Hou Yifan leads Monaco Womens' Grand Prix

Hou Yifan leads Monaco Womens' Grand Prix

When Magnus Carlsen was in Iceland for the Reykjavik Open 2015 he came to the press room while the sixth round was going on. After settling down he was asked by the interviewer, WIM Fiona Steil-Antoni, who he thought had the best chances of winning the World Women’s Championship 2015. Puzzled by the question, Carlsen said, “Hou Yifan.” But she isn’t playing, came the reply. “Then I don’t really know who will win it!”

This is the general consensus amongst the experts on women chess – Hou Yifan is leaps and bounds ahead of her competitors. And she is proving it at the Monaco Grand Prix. As mentioned in our first report, she started off slowly with 2.5/4, losing her game against Humpy Koneru. But after the first rest day the Chinese player has been absolutely flawless and won all her four games to lead the tournament with a score of 6.5/8.

Four points in the last four rounds – Hou Yifan looks simply unstoppable

Hou Yifan defeated Almira Skripchenko in the fifth round in a topsy-turvy encounter, and then got the better of Antanoeta Stefanova in a fine display of thematic play in a reversed Closed Sicilian. Facing Nana Dzagnidze’s French Defence in the seventh round she decided to try out quite an exotic and forgotten line in the Winawer.

Hou Yifan-Nana Dzagnidze, round seven

The 4.Qd3 move is a favourite of the Swedish grandmaster Jonny Hector,
and is much more than a use-and-throw variation

Nana Dzagnidze had no idea of how to continue in this unusual line, and after fifteen moves she was in a nearly lost position. Hou Yifan’s general idea of employing this 4.Qd3 variation was to avoid a theoretical debate and get her opponent in unknown territory, where the Chinese player could showcase her superior skills. This is exactly what happened.

In the eighth round Yifan faced the last seed of the tournament Sarasadat Khademalsharieh. After the initial moves 1.d4 g6 2.c4 Bg7 3.Nf3 c5 4.d5 d6 5.Nc3, we reach the following position:

Sarasadat Khademalsharieh-Hou Yifan, round eight

Hou Yifan took the brave decision of capturing the knight on c3
with her bishop and then placing the pawn on f5

This idea of ….Bxc3 followed by …f5 was seen in the recent game at the World Cup, when Pavel Eljanov, who was playing black, was in a must win scenario against Sergey Karjakin in the semi-finals. This opening is dubious if the knight is on g1 (as then white can go for a quick e4 followed by f3), but with the knight already on f3 Black has excellent chances, and Yifan had little trouble in overcoming her Iranian opponent.

What’s in this thermos? Hou Yifan’s secret ingredients for a successful performance!

Sarasadat Khademalsharieh started the tournament well with three draws, but since then has
suffered five defeats in a row. Nevertheless this is a great learning experience for the youngster.

The reigning Women’s World Champion, Mariya Muzychuk, is half a point behind the leader

After a 3.5/4 start, Mariya Muzychuk slowed down with three draws, but was back with a bang winning her eighth round game against the Indian superstar Humpy Koneru.

With three consecutive wins in rounds five, six and seven, Humpy was
neck and neck with Hou Yifan, before losing the crucial eighth round

After the two Polgar sisters, Pia Cramling (above) is the third female player in the history of the game to have achieved the full-fledged GM title through conventional tournament play – by making three GM norms and reaching 2500 Elo. The Swedish legend, currently in fourth place, was doing pretty well until the fifth round. But in the next game she was on the receiving end of a brilliant attack by Natalia Zhukova.

Natalia Zhukova has only won one game in the event, but it was filled with some power play chess

Speaking of power play, something which must not be missed is Daniel King’s interview with Mrs. Alexander Grischuk at the Tromso Olympiad 2014.

Alexandra Kosteniuk has drawn her last four games and is currently on 4.5/8

Kosteniuk is not really having the best of events here in Monaco. She had a completely winning position against Mariya Muzychuk, and also an advantage against Anna. But against both the Muzychuk sisters she had to settle for a draw. Maybe after the rest day we could well a see a completely rejuvenated Alexandra who would make a strong finish.

It helps when your husband is a 2600+ GM – Alexandra Kosteniuk with Pavel Tregubov

Somebody in Monaco love Photoshop! The ex-World Women Champion, Antanoeta Stefanova (above), has a 50% score in the event winning against Humpy, Kosteniuk and Pogonina and losing to Hou Yifan, Mariay Muzychuk and Cramling.

Natalija Pogonina has had a peak rating of 2508 in July 2014 but is still only a WGM

With 4.5/8, Natalija has been doing quite well in the tournament. Winning three games is an excellent achievement. But she wouldn’t be very happy with her endgame play against Antanoeta Stefanova in their fifth round encounter.

Natalija’s demeanour in this press conference tells you how upset she was with her play

Anna Muzychuk is having a forgettable event, and at 3.0/8 she is yet to score her first win

The two sisters did fight it out against each other for 33 moves in a theoretical line
of the Grunfeld, but in the end the game ended in a draw

As Mariya points out in the press conference, it is always difficult for her
to play against Anna because she knows all her openings – and vice versa

This is the first time that the younger Muzychuk has overtaken her sister on the classical rating list. Mariya has gained 19 points in the tournament and is now 2547, while Anna lost 15 Elo and is down to 2533. It was possible to calculate this thanks to the information available on the 2700 chess website.

Almira Skripchenko is in the tenth position with the score of 2.5/8. It must be mentioned
that this chess IM is an excellent Poker player with career earnings exceeding $250,000

In second last position: Nana Dzagnidze is currently losing 26 Elo points!

Different players have different tastes! (Antoaneta, Mariya Almira)

Hou Yifan with her biggest support – mother Wang Qian

The model of the official placard of Grand Prix in Monaco, Juliette Rapaire,
making the first move in the game between Natalia Zhukova and Humpy Koneru

The playing hall of the 2015 FIDE Womens' Grand Prix

Casino Monaco where the tournament is being held

The picturesque Mediterranean city of Monaco

Pictures from the official website

Links Official tournament site Download all games in PGN 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 or any of our Fritz compatible chess programs.