Women's World Championship starts in Tirana – first game drawn

by ChessBase
11/14/2011 – The match started with Koneru Humpy exerting tremendous pressure on the Chinese prodigy Hou Yifan right from the opening. Hou showed great resilience and patience, as she decided to defend to the point of sacrificing a pawn to reach a defendable endgame. Despite Humpy's persistence, the game was eventually drawn, but not for lack of fighting spirit! Full illustrated report with GM commentary.
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The FIDE Women’s World Chess Championship Match between the current World Champion Hou Yifan of China and her challenger, Koneru Humpy of India, is being staged in the Triana International Hotel from November 14 to 30. The time control is 90 minutes for the first 40 moves, followed by 30 minutes for the rest of the game, with an increment of 30 seconds per move starting from move one. The winner of the ten-game match is the first player to reach 5.5 points or more. The prize fund is 200,000 Euro, with 60% going to the winner. The games start at 15:00h local time, which is also Central European Time = 17:00 Moscow, 19:30 New Delhi, 22:00h Beijing and 09:00 New York. You can find the starting time for other locations here.

Game one

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MoveNResultEloPlayers
1.e41,166,62354%2421---
1.d4947,29855%2434---
1.Nf3281,60256%2441---
1.c4182,10256%2442---
1.g319,70256%2427---
1.b314,26554%2427---
1.f45,89748%2377---
1.Nc33,80151%2384---
1.b41,75648%2380---
1.a31,20654%2404---
1.e31,06848%2408---
1.d395450%2378---
1.g466446%2360---
1.h444653%2374---
1.c343351%2426---
1.h328056%2418---
1.a411060%2466---
1.f39246%2436---
1.Nh38966%2508---
1.Na34262%2482---
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 d5 4.Bg2 Be7 5.Nf3 0-0 6.0-0 dxc4 7.Qc2 a6 8.Qxc4 b5 9.Qc2 Bb7 10.Bd2 Be4 11.Qc1 Bb7 12.a4 This move has rarely been played before, but the more I analyze it the more I like it. White is trying to encourage Black into pushing the b-pawn forward, which will restrict her dark square bishop and create a weakness in c4. The more common move and the one recommended by theory nowadays is 12. Bf4. Seeing that Humpy only spent 30 seconds in playing a4, it is safe to assume that she is well inside her preparation. b4 A natural response, but the weakness on c4 will be a problem later. Interestingly enough, this is every engine's top choice - a fact that can be verified easily by using Fritz 13's "Let's Check" feature. 13.Bf4 Nd5 This unnatural but typical dance with the bishop is done to try to trade off the dark squared bishop. This will greatly reduce Black's chances to push c5, which is the thematic break in the position. So much for not moving the same piece twice in the opening! 14.Bg5 Nd7 14...Bxg5 15.Qxg5! Keeps a slight edge for white, as she will be able to swing the f1 rook to c1 and pressure down that file. 14...f6 is a weakness no one wants to commit to, but it might be the best move. 15.Bxe7 Qxe7 16.Ne5! Humpy shows a very strong understanding of the position. Her compensation for the doubled e-pawns will be in strong pressure along the c-file and an uncomfortable pin with the g2-bishop on its b7 counterpart. Nxe5 17.dxe5 a5 18.Nd2 Ba6 19.Nc4 19.Nb3! Humpy plays a very natural move. However I think that this really strong move would have given her an advantage. I do have to admit I hadn't considered it until I turned on the "Let's Check" option on Fritz 13. A fellow analyst's Fritz 13 and someone else's Rybka 4.1 had found this powerful move, and it intrigued me that the evaluation was so high despite the loss of a pawn. Further analysis proves that the pawn is more than compensated! Bxe2 20.Re1 Bh5 20...Bd3? 21.Rd1 Bg6 22.Nd4± 21.Nd4 The out of place bishop on h5, combined with the central pressure, control of c6, weak a5 pawn, and overall lack of plan for Black gives White an incredible amount of compensation, if not an outright advantage! 19...Qc5 20.Ne3 Qe7 20...Qxc1? 21.Rfxc1 and the N on d5 is pinned, giving White a huge edge. 21.Rd1 Rad8 22.Nxd5 exd5 23.Qc6 Bxe2 24.Rxd5 Rxd5 25.Qxd5 White stlil holds some pressure, as her strong Q is hitting a lot of weaknesses. However, the simplification of the Ns definitely favors Black. c5 26.Re1 26.Qd6 Qxd6 27.exd6 Rd8 28.Re1 Bc4 Followed by Be6 is not that scary. 26...Bg4 27.Rc1 Rc8 27...Rd8 was a tad more accurate, but it is clear that Black is very near equality either way. 28.Qc4 h5 29.Bd5 Qd7 30.Re1 Rd8 31.e6 These simplifications are forced, as otherwise Black would have gotten too active. 31.Bg2? Qd2 and it's obvious the pendulum swung the other way. 31...fxe6 31...Qxd5?? 32.e7+- is the pretty trick that allows White to play e6. 32.Bxe6+ Bxe6 33.Rxe6 Qf7 34.h4 Rf8 35.Qe2 Qf3 Black sacrifices a pawn to reach a relatively safe rook endgame. Although white will have the only chances to win, they are quite slim. Yifan shows how to easily draw this rook endgame. 36.Qxf3 Rxf3 37.Re5 37.Rc6 Was more accurate but after Rb3 38.Rxc5 g6 38...Rxb2? 39.Rxh5 39.Rc2 the game is probably drawn, as White's rook is too passive. 37...c4 38.Rxa5 Rb3 39.Rc5 Rxb2 40.Rxc4 Kf7 41.Kg2 b3 42.Rb4 g6 43.Kf3 Ra2 44.Rxb3 Rxa4 This exchange had to happen sooner or later, and this game is a theoretical draw. Black already has her pawns in the ideal situation, which eases her task. 45.Re3 Kf6 46.Re4 Ra3+ 47.Kf4 Ra2 48.f3 Ra5 49.Rc4 Rf5+ 50.Ke3 Re5+ 51.Re4 Ra5 52.Rf4+ Kg7 53.Rc4 Ra6 54.Rc5 Kf6 55.Rd5 Ra3+ 56.Ke4 Ra6 57.Rd4 Re6+ 58.Kf4 Ra6 59.Rb4 Rc6 60.g4 Making no progress whatsoever with pure rook moves, Humpy tries to trade some pawns. However every pawn trade simplifies the defender's task. hxg4 61.Kxg4 Interestingly, this rook endgame should be drawn even without the pawn on g6. With it, defending this endgame is elementary. Rc5 62.Rb6+ Kg7 63.Re6 Kf7 64.Re4 Ra5 65.f4 Ra1 66.Re3 Kf6 67.Rb3 Rg1+ 68.Rg3 Ra1 69.Rg2 Rb1 70.Rh2 Rg1+ 71.Kf3 Kf5 72.h5 gxh5 73.Rxh5+ Kf6 74.Ra5 Rf1+ 75.Ke3 Re1+ 76.Kf2 Rb1 77.Kg3 Rg1+ 78.Kf3 Rf1+ 79.Kg4 Rg1+ 80.Kf3 And the game was finally drawn. An interesting opening that could have been more for Humpy, and an extremely boring endgame in which you cannot blame her for not trying. ½–½
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Koneru,H2600Hou,Y2578½–½2011E05Womens World Championship 20111

Pictorial impressions of game one

By Frederic Friedel


This is what the stage looked like on Sunday, when it was still being built


A choice of chairs for the players


Arbiter Panagiotis NIkolopoulos and Frederic Friedel pre-testing the table and chairs


The red one! World Champion Hou Yifan comes first and gets first pick of the chairs


Challenger Humpy (with her father right) is happy with the blue high-back


Albanian TV Channel One arrives to do a broadcast of the match


The entrance to the playing hall in the Triana International Hotel lobby


On Monday at 2:45 p.m. the players and public start to enter


Yifan gets a metal detector scan by Arbiter Carol Jarecki


She gets checked from head to toe – Carol is very meticulous


The World Champion: 17-year-old Chinese GM Hou Yifan


Koneru Humpy, the second strogest female play in chess history


The challenger ready to start game one


Note how the players have (very carefully) pointed their knights and bishops


For years now Yifan always brings along her little silver pot with Chinese raisins


General sustenance for each player during the game


FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov symbolically makes the first move for Humpy


After some instructions the chief sponsor executes the first black move with the knight


The President and his sponsor: Rezart Taci of Taci Oil International


After her third move, g3, Humpy covers her eyes and sinks into thought


After a number of minutes in that position she snaps out of it and plays her fourth move


Camera lady Qi Yu captures it all for the Xinhua News Agency


FIDE Deputy President Georgios Makropulos and Ashok Koneru


Game one under way, with around 20 spectators, which increases to fifty by the end


FIDE brass in the lobby: (clockwise from the top) Deputy President Georgios Makropoulos, Member, Appeals Committee Beatriz Marinello, President of the Turkish Chess Federation Ali Nihat Yazici, Berik Balgabaev, Advisor to FIDE President


You tell us who is winning: the President plays chess in the VIP suite


In the press room: WGMs Anastasia Karlovich and Anna Burtasova, well known to our readers


Nastja working on the pictures she has taken with her Canon 5D Mark II

Schedule

Sunday 13 November 2011    Opening ceremony
Monday 14 November 2011 Game one
Tuesday 15 November 2011 Game two
Wednesday    16 November 2011 Rest day
Thursday 17 November 2011 Game three
Friday 18 November 2011 Game four
Saturday 19 November 2011 Rest day
Sunday 20 November 2011 Game five
Monday 21 November 2011 Game six
Tuesday 22 November 2011 Rest day
Wednesday 23 November 2011 Game seven
Thursday 24 November 2011 Game eight
Friday 25 November 2011 Rest day
Saturday 26 November 2011 Game nine
Sunday 27 November 2011 Rest day
Monday 28 November 2011 Game ten
Tuesday 29 November 2011 Rest day
Wednesday 30 November 2011 Tie-break, closing   

Links

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 11 or any of our Fritz compatible chess programs.

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