Kazan GP R08: Four decisive games – almost six in all

by ChessBase
6/19/2012 – Betül Yildiz and Viktorija Cmilyte looked poised to win their games, but the opponents, the Kosintseva sisters, both managed to cling on and draw. Otherwise we would have seen six decisive games. Anna Muzychuk, Hou Yifan, Elina Danielian and Humpy Koneru all won their white games, leaving Danielian in the lead ahead of Muzychuk. Tuesday is a free day. Round eight report.

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From June 9 to 23, 2012 Kazan, the capital of the Republic of Tatarstan, will play host to the FIDE Women's Grand Prix, part of a series of elite events organised by FIDE and Global Chess. There will be six tournaments over two years in various countries around the world. The winner of each tournament takes home 6,500 Euros, the total prize fund is 40,000 Euros. The overall winner will get a further 15,000 Euros at the end of the series. Starting time of the games is 15:00h (check your local time here).

Round eight

Four games in the eighth round in Kazan were decisive, all won with the white pieces. In fact all six games could have ended with wins if Betul Yildiz and Viktorija Cmilyte, who had big advantages, had been able to defeat their opponents, the sisters Nadezhda and Tatiana Kosintseva.


The central game of the match, between the tournament leader Elina Danielian...


...and chaser Kateryna Lahno finished in favor of the Armenian grandmaster

Anna Muzychuk (above) got a better position after the opening in the game against Alisa Galliamova but later didn’t play precisely and allowed Black to equalize. In the deep endgame the Slovenian GM managed to find winning chances and beat her opponent.

World Champion Hou Yifan (above right), who had white against Alexandra Kosteniuk, for a second time in this tournament sacrificed a knight on g7 – she already did so in her game with Antoaneta Stefanova in the sixth round. The attack of Chinese player was decisive and Alexandra could not defend her position.

[Event "4th WGP Kazan 2012"] [Site "Kazan RUS"] [Date "2012.06.18"] [Round "8"] [White "Hou Yifan"] [Black "Kosteniuk, A."] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C26"] [WhiteElo "2623"] [BlackElo "2457"] [PlyCount "93"] [EventDate "2012.06.09"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. g3 Bb4 4. Bg2 c6 5. d4 d6 6. Nge2 O-O 7. h3 Nbd7 8. O-O Re8 9. Be3 Ba5 10. a4 a6 11. g4 Nf8 12. Ng3 Ng6 13. f4 exf4 14. Bxf4 Nxf4 15. Rxf4 Nd7 16. Qd3 Qb6 17. Rb1 Ne5 18. Qd1 Ng6 19. Rf2 Qd8 20. Nce2 Bc7 21. Qd2 d5 22. e5 Be6 23. Rbf1 c5 24. c3 cxd4 25. cxd4 Rf8 26. Nh5 Qh4 27. Neg3 f6 {[#] } 28. Nxg7 (28. Rxf6 {was also possible and deadly.}) 28... Kxg7 29. Nh5+ Kh8 30. Qh6 Rg8 31. Rxf6 Rae8 32. Rf7 Bxf7 33. Rxf7 Nf8 34. Rxc7 Rg6 35. Rxh7+ Nxh7 36. Qxg6 Rg8 37. Qf7 Qg5 38. Qxd5 Nf8 39. Kh2 Qd2 40. Qd6 Nh7 41. e6 Qe3 42. d5 b5 43. axb5 axb5 44. Qf4 Qxf4+ 45. Nxf4 Kg7 46. Nh5+ Kh6 47. d6 1-0


Humpy Koneru created strong initiative in the middle game and defeated...


... former women's world champion Antoaneta Stefanova.


Missed a clear win: disappointed WGM Betul Cemre Yildiz at the press conference

Betul Yildiz: "I’m sure my position was better in the endgame, but it was so hard to find the correct way to win it. I got really tired. This is a tough job indeed! When I studied at university, I had no time to play chess professionally. However now I have graduated from the law department and can concentrate on chess. In a few years I might again be faced with the choice, and depending upon results I will see if it make sense to stay in chess or up take some another profession."


Tenacious: GM Nadezhda Kosintseva saved a lost position against the tail-ender

Nadezhda Kosintseva: "I remember a game of Shirov in that variation, and I was ready to play those kind of positions wth black. 27…Qa2 was a mistake I should have taken another pawn on e4. A few moves later I realized my position was just worse, so I'm glad to have made a draw in the end."


GM Viktorija Cmilyte (middle) was equally unhappy with a missed chance

Viktorija Cmilyte: "I was ready for the opening, and I even thought the position can be a bit worse for black I was ready to play it. I think after 30…Qd7, 31…Qd7 my position was okay. I think I could have won the endgame, but it's not easy to say where exactly, after so many hours of play."

Round eight results

GM Anna Muzychuk 2598
1-0
IM Alisa Galliamova 2484
GM Hou Yifan 2623
1-0
GM Alexandra Kosteniuk 2457
GM Elina Danielian 2484
1-0
GM Keteryna Lahno 2546
GM Humpy Koneru 2589
1-0
GM Antoaneta Stefanova 2518
WGM Betul Cemre Yildiz 2333
½-½
GM Nadezhda Kosintseva 2528
GM Tatiana Kosintseva 2532
½-½
GM Viktorija Cmilyte 2508

After the eigth round Elina Danielian is on the top with six points, Anna Muzychuk is second, half a point behind. Viktorija Cmilyte and Humpy Koneru share the third place with five points. Hou Yifan increased her tournament position and shares the fifth place with Katerina Lahno at 4.5/8 points.

Standings after eight rounds of play

Replay all games of the round on our Javascript player


Video stream of the round

The Russian organisers are providing a HD video stream
of the action with expert commentary from Kazan.


Photos and reports by Anastasiya Karlovich and Rashit Shiriyazdanov (above)

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 11 or any of our Fritz compatible chess programs.


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