4/14/2024 – Lei Tingjie scored a third consecutive win in round 8 of the Women’s Candidates Tournament. Importantly, Lei defeated former long-standing sole leader Tan Zhongyi, which resulted in three players sharing first place at the end of the round — Lei, Tan and Aleksandra Goryachkina are now sharing the lead with 5 points each. One more game ended decisively on Saturday, as Humpy Koneru got the better of Vaishali R with the white pieces. | Photo: FIDE / Michal Walusza
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On this all-new ChessBase video course, IM Andrew Martin introduces you to this exciting world, so that you can begin playing the Sicilian in your own games. The main themes and ideas of the Open Sicilian are discussed.
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Goryachkina and Lagno remain undefeated
Two players remain undefeated in the Women’s Candidates Tournament. Coincidentally, the two participants who have avoided losses throughout the first eight rounds are the Russian representatives, Aleksandra Goryachkina and Kateryna Lagno — in the open, the one player who remains unbeaten is also Russian: i.e. Ian Nepomniachtchi.
On Saturday, Goryachkina drew Lagno with black to climb to the shared lead for the first time in the event. What allowed the top seed to join the lead was Lei Tingjie’s victory over Tan Zhongyi. Tan started strong in Toronto, with 3 wins and 4 draws in the first seven rounds, but faced an in-form Lei, who came from scoring back-to-back victories in rounds 6 and 7.
Going into round 9, Lei, Tan and Goryachkina have 5/8 points each, and stand a half point ahead of Lagno. Nurgyul Salimova and Humpy Koneru are sharing fifth place a full-point behind Lagno, each on 3½/8.
This means that half the field has a ‘plus-score’ and half the field stands below the fifty-percent mark. Since the co-leaders only have a +2, though, there is still a chance for someone who started slow to get a winning streak and join the fight for first place.
Curiously, none of the four frontrunners will face each other on Sunday. Lagno, Tan and Goryachkina will play with the black pieces, while Lei is the only player in the pack that will play white in round 9 — will we see the latest World Championship challenger scoring a fourth victory in a row?
In this video course, experts (Pelletier, Marin, Müller and Reeh) examine the games of Judit Polgar. Let them show you which openings Polgar chose to play, where her strength in middlegames were, or how she outplayed her opponents in the endgame.
Kateryna Lagno and Aleksandra Goryachkina signed a 34-move draw in Saturday’s eighth round | Photo: FIDE / Michal Walusza
14.h5
Aronian played14.g5against So once. Both variations are good, but each results in a different game.14...c415.Qd1Qd816.Rg1gxh517.gxh5Bd618.Bg518.Bxd6Qxd619.Rxg7Ke7doesn't work in White's favour, as she can hardly get her pieces over to the kingside, where the game is played for the time being.18...Be719.Bf4Bd620.Bg5Be721.f4"Draw offer" rejected.Rb822.a3a523.Bh4?!23.Kf2was a better move.23...Kf8Playable was23...Nxh5!and:24.Bxe7Qxe725.Rh1g626.Bxh5gxh527.Rxh5Kd7The same motif as we have already seen. The b8-rook gets to the kingishde much faster than the a1-rook.24.Bg3Bd625.Bh4Ne726.Bxf6gxf627.Bf1b4
A clear advantage for Black. The poor coordination of the white pieces is obvious.28.axb4axb429.Bh3f530.Qf3Bc731.Ke2Ng832.Qg3Nf633.h6Ke7
34.Qg5Qf8?!Here34...Kd7was better.35.Ra7Now the coordination of the black pieces is disturbed, in contrast to the position after 34...Kd7.Rc836.Bg2?Tan missed36.Bxf5!exf537.Rh1The threat is h6-h7 and Rh6. AfterQg837...Rh738.Qxf5Rxh639.Rxh6Qxh640.Qxc8Qh2+=38.cxb4Qh739.Ra6Qg640.b5the black advantage is manageable.36...Rxh6
Now Black is clearly winning.37.Nf3Rh538.Qg3Ne439.Qe1bxc340.bxc3Qg741.Bf1Qh842.Qa1Kf643.Rg2Rh344.Ne5Qh5+45.Ke1Rxe3+46.Re2Qh4+47.Kd1Rxe248.Bxe2Qxf449.Qb2Rh850.Bf3Rh251.Qc10–1
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.
Nurgyul Salimova v. Anna Muzychuk was only agreed drawn after 120 moves! | Photo: FIDE / Michal Walusza
Anna Muzychuk taking a picture with a couple of fans! | Photo: FIDE / Michal Walusza
The Indian chess grandmaster Vidit Gujrathi with an ELO of over 2700 (June 2023) is one of the best 20 players in the world. For the first time, the sympathetic top player presents himself in a video course. Let a world-class player show you tactical moti
Carlos Alberto ColodroCarlos Colodro is a Hispanic Philologist from Bolivia. He works as a freelance translator and writer since 2012. A lot of his work is done in chess-related texts, as the game is one of his biggest interests, along with literature and music.
In this 60 Minutes, Andrew Martin guides you through all the key ideas you need to know to play with confidence. Whether you’re looking to surprise your opponents, or simply want a straightforward weapon against e5, the Centre Attack has you covered.
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This video course provides a comprehensive and practical White repertoire in the Ruy Lopez! Through instructive model games and in-depth theoretical explanations, you will learn how to confidently handle both main lines and sidelines.
Chess Festival Prague 2025 with analyses by Aravindh, Giri, Gurel, Navara and others. ‘Special’: 27 highly entertaining miniatures. Opening videos by Werle, King and Ris. 10 opening articles with new repertoire ideas and much more.
Experts examine the games of Max Euwe. Let them show you which openings Euwe chose to play, where his strength in middlegames were, which tactical abilities he had or how he outplayed his opponents in the endgame.
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