All photos by David Llada
While Sopiko Guramishvili was simply better than Sara Khadem today, Mitra Hejazipour lost a dramatic Armageddon game to Anastasia Bodnaruk when she got flagged in a winning position. Nana Dzagnidze had her back against the wall again when Mona Khaled won the first rapid match but she managed to come back and won the next three games to proceed to the second round.
Several interesting match ups await us in the second round: Seed one Jun Wenjun meets Chinese-Qatari ex-world champion Zhu Chen. The only two western European players: GM Cramling and IM Elisabeth Paehtz will cross swords tomorrow at 3 pm local time. Nino Batsiashvili got her second Georgian Derby against another Nino: Khurtsidze! If Batsiashvili wins and Melia Salome manages to stun the higher-rated ex-world champion Antonaenta Stefanova, then Batsiashvili could conceivably even see a third consecutive match against a fellow Georgian! Hopefully Nino will not protest if this happens!
Hejazipour vs Bodnaruk
Mitra Hejazipour came to this match in great spirits despite her somewhat one-sided loss in the second game of her match against Anastasia Bodnaruk. In the first game, she kept her composure and outplayed her much higher-higher rated opponent in a nice positional game.
Replay and check the LiveBook here |
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1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.g3 b5!? 4.Bg5 4.Bg2 Bb7 5.0-0 c5 6.c3 4...Bb7 5.Bg2 Be7 6.Nbd2 0-0 7.0-0 d6 7...d5 8.c3 Nbd7 9.Qc2 c5 8.c3 Nbd7 9.a4 a6 10.axb5 axb5 11.Qb3 c6 12.e4 e5?! 12...h6 13.Bxf6 Bxf6 13.h3 Qc7 14.Nh4 g6 15.Nhf3 Kg7?! 15...Rfe8 16.Rfe1 Nb6?! 17.Be3 Nfd7 18.Ng5 18.h4 h5 19.Ng5 18...Bxg5 19.Bxg5 Ba6 20.Be3 Nc4 21.Nxc4 bxc4 22.Qc2 Bb5 23.Qd2 Rfd8 24.f4 f6 25.Red1 Ba4 26.Rf1 exd4 27.cxd4 Qa5 28.Qf2 Qb5 29.e5 f5 30.g4 Re8 31.gxf5 gxf5 32.d5 c5 33.Bd2 Qxb2 34.Qg3+ Kf8 35.Bc3 Qb7 36.e6 Nb6 37.Qg5 Qe7 38.Bf6 Qb7 39.Qh6+ Kg8 40.Rf3 Bd1 41.Rxd1 1–0 - Start an analysis engine:
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Hejazipour,M | 2325 | Bodnaruk,A | 2463 | 1–0 | 2017 | A46 | FIDE WWCC 2017 | 1.3 |
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Inches away from making history for the hosts. Mitra Hejazipour has a lot to study after this tournament
However, Bodnaruk proved to be a tough nut to crack. After every setback she rebounded with even more energy and kept the match balanced. The ping-pong between these two warriors led to the final word: the Armageddon game, in which Bodnaruk better understood the essence of the game she had to play. With the white pieces, she started to play extremely fast even at the cost of getting a worse position. Her practical approach paid off as Mitra got flagged in a nearly winning position.
Bodnaruk vs Hejazipour
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1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nf6 3.d3 c6 4.Nf3 Be7 5.0-0 d6 6.c3 0-0 7.Bb3 Bg4 8.h3 Bh5 9.Nbd2 Nbd7 10.Re1 Re8 11.Nf1 Bf8 12.Ng3 Bg6 13.Be3 13.Nh4 13...d5 14.Bc2 Bd6 15.Qe2 Qc7 16.Rad1 a5 17.Nh4 Nf8 18.Nhf5 Ne6 19.Nxd6 Qxd6 20.Nf5 Qc7 20...Bxf5 21.exf5 Nd4 21.Qf3 Rad8 22.Bb3 Bh5 23.g4 Bg6 24.Bc2 c5 25.Ba4 Rf8 26.Bc1 d4 27.c4 27.Bb5! 27...Ne8 28.h4 f6 29.Qg3 Nd6 30.Kh1 Be8 31.Bxe8 Rdxe8 32.Rf1 Nf7 33.Rg1 Nf4 34.Qf3 Nd6? 35.Ng3? 35.Bxf4± 35...Nf7 36.Nf5 g6 37.Ng3 Nd8 38.Nf1 Nde6 39.Rg3 Kf7! 40.Nh2 Ke7 41.Nf1 Kd8 42.Re1 Rh8 43.Kg1 Kc8 44.Qd1 Kb8 45.a3 h5 46.g5 fxg5 47.hxg5 h4 48.Rg4 h3 49.Kh2 Qe7 50.Ng3 Ref8 51.Rf1 Nxg5 52.f3 Nfe6 53.b4 axb4 54.axb4 cxb4 55.Bd2 Qf6 56.Qe2 Nxf3+ 57.Kh1 h2 58.Rf2 g5 59.Rf1 1–0
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Bodnaruk,A | 2463 | Hejazipour,M | 2325 | 1–0 | 2017 | C24 | FIDE WWCC 2017 | 1 |
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Anastasia Bodnaruk's resilience paid off and she advanced to the next round
Mona Khaled vs Nana Dzagnidze
The out of form Nana Dzagnidze had another bad start today, as after she outplayed Mona Khaled out of opening, the players started to exercise a Persian norm known as Taarof by offering each other a full piece, however, at the end it was Mona who took the piece and went on to win the game.
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1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 d5 3.Bf4 c5 4.e3 Nc6 5.c3 Qb6 6.Qb3 c4 7.Qc2 Bf5 8.Qc1 e6 9.h3 Be7 10.Nbd2 Ne4 11.Nxe4 Bxe4 12.Nd2 Bg6 13.Be2 0-0 14.h4 f6 15.h5 Bd3 16.Bxd3 cxd3 17.Nf3 Rfe8 18.0-0 Rac8 19.Qd2 Qa6 20.Rfe1 Bf8 21.e4 dxe4 22.Rxe4 Na5 23.Ree1 Nc4 24.Qc1 Qb5 24...e5! 25.b3 Na3 26.Rd1 Nc2 27.c4 Qxh5 28.Rb1 Qf5 29.Qd2 e5 30.dxe5 fxe5? 30...Rcd8! 31.exf6 Re2-+ 31.Bxe5 Rxe5 32.Nxe5 Qxe5 33.Qxd3 Nb4 34.Qh3 Rc7 35.Rd8 Rf7 36.Rbd1 Qf4 37.R1d2 Nc6 38.R8d7 Rf6 39.Qd3 Kh8 40.Qd5 h6 41.g3 Qb8 42.Rf7?? Rd6?? 42...Ne7 43.Rxf8+ Qxf8 44.Qxd6 Qf5 45.Qd3 Qf6 46.Re2 Qf7 47.Qe4 Qf6 48.Qd5 Qg6 49.Re6 Qb1+ 50.Kg2 Kh7 51.Re8 Qc2 52.Qg8+ 1–0
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Mona,K | 2150 | Dzagnidze,N | 2525 | 1–0 | 2017 | D02 | FIDE WWCC 2017 | 1.3 |
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However, when Dzagnidze levelled the match for the second time, she did not give Mona Khaled any chances and won the next two rapid games quite comfortably. If I fail to share a one of Dzagnidze's it is because I have nothing to say considering how one-sided the battles were.
Iranian fans were very happy after Sara Khadem, Iran’s No.1 by far and the host’s greatest hope for a remarkable result, managed to pull out a ‘Karpovian’ style win against Sopiko Guramishvili to equalize the match. However, on tie-break day, it was all about Sopiko as she dominated both games and Sara never got the chance to show a thing. My guess is that the pressure of playing at home and expectations exceeded Sara’s ability to cope with the distractions and she was simply not at her best.

Sopiko Guramishvili, kept her cool and outplayed her opponent. One could not expect such a great performance after a heart-breaking result in Tata Steel. Way to go Sopiko!
Here is one of Sopiko’s fine wins:
Guramishvili vs Khademalsharieh
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1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.f3 Nc6 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.bxc3 e5 7.e4 d6 8.Be3 0-0 9.Bd3 b6 10.Ne2 Na5 11.Ng3 Ne8? 12.0-0 Ba6 13.Qe2 Qd7 14.f4 c5 14...Qa4 15.Nf5 exd4 16.cxd4 Nb3 17.Rab1 cxd4 18.Rxb3 dxe3 19.Qxe3 Qc7 20.Kh1 Qc5 21.Qh3 g6 22.Be2 22.Qh6 22...Qc7 23.Nh6+ Kg7 24.f5 Qe7 25.Ng4 Qg5 26.Rg3 Qd2 27.Bd3 Rc8 28.Qh4 Bxc4 29.Bxc4 Rxc4 30.fxg6 h6 31.Ne3 1–0
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Guramishvili,S | 2357 | Khademalsharieh,S | 2452 | 1–0 | 2017 | E20 | FIDE WWCC 2017 | 1 |
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World under-20 champion Nataliya Buska beat experienced Hoang Thrang from Hungary to advance to the second round

Things did not go Ekaterina Atalik's way today and she exits Tehran sooner than hoped

Atalik went down at the hand of Melia Salome who will face ex-world champion Antoaneta Stefanova in the next round.
Complete tiebreak results
|
Game 1 25'10 |
|
|
SNo. |
Name |
Result |
SNo. |
Name |
4 |
Harika Dronavalli |
1-0 |
61 |
Shamima Akter Liza |
60 |
Mona Khaled |
1-0 |
5 |
Dzagnidze Nana |
8 |
Zhao Xue |
1-0 |
57 |
Martinez Ayelen |
12 |
Shen Yang |
1-0 |
53 |
Arribas Robaina Maritza |
52 |
Hoang Thanh Trang |
1/2-1/2 |
13 |
Buksa Nataliya |
49 |
Hejazipour Mitra |
1-0 |
16 |
Bodnaruk Anastasia |
20 |
Guramishvili Sopiko |
1-0 |
45 |
Khademalsharieh Sarasadat |
44 |
Socko Monika |
1/2-1/2 |
21 |
Savina Anastasia |
22 |
Charochkina Daria |
0-1 |
43 |
Huang Qian |
26 |
Atalik Ekaterina |
0-1 |
39 |
Melia Salome |
28 |
Khotenashvili Bela |
0-1 |
37 |
Zimina Olga |
|
Game 2 25'10 |
|
|
SNo. |
Name |
Result |
SNo. |
Name |
61 |
Shamima Akter Liza |
1/2-1/2 |
4 |
Harika Dronavalli |
5 |
Dzagnidze Nana |
1-0 |
60 |
Mona Khaled |
57 |
Martinez Ayelen |
0-1 |
8 |
Zhao Xue |
53 |
Arribas Robaina Maritza |
0-1 |
12 |
Shen Yang |
13 |
Buksa Nataliya |
1-0 |
52 |
Hoang Thanh Trang |
16 |
Bodnaruk Anastasia |
1-0 |
49 |
Hejazipour Mitra |
45 |
Khademalsharieh Sarasadat |
0-1 |
20 |
Guramishvili Sopiko |
21 |
Savina Anastasia |
1-0 |
44 |
Socko Monika |
43 |
Huang Qian |
1-0 |
22 |
Charochkina Daria |
39 |
Melia Salome |
1/2-1/2 |
26 |
Atalik Ekaterina |
37 |
Zimina Olga |
1-0 |
28 |
Khotenashvili Bela |
|
Game 3 10'10 |
|
|
SNo. |
Name |
Result |
SNo. |
Name |
5 |
Dzagnidze Nana |
1-0 |
60 |
Mona Khaled |
16 |
Bodnaruk Anastasia |
0-1 |
49 |
Hejazipour Mitra |
|
Game 4 10'10 |
|
|
SNo. |
Name |
Result |
SNo. |
Name |
60 |
Mona Khaled |
0-1 |
5 |
Dzagnidze Nana |
49 |
Hejazipour Mitra |
0-1 |
16 |
Bodnaruk Anastasia |
|
Game 5 5'3 |
|
|
SNo. |
Name |
Result |
SNo. |
Name |
16 |
Bodnaruk Anastasia |
0-1 |
49 |
Hejazipour Mitra |
|
Game 6 5'3 |
|
|
SNo. |
Name |
Result |
SNo. |
Name |
49 |
Hejazipour Mitra |
0-1 |
16 |
Bodnaruk Anastasia |
|
Game 7 5'3 |
|
|
SNo. |
Name |
Result |
SNo. |
Name |
16 |
Bodnaruk Anastasia |
1-0 |
49 |
Hejazipour Mitra |
Find more master analysis by Nihal Sarin here.