
All photos by David Llada
It seems that the beginning of FIDE Grand Prix in Sharjah has cast its spell on the ladies, as six out of eight games drawn, mostly in a peaceful manner. Among these draws, there were two that actually went very well in black’s favor until the players on the black side decided to call it a day and conceded a draw. Why was that? Because both Dzagnidze and Stefanova had won their respective games yesterday against Shen Yang and Khurtsideze. Both Shen Yang and Khurtsidze failed to gain anything out of their openings and soon ended up in positions with fundamental strategic problems (though Khurtsidze was more in control than Shen Yang) and soon ended up accepting their fate.
Georgia's Nino Khurtsideze
China's Shen Yang
Thus, Dzagnidze and Stefanova are in the quarter-final, which was not hard to imagine before the beginning of the tournament.
Another player who made it to top eight was Anna Muzychuk.
However, her approach to the game was a bit different from her other two experienced colleagues: Having won her game with black pieces in her first game against the Vietnamese player Pham L., Muzychuk chose a super-solid set up against Pham’s Modern defense and soon obtained a clear edge out of the opening. Pham’s persistence of avoiding an equalizing plan in favor of “going all in” against white’s king backfired as Muzychuk’s fine handling of the position soon earned her an exchange and she ended up winning her match 2-0 after a somewhat prolonged game.
Be aware! Ni Shiqun took down another strong player
The only other decisive match of the day had an upsetting news for the Russian campaign. Natalia Pogonina, the finalist of the last knock-out world championship got eliminated at the hand of tournament phenom Ni Shiqun. Ni Shiqun, who happened to eliminate another Russian hopeful Valentina Gunina in the previous round, demonstrated a great deal of will and fighting spirit and did not concede to a quick draw but rather pushed hard to get the better of Pogonina, after the latter succumbed under time pressure on the ‘infamous 40th move’!
We must realize how hard it is to reach the finals like Pogonina did last time and what a strong player she is. Alas! She has to leave Tehran this time without a final.
Ju Wenjun will fight the tiebreakers against one of the two biggest Russian hopes left in the fray...
...Olga Girya.
The Indian champion Padmini Rout can very well be the dark horse of the tournament. She has also moved to the tiebreakers against another Chinese, Tan Zhongyi. Catch the Indian performance with master analysis here.
Never count experience out!
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 14 or any of our Fritz compatible chess programs. |