Lopota 09: Close race for second

by Alejandro Ramirez
6/30/2014 – The tournament is interesting again as Ju Wenjun leads the charge by half a point over Danielian and Dzagnidze, the former beat Humpy thanks to a time-trouble blunder and the latter fell to Stefanova in a complex game. Meanwhile, World Champion Hou Yifan keeps racking up rating points as she demolished Muzychuk in less than 30 moves. Her performance: 2875.

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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 Nine

Round 09 – June 29 2014, 15:00h
Dzagnidze, Nana 2541
0-1
Stefanova, Antoaneta 2488
Dronavalli Harika 2503
½-½
Ju Wenjun 2532
Muzychuk, Anna 2561
0-1
Hou Yifan 2629
Kosteniuk, Alexandra 2532
½-½
Zhao Xue 2538
Danielian, Elina 2460
1-0
Koneru Humpy 2613
Muminova, Nafisa 2332
1-0
Khotenashvili, Bela 2518

The tournament has become a close race for second place. Every result is important, but there is no question on who the winner will be. With two rounds to go Hou Yifan has a spectacular 8.0/9 and a performance of 2875 – the only player in the world who is expected to perform at that level is Magnus Carlsen.

Chess sets are everywhere, even at the bar...

Press officer l'Ami taking a deserved break

Dzagnidze, Nana 0-1 Stefanova, Antoaneta
Stefanova started out playing a brilliant game. Every move put pressure on her opponent and she seized an early initiative, despite being Black. The unbalanced position and her pair of bishops gave her great play, but she erred and basically threw all of her advantage away in one move. In a complex but still dangerous endgame for both sides it was Dzagnidze's turn to err and she blundered badly leaving her king too exposed. Stefanova pounced and took an important point from Dzagnidze who is now only tied for third.

Antoaneta doesn't always think at the board

Dronavalli Harika ½-½ Ju Wenjun
A fascinating and complex game. The King's Indian gave rise to a strategically difficult position. White won a pawn quickly but her piece activity was not great. Ju Wenjun might have been too hasty to push her e-pawn forward instead of saving the advance for until after she finished development. Harika took her chance to sacrifice the exchange and her powerful knights fully compensated the material deficit.

The Chinese player counter-sacrificed her own exchange and the resulting endgame was close to equal, eventually reaching its logical conclusion.

In solid second, Ju Wenjun looks behind to see who is trying to catch up with her

Post-mortem of a wonderfully interesting game, with Ju Wenjun and Harika

Muzychuk, Anna 0-1 Hou Yifan
A complete blowout. Muzychuk's dubious opening gave her opponent relatively easy equality. In an interesting position Muzychuk played 15.Qg5? completely underestimating the advance 17...a4! which left her pawn structure shattered and basically in a lost position. Black was winning by move 20.

A small technical issue with the clock was a minor annoyance at the start of the game

The key to success is clearly cat earrings

Kosteniuk, Alexandra ½-½ Zhao Xue
Kosteniuk certainly had the better end of this game. Her powerful attack on the kingside was well timed and well executed, but once the transition to the endgame occurred it seems as if she underestimated her opponent counterplay. Zhao Xue did not hesitate in transforming her c-pawn into a dangerous weapon and Kosteniuk had to give back the material she earned from the attack.

Aggression almost gave Alexandra a win

Zhao Xue remained alert and seized a counterattacking chance as soon as she got it

Danielian, Elina 1-0 Koneru, Humpy
Humpy held equality from the opening without problems, and tactical slip from Danielian allowed her to seize a powerful position with a wonderfully placed queen on d2. The Armenian's position was about to collapse but Humpy did not seize the opportunity; a couple of passive moves and the game was back to equal. Then, disaster struck, as Humpy's 38th move blundered a piece to a basic double attack.

A massive blunder turned the game around today in Danielian vs Humpy (above)

Muminova, Nafisa 1-0 Khotenashvili, Bela
A game that was certainly marked by strange decisions. First, Khotenashvili's choice of allowing a light-squared bishop trade and then not trading Muminova's remaining knight resulted in a powerful octopus on the d5 square the controlled the whole board. Muminova allowed certain counter-play but she was winning. However her technique in the endgame was questionable and Khotenashvili had an opportunity to draw the game. However she did not find it and Muminova finally converted a win.

A very welcome win for Nafisa Muminova

Standings after nine rounds

Round nine games

Select from the dropdown menu to replay the games

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

Schedule and results

Round 01 – June 19 2014, 15:00h
Koneru Humpy 2613
1-0
Stefanova, Antoaneta 2488
Zhao Xue 2538
½-½
Khotenashvili, Bela 2518
Hou Yifan 2629
1-0
Muminova, Nafisa 2332
Ju Wenjun 2532
1-0
Danielian, Elina 2460
Dzagnidze, Nana 2541
½-½
Kosteniuk, Alexandra 2532
Dronavalli Harika 2503
½-½
Muzychuk, Anna 2561
Round 02 – June 20 2014, 15:00h
Stefanova, Antoaneta 2488
½-½
Muzychuk, Anna 2561
Kosteniuk, Alexandra 2532
0-1
Dronavalli Harika 2503
Danielian, Elina 2460
½-½
Dzagnidze, Nana 2541
Muminova, Nafisa 2332
½-½
Ju Wenjun 2532
Khotenashvili, Bela 2518
0-1
Hou Yifan 2629
Koneru Humpy 2613
½-½
Zhao Xue 2538
Round 03 – June 21 2014, 15:00h
Zhao Xue 2538
0-1
Stefanova, Antoaneta 2488
Hou Yifan 2629
½-½
Koneru Humpy 2613
Ju Wenjun 2532
1-0
Khotenashvili, Bela 2518
Dzagnidze, Nana 2541
1-0
Muminova, Nafisa 2332
Dronavalli Harika 2503
½-½
Danielian, Elina 2460
Muzychuk, Anna 2561
1-0
Kosteniuk, Alexandra 2532
Round 04 – June 22 2014, 15:00h
Stefanova, Antoaneta 2488
1-0
Kosteniuk, Alexandra 2532
Danielian, Elina 2460
1-0
Muzychuk, Anna 2561
Muminova, Nafisa 2332
0-1
Dronavalli Harika 2503
Khotenashvili, Bela 2518
0-1
Dzagnidze, Nana 2541
Koneru Humpy 2613
½-½
Ju Wenjun 2532
Zhao Xue 2538
0-1
Hou Yifan 2629
Round 05 – June 24 2014, 15:00h
Hou Yifan 2629
1-0
Stefanova, Antoaneta 2488
Ju Wenjun 2532
1-0
Zhao Xue 2538
Dzagnidze, Nana 2541
1-0
Koneru Humpy 2613
Dronavalli Harika 2503
½-½
Khotenashvili, Bela 2518
Muzychuk, Anna 2561
1-0
Muminova, Nafisa 2332
Kosteniuk, Alexandra 2532
½-½
Danielian, Elina 2460
Round 06 – June 25 2014, 15:00h
Stefanova, Antoaneta 2488
½-½
Danielian, Elina 2460
Muminova, Nafisa 2332
0-1
Kosteniuk, Alexandra 2532
Khotenashvili, Bela 2518
0-1
Muzychuk, Anna 2561
Koneru Humpy 2613
1-0
Dronavalli Harika 2503
Zhao Xue 2538
0-1
Dzagnidze, Nana 2541
Hou Yifan 2629
1-0
Ju Wenjun 2532
Round 07 – June 26 2014, 15:00h
Ju Wenjun 2532
1-0
Stefanova, Antoaneta 2488
Dzagnidze, Nana 2541
0-1
Hou Yifan 2629
Dronavalli Harika 2503
½-½
Zhao Xue 2538
Muzychuk, Anna 2561
½-½
Koneru Humpy 2613
Kosteniuk, Alexandra 2532
1-0
Khotenashvili, Bela 2518
Danielian, Elina 2460
1-0
Muminova, Nafisa 2332
Round 08 – June 27 2014, 15:00h
Stefanova, Antoaneta 2488
1-0
Muminova, Nafisa 2332
Khotenashvili, Bela 2518
½-½
Danielian, Elina 2460
Koneru Humpy 2613
½-½
Kosteniuk, Alexandra 2532
Zhao Xue 2538
½-½
Muzychuk, Anna 2561
Hou Yifan 2629
½-½
Dronavalli Harika 2503
Ju Wenjun 2532
½-½
Dzagnidze, Nana 2541
Round 09 – June 29 2014, 15:00h
Dzagnidze, Nana 2541
0-1
Stefanova, Antoaneta 2488
Dronavalli Harika 2503
½-½
Ju Wenjun 2532
Muzychuk, Anna 2561
0-1
Hou Yifan 2629
Kosteniuk, Alexandra 2532
½-½
Zhao Xue 2538
Danielian, Elina 2460
1-0
Koneru Humpy 2613
Muminova, Nafisa 2332
1-0
Khotenashvili, Bela 2518
Round 10 – June 30 2014, 15:00h
Stefanova, Antoaneta 2488   Khotenashvili, Bela 2518
Koneru Humpy 2613   Muminova, Nafisa 2332
Zhao Xue 2538   Danielian, Elina 2460
Hou Yifan 2629   Kosteniuk, Alexandra 2532
Ju Wenjun 2532   Muzychuk, Anna 2561
Dzagnidze, Nana 2541   Dronavalli Harika 2503
Round 11 – July 01 2014, 13:00h
Dronavalli Harika 2503   Stefanova, Antoaneta 2488
Muzychuk, Anna 2561   Dzagnidze, Nana 2541
Kosteniuk, Alexandra 2532   Ju Wenjun 2532
Danielian, Elina 2460   Hou Yifan 2629
Muminova, Nafisa 2332   Zhao Xue 2538
Khotenashvili, Bela 2518   Koneru Humpy 2613

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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