The Ukrainian men’s and women’s championships 2019 are in the books. The round-robin tournaments with 10 participants in each were held simultaneously in Lutsk in Ukraine Hotel, December 9-19. Although some of the best players were missing, the line-ups, especially in the men's event, were still very strong. Both tournaments were closely contested and produced many exciting games.
The men’s competition saw a major sensation – the newly-minted World Junior Champion Evgeny Shtembuliak turned in a great performance and achieved an excellent score 7 out of 9. The champion demonstrated enviable self-confidence throughout the event. In most of the games, he went for complicated positions in which he simply outplayed and outcalculated his opponents. Ironically, Evgeny scored his most spectacular victory in the first round. This game set a tone for Shtembuliak from the very start.
Shtembuliak - Volokitin
32. h4! Qxh4 33. Nxf6! gxf6 34. Rxf6+ Kg8 35. Rg6+ 1-0
The champion’s only real competitor Yuri Kryvoruchko was hot on his heels all the distance and came to the last round just a half-point behind the leader. In the last round, both won (Shtembuliak with Black), Evgeny preserved his margin over Yuri and took the title.
The women’s competition turned into an exciting race between Natalia Zhukova and Iulija Osmak who finished two points ahead of their closest pursuers Olena Martynova and Mariia Berdnyk. After Natalia made a quick draw in the last round with White Iulija, who was a half-point behind, managed to defeat Kateryna Dolzhnykova with black pieces and caught up with her main competitor. Nevertheless, Natalia Zhukova became the champion thanks to better tiebreaks.
Final standings of Ukrainian Championships 2019:
1. Evgeny Shtembuliak – 7
2. Yuriy Kryvoruchko – 6½
3. Andrei Volokitin – 5½
4. Alexander Moiseenko – 4½
5. Spartak Vysochin – 4
6. Pavel Eljanov – 4
7. Yuriy Kuzubov – 4
8. Alexander Kovchan – 3½
9. Vitaliy Bernadskiy – 3½
10. Petr Golubka – 2½
1. Natalia Zhukova – 7
2. Iulija Osmak – 7
3. Olena Martynkova – 5
4. Mariia Berdnyk – 5
5. Yelyzaveta Hrebenshchykova – 5
6. Maritsa Tsirulnik – 4
7. Evgeniya Doluhanova – 3½
8. Anastasiya Rakhmangulova – 3
9. Kateryna Dolzhykova – 3
10. Olga Kalinina – 2½
