Cairns Cup 2020: Ju Wenjun and Koneru still at the forefront
A couple of hearts were broken this Valentine’s Day as two marathon endgames ended unexpectedly. Wenjun Ju brilliantly outplayed Nana Dzagnidze but gave away her entire advantage with a single blunder in time pressure. What should have been an easy win for Ju, ended in a draw. Meanwhile, Valentina Gunina overpushed in what should have been a dead drawn endgame against Mariya Muzychuk and lost the only game of the round. After today’s results, Wenjun and Humpy still lead the field with 4.5/7, but three players are close behind with 4/7. Wenjun Ju – Nana Dzagnidze: ½ – ½ In a highly complex opening battle emerging from the Trompowsky Attack, play unfolded incredibly slowly. On move 9, Ju spent nearly 30 minutes before playing a mysterious queen retreat. Nana Dzagnidze could have obtained a very pleasant edge by patiently improving her pieces, but instead decided to respond forcibly and aggressively. This decision was soon to be regretted as the Georgian grandmaster found herself two pawns down without much compensation. To Ju Wenjun’s credit, she found some incredibly strong moves to consolidate her material advantage and obtain excellent winning chances. Most of the resulting endgame appeared to be smooth sailing for Ju, as she created two lethal passed pawns on opposite flanks. Just as commentators were about to dismiss the game as an easy win for the World Women’s Champion, Dzagnidze unleashed the study-like Nf5+! As this move was played, commentator GM Ramirez repeated himself in disbelief: “Where does the king go? Where does the king go, Yasser? Yasser, where does the king go?” In fact, Ju had nowhere to go with her king and had to sacrifice back material. The resulting position was nothing but a draw and a huge disappointment for Ju. Irina Krush – Humpy Koneru: ½ – ½ In this positional clash, Irina Krush achieved a small but nagging advantage on the white side of a Classical Nimzo Indian. As play quickly transitioned into an endgame, Koneru’s position became incredibly passive. “She’s being tied up,” GM Yasser Seirawan explained as Koneru’s predicament was not to be admired. However, the Indian grandmaster displayed great precision and resourcefulness in a technical rook endgame to save the half-point. All it took was one misjudgment from Krush for the advantage to evaporate. With this draw, Humpy Koneru still shares the lead with Ju. Alexandra Kosteniuk – Kateryna Lagno: ½ – ½ In the shortest game of the round, an explosive Symmetrical English Opening quickly simplified into a dynamically balanced position. Towards the end of the game, Alexandra Kosteniuk was up a pawn but had to settle for repetition. With opposite-colored bishops accompanying queen and rook for both players, it was not likely that either side could stir up any winning chances. After this draw, Kosteniuk is still in contention for first place with 4/7. Valentina Gunina – Mariya Muzychuk: 0 – 1 Mariya Muzychuk achieved a dream position on the black side of the Rossolimo Sicilian in what was simply an opening disaster for Valentina Gunina. From early on, it seemed that this battle was going to be a one-sided demolition. However, Gunina managed to survive the storm despite her extreme passivity and glaring weaknesses. She displayed a great fighting spirit while she managed to complicate the position enough for her opponent to eventually stumble. The position soon liquidated into a roughly equal endgame that everyone was expecting to be drawn. Then in a surprise decision, Gunina chose to turn down repetition and push for more. In the post-game interview, Muzychuk explained: “Vanletina doesn’t like draws.” This proved to be costly as both players fell short on time. In the end, Muzychuk’s bishop and two pawns overpowered Gunina’s knight and two pawns. Gunina did manage to avoid a draw, but not in the fashion she desired. With this victory, Muzychuk sits a half-point behind Ju and Dzagnidze with 4/7. Harika Dronavalli – Carissa Yip: 1/2 – 1/2 With very solid play from both players, this game featured practically no mistakes. Carissa Yip equalized quite comfortably with a King’s Indian Defense and showed great class against her experienced opponent. Unlike many of the other games, these players managed their time effectively and neither side experienced time pressure. GM Ramirez dubbed this battle as a “pretty impressive game.” This marks Yip’s first draw of the tournament and she has recovered well from the disappointing start. Tomorrow, Yip will be truly tested as she has the black pieces against the tournament co-leader and reigning World Women’s Champion Ju Wenjun. With two more rounds to go, the fight for first place is up for grabs with so many players still in contention. Tune in tomorrow for what is bound to be an exciting penultimate round! Text: IM Eric RosenPhoto: Austin Fuller, Crystal Fuller, Lennart Ootes, Spectrum StudiosOfficial site: https://www.uschesschamps.com/2020-cairns-cup/
FIDE Candidates Tournament 2020: Full pairings announced
February 14, 2020, Moscow The drawing of lots for the Candidates Tournament was held in the Ministry of Sport of the Russian Federation, with the presence of the newly appointed Minister of Sport, Oleg Matytsin, the FIDE President, Arkady Dvorkovich, and the famed tennis player Anastasia Myskina (winner of Roland Garros 2004). Also present was the legendary chess coach Anatoly Bykhovsky. The participants of the competition received the following numbers: 1. Teimour Radjabov2. Ding Liren3. Anish Giri4. Alexander Grischuk5. Kirill Alekseenko6. Ian Nepomniachtchi7. Wang Hao8. Fabiano Caruana Arkady Dvorkovich: “We’re glad that Russia, the long-time partner of FIDE, is hosting the Candidates event, the key leg of the world championship cycle. There will be players from China, Azerbaijan, Netherlands, USA, and Russia. We welcome all chess lovers to visit Yekaterinburg or to follow this amazing event online”. The FIDE President also expressed gratitude to the general sponsor of the Candidates tournament, the company Sima-Land. Oleg Matytsin: “Before we started this ceremony we discussed with Anastasia Myskina that a lot of great sports are called “chess in motion”: football is “chess in motion”, tennis also, but the great mystery of chess is always there as the game itself and the best chess players are admired all over the world. Russia is known for its chess traditions and we’re happy to host such a great tournament, we can guarantee that the organizational level will be top-notch as always for the events hosted by Russia.” The FIDE Candidates 2020 will take place in Yekaterinburg, Russia from March 15 until April 05. Eight top grandmasters will contest in a double round-robin tournament for the right to challenge the current World Champion Magnus Carlsen (Norway). FIDE Candidates Tournament 2020 pairings: R 01 (March 17, 2020)Radjabov – CaruanaDing Liren – Wang HaoGiri – NepomniachtchiGrischuk – Alekseenko R 02 (March 18, 2020)Caruana – AlekseenkoNepomniachtchi – GrischukWang Hao – GiriRadjabov – Ding Liren R 03 (March 19, 2020)Ding Liren – CaruanaGiri – RadjabovGrischuk – Wang HaoAlekseenko – Nepomniachtchi R 04 (March 21, 2020)Caruana – NepomniachtchiWang Hao – AlekseenkoRadjabov – GrischukDing Liren – Giri R 05 (March 22, 2020)Giri – CaruanaGrischuk – Ding LirenAlekseenko – RadjabovNepomniachtchi – Wang Hao R 06 (March 23, 2020)Grischuk – CaruanaAlekseenko – GiriNepomniachtchi – Ding LirenWang Hao – Radjabov R 07 (March 25, 2020)Caruana – WangHao Radjabov – NepomniachtchiDing Liren – AlekseenkoGiri – Grischuk R 08 (March 26, 2020)Caruana – RadjabovWang Hao – Ding LirenNepomniachtchi – GiriAlekseenko – Grischuk R 09 (March 27, 2020)Alekseenko – CaruanaGrischuk – NepomniachtchiGiri – Wang HaoDing Liren – Radjabov R 10 (March 29, 2020)Caruana – Ding LirenRadjabov – GiriWang Hao – GrischukNepomniachtchi – Alekseenko R 11 (March 30, 2020)Nepomniachtchi – CaruanaAlekseenko – Wang HaoGrischuk – RadjabovGiri – Ding Liren R 12 (March 31, 2020)Caruana – GiriDing Liren – GrischukRadjabov – AlekseenkoWang Hao – Nepomniachtchi R 13 (April 02, 2020)Wang Hao – CaruanaNepomniachtchi – RadjabovAlekseenko – Ding LirenGrischuk – Giri R 14 (April 03, 2020)Caruana – GrischukGiri – AlekseenkoDing Liren – NepomniachtchiRadjabov – Wang Hao *For a double round-robin tournament, it is recommended to reverse the order of the last two rounds of the first cycle (rounds 6 and 7), in order to avoid three consecutive games with the same color. Tournament page Photos: Eteri Kublashvili and Dmitry Zharkov
Cairns Cup 2020: Humpy Koneru catches up with Ju Wenjun
With the players fresh off a rest day, Round 6 produced two thrilling decisive outcomes. Carissa Yip took down defending champion Valentina Gunina in a fiery tactical battle and Humpy Koneru managed to grind down Alexandra Kosteniuk in a long technical endgame. Koneru and Ju now lead the field having 4/6 points with 3 rounds to go. Humpy Koneru – Alexandra Kosteniuk: 1 – 0 Out of the many previous encounters between these two grandmasters, Alexandra Kosteniuk has never won over Humpy Koneru in a classical game. Kosteniuk was unable to reverse this trend today as she was again defeated by the Indian Phenom. After a relatively slow and positional battle, the players reached a symmetrical knight endgame which appeared to be dead drawn. However, Koneru was able to squeeze water from the stone and create “very slight pressure.” This was enough to put Kosteniuk on the defensive and eventually provoke a blunder in time trouble. For lesser experienced players, this game offers a highly valuable lesson: You should never assume a position should be drawn just because it looks dry. Always look for your chances and try to force your opponent to make difficult decisions! With this win, Koneru not only improves her lifetime score against Kosteniuk to 5 wins and 0 losses, but she also leapfrogs Kosteniuk in the standings and is now tied for first place. Wenjun Ju – Harika Dronavalli: ½ – ½ Overall, this game was a solid showing from both players. Ju Wenjun emerged slightly better from the white side of a King’s Indian, but Harika Dronavalli’s play was free of any clear mistakes. Pieces were traded quite rapidly in the middlegame, and Ju was unable to make much of her better piece activity in the endgame. In the post-game interview, the reigning World Women’s Champion explained, “White is slightly better, but it’s not easy to find anything to improve my position.” A draw was a very fair result and Ju remains tied for first and remains the only player in the tournament that has not lost a single game. Kateryna Lagno – Nana Dzagnidze: ½ – ½ Minutes before the round, Kateryna Lagno and Nana Dzagnizde could be seen chuckling across from each other and having a friendly conversation. This cheerful chatter was a fitting precursor to the quick and peaceful game between these two. The encounter featured a positional line of the Paulsen Sicilian in which queens were exchanged on move 10. While Lagno had a small edge, Dzagnidze’s position was quite stable. The position quickly dissolved into an equal endgame in which a draw was agreed. Mariya Muzychuk – Irina Krush: ½ – ½ After receiving a very promising position from the white side of a Hedgehog Sicilian, it looked like Mariya Muzychuk was going to win without a fight. Irina Krush admitted after the game that the tides were not on her side. “I was just handily outplayed in the opening and middlegame…It was hard to avoid some knockout blows.” However, Krush’s ability to keep surviving paid off, as Muzychuk misstepped with 23.Nxa8? It was a dream for Krush to trade her depressing bishop for Muzychuk’s monstrous knight. The position eventually liquidated into an opposite bishop endgame where Krush was down a pawn but built an unbreakable fortress. The commentators dubbed this game a “miracle save” for the American grandmaster. With this draw, Krush cheerfully shared, “I’m happy to keep the one good streak I have going… I have not lost with black.” Carissa Yip – Valentina Gunina 1 – 0 In what was easily the most cunning game of the round, it seemed like every stage of the game unveiled a new plot twist. As early as move one, Valentina Gunina surprised her young opponent with the Alekhine’s Defense. Such an opening is very rarely seen at top-level play and led to immense complications before move 10. As both players drained their time in the early tactical slugfest, it seemed like Gunina emerged with an edge. Carissa Yip found herself down a pawn and trying to find compensation. However, the counterpunching nature of the position fell very well into Yip’s wheelhouse. After a few inaccuracies by Gunina and some tremendously strong moves from Yip, momentum swayed. In a time pressure situation, Yip’s pieces swarmed around Gunina’s exposed king and defense was near-impossible. On move 40, Gunina made the final blunder which allowed Yip to easily capture the full point. Despite the 0/4 start to the tournament, this is now Yip’s second win in a row. “I’m relieved that I’m not playing so bad anymore,” she told GM Ramirez. Don’t forget that round 7 will take place tomorrow at 1 pm CST on Valentine’s Day! Tune into the live show and social media to find out how many Krush and Valentina puns there will be. Text: IM Eric RosenPhoto: Austin Fuller, Crystal Fuller, Lennart Ootes, Spectrum StudiosOfficial site: https://www.uschesschamps.com/2020-cairns-cup/
FIDE Congress Timetable
FIDE Congress Timetable Abu Dhabi, February 27-29, 2020 February 27 09:00-13:00 Verification Commission meeting, Ethics Commission meeting 11:00-13:00 Development Workshop 15:00-19:00 Presidential Board meeting, Development Workshop 16:00-19:00 Constitutional Commission meeting February 28 09:00-13:00 FIDE Extraordinary General Assembly 14:00-15:00 Zonal meetings/Other meetings 15:00-19:00 FIDE Extraordinary General Assembly February 29 09:00-13:00 FIDE Executive Board 11:00-13:00 Other meetings, Development Workshop (if necessary) 15:00-19:00 FIDE Executive Board, Other meetings, Presidential Board meeting (if necessary), Development Workshop (if necessary) EGA – General AssemblyEB – Executive BoardPB – Presidential BoardVER – Verification CommissionETH – Ethics CommissionCON – Constitutional CommissionDEV – Development WorkshopZON – Zonal MeetingsOTH – Other meetings 2020 FIDE Extraordinary General Assembly Agenda and Executive Board Agenda
Norway throws ChessParty 2020 in May
From May 22 to May 24, the Oslofjord Convention Cente, beautifully situated by the coast in the municipality of Sandefjord, Norway, will host ChessParty 2020. With over 12,000 beds in apartments and cottages and a plenary hall that seats more than 7,000 attendees, the Oslofjord Convention Center is on track to become one of Europe’s largest combined accommodations and events venues. ChessParty is first and foremost a major social event. It’s a party for everyone, where activities like football, skating, swimming, boating, beach volleyball, table tennis, and barbecuing mean the entire family will be able to experience Norway at its finest. • Meet many of the world’s top players such as Magnus Carlsen, Wesley So, and Fabiano Caruana• Watch Magnus Carlsen play simultaneously against his fans• PRO Chess League finals powered by Chess.com• Open Fischer Random Tournament• Norwegian Championship for Teams!• Children’s Grand Prix Tournament• Chess exhibition• Courses and lectures by well-known profiles such as Simen Agdestein and Henrik Carlsen• Opening show Friday and award show on Saturday• Player party both Friday and Saturday• Famous Norwegian hosts and artists• Continuous mini-tournaments at all levels There will be courses for both beginners and advanced players as well as lecture by Henrik Carlsen, the father of Magnus Carlsen. In the PRO Chess League, many of the world’s top players participate, such as Wesley So, Fabiano Caruana, Ding Liren, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Alexander Grischuk, Ian Nepomniachtchi, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, Anish Giri, Jan Krzysztof Duda, Hikaru Nakamura, Alireza Firouzja, Jon Ludvig Hammer and the 2017 junior world champion Aryan Tari. The regular season of the PRO Chess League is underway, and by March 12, it will be clear which four teams will be battling for the right to be crowned PCL champions in Norway. The Open Fischer Random Tournament will feature 6 rounds of rapid and 12 rounds of blitz. Cash prizes will be the same across both the winner of the open section, as well as the highest placing non-tournament winning gender. Bonus prize: The person(s) leading after the rounds of rapid chess will have the opportunity to play against the Fischer Random World Champion Wesley So. Official site: https://www.chessparty.com/
FIDE Qualification Commission to meet in March
The FIDE Qualification Commission Council will meet in Solihull, United Kingdom, on March 14-15. The scope of the Commission covers: – The rating regulations: https://handbook.fide.com/chapter/B022017– The rating regulations for rapid and blitz: https://handbook.fide.com/chapter/B02RBRegulations– The title regulations: https://handbook.fide.com/chapter/B01Regulations2017– The direct title regulations: https://handbook.fide.com/chapter/B01DirectTitles2017– The transfer regulations: https://handbook.fide.com/chapter/B042018 If you have items relating to these areas that you would like to be discussed at this meeting, then please email alexholowczak@gmail.com before Friday, 6th March. Proposals for the new regulations will be voted on at the FIDE Congress held in Khanty-Mansiysk in July 2020, with a view to them being introduced in 2021.
Cairns Cup 2020: Ju Wenjun and Kosteniuk move into joint lead
In the bloodiest round of the Cairns Cup thus far, a remarkable five out of five games ended decisively. Every encounter produced intriguing fireworks as players were able to give it their all before the rest day. Nana Dzagnidze let her first place position slip after a disappointing loss to Humpy Koneru. Meanwhile, Alexandra Kosteniuk and Wenjun Ju scored thrilling victories to leapfrog the Georgian GM and secure a tie for the lead. Nana Dzagnidze – Humpy Koneru: 0 – 1 Nana Dzagnidze entered this round in clear first as she has displayed some of the most solid and impressive play of the event. In this hard-fought battle, however, she was outclassed. Humpy Koneru was well prepared from the black side of a Queen’s Gambit Declined and obtained a pleasant position in the middlegame. Despite missing some strong tactical shots, Koneru was in control throughout. In a tricky queen+bishop versus queen+knight endgame, she displayed an impressive endgame technique to take home the full point. This marks Dzagnidze’s first loss of the event, and she is now tied with Koneru for third place with 3/5 points. Kateryna Lagno – Wenjun Ju: 0 – 1 After grabbing a poisoned pawn in the opening, Ju Wenjun could have easily had a losing position by move 13! Kateryna Lagno spent over 30 minutes in the critical moment but failed to seize a golden opportunity (13.Rc1 looks extremely stong). Ju was able to stabilize in the middlegame and then steered the battle into a flurry of tactical complications. Because Lagno took so much time in the opening, she did not have enough time to calculate precisely in the late middlegame. A few mistakes spelled disaster for the Lagno as Ju ripped the white king from its shelter. The reigning women’s World Champion was thrilled to capture her second win of the event, knowing that the result could have easily gone the other way. She now sits in a tie for first with 3.5/5. Kosteniuk – Muzychuk: 1 – 0 After achieving a very pleasant position from the Open Variation of the Ruy Lopez, Alexandra Kosteniuk made some questionable decisions. First, she misplaced her knight on the very edge of the board rather than putting it on a key central square. Next, she played the terribly weakening 24.f3? which gave her opponent an opportunity to strike. Mariya Muzychuk could have replied with the highly aggressive 24…Re2 with the deadly threat of Bh3! After Black missed this chance, however, Alexandra reclaimed her spot in the driver’s seat. The Russian GM managed to maneuver her knight back into the center and achieved positional domination. In the end, Kosteniuk’s rooks dominated the 7th rank and Muzychuk ran out of time in a hopeless position. With this victory, Kosteniuk joins Ju in the tie for first with 3.5/5. Valentina Gunina – Harika Dronavalli: 1 – 0 After losing a heartbreaker against Ju yesterday, Valentina Gunina rebounded strongly in Round 5. She was well rewarded for her decision to play a somewhat exotic Closed Sicilian. The pleasant opening advantage eventually snowballed into a vicious middlegame attack. Gunina was relentless in pushing her kingside pawns while Harika’s pieces failed to coordinate in a defense. In the end, Gunina executed a beautiful mating sequence to score her second victory of the event. In a post-game interview with Tatev Abrahamyan, Gunina revealed that she has been watching The Foreigner starring Jackie Chan to help take her mind off some of the painful losses. With today’s one-sided demolition, it seemed that Gunina emulated the ruthless fighting style of Jackie Chan! Irina Krush – Carissa Yip: 0 – 1 This all-American clash kept chess fans on the edge of their seats. In an offbeat opening, Irina Krush emerged with a clear advantage. She wisely sacrificed a pawn with a powerful central break and took advantage of Yip’s tendency to be overly materialistic. After achieving a queen versus two rooks imbalance, Krush was in control. The combination of her queen, bishop, and h-pawn seemed to be deadly for Yip’s delicate kingside. Just as it seemed Krush was going to outplay her American counterpart, the evaluation swayed. After a few inaccuracies, Carissa Yip managed to activate her pieces and find safety for her king. It wasn’t long before Krush’s position collapsed and Yip scored her first victory of the event. “I feel pretty relieved,” Yip told Ramirez in the post-game interview. The youngster admitted to feeling the nerves given the elite field but was able to relax in today’s battle. With a rest today tomorrow, action will resume on Thursday at 1 PM local time. With over half of the games, producing decisive results and many players still contention to capture first, chess fans can look forward to an exciting second half of the tournament! Text: IM Eric RosenPhoto: Austin Fuller, Crystal Fuller, Lennart Ootes, Spectrum StudiosOfficial site: https://www.uschesschamps.com/2020-cairns-cup/
Cairns Cup 2020: Ju Wenjun claims first victory
With the rest day soon approaching, some players were keen on conserving energy while others were adamant about fighting until the bitter end. Round 5 produced two decisive games as Wenjun Ju defeated Valentina Gunina, and Alexandra Kosteniuk took down Carissa Yip. Nana Dzagnidze maintains her lead with 3/4 points, but there is a large group of players trailing close behind in 2nd place. Ju Wenjun – Valentina Gunina: 1 – 0 The longest battle of the day was also the most topsy-turvy. Ju Wenjun achieved a very promising position from the opening, but then let her advantage slip. Valentina Gunina demonstrated a strong middlegame play and capitalized on the reigning world champion’s inaccuracies. Unfortunately for Gunina however, she fell victim to time pressure. With only 5 minutes left on her clock, she missed an opportunity to snag Ju’s central pawn and obtain a very stable edge. Her position then went from clearly better to completely lost in just a few moves. GM Ramirez described the dramatic turn around: “It was like an avalanche that suddenly hit her.” Although it took a while to convert her advantage, Ju went on to win the game, scoring her first victory in the tournament. She is now part of the large group of players tied for 2nd place, while Gunina has suffered her third loss of the event. Carissa Yip – Alexandra Kosteniuk: 0 – 1 In what GM Ramirez dubbed “a very strange game,” it was Alexandra Kosteniuk who emerged victorious. After the play unraveled quite slowly in a closed and maneuvering middlegame, immense complications emerged later on. At a critical moment, Yip misplaced her bishop and gave the Russian GM a beautiful sequence of attacking moves. Kosteniuk pounced and unleashed a number of impressive tactical shots. In the end, the young American was defenseless to her opponent’s threats, thus losing her fourth consecutive game. This marks the third decisive outcome of the tournament for Kosteniuk who has been displaying some of the sharpest and most dynamic chess among all the competitors. Harika Dronavalli – Irina Krush: ½ – ½ Yesterday, Harika Dronavalli won a masterpiece against Alexandra Kosteniuk by achieving a monster passed pawn on the d4-square. Today, Irina Krush gave Harika a taste of her own medicine by creating the same type of monster on the same square! It seemed that Krush was well on her way to produce a masterclass, but the Indian Grandmaster defended resiliently. After a dubious decision by Krush to play 23…f6?! Harika exploited the light square weaknesses and eventually executed a nice tactic to force a draw. Despite being close to winning in many games, Krush has yet to score a win in this event. It is often said that the hardest thing to do in chess is to win a better position! Mariya Muzychuk – Nana Dzagnidze : ½ – ½ This battle between two experienced grandmasters featured a sharp variation of the Richter-Rauzer Sicilian. It was clear that Nana Dzagnidze was better prepared as Mariya Muzychuk started taking her time after just 2 moves! Muzychuk explained in the post-game interview that Dzagnidze “plays everything” and is “hard to prepare against.” At a critical moment well into opening theory, Muzychuk deviated from mainline with the incredibly rare 12.Be1. Not wanting to risk encountering further preparation from the Georgian grandmaster, Muzychuk played safely and solidly. As the middlegame soon transitioned to an endgame, play remained relatively balanced and neither player made any clear mistakes. The eventual draw was a very fair result, allowing Dzagnidze to maintain her spot atop the leaderboard. Humpy Koneru – Kateryna Lagno: ½ – ½ In the most peaceful game of the day, pieces disappeared from the board quicker than the Olive Garden catering disappeared from the Chess Club’s basement kitchen. Commentators compared the liquidation of pieces to a vacuum cleaner. An endgame was reached by move 13 and there was never a moment where either side had much of an edge. The game ended in a draw well before any other game concluded. I would like to predict that round 5 will be the most interesting and exciting thus far, as players can give it their all before the rest day. Be sure to tune in tomorrow at 1 PM central time for all the action! Text: IM Eric RosenPhoto: Austin Fuller, Crystal Fuller, Lennart Ootes, Spectrum StudiosOfficial site: https://www.uschesschamps.com/2020-cairns-cup/overview
Togo Chess Festival unites five African countries
From January 27th to February 2nd the Togo Chess community celebrated chess with the Togo Chess Festival 2020 organized by ATOJESTRA (Togo Association of Strategy Games) and FTDE (Togo Chess Federation) in Hotel Agla, Lome. This year’s festival was placed under the blessings of a great friend of Togo: the 6th FIDE President, Mr. Kirsan Ilyumzhinov. The program of the festival included different activities, events, and tournaments: a FIDE Arbiters’ Seminar, a FIDE Schools’ Instructors’ Seminar, a Workshop on The Benefits of Chess, a Workshop on Chess as a Tool for National Development, a Rapid Tournament and a Blitz Tournament. Two seminars were conducted by FT, IO, IA, FIDE Lecturer Bechir Messaoudi from Tunisia and the FIDE General Secretary, President of Togo Chess Federation, FI, IA, CM Enyonam Sewa Fumey. The workshops were animated by the President of Togo Association of Strategy Games (ATOJESTRA), Mr. Abalou Bodjona and the FIDE General Secretary, President of Togo Chess Federation, FI, IA, CM Enyonam Sewa Fumey. Two tournaments awarded with the Kirsan’s Cups have been won by IM Balogun Oluwafemi (Nigeria) for the 9 rounds rapid of 25 minutes and IM. Adu Oladapo (Nigeria) for the 9 rounds blitz of 3 min + 2 sec increment. These tournaments were played on electronic boards with live transmission of the first four boards online. The excitement has been great, as this technology was displayed for the first time in this part of the world. These different activities saw the participation of 48 players from 5 countries (Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria, Togo).
Cairns Cup 2020: Dzagnidze shoots ahead
Going into Round 3, the fight for first was tightly contested with four players tied atop the leaderboard. After a number of topsy-turvy battles and dramatic time pressure situations, Nana Dzagnidze emerged as the clear leader with 2.5/3. The Georgian GM doesn’t have an easy road ahead however, as she will play the top 4 seeds in the next 4 rounds. Humpy Koneru – Wenjun Ju: ½ – ½ The shortest game of the round ended after a mere two hours. Humpy Koneru opted for an English opening, and Ju Wenjun surprised her with the Kramnik-Shirov Counterattack. In the post-game interview, Koneru confessed, “I was not much aware of the opening theory…probably she was just very well prepared.” While the early opening fireworks seemed to foreshadow an exciting battle, the action was cut short when both players were content with repetition. The game ended in a draw after just 22 moves. As this is a long and strenuous event, it’s not necessarily a bad idea for players to conserve energy early on. With this draw, both Ju and Koneru move to 1.5/3 in the standings. Kateryna Lagno – Mariya Muzychuk: ½ – ½ In Mariya Muzychuk’s third Petroff of the tournament, the opponents quickly reached a very imbalanced position. In a topical theoretical line, Lagno showed superior preparation. She achieved 3 minor pieces versus a queen and pawn which offered excellent winning chances. The unusual material imbalance captivated commentators and spectators. Lagno elegantly coordinated her minor pieces and rooks for a powerful kingside attack but stumbled at a critical moment. Not wanting to risk miscalculation, she decided to force a draw rather than push for more. Lagno explained her decision in the post-game interview, “I already felt that something was going wrong. Maybe it was still okay, but I was not sure and I decided when you are not sure, let’s be safe.” Both Lagno and Muzychuk are now tied for second place with 2/3 points. Nana Dzagnidze – Carissa Yip: 1 – 0 Yip’s woes continued as she fell into early trouble against her more experienced opponent. Commentators oohed and aahed at Carissa’s choice to play a Hippopotamus Defense, but there’s a reason why the exotic opening doesn’t have the best reputation. Dzagnidze grabbed a substantial space advantage as Yip struggled to find productive squares for her pieces. Dzagnidze stated, “the position after 10-15 moves I think was absolutely winning.” Despite the opening success, it wasn’t easy to take home the full point. Yip showed resourcefulness in defending and both players fell into time pressure. Despite some inaccuracies, Dzagnidze never fully lost her edge. She managed to transpose into an endgame with a material advantage. Today’s victory put her into a clear first place with 2.5/3. Although it was Yip’s third loss in a row this tournament experience will prove invaluable. Her battles against these illustrious opponents will no doubt highlight key areas of improvement and will undoubtedly facilitate further growth for the young talent. Alexandra Kosteniuk – Harika Dronavalli: 0 – 1 Harika Dronavalli proved her dominance with the black pieces in a relatively balanced Ruy Lopez. Alexandra Kosteniuk fell into a disharmonious position in the middlegame, and was never able to recover. The Indian grandmaster displayed stellar technique and never loosened her grip on the position. In the end, Harika’s seemingly unstoppable center pawns stormed down the board against the former women’s World Champion. Kosteniuk resigned just before additional queens appeared for her opponent. With today’s game result, Harika leapfrogs Kosteniuk in the standings and now sits on the leaderboard at 2/3. Irina Krush – Valentina Gunina: 0 – 1 With both players seeking their first win of the tournament, this battle was hotly contested. Krush achieved a dream position in a Classical Nimzo Indian. She claimed a substantial space advantage along with the bishop pair in the early middlegame. However Guinina, as the defending Cairns Cup Champion, was in no hurry to back down. As both players entered into severe time trouble, onlookers witnessed a dramatic turn-around. Gunina recounted the time scramble situation: “She didn’t know what to do, so we just danced.” At some point, Krush blundered away her whole advantage and it was Gunina who was playing for a win. In the interview with Gunina, GM Ramirez shared his perspective on the finish to the game: “After you got this endgame, it seemed you just didn’t let go. You played blow after blow and her position collapsed in time pressure.” Gunina was pleased to capture her first victory of the tournament as she admitted to be coping with jet lag. The first three rounds of Cairns Cup action have delivered nothing but exciting and instructive games. Chess fans can look forward to round 4 starting tomorrow at 1 pm local time. Text: IM Eric RosenPhoto: Austin Fuller, Crystal Fuller, Lennart Ootes, Spectrum StudiosOfficial site: https://www.uschesschamps.com/2020-cairns-cup/overview