Women’s Grand Prix New Delhi: Round 2 Recap
Bibisara Assaubayeva claims victory over local star Vaishali Rameshbabu, in the first decisive game played in New Delhi. The remaining three games ended in a draw The warm weather of New Delhi at 32 degrees Celsius could not deter the players from their game, as they battled it out in the second round of the Women’s Grand Prix. Amidst the blazing sun, the playing hall provided much-needed relief with its cool and tranquil atmosphere. While three games ended with a draw (two of them after around an hour of play) one ended in a victory. Vaishali Rameshbabu – Bibisara Assaubayeva: First victory in the tournament This was the first game played in the tournament to end with a decisive result. Following a rest day in Round One, Bibisara Assaubayeva claimed a victory in her first game in New Delhi. After Vaishali’s 1.e4 с5 2.Nf3 g6 Vaishali (not Assaubayeva) opted for the Alapin variation of the Sicilian Defence with 3.c3. After several standard moves, the Indian IM had to make a decision, shaping up the pawn structure. She opted for 8.cxd4 instead of 8.Nbxd4 – creating an isolated pawn in her camp but hoping for some dynamic play. However, it did not work out for Vaishali. After a couple of inaccuracies on her part, Black gradually traded the majority of minor pieces and put serious pressure on the isolated d4-pawn. By this point, Vaishali was getting into more dangerous time trouble. For a while, however, she managed to find solid moves to keep her in play, although in an inferior position. However, it is difficult to keep finding good moves when your time is measured in seconds and not even minutes. Also, playing against the two-time Women’s World Champion in Blitz games doesn’t help. In the course of the rest of the game, given her severe time trouble, Vaishali managed to trade her isolated pawn to Black’s e7-pawn and simplified the position but ended up significantly worse. After 30…Rb4 31.Ra7 Rxb3 32.Rxa6 Rxb2 33.Rb6 b4 Black emerged with an advanced and well-protected runner on the b-file. Here Vaishali made her final and – as it turned out, deadly – mistake. Instead of placing her knight on a4, attacking the rook and controlling the b2 square, she put her knight on b5 after directly in the line of her rook on b6. After that, she was completely lost. Assaubayeva then brought in her knight to protect and then advance the b-pawn, and she confidently carried on giving her opponent no quarter. After four hours of play – most of which the Indian player spent in desperate time trouble – Bibisara Assaubayeva became the first player to win in New Delhi. Assaubayeva now has one point, as does Vaishali. Aleksandra Goryachkina – Nana Dzagnidze: A quick draw After just an hour of play, in a lively position that emerged from so-called Anti-Meran system, the players decided to go for a repetition and call it a day. The game lasted just 20 moves, with 15 of them being the reproduction of an earlier game Goryachkina – Dronavalli (2021), which also ended in a draw. Black deviated on move 15, but it did not change the evaluation of the position as roughly equal. Since it’s still early days in New Delhi and given that the opponents have one more chance in the fourth tournament, the two decided to take it slower today. Both Goryachkina and Dzagnidze are now on one out of two. Harika Dronavalli – Zhu Jiner: The long way to a draw This was the last game to finish in New Delhi, following four and a half hours of play. Surprisingly, this is the first game the two have met over the board, despite both being among the top women’s chess. The reason for this is that they belong to different generations (Harika was born in 1991 and Zhu in 2002), so they mostly played in different age categories in junior and youth events. Harika opened with her standard move – 1.Nf3 and after 1…d5 2.c4 e6 3.cd5 ed5, the two went for a popular line in the exchange variation of the Queen’s Gambit Declined that has been tested at the highest level many times. Harika went for a standard minority attack on the queenside and, after exchanges in the center, the two reached the following position: White is slightly better but doesn’t pose any serious threats. After Harika straightforwardly traded all the rooks along the c-file, the game transpired into a knight endgame where Black had a remote b-passer. It seemed that only Zhu had a chance to play for a win but with precise play, White is fine. Harika did just that, and the game ended in a draw. Both have one point after two rounds. Polina Shuvalova – Humpy Koneru: A simple draw It was the second relatively quick draw of the day. After 19 moves and an hour and a half of play, the two split a point. Humpy Konery played the Queen’s Gambit Accepted which was a surprise as she had employed this opening on just a handful of occasions before. Shuvalova opted for a trendy 7.b3 line that has become very popular lately. Here White has a minimal advantage, but Shuvalova dropped even this slight edge after taking the black night on c6, enabling her opponent to activate the white-squared bishop on a8-h1 diagonal. After 12.Nc6 Bc6 13. Ne5 Bd5 – Black got the bishop to a better square and offered an exchange for White’s strong c4-bishop. Shuvalova refused and played 14.Bd3. Black had no real problems in this position and was holding her ground confidently. After 14…Bd6 they two followed a three-fold repetition. With two draws in the first two rounds, both players now have a point each. The third round of the third leg of the Women’s Grand Prix will take place on Tuesday, 28th March, at 3 PM local time. Round 3 parings: Humpy Koneru – Kateryna LagnoZhu Jiner – Polina ShuvalovaNana Dzagnidze – Harika DronavalliBibisara Assaubayeva – Nino BatsiashviliAleksandra Goryachkina and Vaishali Rameshbabu are free. Text: Milan Dinic
Toronto will host the 2024 FIDE Candidates Tournaments
Toronto will host the 2024 FIDE Candidates and Women’s Candidates, scheduled for April 3-25, with a prize fund of EUR 750,000. It will be the first time in chess history that both events will be held at the same time and venue, and also the first time that the Candidates Tournament is held in North America. The event will be sponsored by the Scheinberg family, as part of the long-term collaboration agreement that was announced in 2022. FIDE would like to thank the Scheinberg family, whose support for chess over the last nine years has made possible a number of top-level events and is going to be instrumental in staging the Candidates and Women’s Candidates in 2024. FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich said: “FIDE is happy to award such an important competition to Canada, a country that has made significant chess progress in recent years, with more kids playing the game, more titled players, and more chess fans and chess streamers. The fact that it is going to be the first time that the Candidates and Women’s Candidates will be played under one roof underlines FIDE’s efforts to promote chess, providing more opportunities and proper financial conditions for top female players. Holding the events concurrently at the same venue with a single broadcast can only help bring the Women’s Candidates to a wider audience, with a greater following.” “The Candidates Tournaments will start in just over a year’s time, but I know many chess fans will already be counting down the days towards these exceptional events,” added Dvorkovich. Isai Scheinberg said: “My family and I are very happy that the Candidates Tournaments will be held in Canada, our home country. The Candidates has a long tradition of producing exciting and gruelling battles in pursuit of the biggest prize in chess, and I’m sure that the 2024 edition will be no exception. I look forward to seeing many of the world’s top players in action, with Toronto at the center of the chess world for over three weeks in April 2024.”
Hikaru Nakamura and Irina Krush win American Cup 2023
Hikaru Nakamura and Irina Krush emerged as the winners of the 2023 American Cup, a unique competition featuring an exciting and rare double elimination format. The tournament brought world class chess masters to America’s chess capital to compete in a fierce do or die struggle for $300,000 in prize money. Both champion prevailed in rapid tiebreakes. Hikaru Nakamura pulled through to become the 2023 American Cup Champion after defeating Wesley So 2.5-1.5 in a difficult final elimination match. The finale started out with three solid draws, but finished abruptly in the fourth game after a blunder by So got his queen trapped inside Nakamura’s territory. NAKAMURA – SO | 2.5-1.5 The day started with two 25+10 games in the final elimination match. The first game saw Nakamura emerge with an extra pawn in a theoretically drawn rook endgame, which So had few problems holding. In the second game Wesley was a bit better in a double-bishop endgame, but eventually allowed a draw by three-fold repetition, taking the players to a rapid playoff. In the playoff So started as White, and after a balanced middlegame ended up with a very pleasant advantage in a knight endgame. But Hikaru defended well and managed to hold the draw. After 33.Ba3, So had good winning chances thanks to the passed b-pawn, but never a clear win. In the next game Hikaru got a bit of an edge after starting with 1.Nf3, but the game ended rather surprisingly in the middlegame after a devastating blunder by So got his queen trapped with no way out. 17…Qxd2?? was an unfortunate blunder, as after 18.Rfd1 Qb2 19.Nc4! Black’s queen was trapped. After three solid draws Nakamura seized his opportunity to win the game, match, and title. Photo Courtesy of Saint Louis Chess Club, Lennart Ootes 8-time U.S. Champion Irina Krush bounced back from a loss in classical to defeat a surging Alice Lee in a rapid playoff and win her second straight American Cup title. After winning the first classical game against WIM Alice Lee, Irina Krush unexpectedly blundered in the middlegame, miscalculating a knight sacrifice that would leave her down a piece. In the playoff, Krush recovered nicely, as she managed to outplay Lee in a drawn rook and pawn endgame, winning the first game as Black. This put Alice in a must-win situation once again, and although she was under pressure out of the opening, she managed to defend and even emerge with an extra pawn in a knight endgame. However it wasn’t enough to win, as Krush had plenty of activity with her king and knight to save the day, eventually forcing a draw in order to clinch the playoff and win her second title. It wasn’t easy, but top seed GM Irina Krush got it done. Photo Courtesy of Saint Louis Chess Club, Lennart Ootes Next up for the Saint Louis Chess Club will be the Spring Classic, which takes place April 5-13. Fans should tune in for live commentary on the Saint Louis Chess Club’s YouTube & Twitch.tv channels. Text: IM Kostya Kavutskiy Photo: Saint Louis Chess Club, Lennart Ootes Dates & Location: March 17 – 26, 2023World Chess Hall of Fame Livestream:USChessChamps.Com Web: uschesschamps.com | Twitter: @STLChessClubInstagram: @STLChessClub | Facebook: @STLChessClubYouTube: @STLChessClub | Twitch.tv: @STLChessClub#TheAmericanCup #STLChessClub Press Contact:Rebecca Buffingtonrbuffington@saintlouischessclub.org
Women’s Grand Prix New Delhi: Round 1 Recap
All four games played in the first round of the Women’s Grand Prix in New Delhi ended with a draw. IM Vaishali R won on default after Elisabeth Paehtz decided to withdraw from the tournament. Bharat Singh Chauhan, Chairman of FIDE’s Advisory Board and Secretary of the All India Chess Federation, made the ceremonial first move in the game between Koneru Humpy and Harika Dronavalli in the inaugural round of the New Delhi Women’s Grand Prix. “This is a huge event for women’s chess and chess in India. We should all look at the broader picture and acknowledge all the efforts made to organise this event and to help boost women’s chess both in India and globally. It’s not easy to find sponsors today given the global situation, but we and FIDE are committed”, Bharat Singh said. The round started at 3 PM local time, as planned. Shortly before the round, Elisabeth Paehtz sent a letter to FIDE announcing her decision to withdraw from the tournament. Save for a relatively peaceful draw between the top two Indian players, all other games were fought to (an almost bitter) end. Polina Shuvalova –Kateryna Lagno: Sharp meets aggressive Polina Shuvalova and Kateryna Lagno drew their game after much tension on the board and time trouble. Following 1.d4, Lagno played the King’s Indian Defence. Shuvalova opted for a sharp line, advancing her pawn on h4, to which Lagno responded by offering a pawn sacrifice a la Benko Gambit and then opening the centre. White went for a breakthrough in the center and exchanged the queens hoping that Black’s weaker pawn structure would provide opportunities for an initiative. However, Lagno had enough play for her pieces. Instead of waiting for Shuvalova to probe Black’s weaknesses, Lagno also played actively and aggressively. Still, White had some pressure but on move 20, Polina opted for a tempting but not so-strong 20.Nfg5, allowing Kateryna to get sufficient counterplay, bringing her rook to the second rank. Both players ended up in time trouble. After massive exchanges in the centre and on the queenside, the position was even, and the two agreed to draw their game. In the post-game interview, both players said they were happy with the start and optimistic about their tournament. Humpy Koneru – Harika Dronavalli: A peaceful draw The Indian derby between Humpy Konery and Harika Dronavalli ended in a peaceful draw. Dronavalli opted for the Gruenfeld Defence, which, as she said, “might have been a surprise” for her opponent. Humpy went for a lesser-known line but did not achieve much. As the game progressed, both players centralized their pieces and then initiated massive exchanges. After transpiring into an equal rook endgame, the Indian GMs agreed on a draw after 31 moves. Zhu Jiner – Aleksandra Goryachkina: A missed chance for Zhu Zhu Jiner missed a huge chance to settle a score with Aleksandra Goryachkina, who defeated her in Astana as Black, in the first leg of the Grand Prix. It was a duel between two leaders of the ongoing Women’s Grand Prix series. Zhu currently holds the second position in the overall standings. However, emerging from Astana with a commendable second-place finish, Goryackhina has secured her status as a top contender for the top of the Grand Prix cycle. Notably, this is only her second tournament in the cycle, adding a thrilling element of unpredictability to the competition. Following 2.e4 by Zhu, the two quickly entered the Berlin defence of Ruy Lopez, a popular line among the chess elite. Zhu went straight for an exchange path, leading to a typical Berlin endgame. An interesting choice given Goryachkina is well-known for her excellence in endgames. Black was confidently holding her ground up to a certain point but closer to the time control Aleksandra made a severe mistake taking the rook on f7. Аfter 39…Kxf7? (39…Bxe5!) 40.Bxh6 White has a much better bishop endgame thanks to a remote passer on the kingside, which she imminently creates. Indeed, several moves down the road, Zhu got a dominating position and was winning. With her back against the wall, Goryachkina resisted, and eventually, it paid off, but not without some help from her opponent. In this position, instead of 60.Be5 (60.g7 also looks very strong) followed by pushing her g-pawn and then moving in with the king on the queenside pawns, Zhu missed Black’s only defensive idea and carelessly played 60.Kf4? allowing Aleksandra to get off the hook by 60…bxc4 61. bxc4 Bd4! Finally, after more than five hours of play, the two agreed to a draw. Nana Dzagnidze – Nino Batsiashvili: Ups and downs Nana and Nino are two members of the highly successful Georgian women’s team. Between them, Nana has a better score, but in an event such as the Grand Prix, that might not mean anything. Batsiashvili, who generally plays the Queen’s Indian Defence, today went for the Queen’s Gambit Declined, hoping to surprise her opponent. Dzagnidze preferred the Catalan – which generally gives white a small initiative in most cases. The two found themselves on an uncharted territory by move 14 and ended up in a position with the opposite-coloured bishops. The first breaking point of the game occurred on move 30. In time pressure Batsiashvili played 30…Rb5? directly forcing her to give up her queen. However, after 31. Rd2 Qd2 32. Bd2 Rd2 Nana returned the favour and now she was the one to blunder. Dzagnidze opted for 33.Rxc5?, which enabled Black to exchange a pair of rooks and then collect two pawns on the second file. In time trouble, Dzagnidze ended up giving all her pawns on the kingside in an attempt to open up the black king for checks. Now it was Batsiashvili who had the upper hand, having reached the time control and achieving a seizable advantage. However, in time trouble, she couldn’t find the right setup, and eventually, the two agreed on a draw after move repetition. In the post-game interview, both players were asked to comment on how they deal with such huge ups and downs which happen in a game. The answer both