WWch Semis G2: the queen of must-wins

Tournament conditions

The Women's World Chess Championship takes place from March 17 – April 7 in Sochi, Russia. The knock-out tournament is attended by 64 players, including the former World Champions Alexandra Kosteniuk (Russia), Anna Ushenina (Ukraine), and Antoaneta Stefanova (Bulgaria), the three-time Russian champion Valentina Gunina, the World Vice-Champion Humpy Koneru (India), as well as other leading grandmasters. Unfortunately, the reigning champion Hou Yifan was unable to come for personal reasons, but as the winner of the FIDE Grand Prix she will still be able to challenge the new champion to a match.

The first five rounds consist of mini-matches of two games played at 90 minutes for 40 moves followed by 30 minutes for the rest of the game and a 30-second increment per move. The final match will consist of four games.

In the event of a tie, the winner will be determined by a series of tiebreak games: two rapid games of 25 minutes plus 10 seconds per move. If the score remains equal, the players then proceed to two more games played at 10 minutes plus 10 seconds per move. If the score continues tied a final mini-match will be played of two blitz games of 5 minutes plus 3 seconds per move. Finally, an Armageddon game will be played to decide the winner in which White has five minutes and Black has four minutes, with a three-second increment per move after move 61. Black will be declared the victor if the game is drawn.

Round five - game two

Although in recent years, Natalia Pogonina has been playing 1.d4 with ever growing frequency, today, needing a win at all costs, she opted for the more aggressive 1.е4. The players soon reached a very sharp line of the Sicialian Paulsen.

Natalia Pogonina has proven herself a fantastic clinch fighter

Natalia Pogonina vs Pia Cramling

Some sisterly advice before the big game

Harika Dronavalli tried with all her might to break Mariya Muzychuk's Dutch defense, but to no avail. The Indian player arranged her pieces harmoniously and built up some unpleasant central pressure, but thereafter failed to find the best way to tighten the screws. A rook endgame resulted in a classic four against three pawn on the same wing, and in spite of an energetic attempt to push it, Muzychuk held the draw.

Mariya Muzychuk has defied expectations, as has Harika Dronavalli. Only a tiebreak will separate them.

The commentators are caught on camera

Short interview with Natalia Pogonina

Anastasia Karlovich: Natalia, this is the third time you win on demand at this championship! How did you do it today?

Natalia Pogonina: My opponent went into a variation that is considered dangerous for Black – a strange choice in a situation when you need a draw to advance. We arrived at a complicated position with good attacking chances for White. My maneuvering was probably not ideal, but her 17...Qc5 gave me a tempo for 18.Nb3 and 19.Nd2, after which White should have a very comfortable edge. 

After that I had so many tempting continuations that it was difficult to choose between them, that's why I took so much time for my moves.

Yet Pia was spending more time than you, and in the end you had some extra time on the clock, which allowed you to calculate the nice finale! Or did you see it instantly?

No, I discovered 38.Nd7+ only after some thought. I had 10 minutes left, so I could afford using some of this time.

It must be very pleasing to end the game in such fashion...

I would take any win, to be honest.

On the move 28, did you consider other ideas apart from 28.f4?

I calculated some knight leaps, but eventually decided to strengthen my base on e5, and then push the h-pawn. It looked a solid plan to me.

What about 28.Rxc4?

I looked into it, but not very deeply. Now I see that I don't have to regain an exchange after 28...Qxc4 29.Nd6, but can simply continue the attack. Looks good for White, too.

Which of the three matches you saved on demand was the most difficult?

All of them were difficult – there were tough opponents, and I needed to win... I don't want to single out any of them.

What is your mood before the tie-break? What color do you have in the first game?

My mood is good as usual. I will play Black in the first game.

Report by Albert Silver and Eteri Kublashvili
Photos by Eteri Kublashvili, Anastasia Karlovich, and Vladimir Barsky

Semifinal pairings / results

Schedule

Links Official tournament site All games in PGN 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 13 or any of our Fritz compatible chess programs.