
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 one
The opening round involved a tense struggle, nevertheless first three games
Viktorija Cmilyte vs Katerina Lahno, Elina Danielian vs Anna Muzychuk and Humpy
Koneru vs Hou Yifan were drawn. After the first time control Alisa Galliamova
managed to win against Betul Yildiz in a slightly better endgame. A long game
between Antoaneta Stefanova and Nadezhda Kosintseva finished in favor of Bulgarian
player. A very exciting struggle between Tatiana Kosintseva and Alexandra Kosteniuk
finished in a draw.
GM |
Elina Danielian |
2484 |
½-½ |
GM |
Anna Muzychuk |
2598 |
GM |
Humpy Koneru |
2589 |
½-½ |
GM |
Hou Yifan |
2623 |
WGM |
Betul Cemre Yildiz |
2333 |
0-1 |
IM |
Alisa Galliamova |
2484 |
GM |
Tatiana Kosintseva |
2532 |
½-½ |
GM |
Alexandra Kosteniuk |
2457 |
GM |
Viktorija Cmilyte |
2508 |
½-½ |
GM |
Keteryna Lahno |
2546 |
GM |
Nadezhda Kosintseva |
2528 |
0-1 |
GM |
Antoaneta Stefanova |
2518 |

FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov starts the top game Humpy Koneru vs Hou
Yifan

Alisa Galliamova, who beat Turkish WGM Betul Yildiz in a slightly better endgame

Former women's world champion Antoaneta Stefanova defeated GM Nadezhda Kosintseva
Round two

Women's world champion GM Hou Yifan facing WGM Betül Yildiz
The second day produced three decisive games. The biggest surprise was the
victory of lowest seed, Turkish WGM Betul Yildiz, 2333, with the black pieces,
over top seed and world champion GM Hou Yifan, 2623. The Chinese player sacrificed
a piece in a very complicated position and missed a winning variation in time
trouble. This game was annotated for us by GM Alejandro Ramirez:

[Event "FIDE Women's GP 2012"] [Site "Kazan"] [Date "2012.06.11"] [Round "2"]
[White "Hou, Yifan"] [Black "Yildiz, Betul Cemre"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C78"]
[WhiteElo "2623"] [BlackElo "2333"] [Annotator "Ramirez,Alejandro"] [PlyCount
"68"] [EventDate "2012.??.??"] [EventCountry "RUS"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5
a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Bc5 6. c3 b5 7. Bc2 d5 8. exd5 Qxd5 {In many variations
of the Spanish, including this Moller, the game turns sharp very quickly. Here
Black has seized the center and seems to have better development - but her weaknesses
and uncastled king allow White to develop with tempi.} 9. d4 exd4 10. Bg5 (10.
Re1+ Kf8 {transposes to a note below}) 10... Bg4 11. Bxf6 Bxf3 12. Re1+ Kf8
(12... Kd7 $5) 13. Bb3 $1 {An important intermezzo, without this White is proably
just worse.} Qe4 14. Bxg7+ $6 {Too risky} (14. Bxd4 Nxd4 15. Rxe4 Bxd1 16. Bxd1
Ne6 17. Nd2 {Gives White a small pull. The h8 rook will take a few moves to
get back in the game and meanwhile White may pressure the queenside. However
a draw was agreed here immediately in the game Kotronias-Mamedyarov 2007}) 14...
Kxg7 {It's commendable to see Yildiz's knowledge of this variation. It is not
easy to outprepare the World Champion!} 15. gxf3 $2 {And this is just too ambitious.
White had to settle for } (15. Rxe4 Bxd1 16. Bxd1 Rhe8 {But Black is obviously
the one fighting for the initiative.}) 15... Qf5 16. Nd2 $2 {White wants to
finish development, but this self imposed pin will cost a piece.} dxc3 17. bxc3
Rad8 $6 {An innacuracy, even though it is not obvious why just yet.} (17...
Rhd8 18. Kh1 Qf4 {was far superior, as Black now hows h8 for her king.}) 18.
Kh1 Qf4 19. Re4 Qxd2 20. Qg1+ Kf8 21. Qg4 $1 {Very resourceful. This move creates
a series of threats connected with the weakness on f7. Black must tread carefully.
Being able to create problems is the mark of a strong player, even if they are
in worst situations.} Qd6 $4 {An unfortunate move, which might have cost dearly.}
(21... Bxf2 22. Bxf7 Qxc3 {forced White to find the spectacular} 23. Rg1 $1
{and Black can try to win with Qf6 or settle for a draw with Bxg1.}) 22. Qh5
$6 (22. Qf5 $1 $18 {There is no good way to defend f7 since the bishop on c5
needs protection.} Rd7 23. Re6 {Regains the piece and gives White a winning
attack.}) 22... Rd7 23. Rae1 $2 (23. Rd1 {is enough to guarantee white an advantage.
She will be down material but again the threats are very strong.} Qxd1+ 24.
Bxd1 Rxd1+ 25. Kg2 Rg8+ 26. Kh3 {and White is threatening both Qxc5+ and Qh6+})
23... Bxf2 $1 {Black is back on track! This move is brave and forced. Now that
g1 is covered, the attack dwindles. White is now the one that must think about
saving her position.} 24. Rd1 $4 {This is too late now} (24. Re8+ Kg7 25. Rxh8
Qg6 $1 (25... Kxh8 26. Bc2 h6 27. Re8+ {is suprisingly winning.}) 26. Qxg6+
hxg6 {And Black has more than enough compensation for the exchange. Good active
pieces, better structure and better coordination overall. I'd take Black in
this endgame almost every time.}) 24... Qg6 $1 {A nice resource. The rook on
d7 is taboo, so White must exchange queens.} (24... Rg8 {was also winning.})
25. Qxg6 Rxd1+ {The intermediate check seals the deal. The rest is easy for
the Turkish star.} 26. Bxd1 hxg6 27. Bb3 Bc5 28. Kg2 Bd6 29. h3 Rh5 30. a4 Re5
31. Rh4 Re2+ 32. Kf1 Re3 33. axb5 axb5 34. Bd5 Ne7 {A topsy turvy game! Many
variations had to be calculated, but Black's bold play was rewarded at the end.}
0-1

Walked into a deadly trap: Chinese GM and top seed Hou Yifan

Playing white Anna Muzychuk (above) sacrificed a pawn in the game against Antoaneta
Stefanova and in a sharp position managed to defeat the former world champion.

Viktorija Cmilyte got a position with a huge advantage, playing with black
against Alexandra Kosteniuk (above right), but missed good chances to win the
game in the time trouble and in the end in fact lost.

Alisa Galliamova (above right) could have scored the second point today but
didn’t choose the right move in time trouble, playing against Tatiana
Kosintseva. As a result the game finished in a draw.

Two more games, Kateryna Lahno vs Nadezhda Kosintseva (above) and Elina Danielian
vs Humpy Koneru ended peacefully. After the second round three players, Anna
Muzychuk, Alisa Galliamova and Alexandra Kosteniuk, share the first place with
1.5 points.
GM |
Anna Muzychuk |
2598 |
1-0 |
GM |
Antoaneta Stefanova |
2518 |
GM |
Keteryna Lahno |
2546 |
½-½ |
GM |
Nadezhda Kosintseva |
2528 |
GM |
Alexandra Kosteniuk |
2457 |
1-0 |
GM |
Viktorija Cmilyte |
2508 |
IM |
Alisa Galliamova |
2484 |
½-½ |
GM |
Tatiana Kosintseva |
2532 |
GM |
Hou Yifan |
2623 |
0-1 |
WGM |
Betul Cemre Yildiz |
2333 |
GM |
Elina Danielian |
2484 |
½-½ |
GM |
Humpy Koneru |
2589 |
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, with kind permission
of FIDE