Plovdiv Rd9: The final challenge
7/16/2014 – All it took was a draw. With Valentina Gunina running away with the European Women's Championship, focus began to be made on the runners up, after all, there is only so much one can say about a one-horse race. In round nine, Gunina was finally forced to accede to a draw by rival Salome Melia from Georgia, and this alone injected the fight for first with new life.
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15th European Individual Women’s Chess Championship
This event, organised by the Bulgarian Chess Federation under the auspices of the European Chess Union, is being held in the Plovdiv Hall of the Novotel Hotel in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, from July 5 (day of arrival) until July 18 (day of departure) 2014. The tournament is open to all players from chess federations which are members of the European Chess Union (FIDE zones 1.1 to 1.10), regardless of title or rating. There is also no limit in the number of participants per federation. The European Individual Women’s Championship 2014 is a qualification event for the next World Cup, for which 14 players will qualify.
The competition
The championship is an eleven-round Swiss. The rate of play is 90 minutes for 40 moves plus 30 minutes for the rest of the game, with an increment of 30 seconds per move, starting from move one. Players may only agree to a draw after the 40th move has been made by Black. Players violating this rule will be forfeited. If a player is offered a draw before the 40th move she should call an arbiter. Her opponent shall be punished for distracting, according to the FIDE Laws of Chess. The zero–tolerance rule will be applied: players who are not seated at the board at the start of a round forfeit the game.
Round nine
Make no mistake, the Russian still leads by a full point with 8.0/9 and only two rounds to go, but a single loss to one of her rivals could change the dynamic on its head.
Salome Melia is one of the trailers with 7.0/9 and has a 2641 performance
One of the players to move up the ladder is Ukrainian GM Natalia Zhukova, who defeated Hungarian GM Hoang Thanh Trang to move to second at 7.0/9, however her loss to the leader in round seven means actually snatching the trophy from her is a tall order. Gunina's biggest and possibly final challenge will come in round ten, when she faces Tatiana Kosintseva, who won her game with a nice finale:
Javakhishvili - Kosintseva
Black finished with 1...Nf3+! and White resigned in view of 2.Bxf3 Bh2+
3.Kh1 Rxf1 mate or 2.Kh1 Rxf1+ 3.Bxf1 Rh2 mate!
Tatiana Kosintseva will have her chance to change the tide in the next round
However, if nice finales are the subject, then do not miss Antoaneta Stefanova's spectacular conclusion against Zoya Schleining:
Photos by Boyan Botev
Standings after round nine
| Rk | SNo | Ti. | Name | FED | Rtg | Pts |
| 1 | 4 | GM | Gunina Valentina | RUS | 2501 | 8.0 |
| 2 | 16 | GM | Zhukova Natalia | UKR | 2451 | 7.0 |
| 3 | 14 | IM | Melia Salome | GEO | 2454 | 7.0 |
| 4 | 8 | GM | Kosintseva Tatiana | RUS | 2476 | 7.0 |
| 5 | 2 | IM | Muzychuk Mariya | UKR | 2521 | 6.5 |
| 6 | 22 | IM | Batsiashvili Nino | GEO | 2417 | 6.5 |
| 7 | 7 | GM | Stefanova Antoaneta | BUL | 2488 | 6.5 |
| 8 | 33 | WGM | Szczepkowska-Horowska Karina | POL | 2369 | 6.5 |
| 9 | 11 | IM | Khurtsidze Nino | GEO | 2460 | 6.5 |
| 10 | 12 | GM | Danielian Elina | ARM | 2458 | 6.5 |
| 11 | 9 | IM | Javakhishvili Lela | GEO | 2474 | 6.0 |
| 12 | 1 | GM | Dzagnidze Nana | GEO | 2541 | 6.0 |
| 13 | 28 | IM | Foisor Cristina-Adela | ROU | 2383 | 6.0 |
| 14 | 5 | WGM | Girya Olga | RUS | 2493 | 6.0 |
| 15 | 18 | IM | Mkrtchian Lilit | ARM | 2446 | 6.0 |
| 16 | 13 | IM | Paehtz Elisabeth | GER | 2456 | 6.0 |
| 17 | 10 | GM | Socko Monika | POL | 2462 | 6.0 |
| 18 | 19 | WGM | Kashlinskaya Alina | RUS | 2441 | 6.0 |
| 19 | 53 | WGM | Nikolova Adriana | BUL | 2303 | 5.5 |
| 20 | 6 | GM | Hoang Thanh Trang | HUN | 2490 | 5.5 |
| 21 | 31 | WGM | Schleining Zoya | GER | 2376 | 5.5 |
| 22 | 23 | IM | Arabidze Meri | GEO | 2406 | 5.5 |
| 23 | 36 | IM | Gvetadze Sofio | GEO | 2356 | 5.5 |
| 24 | 21 | IM | Bodnaruk Anastasia | RUS | 2429 | 5.5 |
| 25 | 30 | IM | Gaponenko Inna | UKR | 2380 | 5.5 |
| 26 | 34 | IM | Guseva Marina | RUS | 2362 | 5.5 |
| 27 | 29 | IM | Savina Anastasia | RUS | 2383 | 5.5 |
| 28 | 25 | WGM | Daulyte Deimante | LTU | 2405 | 5.5 |
LinksThe 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. |
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