Teimour Radjabov to be replaced by Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in the Candidates Tournament
Lausanne, March 6, 2020 Teimour Radjabov has informed FIDE about his decision to withdraw from the Candidates Tournament, citing personal reasons. The Grandmaster from Azerbaijan had qualified for the Candidates by winning the 2019 World Cup, held in Khanty-Mansiysk. Radjabov will be replaced following the procedure described in the Article 2.1.E of the tournament regulations: “One place is reserved for the player with the highest average FIDE rating. For the purpose of deciding the qualifier, the average ELO rating from the twelve (12) FIDE Standard Rating Lists from February 2019 to January 2020 is used (…)”. Therefore, the French player Maxime Vachier-Lagrave will be Radjabov’s replacement, since he has the highest average rating during the aforementioned period of twelve months. The player has already been informed and he is ready to take part in the tournament. His travel arrangements are being made at the time of this announcement.
Titles approved by 2020 Executive Board in Abu Dhabi, UAE
FIDE publishes the list of titles approved by 2020 Executive Board in Abu Dhabi, UAE. GRANDMASTER GM 113816 Tristan, Leonardo ARG GM 13400312 Iskandarov, Mistratdin AZE GM 3507815 Obregon Rivero, Juan Carlos CUB GM 1444948 Bjerre, Jonas Buhl DEN GM 1438832 Thybo, Jesper Sondergaard DEN GM 621650 Flom, Gabriel FRA GM 12961523 Engel, Luis GER GM 12940690 Keymer, Vincent GER GM 753246 Kozak, Adam HUN GM 35093487 Sadhwani, Raunak IND GM 12513342 Gholami, Aryan IRI GM 24101940 Zanan, Evgeny ISR GM 12804444 Stremavicius, Titas LTU GM 5105048 Ibarra Chami, Luis Fernando MEX GM 4901541 Bilguun, Sumiya MGL GM 1026356 ten Hartog, Hugo NED GM 3804623 Vera Siguenas, Delvy PER GM 1132717 Klekowski, Maciej POL GM 1132199 Krzyzanowski, Marcin POL GM 4180887 Bocharov, Ivan RUS GM 4197143 Demidov, Mikhail RUS GM 24153729 Khegay, Dmitriy RUS GM 24114928 Tilicheev, Viacheslav RUS GM 950122 Ivic, Velimir SRB GM 14114224 Golubka, Petro UKR GM 14119846 Omelja, Artem UKR GM 14204223 Vokhidov, Shamsiddin UZB GM 12401064 Nguyen, Van Huy VIE INTERNATIONAL MASTER IM 4700066 Ashiku, Franc ALB IM 13308300 Gharibyan, Mamikon ARM IM 223654 Verstraeten, Rein BEL IM 2614782 Chiku-Ratte, Olivier-Kenta CAN IM 1440640 Olsen, Filip Boe DEN IM 32067607 Ayats Liobera, Gerard ESP IM 600261 Lamard, Guillaume FRA IM 36048763 Philippe, Guillaume FRA IM 13604058 Lortkipanidze, Nodar GEO IM 13608207 Oboladze, Luka GEO IM 1270337 Gschnitzer, Adrian GER IM 4615646 Kersten, Uwe GER IM 4208935 Goumas, Georgios GRE IM 26093189 Vlachos, Anatole GRE IM 760056 Krstulovic, Alex HUN IM 7101570 Aulia, Medina Warda INA IM 25009141 Anand, Nadar IND IM 35070924 Anuj, Shrivatri IND IM 25072846 Aronyak, Ghosh IND IM 25059009 Harshavardhan, G B IND IM 25041142 Krishnater, Kushager IND IM 25064967 Moksh, Amit Doshi IND IM 35080350 Mullick, Raahil IND IM 25002112 Rathanvel, V S IND IM 5073421 Sammed Jaykumar, Shete IND IM 5016193 Soumya, Swaminathan IND IM 2813408 Parkhov, Yair ISR IM 872555 Barp, Alberto ITA IM 13703404 Igambergenov, Alibek KAZ IM 4901592 Baterdene, Tsogbayar MGL IM 15000770 Lazov, Toni MKD IM 1021133 Haast, Mark NED IM 1520857 Vestby-Ellingsen, Mads NOR IM 1141724 Lewtak, Damian POL IM 1211854 Dobre, Claudiu-Cristian ROU IM 4165314 Bryakin, Mikhail RUS IM 24108138 Kardashevskiy, Evgeny RUS IM 4169123 Khlebovich, Alexander RUS IM 24199443 Ofitserian, Boris RUS IM 34134015 Remizov, Yaroslav RUS IM 4112253 Samusenko, Maksim RUS IM 14607913 Janzelj, Tim SLO IM 14606518 Spalir, Jernej SLO IM 903809 Djokic, Nenad SRB IM 914517 Ratkovic, Miloje SRB IM 14907534 Jurcik, Martin SVK IM 6357415 Ozenir, Ekin Baris TUR IM 34543279 Tanriverdi, Enes TUR IM 14152894 Larkin, Vladyslav UKR IM 14133040 Rytenko, Vsevolod UKR IM 14112256 Vypkhaniuk, Ihor UKR IM 2084058 Bick, Gabriel James USA IM 2075512 Ludwig, John USA IM 30920019 Mishra, Abhimanyu USA IM 2090732 Yip, Carissa USA IM 3501604 Ravelo Gil, Eddy VEN IM 3902498 Romero Barreto, Jaime Jose VEN WOMAN GRANDMASTER WGM 13308130 Sargsyan, Anna M ARM WGM 8606161 Xiao, Yiyi CHN WGM 8608059 Zhu, Jiner CHN WGM 5050847 Nandhidhaa, P V IND WGM 5091241 Varshini, V IND WGM 24633569 Osmanodja, Filiz GER WGM 24165956 Chernyak, Viktoria RUS WGM 34127035 Garifullina, Leya RUS WOMAN INTERNATIONAL MASTER WIM 2916711 Peycheva, Gergana BUL WIM 2915405 Radeva, Viktoria BUL WIM 8607664 Li, Yunshan CHN WIM 14534215 Cvitan, Ena CRO WIM 5045118 Cholleti, Sahajasri IND WIM 35006665 Isha, Sharma IND WIM 25011944 Makhija, Aashna IND WIM 5082986 Priyanka, K IND WIM 45004722 Kanyamarala, Trisha IRL WIM 13711261 Nurgali, Nazerke KAZ WIM 3819400 Hilario, Aleyla PER WIM 24173606 Afonasieva, Anna RUS WIM 14126869 Potapova, Margarita RUS WIM 24173770 Goltseva, Ekaterina RUS WIM 14611481 Urh, Zala SLO WIM 14605511 Vidic, Teja SLO WIM 1305620 De Serouz, Camille SUI WIM 1331973 Georgescu, Lena SUI WIM 6364063 Caglar, Sila TUR WIM 14132400 Shpanko, Nadiia UKR WIM 14204487 Yakubbaeva, Nilufar UZB WIM 12408956 Bach, Ngoc Thuy Dong VIE INTERNATIONAL ARBITER IA 145572 Vilte, Hector Eduardo ARG IA 3220257 Zuccala, Christopher AUS IA 13403087 Abdullayev, Elshad AZE IA 1928090 Carapinha, Francisco Manuel CPV IA 6501435 Angulo Cubero, Oscar CRC IA 14527677 Birk, Bojan CRO IA 14511436 Stankovic, Sasa CRO IA 3516490 Garcia Beltran, Ibrahin CUB IA 305235 Buchnicek, Petr CZE IA 330701 Kudla, Richard CZE IA 305405 Sikora, Jan CZE IA 2289180 Gonzalez Gandara, David ESP IA 2224690 Pareja Lopez, Francisco Jesus ESP IA 675270 Regaud, Denis FRA IA 13617273 Beria, Giorgi GEO IA 12949639 Haase, Carsten GER IA 12961914 Weber, Michael GER IA 16209060 Winker, Fabian GER IA 25042050 Beig, Saleem IND IA 5068746 Bhaskar, V. IND IA 25075551 Bhatt, Swati IND IA 5065062 Chitaranjan, Taorem IND IA 35016350 Chockalingam, Balaji Ulaganathan IND IA 5045541 Kavlekar, Sanjay R. IND IA 25061550 Mrityunjay, Singh IND IA 25042408 Naveen, Kumar T IND IA 35004220 Rupesh, Kumar IND IA 25024590 Saini, Rashmi IND IA 25027042 Selva, Manikandan S IND IA 45022062 Shivakant, Mishra IND IA 25088327 Stella, Sharmila P IND IA 12501506 Mirzapour, Hanieh IRI IA 12598771 Mishani, Shideh IRI IA 12500666 Paridar, Shadi IRI IA 13707019 Bauyrzhan, Kausar KAZ IA 13700570 Kim, Sergey KAZ IA 5707579 Muniyan, Genkeswaran MAS IA 5727588 Thiagarajoo, Kumaressan MAS IA 1523988 Gressli, Kristoffer NOR IA 1514237 Lovaas, Roger NOR IA 5228506 Cruz, Reden PHI IA 4153723 Gluhov, Viktor RUS IA 24182370 Shelokov, Valery RUS IA 9907513 Anuradha, Sanjeewa SRI IA 6330320 Saglam, Emrah Sitki TUR IA 14106469 Bodnar, Nikolay UKR IA 14136660 Kovalenko, Maxim UKR IA 14175630 Larkin, Sergii UKR IA 14136422 Pepa, Yurij UKR IA 3900371 Gonzalez, Jose Luis VEN FIDE ARBITER FA 7903014 Bir, Boubekar ALG FA 7922574 Brahim, Billel ALG FA 7907176 Ghafoul, Omar ALG FA 7909551 Larabi, Abdelkader ALG FA 7907869 Mousli, Abdelkarim ALG FA 134775 Kiszkiewicz, Ivan ARG FA 13300610 Movsisyan, Naira ARM FA 3228460 Harmon, Martin AUS FA 3203689 Stojic, Dusan AUS FA 1627090 Zozin, Walter AUT FA 13400860 Budagova, Lala AZE FA 13424912 Guliyeva, Laman AZE FA 13437488 Gurbanova, Irana AZE FA 10204695 Anisuzzaman, Jewel BAN FA 1203095 Chowdhury, Mahmuda Hoque BAN FA 10200592 Hossain, Showkat Pollab BAN FA 10201653 Kabir, Shajahan BAN FA 10235000 Md., Mazedul Hoque Chowdhury BAN FA 10200533 Parveen, Tanima BAN FA 10208658 S. M., Tareq BAN FA 2603136
FIDE approves media accreditation policy
The International Chess Federation has approved the following media accreditation policy, to be applied in our top official events – starting with the Candidates Tournament. This policy was developed following the model of other sports associations. In particular, in the making of this document the following policies were taken as a reference: – Media accreditation process for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019. – Accreditation procedure for the United Nations conferences and events. – Accreditation process for the 2nd European Games in Minsk 2019. – Media accreditation for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. – IOC Social and Digital Media Guidelines for the Winter Games, Pyeong Chang 2018. – Accreditation for the Olympic Games in Tokyo 2020. – Accreditation Process for the Davis Cup by Rakuten Finals. – Media accreditation for the Wimbledon tennis championship. DOWNLOAD: FIDE media accreditation policy (pdf)
Joint statement by FIDE and the ECU
As you know, three major events are planned for April 2020 in Crete, Greece. 1. World Cadet & Youth Rapid & Blitz Chess Championships 20202. World Amateur Chess Championship 20203. European School Championships 2020. These events involve the travel and presence of hundreds of players and others at the venue. Given the current health situation in Europe and worldwide with the outbreak of the coronavirus (COVID-19), recommendations and instructions of WHO, sports and national authorities, as also concerns expressed by many participants and national federations, both organizations believe that priority is the protection of the public health. In view of the above, and after consultation with the organizers, FIDE and ECU have decided that all three events listed above will be postponed. The events are rescheduled for after the 15th of June 2020 and the new dates and venue in Greece will be announced the next days. Bookings have been already made and deposits will be transferred to the new dates and in case that participants will not be able to attend will be fully refunded for their hotel bookings and registration fees. We would like to note that since that the reason for the postponement is force majeure and a recognized worldwide big threat for public health, neither FIDE, nor EСU, nor the organizers can be responsible for other expenses incurred by participants, including travel expenses and air tickets. Many companies decided to redirect to new dates/destinations or refund tickets that canceled due to the global threat of (COVID-19).
WGP Round 5: Dzagnidze wins; Goryachkina and Dronavalli still lead
The fifth round of the Women’s FIDE Grand Prix in Lausanne features just one decisive game. World Champion Ju Wenjun escapes after more than 5 hours. The battle of the two leaders Harika Dronavalli and Aleksandra Goryachkina unfolded quietly, as the balance never significantly tilted for either side. Both remain in the lead, as none of their pursuers managed to win. In fact, as many as five games were tied on this fifth day. The only winner of the day was Nana Dzagnidze, who overcame Anna Muzychuk with Black. The Georgian confessed afterward that she misplayed the opening and ended up in a difficult position. She decided to sacrifice an exchange with 21…Be6 and could not understand why her opponent refused to take it. To be fair, White only erred later and collapsed in the complications. Mariya Muzychuk could have restored the balance in the family score by beating Ju Wenjun, but she failed to convert a decisive advantage in the endgame. The World Champion is visibly struggling to find her shape in Lausanne, but there is still a whole second tournament half to recover. The encounter between Zhansaya Abdumalik and Alina Kshalinskaya saw the advantage change hands. The Russian clearly got an upper hand around move 20 but slipped with 27…Rxe5, instead of 27…fxe5. The endgame seemed balanced afterward, but Black allowed the exchange of rooks, which could have cost her dearly. Zhansaya probably missed 43…b4 later on, which allowed Alina to escape. Alexandra Kosteniuk made a draw with Black against Antoaneta Stefanova and finally recovered from three defeats in a row. Pia Cramling and Marie Sebag played a balanced game and eventually reached a draw. Results of Round 5: Zhansaya Abdumalik (KAZ) – Alina Kashlinskaya (RUS) ½-½Antoaneta Stefanova (BLG) – Alexandra Kosteniuk (RUS) ½-½Harika Dronavalli (IND) – Aleksandra Goryachkina (RUS) ½-½ Anna Muzychuk (UKR) – Nana Dzagnidze (GEO) 0-1Mariya Muzychuk (UKR) – Ju Wenjun (CHN) ½-½Pia Cramling (SWE) – Marie Sebag (FRA) ½-½ Standings after Round 5: 1-2. Harika Dronavalli (IND) and Aleksandra Goryachkina (RUS) – 3½ 3.-4. Nana Dzagnidze (GEO) and Alina Kashlinskaya (RUS) – 35.-8. Anna Muzychuk (UKR), Pia Cramling (SWE), Mariya Muzychuk (UKR) and Zhansaya Abdumalik (KAZ) – 2½ 9.-11. Ju Wenjun (CHN), Antoaneta Stefanova (BUL) and Marie Sebag (FRA) – 2 12. Alexandra Kosteniuk (RUS) – 1 Program of round 6, 7 March at 3 pm: Alina Kashlinskaya (RUS) – Marie Sebag (FRA)Ju Wenjun (CHN) – Pia Cramling (SWE)Nana Dzagnidze (GEO) – Mariya Muzychuk (UKR)Aleksandra Goryachkina (RUS) – Anna Muzychuk (UKR)Alexandra Kosteniuk (RUS) – Harika Dronavalli (IND)Zhansaya Abdumalik (KAZ) – Antoaneta Stefanova (BLG) Follow all the action live with commentary by grandmasters Mikhail Gurevich and Keti Tsatsalashvili on the tournament website http://wgp2019.fide.com. Pictures in high resolution are available for the press at our official Flickr account. Text: Yannick PelletierPhotos: David LladaContact: press@fide.com
FIDE Trainer Seminar on teaching players with disabilities
The Competition for the disabled at the World Chess Olympiad 2020 will see a FIDE Trainer Seminar on teaching players with disabilities. This seminar will be held daily for one hour, starting 30 minutes after the start of play, during rounds one to five. All participating teams are invited to register one or more members to attend. Trainer license requirements are also waived for all team captains attending, who will all be awarded the Developmental Instructor title. Four FIDE Commissions have come together for this program – the FIDE Trainers Commission (TRG), the FIDE Commission for the Disabled (DIS), the FIDE Events Commission (EVE) and the FIDE Medical Commission (MED). The lead lecturer and moderator will be FIDE Senior Trainer and Grandmaster Thomas Luther, Chairman of the DIS commission. His expert co-lecturers will be FIDE International Organiser and International Arbiter Ozgur Solakoglu (Chairman of the Events Commission) and Dr. Amelia Hernandez (Member of the Medical Commission). The program coordinator will be Peter Long (Secretary of the Trainers Commission).
WGP Round 4: Goryachkina and Dronavalli win and lead in Lausanne
The participants of the Lausanne Women’s Grand Prix are clearly in full strength mode. All games featured hard battles and three of them ended with decisive results The symbolic first move was played on Thursday by Simon Fellus, General Secretary of the World Bridge Association. In the subsequent interview, he drew comparisons between the two mind games and praised FIDE for promoting the activity of women in chess. Two of the five leaders were pitted against each other in Round 4. Nana Dzagnidze tried a different version of the London System which had brought her success in round two. The outcome of the opening was clearly less satisfactory, as Harika Dronavalli quickly got a pleasant position. The Indian was ready to torture her opponent for a long time when Dzagnidze blundered a Rook and resigned on move 27. Dronavalli felt sorry for her opponent afterward and admitted that she is always reluctant to win in such an abrupt way. Another leader managed to win her game and keep pace with Dronavalli. Aleksandra Goryachkina admitted after the game that she was unhappy with her play overall, as she felt that she should have gained a definite advantage against Antoaneta Stefanova’s treatment of the Pirc Defence. Indeed, the game was about equal around move 15, and only the 23rd move by the Bulgarian paved the way to her demise. The tournament is not going well for Alexandra Kosteniuk, as she lost her third game in a row and is the clear last. The opening was a Ruy Lopez, where Zhansaya Abdumalik obtained a closed and balanced position. The key moment came on move 20 when Kosteniuk spurned 20.Ndc4, thus allowing Black to open the center with d5. The young Kazakhstani seized the initiative and did not look back. Her attack flowed and she eventually forced Kosteniuk’s resignation on move 37 due to imminent checkmate. Two draws were particularly exciting with both games finishing quite late in the evening. Alina Kashlinskaya tried a bold knight sacrifice on g7 and felt that the attack was decisive. However, Pia Cramling has seen all sorts of offensives from formidable opponents in her rich career. She remained calm, unimpressed, and repelled all White’s threats. The Russian should be praised for keeping as much tension as possible after that. As fatigue grew, Cramling failed to show the best technique and had settle for a half-point. Just like in Round 2, Ju Wenjun failed to demonstrate anything convincing against the Grunfeld Defense. The commentator Mikhail Gurevich opined that she should have played 11.e5, as after 11.Bd3, Anna Muzychuk quickly got a nice position. Shortly after, the Ukrainian went for the typical positional exchange sacrifice on f3. Was it really necessary? Did she think that Black would be better after this? In any case, the game remained in a dynamic balance until the endgame, where both players agreed to a draw. The encounter between Marie Sebag and Mariya Muzychuk followed the opening line of the second-round game between the French and Dronavalli. Black improved with 7…Bb7 and the position remained fairly equal throughout. Sebag sacrificed a pawn, but her activity was only sufficient for a draw. The 5th round on Friday features the battle of the leaders, as Harika Dronavalli will have white pieces against Aleksandra Goryachkina. Results of round 4: Alina Kashlinskaya (RUS) – Pia Cramling (SWE) ½-½Marie Sebag (FRA) – Mariya Muzychuk (UKR) ½-½Ju Wenjun (CHN) – Anna Muzychuk (UKR) ½-½Nana Dzagnidze (GEO) – Harika Dronavalli (IND) 0-1Aleksandra Goryachkina (RUS) – Antoaneta Stefanova (BLG) 1-0Alexandra Kosteniuk (RUS) – Zhansaya Abdumalik (KAZ) 0-1 Standings after round 4: 1-2. Harika Dronavalli (IND) and Aleksandra Goryachkina (RUS) – 3 points3.-4. Anna Muzychuk (UKR) and Alina Kashlinskaya (RUS) – 2½ points.5.-8. Pia Cramling (SUE), Mariya Muzychuk (UKR) Nana Dzagnidze (GEO) and Zhansaya Abdumalik (KAZ) – 2 points9.-11. Ju Wenjun (CHN), Antoaneta Stefanova (BUL) and Marie Sebag (FRA) – 1½ points.12. Alexandra Kosteniuk (RUS) – ½ point. Program of round 5, 6 March at 3 pm: Zhansaya Abdumalik (KAZ) – Alina Kashlinskaya (RUS)Antoaneta Stefanova (BLG) – Alexandra Kosteniuk (RUS)Harika Dronavalli (IND) – Aleksandra Goryachkina (RUS)Anna Muzychuk (UKR) – Nana Dzagnidze (GEO)Mariya Muzychuk (UKR) – Ju Wenjun (CHN)Pia Cramling (SWE) – Marie Sebag (FRA) Follow all the action live with commentary by grandmasters Mikhail Gurevich and Keti Tsatsalashvili on the tournament website http://wgp2019.fide.com. Pictures in high resolution are available for the press at our official Flickr account. Text: Yannick PelletierPhotos: David LladaContact: press@fide.com
FIDE Trainer Awards for 2020 announced
FIDE Trainers’ Commission (TRG) is pleased to announce the FIDE Trainer Awards for 2020, which will recognize and celebrate the outstanding achievements of the training industry. The FIDE Trainer Awards will be given in the following six categories, five for trainers and one for book authors: Mikhail Botvinnik Award to the best achievement by trainer(s) in Open Section competitions Vakhtang Karseladze Award for the best achievement by trainer(s) in women’s and/or girl’s competitions Mark Dvoretsky Award for the best achievement by trainer(s) in junior competitions Yuri Razuvaev Award for best contribution to grassroots education Yuri Averbakh/Isaac Boleslavsky Award for instructional material in a book Tigran Petrosian Award for special achievement/trainer education An important change is that the Razuvaev Award, which in previous years was awarded “for Contributions to Trainers Education”, will now go to a grassroots trainer. We believe that this role is extremely important and too often it doesn’t receive the recognition it deserves, so we would like to contribute to changing that. There are also some novelties regarding the panel of judges, which again we tried to keep as diverse as possible with all continents represented, and keeping a balance between both experienced players and trainers. For the Trainers Award, Vladimir Kramnik, Antoaneta Stefanova and Alonso Zapata repeat in their roles, but they are now joined by Ahmed Adly, Maia Chiburdanidze, Ramachandran Ramesh, and the World Champion’s trainer, Peter Heine Nielsen. It must be noted that when a coach is made a member of the panel, that means he is automatically out of the race for the award. That is one of the main reasons for this rotation. The awards must be for achievement in the year of the award 2019, but earlier achievements may be mentioned to strengthen a nomination. Eligible to nominate are FIDE Presidential Board members, Continental and National Chess Federations, TRG Commission members, Principals of FIDE Endorsed Academies, FIDE Senior Trainers and past winners. All Nominations must be sent to TRG Secretary Peter Long via email at trainers@fide.com and received by 1st April. The Averbakh/Boleslavsky Award for “Book of the Year” is again judged separately. Nigel Short and Artur Yusupov repeat as judges, being joined on this occasion by John Donaldson. Nominations will be made by leading chess book publishers by 31st March with the shortlist published by 1st July and the winner will be declared on 21st July. The trophies will be awarded at the Moscow Olympiad, along with the Svetozar Gligoric Award for Fair Play. Books nomination formTrainers nomination formRegulations for the Annual FIDE Trainer Awards 2020
WGP Round 3: The World Champion stumbles in Lausanne
Harika Dronavalli dominates Ju Wenjun and moves to shared first place with four other players. Every loss by a World Champion makes headlines and we shall not go against this rule. White’s position did not look that promising at first sight, but as Harika Dronavalli explained in her post-game interview, she had small elements to play for. Having the better Bishop, she maneuvered skillfully in order to get rid of her doubled pawns on the kingside. Her technique worked wonders as she managed to create a passed pawn, after which Ju Wenjun could only resign. With hindsight, it is hard to pinpoint any real mistake by the Chinese. Anna Muzychuk scored an easy victory after Marie Sebag erred in the opening. The decisive mistake came as early as on move 14, after which the French could not avoid material losses. The third winner of the day is Alina Kashlinskaya, who overcame her countrywoman Alexandra Kosteniuk. The latter appeared much better prepared, as witnessed the respective time consumption of both players in the opening phase. It is unclear whether Kosteniuk forgot the details of her preparation or got surprised by the exchange on g5 followed by 18…f6. In any case, it seems as if retreating the Bishop all the way to c1 in order to disrupt the later defensive resource Ne7 would have been better than 19.Bd2. Kashlinskaya took over and never looked back. The three winners of the day join Nana Dzagnidze and Aleksandra Goryachkina, who drew their games. The Georgian ventured upon a bold exchange sacrifice against Antoaneta Stefanova, which set the board on fire. The fight became very complicated with inevitable inaccuracies coming from both opponents. Nevertheless, one gets the impression that Dzagnidze is the one who got closer to a win. Zhansaya Abdumalik made a quick draw with White. She seemed surprised, perhaps even disappointed, that her opponent Aleksandra Goryachkina chose the Berlin Defense in Ruy Lopez. After her loss on the previous day, the youngest participant in Lausanne decided to play it safe and settled for a theoretical draw by repetition. The encounter between Mariya Muzychuk and Pia Cramling was fairly balanced, and both players agreed to a draw on move 45. Results of round 3: Alexandra Kosteniuk (RUS) – Alina Kashlinskaya (RUS) 0-1Zhansaya Abdumalik (KAZ) – Aleksandra Goryachkina (RUS) ½-½Antoaneta Stefanova (BLG) – Nana Dzagnidze (GEO) ½-½Harika Dronavalli (IND) – Ju Wenjun (CHN) 1-0Anna Muzychuk (UKR) – Marie Sebag (FRA) 1-0Mariya Muzychuk (UKR) – Pia Cramling (SWE) ½-½ Standings after round 3: 1-5. Dronavalli Harika (IND), Nana Dzagnidze (GEO), Anna Muzychuk (UKR), Aleksandra Goryachkina (RUS) and Alina Kashlinskaya (RUS) – 26.-8. Pia Cramling (SWE), Mariya Muzychuk (UKR) and Antoaneta Stefanova (BUL) – 1½9-11. Zhansaya Abdumalik (KAZ), Ju Wenjun (CHN) and Marie Sebag (FRA) – 112. Alexandra Kosteniuk (RUS) – ½ Program of Round 4, 5 March at 3 pm: Alina Kashlinskaya (RUS) – Pia Cramling (SWE)Marie Sebag (FRA) – Mariya Muzychuk (UKR)Ju Wenjun (CHN) – Anna Muzychuk (UKR)Nana Dzagnidze (GEO) – Harika Dronavalli (IND)Aleksandra Goryachkina (RUS) – Antoaneta Stefanova(BLG)Alexandra Kosteniuk (RUS) – Zhansaya Abdumalik (KAZ) Follow all the action live with commentary by grandmasters Mikhail Gurevich and Keti Tsatsalashvili on the tournament website http://wgp2019.fide.com. Pictures in high resolution are available for the press at our official Flickr account. Text: Yannick PelletierPhotos: David LladaContact: press@fide.com
WGP Round 2: Two leaders emerge in Lausanne
The second round of the Women’s FIDE Grand Prix witnesses two decisive games, so that Vice-World Champion Aleksandra Goryachkina and Nana Dzagnidze lead with 1,5 points. The symbolic first move of the day was made by Gérald Béroud, Executive Vice-President of the Swiss-Chinese Association. To celebrate the 70th anniversary of the diplomatic relationship between Switzerland and China, the sinologist was naturally asked to execute the starting move for Ju Wenjun. The World Champion indicated 1.d4, the opening which Mr. Béroud used to prefer in his youth when playing chess actively. Despite this lucky hand, Ju Wenjun did not manage to put real pressure on Antoaneta Stefanova’s Grunfeld and even had to find some precise moves to hold a draw. The first victory in this tournament came from Nana Dzagnidze, who beat newcomer Zhansaya Abdumalik after launching a mating attack. According to the Georgian, her opponent committed the lethal mistake quite early on. Indeed, 13..a6 allowed Dzagnidze to place her Bishop on the dangerous diagonal b1-h7, which later paved the way for the white Queen to h7. The other decisive game of this round occurred in the Russian duel between Aleksandra Goryachkina and Alexandra Kosteniuk. The vice-World Champion obtained some pressure from the opening, but things only became clear after Kosteniuk blundered with 23…Rc4. This allowed Goryachkina to exchange Black’s powerful e4-knight, after which the Kosteniuk’s position collapsed. The remaining encounters all ended in draws. Alina Kashlinskaya did not manage to cause any problems to Mariya Muzychuk. Queens came off the board early on and the game remained balanced until both players agreed to a draw on move 30. Marie Sebag got a definite advantage in her opening against Harika Dronavalli and won a pawn on move 13. Unfortunately for her, the multiple French champion blundered her exra pawn back with 25.b4, after which the draw was inevitable. The longest game of the day featured a 5-hour battle between Pia Cramling and Anna Muzychuk. The advantage slowly shifted toward the Ukrainian, who won a pawn on move 34. But the Swedish legend defended well – by sacrificing a second pawn Pia transposed into an endgame with opposite-colored bishops in which she secured a draw. Results of Round 2: Alina Kashlinskaya (RUS) – Mariya Muzychuk (UKR) ½ – ½Pia Cramling (SWE) – Anna Muzychuk (UKR) ½ – ½Marie Sebag (FRA) – Harika Dronavalli (IND) ½ – ½Ju Wenjun (CHN) – Antoaneta Stefanova (BLG) ½ – ½Nana Dzagnidze (GEO) – Zhansaya Abdumalik (KAZ) 1-0Aleksandra Goryachkina (RUS) – Alexandra Kosteniuk (RUS) 1-0 Standings after round 2: 1-2. Aleksandra Goryachkina (RUS) and Nana Dzagnidze (GEO) – 1½ points3-10. Ju Wenjun (CHN), Harika Dronavalli (IND), Antoaneta Stefanova (BLG), Anna Muzychuk (Ukr), Alina Kashlinskaya (RUS), Mariya Muzychuk (UKR), Pia Cramling (SUE) et Marie Sebag (FRA) – 111-12. Alexandra Kosteniuk (RUS) and Zhansaya Abdumalik (KAZ) – ½ Program of Round 3, 4 March at 3 pm: Alexandra Kosteniuk (RUS) – Alina Kashlinskaya (RUS)Zhansaya Abdumalik (KAZ) – Aleksandra Goryachkina (RUS)Antoaneta Stefanova (BLG) – Nana Dzagnidze (GEO)Harika Dronavalli (IND) – Ju Wenjun (CHN)Anna Muzychuk (UKR) – Marie Sebag (FRA)Mariya Muzychuk (UKR) – Pia Cramling (SWE) All the action can be followed live with commentary by grandmasters Mikhail Gurevich and Keti Tsatsalashvili on the tournament website http://wgp2019.fide.com. Pictures in high resolution are available for the press at our official Flickr account. Text: Yannick PelletierPhotos: David LladaContact: press@fide.com