Lopota 08: Missed Opportunities

The fifth stage of the the FIDE Women’s Grand Prix series 2013-2014 is taking place in Lopota, Georgia from the 19th of June until the 1st of July 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 eight

Arbiter Marika Japaridze showing off her billiard skills

As well as the press officer Alina l'Ami who is ready for a rest day

Service to the players has been absolutely top class in this event

Stefanova, Antoaneta 1-0 Muminova, Nafisa
Stefanova, maybe somewhat surprisingly, chose a theoretical and solid line that preserves a nice white edge. Muminova responded in an atrocious manner: putting her queen on a6 was positional suicide and her majesty was nothing but a big target for White's f1 bishop. Black's best accomplishment this game was not having to resign before move 20.

Antoaneta was the only player to score a full point today

Khotenashvili, Bela ½-½ Danielian, Elina
A tough struggle in a complex Benoni. White certainly had some pressure from the opening but this quickly dissipated after a couple of inaccurate moves; after this it was Black in the driver's seat. Danielian's pressure all over the board, aided by her powerful knight on b4, gave her a pleasant advantage but one that was not easy to crash through with. Khotenashvili remained solidly on the defense but her position still held together. The Armenian player was simply unable to find the key to unlock White's position and she had to be content with a draw.

A hard-fought draw under way

Bela is trying to make this tournament less of a disaster

Players are not the only ones that suffer during this events. No one in this tournament is doing it alone, friends, family, coaches and seconds are deeply vested in every game. Here on the left is David Jojua, Bela Khotenashvili's second, and on the right is Lasha Janjgava, the national trainer of the men's team of Georgia.

Koneru, Humpy ½-½ Kosteniuk, Alexandra
A great tactical struggle that proves that the game isn't over until it is over.

Resourceful Alexandra pulled a miracle draw this round

Zhao Xue ½-½ Muzychuk, Anna
Both sides missed tactical winning chances in this crazy game

Anna was sporting a new look today

Hou Yifan ½-½ Harika, Dronavalli
Both sides must be exhausted by this point in the tournament. This game lacked any kind of precision or tactical ability as both sides kept missing chances. Harika had at least a couple of chances to obtain a near decisive advantage using only simple calculation but she kept missing her opportunities. The World Champion should consider herself lucky to escape unscathed.

"Ooooh, she had that move?!" Hou Yifan missed more than one of her opponent's opportunities

Dronavalli missed a great chance to catapult herself into the top positions

Ju Wenjun ½-½ Dzagnidze, Nana
The players that currently hold second place decided to repeat moves in a position that was objectively equal, but could certainly be played on by both sides.

Comfortable in second: Ju Wenjun

Standings after eight rounds

Round eight games

Select from the dropdown menu to replay the games

Photos and information by Alina l'Ami, from the official website

Schedule and results

Links Official tournament site 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 12 or any of our Fritz compatible chess programs.