Munich GP: Kashlinskaya scores, Kosteniuk escapes

“Dessert is on me”

Alina Kahslinskaya scored her first win at the Munich Grand Prix in Monday’s fifth round. After surviving a losing position and making the most of Mariya Muzychuk’s mistakes, the Polish IM talked to press officer Michael Rahal. Referring to the fact that her husband, GM Radoslaw Wojktaszek, had joined the commentary team precisely during this round, Kashlinskaya noted:

I thought, ‘Come on, you misplayed everything, you prepared this’. We were discussing this line, and then I misplayed everything, I played slowly, so basically everything I shouldn’t do I did today.

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There is a silver lining for the couple, though. Kashlinskaya added:

We have an agreement with my husband: when I win, I buy him dessert. [...] So today dessert is on me!

With this win, Kashlinskaya went into the one rest day of the event with a 2½/5 score, two points behind runaway leader Alexandra Kosteniuk. The latter was in real danger in round 5, but saw her opponent, Harika Dronavalli, misplaying the position soon after the time control. The game ended in a draw.

But Harika and Mariya Muzychuk were not the only players who missed big opportunities in the fifth round. Tan Zhongyi could not make the most of a massive advantage on the clock against Dinara Wagner, while Humpy Koneru could have collected a second consecutive win, but failed to convert her material advantage into a win in her game with black against Nana Dzagnidze. Humpy and Dzagnidze are sharing second place on 3/5 points.

Zhansaya Abdumalik and Elisabeth Paehtz before their round-5 encounter | Photo: David Llada

Kashlinskaya takes her chance

 

Muzychuk, Mariya2523

0–1

Kashlinskaya, Alina2491

Munich WGP 2023 Munich GER06.02.2023

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.d3 d5 5.exd5 Nxd5 6.h3 Be7 7.0-0 Nb6 8.Bb3 a5 9.a3 Qd6 10.Re1 a4 11.Ba2 Be6 12.Bxe6 Qxe6 13.Qe2 0-0 Kashlinskaya spent over 15 minutes before castling short. The move gives up a pawn for little compensation. Better is 13...Bf6 14.Nc3 0-0 15.Qe4 and Black needs to be accurate to keep the balance, but is not material down. 14.Nxe5 Nd4 15.Qd1 Rae8 16.Nd2 Bf6 17.Nef3 Nxf3+ 18.Nxf3 Qd5 19.Nd2 Be5 20.Ne4 Re6 The rook will return to e8 in the next move. 20...h6 preventing Ng5, as was played in the game, was stronger. 21.Ng5 Ree8 22.c3 h6 23.Nf3 Bd6 24.Be3 c5 25.c4 Qf5 26.Rc1 Re6 27.d4 Rfe8 Missing a forcing line that is completely winning for White. 28.dxc5 Bxc5 29.Nd4 But Muzychuk also missed the winning line... 29.g4

was the killer blow, since after 29...Rg6 30.Nh4 is a very strong fork - e.g: Qf6 31.Nxg6 Rxe3 what else? 32.Rxe3 Bxe3 33.fxe3 fxg6 34.c5 Nc8 and White will win. 29...Bxd4 30.Qxd4 Rg6 31.Kh1 Kh7 32.Red1 Qe6 33.Rd3 Muzychuk began to lose the thread. 33.c5 is better Qc6 34.f3 Nd7 35.Bf2 consolidating the extra pawn. 33...Re7 34.f3 This is a bigger mistake by White which, in fact, gives Black the advantage. After 34.Qc3 Nd7 35.Re1 Or after 34.Qf4 Nd7 35.Rdd1 White still has the upper hand with her extra pawn. 34...Rd7 35.Qc3 Rxg2

Unlike with g2-g4 prior to move 29, Kashlinskaya does find the key tactical idea here. 36.Kxg2 Qg6+ The point. 37.Kf2 Rxd3 38.Qe5 Nd7 39.Qf4 Qe6 40.Rg1 g5 41.Qe4+ Qxe4 42.fxe4 Ne5

Despite the material balance, the endgame is winning for Black with her more active pieces and better structure. 43.Ke2 Rb3 44.Bd4 Nf3 45.Rd1 Nxd4+ Kashlinskaya knows that she can convert the rook ending into a full point. 46.Rxd4 Rxb2+ 47.Kf1 Rb3 48.Rd7 Kg6 49.Kg2 Kf6 50.c5 h5 51.Rc7 h4 52.c6 bxc6 53.Rxc6+ Kg7 54.Rc5 f6 55.e5 fxe5 56.Rxe5 Kf6 57.Ra5 Rxa3 Black is two pawns up and has the more active pieces. It is only a matter of technique now. 58.Kh2 Kg6 59.Ra8 Kf5 60.Rf8+ Ke4 61.Re8+ Kf3 62.Rf8+ Ke2 63.Ra8 Ra2 64.Ra5 Kf3+ 65.Kg1 g4 66.hxg4 Kg3 67.Kf1 h3 0–1

Mariya Muzychuk playing white against Alina Kashlinskaya | Photo: David Llada

Harika plays brilliantly, then fails with f3-f4

 

Harika, Dronavalli2507

½–½

Kosteniuk, Alexandra2519

Munich WGP 2023 Munich GER06.02.2023

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.cxd5 cxd5 4.Bf4 Nc6 5.e3 Nf6 6.Nc3 Bf5 7.Nf3 e6 8.Qb3 Bb4 9.Ne5 0-0 10.Nxc6 Bxc3+ 11.Qxc3 bxc6 12.Qa3 Nd7 13.Rc1 The engines prefer White here, but all this had been played before. Both contenders were already on their own, though, if we go by the time they spent since move 9. Qb6 14.Be2 Rfe8 15.0-0 e5 16.dxe5 Nxe5 17.Rfe1 Re6 18.Qc3 Nd7 19.Red1 h6 20.b4 Nf6 21.a4 Ne4 22.Qd4 Qb7 23.b5

Harika makes the most of Black's weakness on the queenside. Kosteniuk is already in trouble. 23...Rd8 24.f3 Nf6 25.e4 Bg6 26.bxc6 Rxc6 27.Rxc6 Qxc6 28.Be5 a5 29.Bb5 Qc2 30.Rd2 Qc1+ 31.Rd1 Qc2 32.Re1 Nh5 33.exd5 f6 34.Bg3 Nxg3 35.hxg3 Qc7 36.Rd1 Rd6 37.Bc6 Rd8 38.Kh2 Bf7 39.Qc5 Rd6 40.Qb5 Rd8

The time control has been reached. Kosteniuk held on for dear life, but is a pawn down. Harika played brilliant positional play up to this point. 41.Qb7 However, right after the time control, the Indian inaccurately offers a queen trade. Qd6 Kosteniuk keeps the queens on the board... Engines consider that 41...Qxb7 42.Bxb7 Be8 43.Rd4 gives better defensive chances. But for a human it is much more realistic to defend with the queens still on the board (i.e. with more volatility left in the position) than in a stably inferior technical setup. 42.Qb6 Rb8 43.Qxa5 A second extra pawn for White. Rb4 44.Kh1 h5 45.Rc1 Rb2 46.Qc3 Rf2 47.f4

This pawn push gives away much of the advantage. With queens and rooks still on the board, keeping a more tidy pawn structure near the king was called for. But the most precise continuation was not that easy to find: 47.Be8 Qxd5 48.Bxf7+ Kxf7 49.Qe1 and White has the passer on the a-file and, more importantly, the initiative - the most important factor in this kind of positions. 47...h4 When you have been defending a miserable position for a long time, it is not that difficult to find such moves. Kosteniuk needed one minute to go for it. 48.Kg1 hxg3 49.Qxg3 Rxf4 50.Rc3 Qb4

White has two passed pawns, but her king is now vulnerable to attacks - and to potential perpetual checks. 51.Rf3 Qb1+ 52.Kh2 Qh7+ 53.Kg1 Qb1+ 54.Kh2 Qh7+ 55.Kg1 ½–½

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Harika Dronavalli | Photo: David Llada

Results - Round 5

Standings - Round 5

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