (2762)/Porto Carras 2011}) 9... Qe6 10. d3 h5 ({It is possible here to lanch a central counterstrike} 10... d5 11. Bg5 (11. Be3 d4 12. cxd4 cxd4 13. Bg5 $11) 11... O-O-O 12. Nd2 Rg8 13. Bxf6 exf6 {'!'} 14. Nc2 f5 15. Re1 (15. Qe3 dxe4 16. dxe4 f4 {'!'} 17. Qe2 (17. Qxf4 $2 Bh6) 17... Ne5 18. f3 h5 19. Kh1 g3 20. Nf1 Rxd1 21. Rxd1 Be7 22. Rd5 gxh2 23. Qd2 Qf6 {with advantage, Collutiis,D (2451)-Vocaturo,D (2480)/Palau 2009}) 15... dxe4 16. dxe4 f4 17. Rad1 Ne5 18. f3 Qxa2 19. Ra1 Qxb2 {White has just some trick chances here, Fressinet,L (2675)-Edouard,R (2565)/Paris 2009}) ({ More risky is} 10... c4 11. d4 (11. Nd2 cxd3 12. Qxd3 a6 13. Nc2 Ne5 14. Qe2 h5 15. Nd4 Qc8 16. Nf1 Bh6 17. Bxh6 Rxh6 18. Nf5 Rg6 19. Rxd6 Qc4 20. Qxc4 Nxc4 21. Rd4 {The white pieces are much better placed, Sarana Hungeling,O (2231) -Huppertz,A (1842)/Germany 2008}) 11... d5 12. e5 Nd7 13. b3 Na5 14. Nd2 Nb6 15. Nc2 Bh6 16. bxc4 Nbxc4 17. Nxc4 Nxc4 18. Bxh6 Qxh6 19. Qxg4 {The black king will not be safe in the center, Brochet,P (2389)-Bernard,C (2364)/France 2008}) 11. Bg5 Rg8 12. Bh4 Bh6 ({Possible was immediate} 12... O-O-O) 13. Nd2 O-O-O 14. Nf1 Nd5 $5 ({A risky but interesting knight transfer. For me the logical idea was to exchange bishops, which blocks the black pawns on the kingsside.} 14... Bg5 15. Bxg5 Rxg5) 15. Qc2 Nf4 16. d4 ({Black would have had fantastic play after} 16. Ne3 Ng6 17. Nf5 Nxh4 18. Nxh4 Bg5 19. Nf5 Kb8 20. Qe2 d5) 16... d5 ({Very good was} 16... cxd4 17. cxd4 d5 18. b4 Qxe4) 17. exd5 Rxd5 18. Ne3 Nh3+ $3 ({Completely logical was the simple retreat} 18... Rdd8 19. dxc5 Ng6 {but Cmilyte saw some fantastic attacking possibility.}) 19. gxh3 gxh3+ 20. Kf1 Bxe3 21. fxe3 Qg4 $2 ({Black would keep very strong attack after the correct} 21... Qxe3 22. Bf2 Qf4 23. Qh7 Rg6 24. Rd3 Rf5 25. Rf3 Qxh2 26. Rxf5 Qh1+ 27. Ke2 Qe4+) ({Another way to attack was not so convincing, but still playable} 21... Rf5+ 22. Ke2 Rg1 23. d5 Rxd5 24. Rxd5 Qxd5 25. Qd3 Qe6) 22. e4 $1 {The only way to refute the opponent's attack.} Qf4+ ({Black could still create a lot of problems after} 22... Rd6 $1 23. e5 Nxe5 24. dxe5 Qg1+ 25. Ke2 Qxh2+ 26. Kf3 Qxe5 27. Qe4 h2) 23. Bf2 Rdg5 $2 ({Here better was} 23... Rd6) 24. Qd3 $1 f5 ({After} 24... Qxh2 {a very strong answer was} 25. Nf3) 25. Qxh3 cxd4 (25... Rg1+ 26. Ke2 Qxe4+ 27. Qe3 R1g4 28. Qxe4 Rxe4+ 29. Kf1 { promised nothing.}) 26. cxd4 Rg1+ 27. Ke2 Qxe4+ 28. Qe3 Qg4+ 29. Nf3 Rg2 30. Rg1 $1 {After this exchange it becomes clear that Blacks attack is in the past. } f4 31. Qe4 Qh3 32. Rxg2 Rxg2 33. d5 Nb8 34. Rc1+ Kd8 35. Qe5 1-0

Trainings DVDs by Adrian Mikhalchishin in the ChessBase Shop

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Current standings

The victory of Katerina Lahno over Alexandra Kosteniuk put the Ukrainian player in the sole lead.

Information and photos supplied by FIDE Press Officer Anastasiya Karlovich

Schedule and results

Round 1 on Friday, May 3rd 2013 at 14:00
GM Nana Dzagnidze 2545
½-½
GM Alexandra Kosteniuk 2491
GM Tatiana Kosintseva 2517
½-½
GM Yifan Hou 2617
IM Bela Khotenashvili 2505
1-0
WGM Wenjun Ju 2544
WGM Tuvshintugs Batchimeg 2298
½-½
GM Anna Ushenina 2491
GM Viktorija Cmilyte 2522
½-½
GM Kateryna Lagno 2548
GM Anna Muzychuk 2585
1-0
WGM Olga Girya 2463
Round 2 on Saturday, May 4th 2013 at 14:00
GM Alexandra Kosteniuk 2491
½-½
WGM Olga Girya ½-½
GM Kateryna Lagno 2548
½-½
GM Anna Muzychuk 1-0
GM Anna Ushenina 2491
½-½
GM 1-0 2522
WGM Wenjun Ju 2544
1-0
WGM ½-½ 2298
GM Yifan Hou 2617
1-0
IM Bela Khotenashvili ½-½
GM Nana Dzagnidze 2545
½-½
GM Tatiana Kosintseva 0-1
Round 3 on Sunday, May 5th 2013 at 14:00
GM Tatiana Kosintseva 2517
½-½
GM Alexandra Kosteniuk 2491
IM Bela Khotenashvili 2505
1-0
GM Nana Dzagnidze 2545
WGM Tuvshintugs Batchimeg 2298
1-0
GM Yifan Hou 2617
GM Viktorija Cmilyte 2522
½-½
WGM Wenjun Ju 2544
GM Anna Muzychuk 2585
½-½
GM Anna Ushenina 2491
WGM Olga Girya 2463
0-1
GM Kateryna Lagno 2548
Round 4 on Monday, May 6th 2013 at 14:00
GM Alexandra Kosteniuk 2491
0-1
GM Kateryna Lagno 2548
GM Anna Ushenina 2491
½-½
WGM Olga Girya 2463
WGM Wenjun Ju 2544
½-½
GM Anna Muzychuk 2585
GM Yifan Hou 2617
1-0
GM Viktorija Cmilyte 2522
GM Nana Dzagnidze 2545
1-0
WGM Tuvshintugs Batchimeg 2298
GM Tatiana Kosintseva 2517
1-0
IM Bela Khotenashvili 2505
Round 5 on Wednesday, May 8th 2013 at 14:00
IM Bela Khotenashvili 2505   GM Alexandra Kosteniuk 2491
WGM Tuvshintugs Batchimeg 2298   GM Tatiana Kosintseva 2517
GM Viktorija Cmilyte 2522   GM Nana Dzagnidze 2545
GM Anna Muzychuk 2585   GM Yifan Hou 2617
WGM Olga Girya 2463   WGM Wenjun Ju 2544
GM Kateryna Lagno 2548   GM Anna Ushenina 2491
Round 6 on Thursday, May 9th 2013 at 14:00
GM Alexandra Kosteniuk 2491   GM Anna Ushenina 2491
WGM Wenjun Ju 2544   GM Kateryna Lagno 2548
GM Yifan Hou 2617   WGM Olga Girya 2463
GM Nana Dzagnidze 2545   GM Anna Muzychuk 2585
GM Tatiana Kosintseva 2517   GM Viktorija Cmilyte 2522
IM Bela Khotenashvili 2505   WGM Tuvshintugs Batchimeg 2298
Round 7 on Friday, May 10th 2013 at 14:00
WGM Tuvshintugs Batchimeg 2298   GM Alexandra Kosteniuk 2491
GM Viktorija Cmilyte 2522   IM Bela Khotenashvili 2505
GM Anna Muzychuk 2585   GM Tatiana Kosintseva 2517
WGM Olga Girya 2463   GM Nana Dzagnidze 2545
GM Kateryna Lagno 2548   GM Yifan Hou 2617
GM Anna Ushenina 2491   WGM Wenjun Ju 2544
Round 8 on Saturday, May 11th 2013 at 14:00
GM Alexandra Kosteniuk 2491   WGM Wenjun Ju 2544
GM Yifan Hou 2617   GM Anna Ushenina 2491
GM Nana Dzagnidze 2545   GM Kateryna Lagno 2548
GM Tatiana Kosintseva 2517   WGM Olga Girya 2463
IM Bela Khotenashvili 2505   GM Anna Muzychuk 2585
WGM Tuvshintugs Batchimeg 2298   GM Viktorija Cmilyte 2522
Round 9 on Monday, May 13th 2013 at 14:00
GM Viktorija Cmilyte 2522   GM Alexandra Kosteniuk 2491
GM Anna Muzychuk 2585   WGM Tuvshintugs Batchimeg 2298
WGM Olga Girya 2463   IM Bela Khotenashvili 2505
GM Kateryna Lagno 2548   GM Tatiana Kosintseva 2517
GM Anna Ushenina 2491   GM Nana Dzagnidze 2545
WGM Wenjun Ju 2544   GM Yifan Hou 2617
Round 10 on Tuesday, May 14th 2013 at 14:00
GM Alexandra Kosteniuk 2491   GM Yifan Hou 2617
GM Nana Dzagnidze 2545   WGM Wenjun Ju 2544
GM Tatiana Kosintseva 2517   GM Anna Ushenina 2491
IM Bela Khotenashvili 2505   GM Kateryna Lagno 2548
WGM Tuvshintugs Batchimeg 2298   WGM Olga Girya 2463
GM Viktorija Cmilyte 2522   GM Anna Muzychuk 2585
Round 11 on Wednesday, May 15th 2013 at 12:00
GM Anna Muzychuk 2585   GM Alexandra Kosteniuk 2491
WGM Olga Girya 2463   GM Viktorija Cmilyte 2522
GM Kateryna Lagno 2548   WGM Tuvshintugs Batchimeg 2298
GM Anna Ushenina 2491   IM Bela Khotenashvili 2505
WGM Wenjun Ju 2544   GM Tatiana Kosintseva 2517
GM Yifan Hou 2617   GM Nana Dzagnidze 2545

Links

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