Krush almost beats the champion
Anna Zatonskih impressively won the third edition of the Cairns Cup with a round to spare, which meant the fight for second place became the focus of attention in the final round.
Three players entered the last day of action tied for second place, 1½ points behind Zatonskih: Alexandra Kosteniuk, Irina Krush and Bella Khotenashvili. After all was said and done, only Kosteniuk scored a full point, securing sole second place in the final standings.
Kosteniuk defeated Elisabeth Paehtz with black in what was her third consecutive win in Saint Louis. By the time the Swiss grandmaster had defeated her German colleague, Khotenashvili had already drawn her game against Harika Dronavalli, while Krush had an extra pawn in an endgame with rooks and bishops of opposite colours against the tournament winner.
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.
In a game that reminded us of their long-standing rivalry for the top spot among women chess players in the United States, Krush and Zatonskih fought until move 130, with Krush missing a few difficult-to-find recourses to score a full point.
The draw meant Zatonskih finished the tournament undefeated, as she became the American player to get a GM norm at the oldest age ever, according to Todd Bryant on Twitter:
Krush thus tied for third place with Khotenashvili. The latter signed her first draw of the event in the final round. The Georgian grandmaster had won four games in a row in rounds 3-7 before losing the all-important confrontation against Kosteniuk in the penultimate round.

Bella Khotenashvili | Photo: Bryan Adams
Krush ½ - ½ Zatonskih
Endgame analysis by GM Karsten Müller
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 c5 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Nf3 Nc6 6.g3 Nf6 7.Bg2 cxd4 8.Nxd4 Bc5 9.Nxc6 bxc6 10.0-0 0-0 11.Na4 Bb6 12.Qc2 Bd7 13.b3 Qe7 14.Bb2 Rfe8 15.e3 Ne4 16.Nxb6 axb6 17.Rfd1 h5 18.h4 Rac8 19.Re1 Bf5 20.Qd1 Qe6 21.Qd4 Qf6 22.Bxe4 dxe4 23.Qxf6 gxf6 24.Bxf6 Bg4 25.b4 b5 26.a4 bxa4 27.Rxa4 c5 28.b5 Rb8 29.Rb1 Re6 30.Bc3 Reb6 31.Rc4 Be2 32.Rxc5 Rxb5 33.Rg5+ Kh7 34.Rbxb5 Rxb5 35.Rg7+ Kh6 36.Rxf7 Bf3 37.Kh2 Rc5 38.Bd4 Rc2 39.g4 Rxf2+ 40.Kg3 Rg2+ 41.Kf4 Rxg4+ 42.Kf5 Rg8 43.Be5 Bg4+ 44.Kxe4 Re8 45.Kf4 Re6 46.e4 Kg6 47.Rg7+ Kh6 48.Rg8 Kh7 49.Rb8 Kg6 50.Rb5 Ra6 51.Bd4 Re6 52.Rg5+ Kh6 53.Ra5 Kg6 54.Ra7 Kh6 55.e5 Rc6 56.Ke4 Kg6 57.Ra3 Re6 58.Ra2 Rc6 59.Rf2 Ra6 60.Kd5 Be6+ 61.Kc5 Bf5 62.Bc3 Re6 63.Ra2 Bg4 64.Ra8 Kf7 65.Kd4 Kg6 66.Bb4 Rb6 67.Kc5 Re6 68.Kd4 Rb6 69.Bc5 Rb1 70.Ra6+ Kf7 71.Rf6+ Kg7 72.Kd5 Rd1+ 73.Bd4 Re1 74.e6 Kg8 75.Rg6+ Kh7 76.Rg7+ Kh6 77.e7 Bd7 78.Kd6 Ba4 79.Rg8 Rd1 80.Kc5 Re1 81.Bf6 Kh7 82.Ra8 Kg6 83.Bg5 Bd7 84.Kd6 Bb5 85.Ra5 Be8 86.Kc7 Bf7 87.Ra6+ Kh7 88.Rh6+ Kg7 89.Rd6 Rb1 90.Bf6+ Kh7 91.Bd4 Rb4 92.Bf6 Be8 93.Rd8 Kg6 94.Bg5 Rc4+ 95.Kb6 Kf7 96.Rd2 Re4 97.Rf2+ Kg6 98.Kc7! Bf7 99.Rf6+ Kg7 100.Rd6 Ra4?! 100...Be8 101.Kd8 Ba4 102.Rd3 Kg6 103.Rf3 Rd4+ 104.Kc7 Re4 105.Rf8 Kg7 106.Kd6 Kg6 107.Kd5 Re2 108.Ra8 Bd7 109.Kd6 Bb5 110.Rg8+ Kf7 111.Rf8+ Kg6 112.Rf4 Be8 113.Kc7 Re6 114.Kd8 Bf7 115.Kd7 Ra6 116.e8N+- 101.Bf6+! Kh7 102.Bd4 Be8 103.Rd8 Bf7 104.Bf6 Kg6 105.Bg5? 105.Bd4 Kf5 106.Kb6 Rb4+ 107.Kc5 Rc4+ 108.Kb5 Rc1 109.e8Q Bxe8+ 110.Rxe8 Kg4 111.Bf6+- 105...Rc4+ 106.Kd7 Rd4+ 107.Kc6 Rc4+ 108.Kd6 Re4 109.Rb8 Kg7 110.Rb7 Re1? 110...Be8= 111.Kd7? 111.Bd2! Re4 111...Rd1 112.e8Q+- 112.Bc3+ Kg6 113.Kd7 Kf5 114.Rb6 Kg4 115.Bf6 Kf5 116.Rd6 Ra4 117.e8N+- 111...Rd1+ 112.Kc7 Re1 113.Rb6 Rd1 114.Bf6+ Kh7 115.Rc6 Be8 116.Ra6 Rd7+ 117.Kc8 Kg8 118.Bg5 Rd4 119.Rf6 Bf7! 120.Rf1 Rc4+ 121.Kd7 Rd4+ 122.Kc6 Rc4+ 123.Kd6 Rd4+ 124.Ke5 Rd5+ 125.Ke4 Ra5 126.Rf6 Ra4+ 127.Ke5 Ra5+ 128.Kd6 Ra6+ 129.Kd7 Ra7+ 130.Kd8 ½–½
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.

Long-time rivals Irina Krush and Anna Zatonskih | Photo: Crystal Fuller
Results - Round 9
Final standings

All games
Replay and check the LiveBook here |
Please, wait...
- 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.
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.
Links