Elier Miranda wins 2023 Cuban Championship
GM Elier Miranda is the new champion of Cuba. A total of 12 chess players, representing seven provinces, participated in the National Absolute Championship, which took place at the Sports Museum in the city of Holguin from February 02-12, 2023. The 2022 champion, Yasser Quesada, skipped the 2023 edition. With most of the participants closely rated, one could expect a very competitive 12-player round-robin, and indeed, it was the case. Heading into the final 11th round, Elier Miranda and GM Lelys Stanley Martinez were jointly leading the field with 7/11, a half-point ahead of GMs Carlos Daniel Albornoz and Luis Ernesto Quesada. Elier scored a crucial victory over Havana’s Omar Almeida on the white side of Pirc Defence, while his main competitor managed only a draw against Dylan Berdayes. With these results, Elier Miranda clinched his maiden national title and became the seventh Villa Clara player to win this tournament. Photo: http://ahora.cu/ Elier Miranda (pictured above) joined the legendary Guillermo García (1974 and 1983), Guillermo Estévez (1975), Jesús Nogueiras (1984, 1991 and 2000), Rodney Pérez (1999), Yuniesky Quesada (2008) and Yasser Quesada (2022). Carlos Daniel Albornoz and Luis Ernesto Quesada also notched up victories in the final round and caught up with Lelys Stanley Martinez, but the latter took silver thanks to superior tiebreaks. The runner-up became the only player to beat the champion and complete the event undefeated. Final standings: 1 Miranda Mesa, Elier GM 2486 8 2 Martinez Duany, Lelys Stanley GM 2507 7½ 3 Albornoz Cabrera, Carlos Daniel GM 2576 7½ 4 Quesada Perez, Luis Ernesto GM 2551 7½ 5 Soto Hernandez, Henry IM 2483 6 6 Almeida Quintana, Omar GM 2531 5½ 7 Berdayes Ason, Dylan Isidro IM 2505 5½ 8 Ortiz Suarez, Isan Reynaldo GM 2521 5 9 Fernandez Cardoso, Alexey IM 2438 4 10 Diaz Murgada, Rider IM 2441 4 11 Espinosa Veloz, Ermes GM 2500 3½ 12 Perez Leiva, Jerzy Jesus FM 2393 2 Photo: https://supercubadatabase.simdif.com and http://ahora.cu/
Alexandra Kosteniuk wins Women’s Grand Prix Munich
By IM Michael Rahal (Munich, Germany) Despite losing to Chinese phenomenon Zhu Jiner, former Women’s World Champion and winner of the 2021 World Cup Alexandra Kosteniuk added another tournament victory to her list of achievements by winning the Munich International Tournament this afternoon, the second event of the 2022-2023 FIDE Women’s Grand Prix. In addition to the €15,000 first prize, Kosteniuk will leave Germany with 160 Grand Prix points. However, it hasn’t been a bed of roses. Kosteniuk recognized that she was not very happy with her performance in many of the games, despite having scored very well. Luck has been on her side in several games: for example, she was completely lost yesterday against her immediate pursuer Humpy Koneru. India’s top female had a last chance to catch up with the “Chess Queen” by defeating Tan Zhongyi, but she was unable to overcome her opponent’s solid defensive play. The bronze medal goes to top Georgian Grand Master Nana Dzagnidze, after an excellent performance of three wins and only one defeat. Ullrich Krause, President of the German Chess Federation (pictured above) and Alojzije Jankovic, Vice President of the European Chess Union (pictured below), performed the ceremonial first moves of the final round in the games Kashlinskaya vs Paehtz and Zhu Jiner vs Kosteniuk, respectively. GM Dzagnidze, Nana vs GM Harika, Dronavalli (0.5-0.5) The first game to finish in less than half an hour. Dzagnidze and Harika played a theoretical line of the Semi-Tarrasch Queen’s Gambit and called it a day after a totally unforced threefold move repetition. With this result, both of them finish in the top half of the standings, gaining a few rating points. Additionally, Harika has finished the tournament undefeated, albeit with only one win. GM Muzychuk, Anna vs GM Abdumalik, Zhansaya (0.5-0.5) A few minutes later, a second game ended. Playing with Black, Abdumalik was content to accept a threefold move repetition in a very quiet Four Knights Opening. She finished the tournament with a solid 50% score, quite a good performance after beginning with 0.5/3. After three consecutive defeats, Anna Muzychuk draws the last game for a modest final result of 4/11, losing around 18 rating points. She will return to the board in the third event in Delhi (India) with extra motivation to go for a good result. GM Koneru, Humpy vs GM Tan, Zhongyi (0.5-0.5) In an ultra-solid Neo-Grunfeld Opening, Tan Zhongyi equalized comfortably out of the opening. After breaking up the position with 15…e5, the queens were exchanged and Humpy went into the ending with a passed c-pawn. Things were looking good, but she had used up most of her time. Nonetheless, the engines were suggesting that Black could happily keep the balance with precise play. Humpy was even able to win the exchange, but in the end, accepted her opponent’s draw offer in an equal position. With this result, Tan Zhongyi finishes on 50% with a very small rating loss, while Humpy Koneru scores an undefeated +2600 performance for the silver medal. Additionally, she takes home 130 Grand Prix points in her attempt to qualify for the Women’s Candidates. IM Kashlinskaya, Alina vs GM Paehtz, Elisabeth (0.5-0.5) Paehtz went for the Schlecter system in the Slav defence, one of Gata Kamsky’s pet lines. She equalized comfortably but then went wrong with the thematic break 14…e5? Kashlinskaya could have achieved a clear advantage with 17.axb5 but instead played 17.Bf3 and the position was equal again. After subsequent exchanges, the game petered out into a draw. Elisabeth Paehtz finishes the event with a decent 50% score and a small rating gain, while Alina Kashlinskaya clocks in a slightly disappointing result of 4.5/11 and a small 8-point rating loss. GM Muzychuk, Mariya vs WGM Wagner, Dinara (0.5-0.5) Mariya Muzychuk wanted to finish the tournament with a win after her lackluster performance in the second half. In front of her was an ambitious Dinara Wagner, keen to continue her comeback after yesterday’s win. The game was a very solid line in the Bb5 Moscow variation of the Sicilian defence. For the most part, both players kept manoeuvring, with Black exchanging as many pieces as possible. Approaching time trouble, with less than ten minutes each for the last ten moves, it was anybody’s game. Suddenly Dinara Wagner offered a draw which was accepted by Muzychuk: the situation is approximately equal, although there is still a lot of play in the position. Although finishing last in the event, Dinara Wagner only slightly underperformed with respect to her rating (-5 points), while Mariya Muzychuk will not be completely happy with her performance of 5/11, slightly below expectation. WGM Zhu, Jiner vs GM Kosteniuk, Alexandra (1-0) Although a draw would be enough for Zhu Jiner to make her International Master norm, her win against Kosteniuk today could have created a huge last-round upset. The game began with a complicated Nimzo-Indian variation. The position remained balanced, very strategic, for most of the game until Kosteniuk blundered with 27…Naxc4? Zhu Jiner recaptured with 28.Rxc4! and won two pieces for a rook. From there onwards, it was a matter of technique, and Zhu Jiner took no chances, grinding down her opponent until she forced her to resign on move 64, definitely a fitting moment for a chess game. The closing ceremony and prizegiving took place right after the final round at 7 PM in the Maximillian III room at the Kempinski Hotel. Photos: Mark Livshitz Official website: womengrandprix.fide.com/ Partners:
WGP Munich: Narrow escape for Kosteniuk
By IM Michael Rahal (Munich, Germany) Humpy Koneru, India’s number one female player, missed the opportunity of a lifetime this afternoon in the tenth round of the Munich Women’s Grand Prix. In a must-win situation, Humpy ground down her opponent Alexandra Kosteniuk with the Black pieces in a spectacular performance, only to misplay a queen ending and allow Kosteniuk to escape by the skin of her teeth. A very close call indeed for Kosteniuk, who keeps her one-point lead going into the last round, where she will face Zhu Jiner with Black. Tie-breaks still favour Humpy, so only a draw will secure the tournament victory for Alexandra – any other result will also depend on the result of the game between Humpy and Tan Zhongyi. The ceremonial first move was performed by Lukasz Turlej, FIDE Secretary General and Munich WGP Tournament Supervisor, in the Kosteniuk-Humpy game GM Kosteniuk, Alexandra vs GM Koneru, Humpy (0.5-0.5) Undoubtedly, the game of the day. Trailing Kosteniuk by one point, Humpy decided to play for a long battle, keep some tension in the position and see if an opportunity to win came about. Most probably, Alexandra Kosteniuk would be content with a draw, keeping her one-point margin going into the last round. In an attempt to surprise her opponent and maybe take her out of her preparation, Humpy played the Open Ruy Lopez with 5…Nxe4 but chose the side-line 6…Be7 (instead of the mainline 6…b5). According to my database, Humpy had played 6…b5 at least fifteen times, but 6…Be7 definitely caught Kosteniuk off-guard. For many moves the position remained in balance: bishop pair for Humpy, better pawn structure for Kosteniuk. However, Humpy gradually increased her space advantage on the queenside and soon had Kosteniuk against the ropes. It’s hard to pinpoint a specific mistake – Humpy just outplayed her opponent. But luck was on Kosteniuk’s side this afternoon. Humpy missed a clear chance to win in a tricky queen endgame, and Kosteniuk managed to escape with a draw, keeping the lead going into the final round. “I am feeling very tired but much better than if I’d lost the game” were Kosteniuk’s feelings a few minutes after the game had finished. GM Tan, Zhongyi vs GM Dzagnidze, Nana (0-1) According to my database, Dzagnidze and Tan Zhongyi have faced each other multiple times. In a total of 24 games, the former Chinese Women’s World Champion has won nine games while the Georgian player has won seven times, with a total of eight draws. “We have played many games together; we know each other very well. I didn’t expect her opening today, so I played on the board,” said Nana Dzagnidze in the postgame interview. In this afternoon’s game, Tan Zhongyi started with the English Opening, but soon there was a transposition to the Tarrasch System in the Queen’s Gambit. Coming out of the opening, Tan Zhongyi had a slight advantage, putting pressure on her opponent’s isolated pawn. “Maybe she played too ambitiously, and I found the interesting ideas …Qb8 with the idea …Bc7-b6,” said Dzagnidze in a short post-game interview. But Dzagnidze defended well and took advantage of a small mistake in her opponent’s strategy (19.a4?) to win a pawn and force a superior endgame. With the excellent technique, she took home the full point in a very instructive opposite. “I chose the right plan to get the winning position. If the pawns would have been closer, the bishop ending might be a draw,” were Dzagnidze’s final conclusions. GM Harika, Dronavalli vs GM Muzychuk, Anna (1-0) Thirty-eight games together with twenty-five draws shows that this match-up was going to be equal. The opening was a Symmetrical English, and it quickly became clear that both players were in their preparation until move fifteen. Harika spent thirty minutes on 16.Rc1 and quickly fell into a bad position, losing a pawn. “I forgot my preparation at some point, I knew the variation, but I couldn’t recall it,” said Harika in her postgame interview. With 18…Rxb4, Muzychuk would have enjoyed a small advantage, but instead she blundered 18…e5? and Harika was back into the game, recovering the pawn with superior piece coordination. “After her blunder, I had very easy play. The bishop pair and the misplaced rook on b6 should be winning for me,” Harika explained. GM Paehtz, Elisabeth vs WGM Zhu, Jiner (0.5-0.5) Paehtz decided to mix things up this afternoon, going for the 2.c3 Alapin Variation side-line against the Sicilian. Displaying excellent opening preparation, both players blitzed out their first sixteen moves following an earlier 2021 game between Gaponenko and Berdnyk. In her preparation, Paehtz had obviously gone even further: while Zhu Jiner started to ponder her moves, she continued playing fast. “I prepared it until 20.Nb3, and then according to the super engine, the only move to keep it equal was 20…Rcd8, if I remember correctly. So, after her 20…Rfe8 I was on myself but had a nice position already,” explained Elisabeth Paehtz after the game. Her strategy worked out: under heavy pressure in the centre, Zhu Jiner decided to jettison her e5 pawn and go into an inferior ending. Zhu Jiner displayed excellent defensive technique right until the end. Even so, Paehtz missed a clear chance to win the game with 67.Rc7+! instead of 67.b7. “After four hours, it’s known that the energy level goes down. I did quite a lot of sports before the event, but apparently, it was not enough. I knew I may lose the grip at some point, and unfortunately, it happened…” Paehtz frankly recognized the importance of being on top form during these elite events. GM Abdumalik, Zhansaya vs GM Muzychuk, Mariya (1-0) Zhansaya Abdumalik and Mariya Muzychuk have played against each other many times in the past, with a more or less equal score. Facing the Sicilian for the second day in a row, Abdumalik opted for the Rossolimo Attack, transposing a few moves later to the Marozcy structure. With 13.c5, she sacrificed a pawn to damage her opponent’s pawn