Sharjah 02: Distances appear

The sixth and final stage of the FIDE Women’s Grand Prix series 2013-2014 will take place at the Sharjah Cultural and Chess Club, (UAE) from the 24th of August until the 7th of September 2014. Over eleven rounds, twelve of the strongest women players in the world will compete in the round robin tournament with the standard FIDE time control of 90 minutes for the first 40 moves, with 30 minutes being added at that point and an additional 30 seconds per move through the entire game.

The winner of the Grand Prix series will play a ten-game World Championship match with the Women’s World Champion; which will be determined during Women World Championship in the third quarter of 2015.

Round Two

The Anatasias: (though spelled differently) Sorokina, arbiter and Karlovich, press officer

Zhao Xue ½-½ Hou Yifan
Not a very exciting game. Zhao Xue was ok with repeating a drawish line and the World Champion took the opportunity to go back to her room with an easy half a point with black.

Hou Yifan started with two blacks, but she came out of them with 1.5/2

Zhao Xue didn't see a point in testing Hou Yifan with White. An early rest day for both.

Dronavalli Harika 1-0 Muminova, Nafisa
Harika tried to not use a deep theoretical preparation against Muminova, but this time the Uzbek player reacted well. Muminova held a slight edge for most of the game, but after time trouble she started making strange moves. When she captured her opponent's pawn on a5 her king was too exposed and lonely, and the Indian player's attack crashed through.

Muminova is one of the three players with 0.0/2

Koneru Humpy 1-0 Alina l'Ami
A complex game! l'Ami certainly underestimated the attack on the kingside at some point, and although it seemed that her position held together Humpy's precise strikes caused Black's positions to completely fall apart. A nice combination at the end netted the Indian player a piece and the win.

Can't forget to accesorize properly for the game...

Alina is 0.0/2, but she has played two of the strongest players in the event

Checking out her opponent's games: Dronavalli Harika

Kosintseva, Tatiana ½-½ Tuvshintugs, Batchimeg
Despite obtaining a great position from the opening, Kosintseva was slowly but surely outplayed by Tuvshintugs. The game reached a rook endgame that was equal despite its asymmetry. Kosintseva clearly didn't want the draw but she had no choice in the matter.

Tatiana tried but she could not beat Batchimeg

Ushenina, Anna 1-0 Danielian, Elina
A long game, but not one that was marked by precise play. Ushenina always had a pleasant position as the symmetrical structure suited her pieces better. Danielian sacrificed a piece to break the bind that was clamping down her position, but surely she was lost after that.

The Ukrainian player made it very hard on herself and Danielian had multiple chances of equalizing or at least creating strong complications, however she missed almost all of them and after 103 moves she had to resign.

Ushenina didn't seem too happy about having to play over 100 moves to defeat her opponent

Zhu Chen 0-1 Ju Wenjun
All it took was one mistake in this complex King's Indian Defense for Zhu Chen's position to collapse. With a precise and cunning sequence Ju Wenjun forced her opponent to exchange her knight for a light-squared bishop with almost no value. This gave her access to a series of weaknesses in the dark squares, and she finished the game beautifully.

Round Two Games

Select from the dropdown menu to replay the games

Standings

Photos of the opening ceremony by A. Karlovich, of round 1 by M. Emelianova

Pairings and Schedule

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.