Women World Championship: Looking back (2/2)

All photos by David Llada

Continued from Part One

Knowing your classics matters a lot in rapid chess!

It is no revelation to say that when playing in a quicker format than classical chess  we rely more on our heuristics and instant judgement. Thus, on top of all the deep opening and mental preparation, one needs to have a good grasp of the classics in chess for the sake of refreshing the ‘cores’!

Here, in a crucial battle of the 2nd round, the queen of tie-breaks, Harika Dronavali, who played tie breaks in every single match she played in Tehran, outclassed her young and talented opponent World Junior champion Dinara Sadukassova from Kazakhstan in an endgame which seemed completely ‘benign’ for black. Sadukassova failed to realize all of the characteristics of the position and Harika gradually ground her down for a very important victory.

When class trumps youth

Harika Dronavali vs Dinara Sadukassova (quarter-final)

Luck matters only if you exploit it

Anna Muzychuk was on fire all the way to the final. However, her path was not as smooth as her results would suggest (9/10 is amazing isn’t it?). In the semi-final, against the experienced ex-world champion, Anna was in deep trouble the entire game until Kosteniuk blundered in time-pressure. Still, what was of particular interest was Anna’s tactical alertness when she spotted the blunder in less than a minute in a severe mutual time-pressure.

The score did not tell the whole story and Anna Muzychuk was in trouble in game one of her semifinal against former world champion Alexandra Kosteniuk

Alexandra Kosteniuk vs Anna Muzychuk (semifinal)

A world champion never gives up!

A story on a tournament would not be complete without talking about its champion. Tan Zhongyi went to Tehran only as the 3rd highest rated Chinese player, behind both Ju Wenjun and the experienced Zhao Xue. While Ju Wenjun had gone to Tehran right after a great success at Gibraltar, crossing 2600 for the first time in her life, all eyes was were fixed on her and Anna Muzychuk. While these players were winning their respective mini-matches one after the other, Tan Zhongyi made it to the quarter-final, with considerable difficulty. However, the turning moment was when she beat Ju Wenjun in a sensational game on the black side of a Catalan. Throughout the coverage of the Women World Championship, Tan Zhongyi’s excellent preparation was brought up on numerous occasions, but here I want to address two very important distinguished characteristics of the new world champion: Consistency and resilience.

It was as nerve-wracking as could be, but Tan Zhongyi came through when it mattered once again

To appreciate her untiring resourcefulness I give you her Armageddon game against Harika in the semi-final. After losing the second game of a classical match in a long 100+ move game, and losing the first rapid game of the tie-break as early as move 17 (she had not resigned but was dead lost), one would have expected things to be almost at its end for this talented lady. However, she managed to pull back with high fighting spirit and leveled the match, finally leading to a decisive Armageddon.

An early central pawn blunder by Tan on the black side of an Armageddon seemed like a ‘Goodbye’ for Tan Zhongyi but she kept on playing with a minute less on the clock, finally escaping her fate, thanks to a perpetual check. This was as good as a win, since she was black and had drawing odds.

Harika Dronavalli vs Tan Zhongyi (semifinal - TB Armageddon)

Although the game had many errors due to the time control and tension, what stood out was Tan Zhongyi never giving up. It reminded me of the World Champion’s quote:

 “Some people think that if their opponent plays a beautiful game, it’s OK to lose. I don’t. You have to be merciless.“  -- Magnus Carlsen

Tan Zhongyi seemed to agree wholeheartedly with Carlsen, not worrying about how well she played or not, but that she prevailed in the end. A true champion!

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 14 or any of our Fritz compatible chess programs.