A perfect score: Stavroula Tsolakidou dominates women's chess blitz event

by Arne Kaehler
8/23/2023 – In mid-August, the Women's Chess Commission hosted its inaugural Online Blitz Tournament on the ChessBase Playchess platform. Under the leadership of Chairperson Regina Pokorna, the event was organized to further spotlight women's chess. Eleven female competitors took part in this intimate online blitz event, where they had the chance to challenge the formidable IM Stavroula Tsolakidou. The top Greek female player clinched the title with a flawless score of 10/10!
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Women's Chess Commission Online Blitz Tournament

with IM Stavroula Tsolakidou

In the middle of August, eleven female competitors took part in the Women's Chess Commission Online Blitz Tournament. The Playchess servers were ideally suited for such events. Before the pandemic hit, Playchess introduced a video and audio feature in the browser, allowing players to both see and hear their opponents during games. This setup perfectly replicates a blitz club evening for 6 to 12 players.

Whoever isn't playing can kibitz all other boards.

Bounty Hunting

The spotlight of the tournament shone brightly on Greece's premier female player, Stavroula Tsolakidou. While her participation alone was noteworthy, the Blitz evening added an extra twist. Any player who managed a draw against Stavroula received a €15 ChessBase gift card. And for those who triumphed over the IM, a €30 gift card awaited them as a bounty.

Stavroula Tsolakidou | Photo: Andreas Kontokanis

However, even though the VIP (Nickname: Stsolakidou) encountered formidable challengers and engaged in intense battles, she emerged victorious in every game! Of all the Blitz VIP Events we've hosted, featuring esteemed players such as Elisabeth Paehtz, Robert Ris, Simon Williams, and plenty of others, only Vincent Keymer achieved a similar clean sweep back in 2020!

The final table

The tournament was initiated by the European Chess Union 

From Austria to Cyprus - from 7 years to 60 years

The tournament boasted a diverse array of talented female players! Take Polina Karelina, for instance. Once the top female player in the Bahamas, she relocated to Austria a few years back to pursue her studies in computer science.

Polina Karelina plays chess in Austria nowadays | Photo: Paul Truong 

Another standout participant was Charlotte from Great Britain, a mere 7 1/2 years old! While she didn't clinch many victories, she put up some commendable fights and charmed fellow players with her endearing remarks like, "If I just had more time, I'd do so well in this tournament" and "I think I can win this game if I play better!"

Caroline, Charlotte's online teammate from Britain and the most senior player in the competition, embodied the spirit of sportsmanship. Despite being in a commanding position, she graciously offered Charlotte a draw. Caroline thoroughly enjoyed the event, noting:

I thought ChessBase worked very well with the Video/Mic built in. ... I will tell our online Women's and Girls Team how much fun it was ...

The other players were from Greece, Germany, France, Cyprus, and the small European country - Malta.

Interestingly, player "La Rose Ecarlate", even while vacationing near the picturesque Biarritz and armed only with her mobile phone, didn't miss out on the event. She joined in and delivered some impressive games!

Prize ceremony

Being the VIP, Stavroula was naturally excluded from the overall prize considerations.

  1. Evelyn Wagenschuetz (Evelyn Moncayo, Who won the direct duel against Dimpax, who has an equal score) won a €50 ChessBase gift card
  2. Dimitra Alexandri (Dimpax) won a €40 ChessBase gift card
  3. Polina Karelina (PolinaKarelina) won a €30 ChessBase gift card

No one managed to defeat or even draw against Stavroula, so the bounty prizes remained unclaimed.

However, the two most captivating games were selected by the tournament's founder, Regina Pokorna:

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1.d4 2 Nf6 42 2.c4 2 g6 12 3.Nc3 2 Bg7 4 4.e4 2 0-0 3 5.Be2 2 d6 10 6.Bg5 2 h6 3 7.Be3 2 Nbd7 7 8.Qd2 4 Kh7 5 9.g4 2 g5 2 10.h4 9 e5 10 11.d5 23 Kg8 11 12.hxg5 3 hxg5 4 13.Bxg5 4 Nc5 2 14.f3 5 Bd7 14 15.b4 3 Na4 2 16.Nxa4 6 Bxa4 2 17.Bd1 3 Bxd1 6 18.Qh2 16 Ba4 32 19.Bxf6 4 Qxf6 6 20.Qh7# 2 1–0
  • Start an analysis engine:
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  • Use the four cursor keys to replay the game. Make moves to analyse yourself.
  • Press Ctrl-B to rotate the board.
  • Drag the split bars between window panes.
  • Download&Clip PGN/GIF/FEN/QR Codes. Share the game.
  • Games viewed here will automatically be stored in your cloud clipboard (if you are logged in). Use the cloud clipboard also in ChessBase.
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Chjaruccia1620Buny7716201–02023E73ECU Blitz Tournament3
Vasilikithess1724Evelyn Moncayo16900–12023E32ECU Blitz Tournament4

Both winners (Evelyn Mocayo + Chjaruccia) receive a €30 ChessBase gift card

All games:

New ...
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MoveNResultEloPlayers
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1.e4 4 c5 11 2.c3 2 d5 3 3.e5 4 e6 2 4.d4 2 Nc6 4 5.Nf3 7 cxd4 36 6.cxd4 3 Be7 48 7.Nc3 3 f6 6 8.Bb5 9 Bd7 2 9.0-0 17 a6 7 10.Ba4 3 b5 4 11.Bc2 4 Bb4 9 12.a3 11 Bxc3 2 13.bxc3 1 Nge7 1 14.exf6 3 gxf6 16 15.Ne1 33 Rg8 3 16.Qh5+ 3 Kf8 5 17.Bh6+ 4 Rg7 5 18.Bxg7+ 2 Kxg7 2 19.Qxh7+ 1 Kf8 6 20.Qh6+ 4 Kg8 14 21.Qxf6 6 Qf8 7 22.Qh6 7 Qxh6 4 23.Nf3 5 Nf5 3 24.Rfe1 6 Nce7 7 25.Ne5 2 Bc8 8 26.Rad1 5 Ng6 8 27.Bxf5 7 exf5 3 28.Nc6 7 Nf4 7 29.Ne7+ 2 Kf8 6 ' 30.Re5 6 TimeB 1–0
  • Start an analysis engine:
  • Try maximizing the board:
  • Use the four cursor keys to replay the game. Make moves to analyse yourself.
  • Press Ctrl-B to rotate the board.
  • Drag the split bars between window panes.
  • Download&Clip PGN/GIF/FEN/QR Codes. Share the game.
  • Games viewed here will automatically be stored in your cloud clipboard (if you are logged in). Use the cloud clipboard also in ChessBase.
  • Create an account to access the games cloud.
WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Epica111582Buny7713601–02023C02ECU Blitz Tournament6
CharlotteO1461La Rose Ecarlate15210–12023C46ECU Blitz Tournament6
MAElli1558Vasilikithess16210–12023E72ECU Blitz Tournament9
MAElli1535Stsolakidou20490–12023A21ECU Blitz Tournament11
Vasilikithess1724Evelyn Moncayo16900–12023E32ECU Blitz Tournament4
PolinaKarelina1808Dimpax16320–12023B23ECU Blitz Tournament5
Dimpax1657Chjaruccia17541–02023E93ECU Blitz Tournament6
Dimpax1706Vasilikithess16771–02023E92ECU Blitz Tournament11
Evelyn Moncayo1620Dimpax16321–02023B96ECU Blitz Tournament3
PolinaKarelina1759Evelyn Moncayo17900–12023B25ECU Blitz Tournament9
Vasilikithess1703PolinaKarelina17040–12023E94ECU Blitz Tournament6
La Rose Ecarlate1578Stsolakidou19880–12023E61ECU Blitz Tournament7
Chjaruccia1688La Rose Ecarlate15061–02023E35ECU Blitz Tournament11
Evelyn Moncayo1773CharlotteO14851–02023C60ECU Blitz Tournament5
La Rose Ecarlate1620Epica1116200–12023E11ECU Blitz Tournament3
Epica111620Evelyn Moncayo16201–02023B22ECU Blitz Tournament2
MAElli1620La Rose Ecarlate16200–12023A36ECU Blitz Tournament2
CharlotteO1620Stsolakidou19260–12023B20ECU Blitz Tournament4
Dimpax1683MAElli16081–02023D35ECU Blitz Tournament8
La Rose Ecarlate1574Vasilikithess16610–12023E61ECU Blitz Tournament5
PolinaKarelina1620MAElli1620½–½2023C00ECU Blitz Tournament3
Epica111713PolinaKarelina17380–12023B09ECU Blitz Tournament4
Buny771620PolinaKarelina16200–12023B07ECU Blitz Tournament2
Stsolakidou1872Vasilikithess17671–02023E71ECU Blitz Tournament3
PolinaKarelina1620Chjaruccia16201–02023B25ECU Blitz Tournament1
Stsolakidou1620Epica1116201–02023E20ECU Blitz Tournament1
Vasilikithess1607Buny7713131–02023E98ECU Blitz Tournament8
Chjaruccia1620Buny7716201–02023E73ECU Blitz Tournament3
Evelyn Moncayo1620MAElli16201–02023C14ECU Blitz Tournament1
La Rose Ecarlate1620Buny7716201–02023E68ECU Blitz Tournament1
Dimpax1663Stsolakidou16200–12023E94ECU Blitz Tournament2
Evelyn Moncayo1757La Rose Ecarlate15671–02023C65ECU Blitz Tournament8
Chjaruccia1664Vasilikithess16521–02023E73ECU Blitz Tournament7
MAElli1506Chjaruccia16200–12023E70ECU Blitz Tournament4
Dimpax1608La Rose Ecarlate16591–02023D31ECU Blitz Tournament4
CharlotteO1299MAElli15080–12023C00ECU Blitz Tournament10
Buny771367Evelyn Moncayo18850–12023B90ECU Blitz Tournament11
Evelyn Moncayo1846Chjaruccia17271–02023B33ECU Blitz Tournament10
Stsolakidou2047Buny7713691–02023A80ECU Blitz Tournament10
Stsolakidou1947Evelyn Moncayo17961–02023E06ECU Blitz Tournament6
Epica111465CharlotteO12721–02023C66ECU Blitz Tournament11
MAElli1522Epica1116121–02023A50ECU Blitz Tournament7
Vasilikithess1719CharlotteO16201–02023D13ECU Blitz Tournament2
CharlotteO1389Chjaruccia17300–12023A34ECU Blitz Tournament8
Chjaruccia1688Epica1116441–02023A50ECU Blitz Tournament5
Buny771428MAElli14560–12023C11ECU Blitz Tournament5
PolinaKarelina1772CharlotteO14031–02023C50ECU Blitz Tournament7
Buny771294CharlotteO13731–02023C62ECU Blitz Tournament9
Chjaruccia1747Stsolakidou20270–12023E33ECU Blitz Tournament9
Stsolakidou1999PolinaKarelina17861–02023E71ECU Blitz Tournament8
Buny771329Dimpax16780–12023B90ECU Blitz Tournament7
Vasilikithess1655Epica1114981–02023A50ECU Blitz Tournament10
CharlotteO1620Dimpax16330–12023B20ECU Blitz Tournament1
La Rose Ecarlate1537PolinaKarelina17070–12023E62ECU Blitz Tournament10
Epica111532Dimpax16960–12023B22ECU Blitz Tournament9
Buny771428MAElli14560–12023ECU Blitz Tournament5

Sweet endgame puzzle

We spotted a breathtaking endgame between the islands of Malta and Cyprus:

It is Black to move. Is White winning, or can Black swindle to a draw?

If you also want to play online, with your friends, family, or club mates, we got you covered in this guide.

How to play with Video + Microphone on Playchess!

Future online blitz tournaments:

Chairperson Regina Theissl Pokorna is certainly looking forward to hosting more of such events in the future. To not miss out, we recommend following the European Chess Union, and checking out the women chess commission team, for other female chess events, the calendar, and news!

Links:

Arne Kaehler, a creative mind who is passionate about board games in general, was born in Hamburg and learned to play chess at a young age. By teaching chess to youth teams and creating chess-related videos on YouTube, Arne was able to expand this passion and has even created an online course for anyone who wants to learn how to play chess. Arne writes for the English and German news sites, but focuses mainly on content for the ChessBase media channels.
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