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The Women's World Chess Championship takes place from March 17 – April 7 in Sochi, Russia. The knock-out tournament is attended by 64 players, including the former World Champions Alexandra Kosteniuk (Russia), Anna Ushenina (Ukraine), and Antoaneta Stefanova (Bulgaria), the three-time Russian champion Valentina Gunina, the World Vice-Champion Humpy Koneru (India), as well as other leading grandmasters. Unfortunately, the reigning champion Hou Yifan was unable to come for personal reasons, but as the winner of the FIDE Grand Prix she will still be able to challenge the new champion to a match.
The first five rounds consist of mini-matches of two games played at 90 minutes for 40 moves followed by 30 minutes for the rest of the game and a 30-second increment per move. The final match will consist of four games.
In the event of a tie, the winner will be determined by a series of tiebreak games: two rapid games of 25 minutes plus 10 seconds per move. If the score remains equal, the players then proceed to two more games played at 10 minutes plus 10 seconds per move. If the score continues tied a final mini-match will be played of two blitz games of 5 minutes plus 3 seconds per move. Finally, an Armageddon game will be played to decide the winner in which White has five minutes and Black has four minutes, with a three-second increment per move after move 61. Black will be declared the victor if the game is drawn.
While not everyone went to Sochi to follow the games in person, the media has been very present
Although the official novelty appeared on move 12, both sides played engine perfection until move 19 suggesting that White had anticipated the new move. After a quick melee, the position transformed into a middlegame with a piece up for White, and three pawns for Black. White's piece seemed to present the better prospects, but a mistake allowed the pawn to become a veritable nuisance after which White was playing to survive. If she failed, the match was over.
The players get ready for battle. Natalia seems unaware that Mariya is staring her down. Or is she?
Muzychuk tried hard to keep the position alive, and did an excellent job, even avoiding a position that would have let her opponent have an easier time defending, but the draw was always on the board until ...
It was no doubt a huge relief for Pogonina's supporters and fans, whose heart must have skipped a beat when the engines began posting large scores in favor of Black. To be fair to Muzychuk, it was a single window of opportunity, and the move didn't exactly scream "play me" when the chance appeared.
A win or a draw are all Mariya Muzychuk needs to become the new Women World Champion
With a point ahead prior to the fourth game, Natalia Pogonina will need to pull of one more comeback if she is to push the match into the tiebreaks. If she fails, Mariya Muzychuk will be crowned the new Women World Champion.
Report by Albert Silver and Eteri Kublashvili
Photos by Eteri Kublashvili, Anastasia Karlovich, and Vladimir Barsky
| Player | Fed | Rtg | G1 | G2 | G3 | G4 | G5 | G6 | G7 | G8 | G9 | Pts |
| Pogonina, Natalia | RUS | 2456 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1.0 | ||||||
| Muzychuk, Mariya | UKR | 2526 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 2.0 |
| Round 1 - 64 players | ||
| March 17 | Game 1 | 3:00 p.m. local time |
| March 18 | Game 2 | 3:00 p.m. local time |
| March 19 | Tie breaks | 3:00 p.m. local time |
| Round 2 - 32 players | ||
| March 20 | Game 1 | 3:00 p.m. local time |
| March 21 | Game 2 | 3:00 p.m. local time |
| March 22 | Tie breaks | 3:00 p.m. local time |
| Round 3 - 16 players | ||
| March 23 | Game 1 | 3:00 p.m. local time |
| March 24 | Game 2 | 3:00 p.m. local time |
| March 25 | Tie breaks | 3:00 p.m. local time |
| Round 4 - 8 players | ||
| March 26 | Game 1 | 3:00 p.m. local time |
| March 27 | Game 2 | 3:00 p.m. local time |
| March 28 | Tie breaks | 3:00 p.m. local time |
| Round 5 - 4 players | ||
| March 29 | Game 1 | 3:00 p.m. local time |
| March 30 | Game 2 | 3:00 p.m. local time |
| March 31 | Tie breaks | 3:00 p.m. local time |
| Rest day - April, 1 | ||
| Round 6 - 2 players | ||
| April 2 | Game 1 | 3:00 p.m. local time |
| April 3 | Game 2 | 3:00 p.m. local time |
| April 4 | Game 3 | 3:00 p.m. local time |
| April 5 | Game 4 | 3:00 p.m. local time |
| April 6 | Tie breaks | 3:00 p.m. local time |
| April 7 | Closing Ceremony* | |
| *Closing Ceremony can be shifted to April 6 in the absence of tie breaks |
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LinksThe 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 13 or any of our Fritz compatible chess programs. |
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