ACP Euro Women Rapid won by Kosteniuk

by Albert Silver
6/6/2015 – The final day of the ACP European Women’s Rapid championship confirmed the swing seen in the previous day. Stefanova’s train seemed to be running out of steam, while Kosteniuk was at full speed. The two players met in round nine, and while the Bulgarian held a decisive advantage, she lost control and the Russian won and secured the title. Report, analysis, and videos.

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The tournament

The ACP-ECU European Women's Rapid championship is currently underway in Kutaisi, Georgia, following directly after the end of the standard time control championship. It is an eleven-round competition held over three days from June 1 to June 3, 2015. Games are played at a rate of 15 minutes per game per player, with an increment of ten seconds per move). The base prize fund is 10 thousand Euros, with 2000 for 1st place, 1500 Euros for 2nd, and 1000 Euros for 3rd (subject to 20% Georgian Income Tax), however there is also an additional 8000 Euros added by the ACP. All games are broadcast at the official site and at Playchess as of 1 PM Paris time or 7AM New York.

Day three

the closing ceremony from the Kutaisi State Theatre

It was a gala-ceremony with about 300 people attending

ACP president and organizer Emil Sutovksy

GM Giorgadze, president of the Georgian Chess Federation

The great Georgian champion, Nona Gaprindashvili, the first woman to become a full grandmaster

Meri Arabidze vs Gunay Mammadzada

[Event "16th EWICC 2015"] [Site "Kutaisi"] [Date "2015.06.03"] [Round "11"] [White "Arabidze, Meri"] [Black "Mammadzada, Gunay"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D10"] [WhiteElo "2403"] [BlackElo "2336"] [Annotator "Robot 11"] [PlyCount "71"] [EventDate "2015.??.??"] [EventCountry "GEO"] [TimeControl "900+10"] 1. d4 {1} d5 {1} 2. c4 {1} c6 {1} 3. cxd5 {2} cxd5 {1} 4. Nc3 {1} Nf6 {2} 5. Nf3 {2} Nc6 {6} 6. Bf4 {1} a6 {8} 7. Rc1 {2} Bf5 {3} 8. e3 {1} Rc8 {3} 9. Be2 { 3} e6 {2} 10. O-O {3} Nd7 {8} 11. Na4 {31} Be7 {72} 12. a3 {8} g5 {122} 13. Be5 {35} Ndxe5 {33} 14. dxe5 {38} O-O {22} 15. Nd4 {143} Nxd4 {44} 16. Qxd4 {70 White opts for the less obvious move to favor piece activity and notably a centralized queen, instead of the improved pawn structure.} Bc2 {153} 17. Nc3 { 15} Bg6 {65} 18. Na4 {100} Bc2 {9 Draw?} 19. Bd3 {30 Nyet!} Bxd3 {27} 20. Qxd3 {10} Rc4 {54} 21. Nc3 {51} Qc7 {35} 22. f4 {33 Objectively this move is a mistake, but in a rapid game with the times already seriously dminished, it is an excellent, seeking to drum up counterplay with an attack.} Rc8 {55} 23. Rb1 $1 {174 The point is to unpin the knight to allow it to join the attack on the kingside,} Rd8 {255} 24. Ne2 {53} Bf8 {101} 25. Kh1 {30} Rc8 {9} 26. Ng3 {34} Bg7 {16} 27. Nh5 {134} Re4 {18} 28. Qd1 {65} Qc2 {19} 29. Qg4 {17} Rxe3 $4 {1 Short of time, Black completely misses White's attack with} 30. f5 $1 {42 Suddenly, the tables have been turned.} h6 {20} 31. fxe6 {5} Rf8 {29} 32. exf7+ {15} Rxf7 {1} 33. Qe6 {18} Qc7 {7} 34. Qe8+ {55} Bf8 {3} 35. Nf6+ {4} Kg7 {21} 36. Nxd5 {4} 1-0

Nino Batsiashvili had a great run, taking silver in the European Women's Championship in
standard time controls, and bronze in the Rapid

An interview with organizer and ACP board member Jeroen Van Den Berg 

Valentina Gunina (right) took silver after strong event, and only failed to fight for gold due
to two losses in the last rounds

Alexandra Kosteniuk had a fantastic second half with a six game winning streak, with wins
over Arabidze, Stfanova, Paetz, and Gaponenko, and fully deserved her gold

Emil Sutovsky and Alexandra Kosteniuk entertain the guests in the dinner after the closing ceremony

Not to be outdone, Elizabeth Paetz joined the fun

Photos by Picasso

 

Final standings (ratings are FIDE rapid)

Rk SNo Ti. Name FED Rtg Pts  TB
1 6 GM Kosteniuk Alexandra RUS 2456 8.5 2399
2 3 GM Gunina Valentina RUS 2495 8.0 2410
3 10 IM Batsiashvili Nino GEO 2424 8.0 2303
4 13 GM Zhukova Natalia UKR 2383 8.0 2293
5 1 GM Stefanova Antoaneta BUL 2570 7.5 2424
6 4 IM Paehtz Elisabeth GER 2478 7.5 2366
7 9 IM Gaponenko Inna UKR 2429 7.5 2331
8 5 IM Javakhishvili Lela GEO 2470 7.0 2355
9 11 IM Melia Salome GEO 2413 7.0 2247
10 16 IM Khurtsidze Nino GEO 2360 7.0 2122

Click for complete standings

Links

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 13 or any of our Fritz compatible chess programs.
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Topics: european women rapid, Kutaisi
Born in the US, he grew up in Paris, France, where he completed his Baccalaureat, and after college moved to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He had a peak rating of 2240 FIDE, and was a key designer of Chess Assistant 6. In 2010 he joined the ChessBase family as an editor and writer at ChessBase News. He is also a passionate photographer with work appearing in numerous publications.
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Discuss

Rules for reader comments

 
 

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Pionki Pionki 6/7/2015 11:01
Ok, guys, let's give her a break. Everyone makes mistakes. Sandu has been sufficiently supported. The rest is in the hands of her Federation. And by the way, Zhukova was not the only perpetrator. From now on everyone willthink twice before accusing another player.
idratherplay960 idratherplay960 6/6/2015 07:17
True story:

I used to teach high school math in Miami and at that time Alexandra Kostenuik lived half the year in nearby Key Biscayne (unsure if this is still the case). I also ran the school's chess club and our team would compete at local and state tournaments. Alexandra on more than one occasion gave simuls at scholastic events and was a real class act. The kids and I were in awe of her and once she even came to my school to give a guest lecture. She gave an amazing lesson, which I unfortunately did not film. She did not hold back for the lowest level or only reach the highest, instead I feel she was able to use her example games to effectively illustrate the main message of her lecture (preparation and cashing in on the advantages you accumulate over the board). I have taught for over ten years but Alexandra is a natural teacher along with being a talented player and one of the all-time best ambassadors of chess.
Darkergreen1327 Darkergreen1327 6/6/2015 10:04
"with a six game winning streak"
Hope that the players will not write a letter accusing her of cheating.
Those who signed that earlier letter ruined it so I am not interested w/ this one.
daftarche daftarche 6/6/2015 09:50
Title of picture with Zhukova: A peaceful woman with evil intentions.
babycroc babycroc 6/6/2015 09:43
Zhukova looks quite agitated in that photograph. She must be thinking, 'Hey, they better not telecast this ceremony live. Someone will cheat!'
Pionki Pionki 6/6/2015 09:21
Finally someone nice wins gold in the women's section.
By the way, Chessbase - a proper caption of the 2nd photo should be: "What are they saying?!"
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