ChessBase 17 - Mega package - Edition 2024
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At the end of the month, on September 26, the FIDE World Women’s Team Championship 2021 starts in Sitges, the coastal town in Spain’s Catalonia region famous for having organized eight editions of the popular chess open Sunway Chess.
The first Women’s World Team Chess Championship was held in Yekaterinburg back in 2007. This city in Central Russia, now famous for the latest Candidates tournament, was a centre of attraction for female chess players at that time as it held a series of top-class round-robin tournaments for women, called North Urals Cup.
Fundamentals of Chess Openings
Starting out in chess is difficult, and this DVD aims to reduce that stress. Designed for beginner levels in openings, a brief introduction to the reasons we play some of the most common moves in popular openings like the Spanish and Sicilian is given.
China convincingly won that first championship, crushing eventual silver medallists Russia 4-0 in one of the early rounds. The victory in Yekaterinburg started a hat-trick as the squad led by Hou Yifan claimed gold at the home championship in Ningbo 2009 and the next one in Mardin 2011.
The years of Chinese domination ended with the Ukrainian team’s triumph in Astana 2013 and the Georgian victory in Chengdu 2015. At the home championship in Khanty-Mansiysk 2017, one of the permanent favourites and medallists of all previous editions, Russia, finally managed to win their first gold. At the latest edition, in Astana 2019, China reclaimed the top spot and won their fourth gold, leaving Russia in second place and Georgia in third.
2021 marks the 8th edition of the championship, and this year it is held in a new, more spectator-friendly format. Instead of the usual round-robin, the twelve teams will be divided into two pools of approximately the same strength. Four top teams from each pool (round-robin event of five rounds) qualify for the knockout playoff. In the knockout, each duel consists of two matches and the tie is broken by blitz matches, much like at the recently concluded Online Olympiad. The time control will be shorter than usual, too: 45 minutes for the whole game with an increment of 10 seconds per move.
The pandemic put most of the over-the-board events on hold in 2020, but luckily that was the year leapfrogged by a bi-annual schedule of the team championship, so there will be no gap in the calendar. However, not so fortunate is that the pandemic restrictions still impact our world significantly, which means not all the favourites will manage to take part. Most notably, we will not see China and the USA, two top teams of the Asian and American continents.
Aleksandra Goryachkina | Photo: David Llada
In the absence of China, the Russian team stands as a firm favourite, headed by the world’s number 2, Aleksandra Goryachkina (pictured above), who will be excellently supported by Kateryna Lagno, Alexandra Kosteniuk, Polina Shuvalova, and Alina Kashlinskaya as a reserve player. This is Russia’s best possible roster by standard FIDE ratings, showcasing their determination to bring home another gold this autumn, following the triumphal win at the Online Olympiad.
Russia’s permanent rival, Georgia, also brings the optimum lineup: Nana Dzagnidze, Nino Batsiashvili (pictured below), Bela Khotenashvili, Lela Javakhishvili, and Meri Arabidze. Curiously, when Georgia took gold in Chengdu 2015, four out of five players were the same, and the fifth one was Melia, instead of Dzagnidze. Will they be able to repeat their feat six years later?
The aim of this course is to help you understand how to make tactical opportunities arise as well as to sharpen your tactical vision - these selected lectures will help to foster your overall tactical understanding.
Nino Batsiashvili | Photo: David Llada
Another regular favourite, Ukraine, is nothing short of top players too. But unlike Russia or Georgia, they’ve got a little more creative approach to the board order, putting Iulija Osmak on a reserve board, behind slightly lower rated Nataliya Buksa. The first two boards naturally belong to powerhouses Anna and Mariya Muzychuk, and team captain Michael Brodsky chose Anna to lead the team. Third board is occupied by Anna Ushenina.
These three teams stand out rating-wise and have tremendous experience and a history of medals at the world team championships, so they will likely become top contenders for gold. Traditionally solid Armenia (led by current European Women’s Champion Elina Danielian), Poland (with Zawadzka and Cyfka on top boards), Germany (headed by unchallenged leader Elisabeth Paehtz) and Azerbaijan (led by 21-year-old Gibraltar WGP discovery Gunay Mammadzada) will interfere with the medal distribution and fight for a place on a pedestal. Local heroines led by Ana Matnadze have a well-balanced lineup. There is no place like home, so perhaps familiar walls will lead the Spanish team to success.
Ana Matnadze | Photo: David Llada
Apart from this rather usual distribution of forces, two teams this year deserve special attention — India and Kazakhstan. It has been a while since India played with their best lineup and the fans’ dream was about to come true in Sitges, but unfortunately, at the last moment, Humpy Koneru was replaced by Mary Ann Gomes. Without the world’s number 3 female player, India’s position as one of the tournament’s favourites is shaken and the quest for gold becomes all the more difficult. Harika Dronavalli (pictured below) will have to put on the shoes of a team leader and inspire Vaishali R, Tania Sachdev, and Bhakti Kulkarni to their best performance. “Humpy is one of our best, but we have others who are equally capable of doing well. We are sure our team will notch up a good show in Spain”, said AICF secretary, Bharat Singh Chauhan, to the Times of India that reported on the news.
Harika Dronavalli | Photo: David Llada
It/s great to see young stars claiming their place next to the recognized masters. 20-year-old Russia’s Polina Shuvalova, 20-year-old Indian Vaishali R, 21-year-old Gunay Mammadzada are here to stay. But the generational shift is especially evident with the team of Kazakhstan, an apparent underdog capable of delivering any surprises. Team leader 21-year-old Zhansaya Abdumalik (pictured below) just crushed Gibraltar WGP this summer, and the third board, 17-year-old Bibisara Assaubayeva, had a fantastic run at the Women’s World Cup. Add to the mix experienced and stable Dinara Saduakassova, Gulmira Dauletova, and one more promising teenager, 16-year-old Meruert Kamalidenova, to complete the picture.
Zhansaya Abdumalik | Photo: David Llada
It won’t be an easy walk for the teams of France and FIDE Americas, competing with such heavyweights, so advancing from the group stage could definitely be considered a success. In the absence of the USA, FIDE Americas is a mixed team with the players from the continent, nominated by the FIDE President: Deysi Cori (Peru), Carolina Lujan (Argentina), Maritza Arribas (Cuba), Maili-Jade Quellet (Canada), and Jeniffer Pérez (Paraguay). As for France, it is headed by its long-time leader Marie Sebag but missing some of the other top national players.
Check out full team lineups here...
As many as 13 out of the world’s top 20 women players are taking part in this championship, and it promises to be a perfect apéritif in the line of major chess competitions this autumn, followed by the Grand Swiss and the FIDE World Championship Match.
The Accelerated Dragon - a sharp weapon against 1.e4
After 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 g6! leads to the so-called "Accelerated Dragon Defense". On this DVD the Russian grandmaster and top women player Nadezhda Kosintseva reveals the secrets of her favourite opening.
