WGP New Dehli Round 6 recap: The halfway point
Bibisara Assaubayeva defied the odds and secured a remarkable victory against Polina Shuvalova, despite initially facing an uphill battle. The three other games ended in a draw As the Women’s Grand Prix tournament in New Delhi reached its halfway point, Round Six brought an electrifying array of games to the forefront. With all four boards featuring sharp and skilful play, it’s a surprise that just one game finished with a decisive result. Round 6 results: Kateryna Lagno – Nino Bastiashvili, ½ – ½Aleksandra Goryachkina – Vaishali Rameshbabu, ½ – ½Polina Shuvalova – Bibisara Assaubayeva, 0 – 1Zhu Jiner – Nana Dzagnidze, ½ – ½ Bibisara Assaubayeva is the biggest winner of the day overturning a lost position against Polina Shuvalova. Assaubayeva got into trouble early on, after forgetting the opening. Shuvalova missed several good chances to seal the victory and, in the end, lost. Assaubayeva is the only player in New Delhi who had decisive results in all of her games so far. In a second surprise of the day, Zhu dropped a huge advantage against Nana Dzagnidze following Black’s misplay in the Najdorf. Despite achieving better positions, Kateryna Lagno and Aleksandra Goryachkina could not find the right way forward and ended up drawing their games. Zhu Jiner and Bibisara Assaubayeva are now joint leaders with four points, though the latter has played one game less. Here follows a more detailed look at the games of Round Six. Kateryna Lagno – Nino Batsiashvili Out of four games the two have played until New Delhi, Lagno won three and Batsiashvili one. In a rare line of the Archangel variation in the Ruy Lopez, Nino seemed to be uncomfortable. Lagno went for a strike in the centre with 8.d4 and got the upper hand. However, Kateryna couldn’t find the best way forward and started spending significantly more time. Instead of 18.Bf4, attacking the e5 knight and opening the path for the a1 rook to get involved in the game, White went with 18.Bg5. Batsiashvili responded resourcefully, exchanging her passive pieces for White’s attacking pieces, erasing White’s advantage. After exchanges and simplifications, this was now an even rook and bishop endgame. It did not take too long for the opponents to shake hands and split a point, right after reaching the time control. The two players spent some time after the game discussing and analysing the positions. In the post-game interview, Lagno pointed out that Batsiashvili did not know the opening line well. “I had a better position but I couldn’t find the right way forward,” Lagno said. Kateryna Lagno now has 2,5 points out of five games, while Batsiashvili is on 1,5. Aleksandra Goryachkina – Vaishali Rameshbabu Goryachkina and Vaishali have played seven games so far. Somewhat surprisingly, the young rising star from India leads with three victories and four draws against the current World number two player! Their eighth game saw a popular line of the Gruenfeld Defence, extensively tested on the highest level. The opponents followed the encounter between Anish Giri and Ding Liren up to move 17 when the Indian deviated with 17…f6 and grabbed White’s e4-pawn. Aleksandra got more than sufficient compensation but stumbled at a critical moment. Goryachkina spent nearly 40 minutes(!) thinking but instead of 20.Bd7 followed by 21.Rc7 with considerable pressure, she played 21.Qe3, which wasn’t the best choice. This allowed Black to relieve the tension with a timely 20…e5 and activate her pieces, leading to an even position. The two played on, but the evaluation of the position was not changing: White had sufficient compensation for a pawn but hardly more. A draw by perpetual came as a logical outcome. In a post-game interview, Goryachkina said that she felt that she was better but that she couldn’t find the right move forward. Goryachkina now has 2,5 points out of four games played, while Vaishali has one point with the same number of games. Polina Shuvalova – Bibisara Assaubayeva Facing the King’s Indian Defence on the white side, Shuvalova opted for a very sharp Four pawns attack and, after advancing her kingside and central pawns, got a clear advantage. Still, White had to put her king to safety – 12.0-0, which was the most natural and strong continuation. After 12.exd6 Nb6 White was still better, but overambitious 13.f5 led to an unclear position. Bibisara immediately returned the favour by 13…exd5 and after 14.Bf4 Nc4 15.Bxc4 dxc4 White was in command again. However, instead of natural 16.Qd2 Ng8 17.0-0-0 with a crushing attack, Polina played 16.f6? giving up a pawn and dropping her advantage. Black’s reaction was far from optimal, and Polina obtained a decisive advantage one more time. The pendulum kept swinging as Shuvalova missed another opportunity to seal the deal. Instead of 20.Nd5 (or 20.Rxe8 Qxe8 21.Nd5) she opted for 20.Ng5? and after 20…Rf8 21.Qd5, the position was equal. White’s woes did not end there. Black already achieved some counter-play in a roughly even position, but here Polina made a step into the abyss: 24.Kg3?? After 24…Bb7 25.Rh2 h6 26.h4 Qd7 27.Nce4 h5 Black was completely winning. Three moves later, Shuvalova threw in the towel. A great misfortune for Polina Shuvalova, and a lucky break for Bibisara Assaubayeva. Assaubayeva now has four points out of five games, while Shuvalova is on 2,5 and is bye on day seven. Zhu Jiner – Nana Dzagnidze Up to this round, Zhu has one victory and two draws with Nana Dzagnidze. The opponents tested a very sharp line of the Najdorf Sicilian, in which White missed a chance to sacrifice a piece for a dangerous initiative Zhu opted for 11.Bb3, but a stronger move was 11.Bxe6 fxe6 12.Nxe6 with excellent positional compensation and continuous pressure. The Chinese player went for a more cautious approach and still came out with a preferable position. White is better: she has two strong knights in the centre, threatening to take on g5 and then press on the f7 and d8 squares, endangering Black’s weak king. Dzagnidze’s best option was to play 16…Be7 to guard the d8-square and try and move her king to safety. Instead, she blundered with 16…Nxb3? After 17.axb3, there is no escape for Black. However, at
WCF Game Recap 3: 98% precision in Chongqing!
They say that the sun always shines after a storm. In the wake of two days of excitement and ups and downs, this afternoon’s third game in Chongqing was an oasis of peace and tranquillity. After three of the six scheduled classical games, the Women’s Candidates final is now tied 1.5-1.5. Playing with White, Tan Zhongyi switched back to her normal opening repertoire with 1.d4, side-stepping Lei Tingjie’s excellent opening preparation in the first game. Her bold play in that encounter was rewarded, but readers will recall that luck was definitely on her side in the critical moments – she didn’t seem to be so familiar with the nuances of the variation. Lei Tingjie opted for the Tarrasch variation in the Queen’s Gambit, with 3…c5. According to my database, this is the first time she has played this line in her career: a risky choice. Tan Zhongyi thought for a moment and decided to repeat the same variation she had played recently in an online blitz game. Instead of the most theoretical line with 6.g3 – which would have permitted the fashionable “Dubov “ 8…Bc5 system, Tan Zhongyi went for the solid 6.dxc5, considered to be very slightly better for White. Both players demonstrated excellent opening preparation, blitzing out their moves at an unusual speed for this kind of event. The queens were exchanged very soon, and around move fifteen, both players were already facing the prospect of yet another minor piece ending. White did enjoy the advantage of the two bishops in an open position, but the weak pawn on e3 somewhat restricted the activity of the dark-squared bishop. The engine suggests that the position is approximately equal. Shortly afterwards, Lei Tingjie correctly sacrificed a pawn to activate the rest of her pieces, receiving full compensation – both of her rooks occupied active lines while the bishop on a6 and the knight on f6 were on the lookout for a killing blow. In these positions, one has to be careful. Tan Zhongyi went into defence mode, swapping off all of her opponent’s active pieces, with the unfortunate downside that she wasn’t able to avoid transitioning into yet another opposite-coloured bishop ending. Although still enjoying the advantage of her extra pawn, Lei Tingjie had no trouble at all defending the very simple fortress that this type of endgame provides. A draw was agreed on move forty. According to the online precision ratings, both players scored 98%, with no mistakes and no imprecisions: a remarkable feat. “A calm game, with really not much happening. Both players played well and solid chess,” reflected GM Alik Gershon on the live stream. WIM QiuMengjie added: “This game had no mistakes, but the fourth game will be a crucial encounter for both players, with Lei Tingjie playing White. Both players will enjoy a well-deserved rest day tomorrow, and the match will resume on Sunday, April 2nd with Lei Tingjie conducting the White pieces. You can follow all the games with with top-notch commentary by GM Alik Gershon and WIM QiuMengjie on the FIDE YouTube Channel. Text: IM Michael Rahal Photo: Liu Yi Official website: womenscandidates.fide.com/ The match The 2023 FIDE Women’s Candidates Final is being disputed in Chongqing (China) from March 27th to April 6th. Chinese Grandmasters Lei Tingjie and Tan Zhongyi face each other in a six-game classical chess match. The winner will receive 60.000 euros and the right to challenge the current Women’s World Champion Ju Wenjun for the title in July. The venue Strategically positioned as a gateway to China’s west, Chongqing is China’s major modernized manufacturing base, a financial center, and an international transport hub in Western China. Home to more than 32 million people, it was an obvious choice for hosting the event as both players were born in the city. In addition, it’s an important center of chess activity in the country, abode to many important chess clubs and academies. A fun fact – both Lei Tingjie and Tan Zhongyi are teammates at the Chongqing Sports Lottery Chess Club.