Not your usual underdog
Before her victory at the Cairns Cup, Anna Zatonskih had been struggling to achieve successes in high-profile events during the last couple of years or so. The 4-time US women’s champion used to fight neck and neck with Irina Krush in the national championships, but her performances in 2021 and 2022 were not up to par.
Her loss of rating points throughout this period prompted her to enter the third edition of the Cairns Cup as the lowest-rated participant.
In this Fritztrainer: “Attack like a Super GM” with Gukesh we touch upon all aspects of his play, with special emphasis on how you can become a better attacking player.Zatonskih’s performance at the Saint Louis Chess Club was nothing short of impressive, as she grabbed four wins and three draws against top opposition to claim tournament victory with one round to spare. Commentator Nazi Paikidze aptly described Zatonskih’s triumph as “inspirational”. Once she figured out that she had just won the event, Zatonskih confessed in her post-game interview with Almira Skripchenko:
[This is the best achievement] in my chess career, definitely. The best in many years. [...] Thank you Almira, thank you everyone, especially the older generation who supported me here, who gave me motivation. I was trying to prove that age is just a number — it may be not, but I’m very happy!
The 44-year-old, born in Mariupol, Ukraine, had won her last US women’s champion back in 2011. Thanks to her performance in this event, no matter the result of her last-round game, she also grabbed a grandmaster norm, which was surprising to her as she thought it was not possible to get it after only eight rounds (the fact that Humpy Koneru withdrew, though, does grant her the norm). On her way to victory, she defeated the very active Bella Khotenashvili, Alexandra Kosteniuk, Gunay Mammadzada and Zhansaya Abdumalik.
Now the fight for second place will be decided in Monday’s final round, as Kosteniuk, Khotenashvili and Krush are all tied on 4/7 scores. Out of the three, only Kosteniuk will play with the black pieces.
Alexandra Kosteniuk obtained a key win over an in-form Bella Khotenashvili on Sunday | Photo: Bryan Adams
Zatonskih 1 - 0 Abdumalik
Endgame analysis by GM Karsten Müller
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 0-0 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.Qxc3 b6 7.Bg5 c5 8.dxc5 bxc5 9.Nh3 h6 10.Bxf6 Qxf6 11.Qxf6 gxf6 12.Nf4 Nc6 13.Nh5 f5 14.0-0-0 f6 15.g4 fxg4 16.Bg2 Kf7 17.h3 Rg8 18.Nf4 g3 19.fxg3 Rxg3 20.Bxc6 dxc6 21.Rd6 e5 22.Nh5 Rxh3 23.Rxf6+ Ke7 24.Rxh3 Bxh3 25.Rxh6 Be6 26.Rh7+ Kd6 27.Ng3 Bxc4 28.Ne4+ Kd5 29.Nc3+ Kd6 30.Ne4+ Kd5 31.Rh4 Ba6 32.Nc3+ Kd6 33.Rh6+ Kd7 34.Kd2 Bc4 35.Ne4 Kc7 36.Nxc5 Bg8 37.Kc3 a5 38.Rg6 Bd5 39.Rg7+ Kb6 40.b4 axb4+ 41.Kxb4 Ra7 42.Rxa7 Kxa7 43.e3? 43.Nd7! Ka6 43...e4 44.Nf6 Kb6 45.Nxd5+ cxd5 46.e3+- 44.Nxe5 c5+ 45.Kxc5 Be6 46.Kb4+- 43...Ba2 44.Nd7 e4? 44...Ka6! 45.Nxe5 c5+ 46.Kxc5 Ka5 47.Nc4+ Ka4 48.e4 Bb1 49.e5 Bf5 50.Kd6 Kb3 51.Kd5 Bh3= 45.Nc5 45...Bb1 45...Bd5 46.Ka5+- 46.a4 Kb6 47.a5+ Ka7 47...Kc7 48.Kb3 Kd6 49.a6 Kxc5 50.a7+- 48.Kb3 Bd3 49.Nxd3 exd3 50.e4! 50.Kc3? Ka6= 50...Ka6 51.e5 51.e5 Kxa5 52.e6 d2 53.Kc2 Kb6 54.e7 Kc7 55.e8Q+- 1–0 
In over 4 hours in front of the camera, Karsten Müller presents to you sensations from the world of endgames - partly reaching far beyond standard techniques and rules of thumb - and rounds off with some cases of with own examples.
Anna Zatonskih facing Zhansaya Abdumalik | Photo: Crystal Fuller
Results - Round 8
Standings - Round 8
All games
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In a total of 6 chapters, we look at the following aspects: the right decision based on tactical factors, decisions in exchanges and moves, complex and psychological decisions in longer games and in defence.
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