Khanty 02: Hou Yifan solo 2/2

by Alejandro Ramirez
4/10/2014 – After another thrilling day in Khanty-Mansiysk, again with five out six games being decisive, Hou Yifan has emerged an early leader by being the only player to have won both of her games. She is closely followed by Stefanova, who beat Ushenina, and Muzychuk, who drew Dzanigdze. Although it's only round two, nine of the twelve participants have already suffered a defeat...

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The fourth stage of the the FIDE Women’s Grand Prix series 2013-2014 is taking place at the Ugra Chess Academy, Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia from the 8th of April until the 22nd of April 2014. It is a twelve-player round robin with time controls of 90 minutes for the first 40 moves, with 30 minutes plus an additional 30 seconds per move for the rest of the game. The total prize fund is 60,000, with the winner getting 10,000 Euro.

Round Two

Round 02 – April 10 2014, 14:00h
Kosteniuk, A 2527
0-1
Kosintseva, Tatiana 2496
Tuvshintugs, B 2340
0-1
Hou Yifan 2618
Dzagnidze, Nana 2550
½-½
Muzychuk, Anna 2560
Lagno, Kateryna 2543
1-0
Girya, Olga 2450
Muminova, Nafisa 2321
1-0
Zhao Xue 2552
Stefanova, A 2489
1-0
Ushenina, Anna 2501

Kosteniuk, Alexandra 0-1 Kosintseva, Tatiana
The Two Knights Opening rears its ugly head every so often in grandmaster chess. It always leads to interesting positions, and this case was no exception. Kosteniuk was as little too eager to keep her extra material; Kosintseva launched a ferocious attack and White was simply defenseless against the incoming threats. Her precise play culminated in a picturesque mating threat that would have cost White too much material to parry.

Tatiana Kosintseva bounced back from her loss yesterday with a powerful win

Tuvshintugs, Batchimeg 0-1 Hou Yifan
Tuvshintugs' opening was less than successful and she found herself positionally worse after only a few moves. Black's superior pawn structure and more active pieces were far more important than White's bishop. White's best chance would have been to trade into a double rook endgame down a pawn and with the worse structure, but instead she blundered a mating attack and lost immediately.

What creature is embroidered in this sweater remains a mystery

Dzagnidze, Nana ½-½ Muzychuk, Anna
White employed the Petrosian (quick a3) system against the Queen's Indian but her experiment, or her attempt of reviving an old line, was not effective and if anyone got an edge from the opening it was Black. However it was very small and it was extinguished when too many pieces were traded off.

Nana Dzagnidze will face the leader, Hou Yifan, tomorrow with Black

Lagno, Kateryna 1-0 Girya, Olga
Girya used a quick b5 in the Paulsen set-up, which has been tried at the top level but only in blitz. The experiment was not completely unsuccessful as Black obtained a playable position from the opening, but from that moment all it was the Ukrainian that swarmed the board. An interesting exchange sacrifice gave Lagno the initiative as compensation, and Girya's response was less than precise. A series of quick punches gave Lagno a winning endgame that she finished off with the following nice deflection:

Kateryna Lagno (left) in a friendly conversation with
Alexandra Kosteniuk prior to their games

Muminova, Nafisa 1-0 Zhao Xue
White's Spanish gave her a permanent and solid advantage that she carried throughout the game. In a beautiful example of conversion of advantages Muminova first obtained a space edge, then the pair of bishops, then the better pawn structure, and finally she won a pawn and converted the queen endgame. A clear message that Muminova can play good chess and is dangerous to anyone.

Zhao Xue was in the receiving end of an uncomfortable surprise by the lowest rated player

Stefanova, Antoaneta 1-0 Ushenina, Anna
White's positional advantages transformed into an extra pawn in the endgame. This coupled with the pair of bishops gave her great winning chances, but the conversion was far from trivial. Unlike yesterday, this time Stefanova was spot on and she slowly pushed Ushenina back until the Bulgarian took the full point.

Stefanova can be pleased with 1.5/2, but it was very close to being 2/2

Round Two Games

Select from the dropdown menu to replay the games

Standings

Photos by Nikolay Bochkarev, from the official website

Schedule and results

Round 01 – April 9 2014, 14:00h
Stefanova, A 2489
½-½
Kosteniuk, A 2527
Ushenina, Anna 2501
1-0
Muminova, Nafisa 2321
Zhao Xue 2552
1-0
Lagno, Kateryna 2543
Girya, Olga 2450
1-0
Dzagnidze, Nana 2550
Muzychuk, Anna 2560
1-0
Tuvshintugs, B 2340
Hou Yifan 2618
1-0
Kosintseva, Tatiana 2496
Round 02 – April 10 2014, 14:00h
Kosteniuk, A 2527
0-1
Kosintseva, Tatiana 2496
Tuvshintugs, B 2340
0-1
Hou Yifan 2618
Dzagnidze, Nana 2550
½-½
Muzychuk, Anna 2560
Lagno, Kateryna 2543
1-0
Girya, Olga 2450
Muminova, Nafisa 2321
1-0
Zhao Xue 2552
Stefanova, A 2489
1-0
Ushenina, Anna 2501
Round 03 – April 11 2014, 14:00h
Ushenina, Anna 2501   Kosteniuk, A 2527
Zhao Xue 2552   Stefanova, A 2489
Girya, Olga 2450   Muminova, Nafisa 2321
Muzychuk, Anna 2560   Lagno, Kateryna 2543
Hou Yifan 2618   Dzagnidze, Nana 2550
Kosintseva, Tatiana 2496   Tuvshintugs, B 2340
Round 04 – April 12 2014, 14:00h
Kosteniuk, A 2527   Tuvshintugs, B 2340
Dzagnidze, Nana 2550   Kosintseva, Tatiana 2496
Lagno, Kateryna 2543   Hou Yifan 2618
Muminova, Nafisa 2321   Muzychuk, Anna 2560
Stefanova, A 2489   Girya, Olga 2450
Ushenina, Anna 2501   Zhao Xue 2552
Round 05 – April 14 2014, 14:00h
Zhao Xue 2552   Kosteniuk, A 2527
Girya, Olga 2450   Ushenina, Anna 2501
Muzychuk, Anna 2560   Stefanova, A 2489
Hou Yifan 2618   Muminova, Nafisa 2321
Kosintseva, Tatiana 2496   Lagno, Kateryna 2543
Tuvshintugs, B 2340   Dzagnidze, Nana 2550
Round 06 – April 15 2014, 14:00h
Kosteniuk, A 2527   Dzagnidze, Nana 2550
Lagno, Kateryna 2543   Tuvshintugs, B 2340
Muminova, Nafisa 2321   Kosintseva, Tatiana 2496
Stefanova, A 2489   Hou Yifan 2618
Ushenina, Anna 2501   Muzychuk, Anna 2560
Zhao Xue 2552   Girya, Olga 2450
Round 07 – April 16 2014, 14:00h
Girya, Olga 2450   Kosteniuk, A 2527
Muzychuk, Anna 2560   Zhao Xue 2552
Hou Yifan 2618   Ushenina, Anna 2501
Kosintseva, Tatiana 2496   Stefanova, A 2489
Tuvshintugs, B 2340   Muminova, Nafisa 2321
Dzagnidze, Nana 2550   Lagno, Kateryna 2543
Round 08 – April 17 2014, 14:00h
Kosteniuk, A 2527   Lagno, Kateryna 2543
Muminova, Nafisa 2321   Dzagnidze, Nana 2550
Stefanova, A 2489   Tuvshintugs, B 2340
Ushenina, Anna 2501   Kosintseva, Tatiana 2496
Zhao Xue 2552   Hou Yifan 2618
Girya, Olga 2450   Muzychuk, Anna 2560
Round 09 – April 19 2014, 14:00h
Muzychuk, Anna 2560   Kosteniuk, A 2527
Hou Yifan 2618   Girya, Olga 2450
Kosintseva, Tatiana 2496   Zhao Xue 2552
Tuvshintugs, B 2340   Ushenina, Anna 2501
Dzagnidze, Nana 2550   Stefanova, A 2489
Lagno, Kateryna 2543   Muminova, Nafisa 2321
Round 10 – April 20 2014, 14:00h
Kosteniuk, A 2527   Muminova, Nafisa 2321
Stefanova, A 2489   Lagno, Kateryna 2543
Ushenina, Anna 2501   Dzagnidze, Nana 2550
Zhao Xue 2552   Tuvshintugs, B 2340
Girya, Olga 2450   Kosintseva, Tatiana 2496
Muzychuk, Anna 2560   Hou Yifan 2618
Round 11 – April 21 2014, 11:00h
Hou Yifan 2618   Kosteniuk, A 2527
Kosintseva, Tatiana 2496   Muzychuk, Anna 2560
Tuvshintugs, B 2340   Girya, Olga 2450
Dzagnidze, Nana 2550   Zhao Xue 2552
Lagno, Kateryna 2543   Ushenina, Anna 2501
Muminova, Nafisa 2321   Stefanova, A 2489

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 12 or any of our Fritz compatible chess programs.

Grandmaster Alejandro Ramirez has been playing tournament chess since 1998. His accomplishments include qualifying for the 2004 and 2013 World Cups as well as playing for Costa Rica in the 2002, 2004 and 2008 Olympiads. He currently has a rating of 2583 and is author of a number of popular and critically acclaimed ChessBase-DVDs.

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