Nana Dzagnidze wins Qualifier V
GM Nana Dzagnidze, fresh from FIDE Women’s Grand Prix Gibraltar, became the fifth player to qualify for the main event of the 2021 Women’s Speed Chess Championship after defeating IM Lilit Mkrtchian in the playoffs final. The Qualifier V was a 9-round Swiss tournament (5+1 time control), with the top eight finishers advancing to the knockout playoff stage. In the semifinals, Nana Dzagnidze took on Alicija Sliwicka whereas Lilit Mkrtchian squared off with another participant of the event in Gibraltar Elisabeth Paehtz. Nana played her match with great confidence and advanced to the final after beating Alicija in both games. In the second extremely tense semifinal Lilit won on-demand with black pieces after losing the first game and then prevailed in the Armageddon when Elisabeth mouse-slipped in a drawn position. The final was a close affair. The opponents the first game after exhausting all the resources. Mkrtchian obtained a promising position in the second encounter end even won a pawn but then the unthinkable happened – she made a terrible blinder and capitulated immediately. The next qualifier will be on Saturday, June 5 starting at 10 a.m. Pacific Time/18:00 Central European Time. The FIDE Chess.com 2021 Women’s Speed Chess Championship is an online competition for titled female players. The qualifiers for the event will happen from May 28-June 6, while the main event runs from June 10 to July 3. Players will battle for their share of a total prize fund of $66,000. One player from each playoff qualifier will move on to the main event. There they will be joined by eight invited players: GM Humpy Koneru (IND), GM Alexandra Kosteniuk (RUS), GM Antoaneta Stefanova (BUL), GM Anna Muzychuk (UKR), GM Irina Krush (USA), GM Kateryna Lagno (RUS), GM Lei Tingjie (CHN). Fans can follow the FIDE Chess.com Women’s Speed Chess Championship by watching the live broadcast with expert commentary on Chess.com/TV and Chess.com’s Twitch channel. They will also be able to enjoy the event through Chess.com’s Events page (https://www.chess.com/events). More info and a full schedule of the FIDE Chess.com Women’s Speed Chess Championship can be found here.
FIDE and Tech Mahindra announce landmark partnership marking a key milestone in the creation of the Global Chess League
The International Chess Federation is pleased to announce a new partnership with Tech Mahindra Ltd., a leading provider of digital transformation, consulting and business re-engineering services and solutions. The Memorandum of Understanding signed between the parties focuses on creating together the Global Chess League, a project first proposed by Tech Mahindra Ltd. earlier this year. Now, with the support of FIDE, the Global Chess League will be provided with an accredited and exclusive status as the only world league officially recognised by the governing body of the sport of chess. The competition will be established as a first-of-its-kind “phygital” (physical and digital) league, engaging players from all levels – professional or otherwise. In principle, it will have several franchise-owned teams from across the globe, which will comprise a mix of titled players along with juniors and wildcard entrants playing each other in an exciting format. FIDE and Tech Mahindra will join their forces and expertise to ensure that the spirit of the game and the highest sporting and organization standards are maintained. FIDE will help structure the technical regulations and promote the league through its media channels, providing the global audience with an engaging platform. The collaboration between Tech Mahindra and FIDE will also promote playing of chess in new and innovative formats, create opportunities for youth, and foster many champions globally. The partnership aims to leverage new-age technologies like 5G, artificial intelligence, virtual reality, among others, and explore innovative ways of promoting the game through interactive technology-enabled platforms. A new holding company will be created to operate the functioning of the Global Chess League, in which the FIDE president will be part of the board of Directors. The project will also count on the five-time world chess champion Viswanathan Anand as mentor and partner, who will not just advise but will also help shape the league. Anand Mahindra, Chairman, Mahindra Group, said, “From tweeting about the game to forming a league under Viswanathan Anand’s mentorship, and now on-boarding FIDE – the entire journey has been very gratifying. With the coming together of all the forces in the field of chess and technology, we hope the ‘Global Chess League’ will take the game to new heights and create vibrant opportunities for the entire chess community across the world.” The collaboration will support several of FIDE’s grassroots initiatives and make chess an attractive career choice and game of global reckoning. Arkady Dvorkovich, FIDE President, said, “The motto of Chess is ‘Gens una sumus,’ meaning “We are one people”, and we at FIDE take this unique opportunity to popularize the game which bears the motto of uniting the world. We are endeavouring to dramatically enhance its visibility through a global league powered by technology and are honoured to have partnered with Tech Mahindra. I am certain that Tech Mahindra’s expertise will further aid in elevating The Global Chess League to the next level, accelerate its popularity and lay out the most riveting tournament for chess fans.” As part of its NXT.NOW framework, which aims to enhance ‘Human Centric Experience’, Tech Mahindra has a deep focus on leveraging cutting-edge technologies to deliver an enhanced experience and enable digital transformation to meet the evolving needs of the customer. CP Gurnani, MD & CEO, Tech Mahindra, said, “Chess and the business ecosystem are reflections of the same ‘game’, which hold people, strategy and adaptations at their core. The partnership with FIDE marks the coming together of two organizations to promote, revolutionize and drive fan engagement of a historical game, like Chess. We see great potential in this partnership which aims to raise the profile of the game, discover next generations of Chess champions – including women and children, enhance the fan base across the globe and take it to new commercial heights.” Viswanathan Anand, five-time World Chess Champion and the mentor and partner of the Global Chess League, said, “With FIDE coming on board along with Tech Mahindra, I am sure the Global Chess League will help in catalyzing the popularity of the game while keeping the spirit of the game intact and create opportunities for young talent across the world” About Global Chess League: In February 2021, Tech Mahindra launched the first-of-its-kind Global Chess league. The Global Chess League will engage players from all levels – professional or otherwise and will have several franchise-owned teams from across the world. The teams will comprise of a mix of titled women and men players along with juniors and wildcard entrants playing each other in an exciting format. The teams qualifying for the semifinals will enter the knockout stage of the championship. Tech Mahindra will act as the architect behind this concept and will provide the necessary operational and technological support to execute the vision. Viswanathan Anand, five-time World Chess Champion and the Global Chess Leagues official mentor, partner, and advisor will help catalyse the growth of chess. About Tech Mahindra: Tech Mahindra offers innovative and customer-centric digital experiences, enabling enterprises, associates and society to rise. We are a USD 5.1 billion organization with 121,000+ professionals across 90 countries helping 1007 global customers, including Fortune 500 companies. We are focused on leveraging next-generation technologies including 5G, Blockchain, Cybersecurity, Artificial Intelligence, and more, to enable end-to-end digital transformation for global customers. Tech Mahindra is one of the fastest-growing brands and amongst the top 15 IT service providers globally. Tech Mahindra has consistently emerged as a leader in sustainability and is recognized amongst the ‘2021 Global 100 Most sustainable corporations in the World’ by Corporate Knights. With the NXT.NOW framework, Tech Mahindra aims to enhance ‘Human Centric Experience’ for our ecosystem and drive collaborative disruption with synergies arising from a robust portfolio of companies. We aim at delivering tomorrow’s experiences today, and believe that the ‘Future is Now’. We are part of the Mahindra Group, a USD 19.4 billion federation of companies that enables people to rise through innovative mobility solutions, driving rural prosperity, enhancing urban living, nurturing new businesses and fostering communities. It enjoys a leadership position in utility vehicles, information
2021 1st FIDE Online Council Agenda and Commissions reports/proposals
FIDE publishes the Agenda of the 1st FIDE Online Council Meeting which was held on April 19, 2021. Download Agenda (pdf) Annex 7.1.1a, Annex 7.1.1b Arbiters’ Commission’s proposals Annex 7.2.1 Events Commission’s report Annex 7.2.2 Events Commission’s proposal regarding FIDE EVE World Championships in 2021 Annex 7.2.3 Events Commission’s proposal to postpone the FIDE World Senior Team Chess Championships 2021 to 2022 Annex 7.2.4a, Annex 7.2.4b Events Commission’s proposal regarding the Bidding Procedure for FIDE Events Commission (EVE) Online Tournaments Annex 7.3 Planning and Development Commission’s report Annex 7.4.1 Qualification Commission’s report Annex 7.4.3 Proposal to reinstate the Qualification Commission’s control of the Regulations on Registration & Licensing of Player Annex 7.5 Technical Commission’s report Annex 7.6.1 Trainers’ Commission’s report Annex 7.6.2a Trainers’ Commission’s proposal Annex 7.7 Athletes Commission’s report Annex 7.8 Fair Play Commission’s report
Iulija Osmak wins Qualifier IV
IM Iulija Osmak (UKR) qualified for the main event of the 2021 Women’s Speed Chess Championship after defeating IM Nataliya Buksa (UKR) in an all Ukrainian final of the Qualifier IV playoff. The Qualifier IV was a 13-round Swiss tournament (3+1 time control), with the top eight finishers advancing to the knockout playoff stage. In semifinals, Osmak whitewashed Maka Purtseladze of Georgia, whereas Nataliya Buksa bested Deysi Cori from Peru after scoring a victory in the second game (the first one was drawn). In the final Iulija won the first game in an excellent positional style and took the lead in the mini-match. In the second encounter, Nataliya misplayed a slightly better position with White, lost a piece and threw in the towel shortly afterwards. The next qualifier will be on Friday, June 4 starting at 10 a.m. Pacific/19:00 CEST. The FIDE Chess.com 2021 Women’s Speed Chess Championship is an online competition for titled female players. The qualifiers for the event will happen from May 28-June 6, while the main event runs from June 10 to July 3. Players will battle for their share of a total prize fund of $66,000. One player from each playoff qualifier will move on to the main event. There they will be joined by eight invited players: GM Humpy Koneru (IND), GM Alexandra Kosteniuk (RUS), GM Antoaneta Stefanova (BUL), GM Anna Muzychuk (UKR), GM Irina Krush (USA), GM Kateryna Lagno (RUS), GM Lei Tingjie (CHN). Fans can follow the FIDE Chess.com Women’s Speed Chess Championship by watching the live broadcast with expert commentary on Chess.com/TV and Chess.com’s Twitch channel. They will also be able to enjoy the event through Chess.com’s Events page (https://www.chess.com/events). More info and a full schedule of the FIDE Chess.com Women’s Speed Chess Championship can be found here.
Sitges will host the FIDE World Women’s Team Championship
The city of Sitges has been designated to host the FIDE World Women’s Team Championship 2021, to be held from September 26 to October 3. This coastal town in Spain’s Catalonia region, southwest of Barcelona, has earned its place in the chess calendar, having host already held 8 editions of an important chess open, “Sunway Chess”. Now, for the first time, Sitges will organize an official FIDE event. Twelve participating teams of the Event shall be determined according to the following criteria: a) Best team by rating from each of the four Continents (Africa, Americas, Asia, Europe): federations with the highest average rating of the best four female players in the FIDE Rapid June 2021 Rating List from each Continent. If two or more federations of the same Continent have equal average ratings, the rating of the fifth best player of each federation shall be taken into account. If the average ratings are still equal, the rating of the sixth player shall be taken into account etc. b) Five teams representing federations with the highest average ratings of the best four female players in the FIDE Rapid June 2021 Rating List, not qualified by path 2.1.a. If two or more federations have qual average ratings, rating of the fifth best player of each federation shall be taken into account. If the average ratings are still equal, the rating of the sixth player shall be taken into account etc. c) HF team. If this team is qualified by path 2.1.a or 2.1.b, the qualification spot goes to the next non-qualified team by rating as described in Article 2.1.b. d) Two teams nominated by the FIDE President. You can read the whole regulations on the FIDE handbook: https://handbook.fide.com/files/handbook/WWTCregulations2021.pdf
Queens’ Festival: Registration date extended
The Global Women’s Online Chess Challenge “The Queens’ Festival”, a series of continental and global women’s online chess tournaments and educative side events, starts on June 11, 2021. Female players from Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas will first be able to participate in the Continental Online Blitz Qualification Tournaments and those who qualify will advance to the Queens’ Online Individual and Team Finals. Organized by FIDE Commission for Women’s Chess in cooperation with FIDE Events Commission and with the support of the International Olympic Committee, the festival welcomes all women chess players from around the world of all ages and all rating groups, including unrated chess fans. Players will compete in four rating categories: • Category A: > 2100 • Category B: 1800-2099 • Category C: 1500-1799 • Category D: < 1500, unrated Each country can register four female players (one in each category) free of charge. The registration deadline for Qualification Tournaments in Africa and Asia is extended until next Wednesday, June 9, 2021. The registration deadline for Qualification Tournaments in Europe and America is extended until Wednesday, June 16, 2021. For those interested in various chess-related topics, organizers have prepared seminars and networking events with special guests including Dana Reizniece-Ozola, Dinara Saduakassova, Jennifer Shahade, Susan Namangale, Regina Pokorna, Sarkhan Gashimov, Dr. Gnounewou Fopa Seraphin and others. Registrations form, tournament regulations, seminars schedule and more information about the event can found at queensfestival.fide.com
Round 11: to Zhansaya, the glory, to Kateryna, the ticket to the Candidates
Zhansaya Abdumalik (Kazakhstan), having already secured first place in round 10, drew smoothly with Anna Muzychuk (Ukraine) in the last round of the Gibraltar leg of the FIDE Women’s Grand Prix to finish on a commanding score of 8½/11, 1½ points clear of the field. Kateryna Lagno of Russia drew her game with Mariya Muzychuk of Ukraine to finish on 6½ and clinch her place in the Candidates’ tournament alongside Humpy Koneru, who also qualifies via the Grand Prix series, and Aleksandra Goryachkina of Russia, who qualifies as runner-up in the last Women’s World Championship. Second in the tournament was Mariya Muzychuk on 7 points, with Kateryna Lagno sharing third with Gunay Mammadzada of Azerbaijan, who had a fine tournament. The last round, played at the Caleta Hotel on 2 June, featured two decisive results and a second power failure in as many days, though the play was only interrupted for 15 minutes. The final game between Nana Dzagnidze and Valentina Gunina ran for more than six hours. Zhansaya Abdumalik defended a standard line of the Ruy Lopez/Spanish against Anna Muzychuk. The tournament winner never looked in trouble. A pair of bishops were exchanged but otherwise, all the pieces were still on the board when a repetition occurred. Kateryna Lagno against Mariya Muzychuk, rivals for second place in the tournament, began with a Caro-Kann. It seemed a fairly sedate choice of the line by the Russian player with White but Mariya opted to castle queenside and imbalance the position somewhat. At first, Kateryna seemed to have the upper hand but analysis engines didn’t like her move 30.Be2, inviting Mariya to give up the exchange for two pawns. However, Mariya chose not to go in for this line, exchanging some material on c3 for a draw instead. This gave Kateryna the half-point she needed to be sure of a place in the forthcoming Candidates’ tournament alongside Humpy Koneru. Paehtz-Mammadzada transposed into a Grünfeld. Lizzie pushed 14.d5 but two moves later Gunay captured it via a temporary piece sacrifice. It didn’t ultimately secure an extra pawn for Black, but Gunay obtained a substantial positional advantage. However, somewhere down the road Gunay missed her way and had to be content with a draw. After some transpositions, Kashlinskaya – Stefanova became a Cambridge Springs variation of the Queen’s Gambit Declined. Alina soon established a stable edge in the middle game, without having any obvious ways of exploiting it. Antoaneta later got into her habitual time trouble, and Alina’s advantage soon became overwhelming. Mindful of her first week’s sufferings, Alina didn’t look for a flashy finish, but it soon morphed into an easy win, enabling Alina to overtake Antoaneta in the final standings. Dinara Saduakassova versus Irina Bulmaga saw Fianchetto King’s Indian. Dinara hit on a strong plan to work a knight via c4 and a5 to c6 where it exerted great pressure on Irina’s position and attacked a rook on b8. Irina left the rook to be taken, but Dinara decided she wanted more and played Bg5. However, she took the exchange next move. After that, it was always an uphill struggle for Irina to get back into the game. When the material was much reduced, her hopes of survival might have been raised a little, but Dinara’s finish was clinical. Valentina Gunina opened 1.d4 against Nana Dzagnidze, who defended with a Bogo-Indian. Nana was looking for more than a draw to preserve any chance of securing a place in the Candidates’ tournament. In the early middlegame, things started to go awry for Valentina, and Nana was able to snatch a pawn with 19…Bxe2, which looked slightly hot at first sight but turned out to be fine. With an extra pawn, Nana was firmly in the driving seat but anyone who’s followed this tournament will know that Valentina fights like a tigress in every game and, of course, she battled her way into the game. Nana is known as a redoubtable fighter so the final game of the tournament to finish was a battle royal, quite in keeping with the cut and thrust of the previous ten rounds. It went to 135 moves, breaking Valentina’s own record of game length from the tournament and also breaking her run of decisive results. Round 11 results: A. Kashlinskaya (4) 1-0 A. Stefanova (4½) V. Gunina (4) ½-½ N. Dzagnidze (5½) K. Lagno (6) ½-½ M. Muzychuk (6½) A. Muzychuk (5) ½-½ Z. Abdumalik (8) D. Saduakassova (3) 1-0 I. Bulmaga (2) E. Paehtz (5½) ½-½ G. Mammadzada (6) Final standings: 1. Zhansaya Abdumalik (KAZ) – 8½; 2. Mariya Muzychuk (UKR) 7; 3-4. Kateryna Lagno (RUS) and Gunay Mammadzada (AZE) – 6½; 5-6. Nana Dzagnidze (GEO) and Elisabeth Paehtz (GER) – 6; 7. Anna Muzychuk (UKR) – 5½; 8. Alina Kashlinskaya (RUS) – 5; 9-10. Antoaneta Stefanova (BUL) and Valentina Gunina (RUS) – 4½; 11. Dinara Saduakassova (KAZ) – 4; 12. Irina Bulmaga (ROU) – 2 Top FIDE Grand Prix 2019-2021 finishers: Women’s Grand Prix Points Nat’y Previous events Gibraltar Total 1 Aleksandra Goryachkina * RUS 398 0 398 2 Humpy Koneru IND 293 0 293 3 Kateryna Lagno RUS 180 100 280 4 Zhansaya Abdumalik ** KAZ 110 160 270 5 Nana Dzagnidze GEO 180 85 265 6 Mariya Muzychuk UKR 120 130 250 7 Anna Muzychuk UKR 165 60 225 8 Alexandra Kosteniuk RUS 193 0 193 Players marked in bold qualified for the Candidates’ tournament * = already qualified for Candidates’ tournament (runner-up, last world championship) ** = Grand Prix reserve player – her score is not calculated for the purposes of ranking and qualification Text: John Saunders Photo: John Saunders and David Llada
Mammadova wins Azerbaijani Women’s Championship
Gulnar Mammadova (pictured above) convincingly won the Azerbaijani Women’s Championship with a round to spare. It is her third national title after the victories in 2009 and 2010. The 12-player round-robin tournament with classical time control was held in Nakhchivan from May 21-31, 2021. Gulnar entered the competition as a rating favourite and rose to the challenge. The champion turned in an excellent performance of 9 out of 11 points, conceding her opponents just four draws. Govhar Beydullayeva, Zeinab Mamedjarova and Khayala Abdulla tied for second place on 7½. Thanks to better tiebreaks (the direct encounters) Govhar and Zeinab took silver and bronze respectively. Final standings: 1 IM Mammadova, Gulnar 2382 9 2 WIM Beydullayeva, Govhar 2263 7½ 3 WGM Mamedjarova, Zeinab 2274 7½ 4 WGM Abdulla, Khayala 2263 7½ 5 WCM Ismayil, Malak 1997 6 6 WGM Fataliyeva, Ulviyya 2301 5½ 7 WFM Allahverdiyeva, Ayan 2088 5½ 8 Babayeva, Nasrin 1704 5 9 WFM Hajiyeva, Laman 1982 4½ 10 WCM Rzali, Sabina 1925 3½ 11 WIM Ibrahimova, Sabina 2213 3½ 12 Humbatova, Nazli 1381 1 Official website: www.asf.org.az
Round 10: Zhansaya wins the tournament
Zhansaya Abdumalik secured first place in the penultimate round of the Gibraltar leg of the FIDE Women’s Grand Prix at the Caleta Hotel on 1 June after making a very quick draw with Kateryna Lagno of Russia. The quick cessation of hostilities suited both players as Zhansaya wins the tournament while Kateryna will have it in her own hands to secure a place in the Candidates’ tournament. The only way Kateryna can miss out now is if she loses to Mariya Muzychuk in the last round and Nana Dzagnidze wins against Valentina Gunina. Meanwhile, back home in India, Humpy Koneru can celebrate her own qualification for the Candidates’ event. After the brief and bloodless encounter between Zhansaya and Kateryna, the main drama of the day was a power cut 40 minutes into the round. Thankfully, it lasted only 20 minutes, during which time the players either took a breath of sea outside or else stayed at their boards peering at the pieces in the semi-darkness. Valentina Gunina, after her marathon game against Zhansaya in round 9, played very quickly on the black side of a Slav Defence against Mariya Muzychuk, and soon compromised her position. That said, it was when she stopped to think and then played 15…c5 that her position started to go wrong, as it meant ceding the two bishops and allowing a strong d-pawn push for White. Soon Mariya was bearing down on Valentina’s kingside and the Russian player decided to surrender the exchange rather than submit to passive play. However, despite a long resistance and a typically determined rearguard action by Valentina, she never looked likely to hold the game. The power cut seemed to coincide with a certain energy deficiency amongst some players, but more likely it was the effect of all the exciting and energy-sapping play which had occurred in previous rounds. The remaining games resulted in draws, though they were all hard-fought. Antoaneta Stefanova against Elisabeth Paehtz was some sort of Queen’s Gambit Declined. Antoaneta gained some pressure along the b-file but Lizzie had compensation in terms of play against Antoaneta’s hanging pawns. The game was the last to finish, but it eventually petered out to a draw. Gunay Mammadzada versus Dinara Saduakassova started with a Bogo-Indian. By move 25 Black had two bishops but White enjoyed a little more space. She was unable to capitalise on a positional edge, however, and the game also ended in a draw. Irina Bulmaga looked to be winning at various points in her game against Anna Muzychuk, who chose to play a slightly suspect line of Winawer French. Despite two extra pawns, the position started to look difficult for Anna as Irina piled on pressure along the g-file and Anna’s pieces were cramped. Irina tried hard to exploit her advantage, but the position was highly complex and it wasn’t easy for her to find a way to break through. Eventually, a fleeting chance to win the game presented itself when Anna blundered with 29…Kf7. Irina might have snatched victory with a combination starting with 30 Ng5+ but sadly missed her opportunity. Nana Dzagnidze opened with a Symmetrical English against Alina Kashlinskaya. Nana tried to dodge her opponent’s (and her opponent’s super-GM husband’s) theoretical preparation, but her plan went slightly wrong. However, it wasn’t a serious disadvantage and with a careful play she was able to exchange pieces and reach the safe haven of a draw. Round 11 is on Wednesday 2 June at the earlier time of 14.00 CET. Live transmission, with Veselin Topalov and Fiona Steil-Antoni, may be found at https://wgp2019.fide.com/#live Round 10 ResultsA. Stefanova (4) ½-½ E. Paehtz (5)G. Mammadzada (5½) ½-½ D. Saduakassova (2½)I. Bulmaga (1½) ½-½ A. Muzychuk (4½)Z. Abdumalik (7½) ½-½ K. Lagno (5½)M. Muzychuk (5½) 1-0 V. Gunina (4)N. Dzagnidze (5) ½-½ A. Kashlinskaya (3½) Standings after Round 10: 1. Zhansaya Abdumalik (KAZ) – 8; 2. Mariya Muzychuk (UKR) 6½; 3-4. Kateryna Lagno (RUS) and Gunay Mammadzada (AZE) – 6; 5-6. Nana Dzagnidze (GEO) and Elisabeth Paehtz (GER) – 5½; 7. Anna Muzychuk (UKR) – 5; 8. Antoaneta Stefanova (BUL) – 4½; 9-10. Valentina Gunina (RUS) and Alina Kashlinskaya (RUS) – 4; 11. Dinara Saduakassova (KAZ) – 3; 12. Irina Bulmaga (ROU) – 2 Leading Grand Prix Places after Round 10 (based on current positions) Women’s Grand Prix Points Nat’y Previous events Gibraltar Total 1 Aleksandra Goryachkina * RUS 398 0 398 2 Humpy Koneru IND 293 0 293 3 Kateryna Lagno RUS 180 100 280 4 Zhansaya Abdumalik ** KAZ 110 160 270 5 Nana Dzagnidze GEO 180 75 255 6 Mariya Muzychuk UKR 120 130 250 7 Anna Muzychuk UKR 165 60 225 8 Alexandra Kosteniuk RUS 193 0 193 Players marked in bold would qualify for the Candidates’ tournament if the current tournament position remained the same* = already qualified for Candidates’ tournament (runner-up, last world championship)** = Grand Prix reserve player – not eligible for Candidates’ tournament place
Round 9: Zhansaya’s marathon victory
Round nine of the Gibraltar leg of the FIDE Women’s Grand Prix at the Caleta Hotel on 31 May came to a heart-stopping conclusion after six hours and ten minutes as Zhansaya Abdumalik of Kazakhstan won her game against Valentina Gunina of Russia in 133 moves despite never having the remotest chance of winning the game for the first 100 moves. Zhansaya thus completes her rating requirement for the grandmaster title as well as moving into an imposing two-point lead over the rest of the field with two rounds remaining. Zhansaya has 7½/9 while three players are on 5½. Gunay Mammadzada of Azerbaijan is one of them: she nearly achieved a GM norm but missed some drawing chances towards the end of her game with Kateryna Lagno, who also moved to 5½ and remains the front runner for a place in the Candidates’ tournament. Mariya Muzychuk remains on 5½ after losing to Alina Kashlinskaya. Zhansaya Abdumalik played the black side of a Queen’s Gambit Accepted against Valentina Gunina, who has yet to draw a game in the tournament. Valentina advanced in the centre while Zhansaya countered on the queenside. Suddenly things became sharp as Zhansaya played the risky looking 17…h6, which Valentina replied to with a sneaky temporary sacrifice 19 Nxc4. Zhansaya further stirred the pot with 20…Bxa3, allowing a possible incursion into her territory with 21 Qh7+, but Valentina found a more pragmatic way of handling the position, emerging with an extra pawn. For most of the rest of the game, Valentina held an advantage but, typically, Zhansaya fought tenaciously. There was even a brief moment when a win was possible, but very much of the computer variety – 46…f4!! Instead, Zhansaya played a move that might have lost, but once again she clawed her way back to equality. On and on they played, with Zhansaya eventually securing a dead-drawn position. Her hopes of completing her GM requirement had evaporated hours before and she would have had to accept a draw had Valentina repeated moves or offered a draw. But we all reckoned without Valentina’s gung-ho spirit. She hasn’t drawn a game yet in the tournament and plays every game to death. She tried too hard to win a won position and, as so often happens, found a way to lose. Suddenly Zhansaya was presented with a won position, though it was still problematic. Valentina fought tenaciously again, now in a lost cause. After six hours and ten minutes, with both players utterly exhausted, Zhansaya finally secured the most improbable of victories, and it was my privilege to be the first person to address her as ‘Grandmaster Zhansaya Abdumalik’ when she came into the interview room. An utterly unforgettable game for everyone who witnessed it, and one reflecting great credit on both players for their never-say-die attitude. Gunay Mammadzada, needing a draw with Black against Anna Muzychuk to clinch a nine-round GM norm, defended with a Scheveningen Sicilian where White fianchettoes kingside. Gunay’s 12…Bb7 led to a passive position in which White was able to take control of the dark squares in return for a temporary pawn sacrifice. Prospects looked blear for Gunay, but Anna failed to find the most accurate way to clinch the victory. When the game transformed into an endgame, there was a fleeting moment when Gunay might have held the draw, but it was hard to work out over the board and Anna won the resultant king and pawn endgame. Kateryna Lagno, after suffering her first loss in round eight, opened 1.e4, and Irina Bulmaga, after a run of four straight losses, countered with a Rauzer Sicilian. Around move 20, Kateryna had established an edge and soon secured the two bishops. Irina ceded a pawn for which she had insufficient compensation, and things started to look bleak for her. Irina wasn’t able to create counterplay and Kateryna soon managed to launch a conclusive kingside assault. Kateryna thus retains her edge in the race to qualify for the Candidates’ tournament. Nana Dzagnidze and Antoaneta Stefanova, both on 4/8, started with a Semi-Slav. As they emerged from the opening, Antoaneta had a slightly better position as she advanced pawns towards Nana’s queenside castling set-up. Nana thought that Antoaneta’s plan of 17…Ba6, exchanging light-squared bishops, might have been a mistake, and it became increasingly clear that White was in full control. Nana worked her knight into play and then mounted a kingside attack. Antoaneta’s time trouble aggravated her problems and very soon Nana found a powerful breakthrough to clinch the point and preserve her chances of a Candidates’ place. Alina Kashlinskaya and Mariya Muzychuk started with the Botvinnik (Anti-Moscow) variation of the Slav Defence, where both players have to walk a tightrope of complexity on which the tiniest slip can send you tumbling into the abyss. Before long, Mariya, playing Black, had gained a couple of pawns but Alina was occupying dark squares and pressing against Black’s weak e6-pawn, constituting solid compensation. The position became very complicated and eventually, Mariya blundered, losing immediately. Her chances of qualifying for the Candidates’ tournament must be all but finished. Elisabeth Paehtz was still in the running for her final GM norm. She had to win in round nine and round ten to make a ten-round norm, and could then convert it to an 11-round norm by winning again in the final round. Today, playing the black side of a Catalan, Lizzie started at a rate of knots against Dinara Saduakassova. “She’s going to break some sort of record,” said commentator Veselin Topalov. However, the game proceeded evenly and Dinara never gave Lizzie a chance of scoring a win. Eventually, a threefold repetition presented itself: in her post-game interview, Dinara said, “yesterday I could have repeated, so today…” – I finished the sentence for her, “discretion was the better part of valour!” Round 10 is on Tuesday 1 June at 15.00 CET. Live transmission, with Veselin Topalov and Fiona Steil-Antoni, may be found at https://wgp2019.fide.com/#live Standings after Round 9: 1. Zhansaya Abdumalik –