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

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.

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

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."

• Full game by game summaries here

Round eight results

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

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

Links Official tournament site + all ChessBase reports 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 11 or any of our Fritz compatible chess programs.