FIDE WGP: Goryachkina and Lagno head-to-head in Astana
Five decisive results in the eighth round of the Women’s Grand Prix The amount of decisive results in this tournament is staggering. Not a round has gone by without at least two decisive outcomes; most rounds have between three and four, and today, no less than five of the six games finished with a winner. Compared to most of the top elite events, the drawing percentage is notoriously low, to a large extent based on the fighting spirit of the players: all of them good friends away from the board but fierce competitors when the games begin. All eyes were on two key games this afternoon. The clash between the two leaders, Aleksandra Goryachkina and Zhu Jiner and the game between Kateryna Lagno (also tied for first) and Elisabeth Paehtz. Goryachkina, Aleksandra — Zhu, Jiner (1-0) Undoubtably, the most important game of the round was the clash between the two leaders, who, by the way, had never faced each other over the board before. For this important game, Goryachkina, playing White, chose the English Opening and, more specifically, the Four Knights System, which Magnus Carlsen has recently brought into fashion. I’m not sure if Goryachkina was expecting this line today, although both players were blitzing out their first moves. A previous 2019 game between Carlsen and Caruana continued with the aggressive 11.0-0-0, but Goryachkina preferred the computer suggestion 11.Be2. Zhu Jiner went into the tank for 25 minutes, visibly surprised by the turn of events. Nevertheless, she kept her cool and calculated all the best moves, exchanging queens and going into a more or less equal ending. Goryachkina did have a strong passed pawn on d6 but also some weaknesses in her own position. The Chinese teenager prodigy kept the balance most of the game until she missed 24…Kf8 and then, more importantly erred with 25…Bd7, the losing move (25…Rf8 was still holding). Goryachkina invaded the seventh rank, exchanged a pair of rooks, and after she activated her king, the d6-pawn became the decisive factor. Certain decent endgame technique was required from Aleksandra, but the result was never in doubt. Goryachkina was kind enough to join us in the press room for a short interview. Lagno, Kateryna — Paehtz, Elisabeth (1-0) The first time Lagno and Paehtz faced each other was more than twenty years ago, in the 2001 Girls U18 European Team Championship. Since then, they have played many classical games, with an overwhelming 9-0 record for Kateryna Lagno, albeit with many draws as well in the mix. Leading the event with 5/7 and with co-leaders Goryachkina and Zhu Jiner playing each other, this game was a golden opportunity for Lagno to make a stand. In a Sicilian Rossolimo, Lagno seemed slightly surprised when she spent 20 minutes for the very well-known exchange 6.Nxd4. On her side, Paehtz took her own 20 minutes to calculate the consequences of 8.Qb3. Already on the move fifteen, both players were very low in time, which would explain some of inaccurate moves by both of them during the early middlegame stage. Eventually, Lagno won a central pawn and began to consolidate. Kateryna gradually piled up the pressure with her eyes set on her opponent’s kingside. With a well-timed 44.e6! breakthrough, she won her opponent’s queen and finished off the game effortlessly. In her postgame interview, Kateryna explained to us her opening play. Assaubayeva, Bibisara — Tan, Zhongyi (0-1) Standing on 50% in the standings, Bibisara Assaubayeva was eager to take advantage of the white pieces and go for the win against Tan Zhongyi, whose play has proven to be quite unstable in Astana. Although I couldn’t find any previous classical games between them in the database, I did notice a couple of rapid games. Both players blitzed out the opening, a theoretical line of the Exchange variation of the Queen’s Gambit Declined, in which White also exchanges queen’s on f6, creating a permanent weakness on Black’s kingside in the form of doubled isolated pawns. However, the theory has more or less proven that Black’s bishop pair offers more than enough compensation, and today’s game didn’t seem to change that assessment. Essentially playing with her increment, Tan Zhongyi improved on a 2018 Kramnik-Aleksandrov game with 16…Rh-g8, with a completely equal position. At a crucial moment, going for the win, Assaubayeva sacrificed a pawn on the kingside to penetrate with her rook. Observing her games during the last few rounds, it has become apparent that Bibisara is always looking for a challenge and never backs down. She is prepared to take a risk and go with her guts. However, on this occasion, maybe she burned her bridges. With more time on her clock, Tan Zhongyi prepared a devious rook sacrifice which Bibisara unexpectedly fell for. In her postgame interview, the Chinese representative explained at what point she saw the trap. Shuvalova, Polina — Kosteniuk, Alexandra (1-0) According to my database, Shuvalova has dominated Kosteniuk in classical games by a 3-1 margin. In yesterday’s postgame interview, Polina suggested that she would try to leave behind her disastrous start and regroup in the second part of the event. With White, Shuvalova went for the fashionable London system, grabbing a pawn on the opening and subsequently defending it in exchange for a weakened pawn structure and bishop pair for her opponent. Kosteniuk could have recuperated material with 8…Bxc5 followed by 9…Qa5+, but instead preferred 8…Qf6, which the computer condemns as being clearly worse. Trying to find some compensation for the pawn, Kosteniuk spent bags of time and around move 20 was already down to her last 25 minutes on the clock: things were looking good for Shuvalova, an extra pawn and much more thinking time. However, just when Kosteniuk was again very near to equality, Shuvalova went for her last chance to complicate the game – and it worked! Kosteniuk blundered 26…exf5? (the weird 26…gxf5 was correct, with equality) and after massive exchanges, Shuvalova found herself in a completely won rook ending
Free day of WCCC 2022 filled with chess activities
The free day of the FIDE World Cadet Chess Championships 2022 was packed with chess, with three interesting events on the menue: a solving competition, the 2022 Nesis Cup, and a friendly match between a ChessKid team and another comprised of kids from the Adjarian Chess Federation and Ukraine. 218 children from 39 federations took part in the solving competition, held in three age categories (under 8, 10 & 12). Each participant had 90 minutes to solve 8 positions (3 two-movers, 3 three-movers and 2 endgame studies). Each composition was rated on a five-point scale. The “Nesis Cup 2022”, a 9-round blitz tournament, was held for heads of delegations and accredited coaches. 59 players from 26 federations, including 11 GMs and 13 IMs, participated. Three players tied for the top position and in accordance with tiebreak variables GM Mikhail Kobalia took first place, GM Vladislav Kovalev came second and GM Davit Maghalashvili – third. Final stadings: https://chess-results.com/tnr677664.aspx?lan=1&art=1&rd=9&flag=30 A “ChessKid” team and a team comprised of kids from the Adjarian Chess Federation and Ukraine played two friendly games on a big chessboard. Team “Chesskid” prevailed but there were no losers in this competition. All participants were given presents after the match. WCCC Director Akaki Iashvili awarded the Ukrainian kids with iPads. This friendly event was the culmination of the free day. From the seventh round, the players will continue fighting for the prizes and glory in the main tournaments.
Magnus Carlsen wins Julius Baer Generation Cup
Magnus Carlsen became the Julius Baer Generation Cup champion after crushing the “Indian Iceman” Arjun Erigaisi in the final final. Norway’s world number 1 needed just two games to take the seventh leg of the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour, ending Erigaisi’s challenge 2-0. It is Carlsen’s fourth tournament win of the Tour season and extends his advantage at the top of the overall leaderboard. For 19-year-old Erigaisi, he can take huge credit for a stunning run to the final. International Master Jovanka Houska said: “Magnus in killer mode. He’s just relentless. He really is not stopping here. If we had any doubt Magnus would slip up, he has come in here today in absolute fighting mode. He is the beast.” Carlsen eve allowed himself a smile afterwards. “I’m very happy,” he said. “I played very much throughout this match ‘anti-young player chess’, in the sense I tried to play older, less theoretical lines that have some serious strategic complexity and it worked out very well. Going into the last match today, Carlsen already had one hand on the trophy having ended beaten Erigaisi, one of India’s brightest talents, 2.5-0.5 yesterday. Erigaisi, who has been so impressive throughout the event, simply folded again as Carlsen didn’t give him a chance. There are two more tournament left in the 2022 Meltwater Tour, one Regular in October and one Major in November, to decide the winner. Carlsen and Erigaisi are already qualified for the eight-player Major in San Francisco. For further comments contact: Leon Watson leon@championschesstour.com
FIDE WGP Astana: Kateryna Lagno joins the lead
Three players tied for first in the Astana Women’s Grand Prix with four rounds to go. Grand Prix events are long and tiring. Eleven games plus travel essentially means two full weeks abroad, in addition to time allocated for training purposes. The free day at the halfway point of the event is very much appreciated by the players – and officials/volunteers – to recharge their batteries for the last rounds. Most of the players hang around the official hotel, relaxing, maybe watching a movie, or using the gym. Nonetheless, the tournament organizers happily provided a bus and a guide for a wonderful three-hour trip to visit the city’s highlights. Getting to know the city where you are playing is a must for most of us, and Astana doesn’t let you down. Back to today’s seventh round, the Minister of Culture and Sports of Kazakhstan, Dauren Abayev, made the ceremonial first move today in the games Abdumalik vs Kosteniuk and Assaubayeva vs Shuvalova. Zhu, Jiner — Vaishali, Rameshbabu (0.5-0.5) To date, Zhu Jiner and Vaishali had only faced each other once, in the Hou Yifan rapid play challenge in 2021, in which the Chinese wonder girl emerged victorious. In today’s game, Vaishali mixed it up and went for the Sveshnikov variation, diverting from the Accelerated Dragon she used successfully in the first round against Lagno. It quickly became clear that both players had prepared very well: they blitzed out their first twenty moves, following several games played by the mighty Ivanchuk, and eventually went for a forced mass piece simplification. An uneventful draw was agreed on move 31 in a completely equal rook ending. Vaishali spent less than 25 minutes for the full game: impressive opening preparation with Black. With this result, she remains on 50% in the middle of the standings while Zhu Jiner maintains her spot at the top. Abdumalik, Zhansaya — Kosteniuk, Alexandra (0-1) Dominating her opponent by 3-1 in classical games and also many rapid and blitz games, Alexandra Kosteniuk has always been a tough rival for Kazakhstan’s number one female player. In addition, Kosteniuk has been crushing with the Black pieces here in Astana, although her performances with White have been much less impressive. In the second game to finish, Abdumalik surprised her opponent with the rare 5.Re1 side-line in the Italian opening. I noticed in the playing hall that Kosteniuk took a moment before responding 5…Ng4 but then blitzed out her next moves: a piece sacrifice was in the making. Zhansaya was playing very fast: it was clear that she was in home preparation, but the position seemed quite dangerous for White. She won a pawn but had to weaken her kingside to hold it. In the commentary booth, GM Ilya Smirin believed that she had a very dangerous position. After 16…g6! White’s position was crumbling, and after 17.Qe1 Abdumalik was lost, although the alternatives were not much better. With the piece sacrifice 17…Nxg4, Kosteniuk opened the way for the rest of her pieces, and the game was essentially over. “In modern chess, to win with Black is quite an achievement,” Kosteniuk stated in her post-game interview. Tan, Zhongyi — Kashlinskaya, Alina (1-0) Today’s game was an important one for Poland’s number one female player. A win with Black against out-of-form Tan Zhongyi would catapult her to the head of the table. Kashlinskaya took advantage of the free day to refresh her knowledge of the Semi-Tarrasch variation of the Queen’s Gambit, which, according to my database, she had only played once against Goryachkina in 2013. Her opening decision definitely came as a surprise for Tan Zhongyi. Faced with a choice of variations, she opted for the solid 5.e3 and 6.a3 line and the game transposed into a variation of the Queen’s Gambit Accepted, which also isn’t a regular line in Alina’s repertoire. Black did get the bishop pair but fell behind in development. However, Tan Zhongyi couldn’t capitalize on her initiative, and, with a symmetrical pawn structure, the position fizzled out into an equal endgame. Just when the draw seemed to be the most logical result, Kashlinskaya misplayed her chances, and suddenly, her king was in danger: pawn sacrifices were needed to avoid a direct disaster, and Tan Zhongyi didn’t let her second chance go away. The Chinese GM shared her thoughts about the game in a short interview. Wagner, Dinara — Lagno, Kateryna (0-1) For the third time in the event, Dinara Wagner chose the Catalan Opening for today’s important game against Lagno. Well-prepared, Kateryna went for a new and very aggressive stonewall setup with Black, launching her kingside pawns against White’s castled king: Lagno was going all-out for the win from the get-go. 15…h4! might have been an improvement, but Black’s slow play on the queenside allowed Wagner to break open with 19.f3! and get back into the game. Once again, very low on time – Wagner’s plague in the tournament – she sacrificed a pawn for the attack, but her own king was also very weak. “My king was unsafe. If I missed one check, it could not be good. So, I tried to focus until the very end,” explained Lagno in her post-game interview. At some point, Wagner’s plan backfired, and Lagno was in the driving seat, bringing back the full point. With this important win with Black, Kateryna Lagno ties for first with Goryachkina and Zhu Jiner, with four rounds to go. Paehtz, Elisabeth — Goryachkina, Aleksandra (0.5-0.5) This match-up is a classic. They have been facing each other for the past ten years with a more or less equal record. But while Goryachkina is leading the tournament, Paehtz is in need of points: she is currently on -2. Things started off well for the top German female player: in an Exchange Slav, she developed a strong initiative on the kingside and Goryachkina was on the defence. But Aleksandra pulled herself together and gradually improved her position, to a point where she was even much better:
Fifth Chess in Education Lecturer course announced
The International Chess Federation, together with its Chess in Education Commission (EDU) and “Chess” Scientific Research Institute (CSRI), is pleased to announce the 5th Chess in Education Lecturer course. The course will be held 28-30 October, in English, online 15:00-20:00 CET. The objectives of the course: To develop and enhance the skills of effective teaching of chess basics To enhance the ability of using active and interactive teaching methods To improve positive professional communication skills The target audience of the course is professionals with experience in chess and education. Duration and content: 3 days – 15 hours (including breaks) + Project. Day 1 Introduction (100 minutes); Fear – both teachers’ fear and your fear of exam! Teaching the chessboard. (130 minutes) Project assignment (10 minutes) Day 2 Interdisciplinary chess & educational chess (10 minutes) Chessmen: values, moves and set-up (115 minutes) Check. Mate. Stalemate. (115 minutes) Day 3 Presentation of assignments (The projects are not presented. Participants need to send them by email). Problem-solving skills. Teaching playing skills (120 minutes) Effective teaching skills and Course summary (75 minutes) Exam (45 minutes) The cost of training is €75, which covers both access to materials and preparation, and the exam. Those who successfully pass the course will receive the title of Lead School Instructor (LSI). This is valid for three years, and it implies an administrative fee of €50. Those who gain this qualification (LSI) will be those, exclusively, who we appoint to the paid lectureships of the FIDE School Instructor seminars. FIDE Chess in Education Titles are awarded for life and can only be suspended or revoked by a decision of the FIDE Ethics & Disciplinary Commission or FIDE Council, while an EDU Licence is a certification by FIDE and EDU of current proficiency to teach at the indicated level of the awarded FIDE EDU title. Chess in Education Titles when awarded include a three (3) year licence. Renewal of the licence requires the completion of a renewal course. During the final six months of the validity of the licence, a title-holder may renew the licence for a further three year period to run from the end date of the current licence by following the normal procedure and paying the appropriate fees (currently €50). Here is the course description in more detail:https://cloud.fide.com/s/kY9Fs5pQ5D9gDS7 Applications for the course are open till October 26. If you want to apply, please fill in the registration form for “Preparation of Lecturers” and send it to edu.chairman@fide.com & copy to edu.senioradviser@fide.com. Your CV & Motivation letter should pay special attention to your relevant experience in “educational chess”, rather than “sport chess”. Please check this explanatory document if you are unsure about the difference between these two concepts: https://edu.fide.com/educational-chess-vs-sport-chess The course is limited to a maximum of 20 people (first come, first served). Applicants who cannot be given an assured place will be placed on the waiting list for the subsequent course.