Aeroflot Chess Blitz 2013: Congrats to Ian Nepomniachtchi for Clear First; GM Alexandra Kosteniuk Best Among Women

Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012

Hi Everyone,
  

Winner of the 2008 Aeroflot Chess Open and the 2010 Russian Chess Champion Ian Nepomniachtchi has won the 2013 Aeroflot Blitz Chess event today. Taking home $10,000 as the first prize, the Russian Grandmaster showed a steady performance in a Swiss system of 9 rounds paired. This means each player played nine matches of two games against every opponent of a round. 12th Women's World Chess Champion Chess Queen™ Alexandra Kosteniuk was leading the tournament after four rounds with a perfect score of 8.0 points and Ian Nepomniachtchi was in second place with 7.5 points. The two were paired in the fifth round. That's when the 2010 Russian champion put on speed and went on to win the title. A nice report is available at the Russian Chess Federation website.

The time control was 3 minutes per game plus two seconds per move starting from the first. A total of 270 participants were in attendance at the tournament that began with a different format instead of the traditional open chess tournament. 

Ian Nepomniachtchi scored 15.5 points out of 18. Peter Svidler came in second with 14.5 points and third was Alexander Grischuk with 14 points. 

If the Russian men Grandmasters were sweeping the top slots, the Russian women chess divas were not far behind. 

12th Women's World Chess Champion Alexandra Kosteniuk proved to be the best woman chess player at the event scoring 11.0 points. That gave her the 48th position in the final ranking. GM Kosteniuk earned 31 elo points for her strong performance and her next official blitz chess rating will be 2612!

Second among women was India's GM Dronavalli Harika in 72nd place with 10.5 points. In 92nd place was Russia's GM Tatiana Kosintseva with 10.0 points. GM Kateryna Lahno was one place below in 93rd place also with 10.0 points. GM Natalia Zhukova was in 117th place with 9.5 points.

Top women's standings at Aeroflot Blitz Chess 2013 

Rnk					Pts	Perf
48	GM	Kosteniuk Alexandra	RUS	2581	11.0	2632
72	GM	Harika Dronavalli	IND	2397	10.5	2444
92	GM	Kosintseva Tatiana	RUS	2480	10.0	2458
93	GM	Lahno Kateryna	UKR	2519	10.0	2466
117	GM	Zhukova Natalia	UKR	2531	9.5	2355

Top men's standings at Aeroflot Blitz Chess 2013 

Rnk					Pts	Perf
1	GM	Nepomniachtchi Ian	RUS	2723	15.5	2897
2	GM	Svidler Peter	RUS	2697	14.5	2834
3	GM	Grischuk Alexander	RUS	2860	14.0	2835
4	GM	Korobov Anton	UKR	2700	13.5	2810
5	GM	Karjakin Sergey	RUS	2901	13.5	2759

Full results are now available at Chess-Results. You can read a personal update by GM Alexandra Kosteniuk at www.chessqueen.com as well. A nice report on the Aeroflot Blitz Chess 2013 is also available at Chessdom. (All photos in this Chess Blog post are by Eteri Kublashvili)

From Alexandra Kosteniuk's

www.chessblog.com
Also see her personal blog at
www.chessqueen.com
Don't miss Chess Queen™
YouTube Channel

Khanty-Mansiysk Women's World Chess 2012: Ushenina Knocks out Wenjun, Joins Stefanova in Final

Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012

Hi everyone,

 

What do you do with a lost game at the Women's World Chess Championship? The answer is 'fight it out'. That's the recipe Anna Ushenina of Ukraine used to knock out Ju Wenjun of China in the tiebreak games of the semi-final in Khanty Mansiysk on Sunday. Ushenina now meets Antoaneta Stefanova of Bulgaria to vie for the World Women's Chess Champion 2012 title. 

In the first tie-break game Anna, playing White, got an overwhelming position after the opening. Ju Wenjun had to sacrifice a piece in order to save her king from White’s attack. Black had some counterplay, but White calmly parried all threats, and soon the Chinese resigned. 

In the second game Ju Wenjun got a better position, and Black sacrificed a pawn to avoid bigger trouble. White responded by sacrificing an exchange for two pawns, and had decent winning chances in the resulting position. However, she missed a number of winning continuations due to time trouble, and Ushenina avoided all traps and saved the game with accurate defending. The draw was enough for Ushenina to advance to the final of the Khanty-Mansiysk Women's World Chess Championship 2012. Watch the exciting second game with Chess King.

Semifinal results:Antoaneta Stefanova (Bulgaria) – Harika Dronavalli (India) 1.5-0.5
Anna Ushenina (Ukraine) – Ju Wenjun (China) 2.5-1.5

Meanwhile, Harika Dronavalli (India) and Ju Wenjun (China) were also awarded the bronze medal by Khanty-Mansiysk Mayor and Ugra Chess Federation president Vassily Filipenko. 

Monday, November 26, is a rest day. The final match begins on November 27. This is a best-of-four match. If the score after four games is 2-2, the players continue on tie-break. The tie-breaks begin with two rapid games: 25 minutes plus 10 second per move for each player. If the score is 1-1, they will continue with two quicker games: 10 minutes plus 10 seconds per move. If the winner is still not determined, the players will proceed to blitz games: 5 minutes plus 3 seconds per move. Finally, is the score remains equal, the Armageddon game steps up: White has 5 minutes, Black has 4 minutes, 3 seconds per move are added starting with the move 61, and a draw counts as a victory for Black.

 

Khanty-Mansiysk Women's World Chess 2012: Stefanova in Final; Ushenina, Wenjun to Play Tiebreak

Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012

Hi everyone,

 

Antoaneta Stefanova - A second crack at the title!

The second games of the Women’s World Championship semifinals were played today in Khanty-Mansiysk. Bulgaria's Antoaneta Stefanova becomes the first to advance to the final match.

Harika Dronavalli (India) needed to win as White to tie the match score against Antoaneta Stefanova (Bulgaria). In a slow maneuvering game the Indian advanced her pawns on the queenside, and Stefanova pushed on the kingside. As the game got more open, Black sacrificed a piece for White’s three central pawns and obtained a big advantage. However, Stefanova did not try to win the game outright and just forced a draw by repetition, securing the match victory. Now the former World Champion will have a chance to win her second title.

 

Tiebreak games to decide who goes home, and who plays Stefanova.

Anna Ushenina (Ukraine) and Ju Wenjun (China) agreed to an early draw. The Chinese was unable to get an opening advantage with White and offered a draw on the 18th move. Tomorrow, November 25th, the tie-break will determine the second participant of the final match. It will be the fifth tie-break at this championship for Ju Wenjun, and the second one for Ushenina.

Semifinal results:
Antoaneta Stefanova (Bulgaria) – Harika Dronavalli (India) 1.5-0.5
Anna Ushenina (Ukraine) – Ju Wenjun (China) 1-1

From Alexandra Kosteniuk's
www.chessblog.com
Also see her personal blog at
www.chessqueen.com
Don't miss Chess Queen™
YouTube Channel

 

Khanty-Mansiysk Women's World Chess Championship 2012 Semi-Finals: Stefanova Beats Dronavalli; Ushenina Lets Wenjun Escape!

Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012

Hi everyone,

The Women's World Chess Championship 2012 semi-final games were played in Khanty Mansiysk on Friday. Just two games, but the excitement packed in them was all worth it. In the first game, Antoaneta Stefanova beat Harika Dronavalli in a game of fireworks. In the other game, Anna Ushenina, who had displayed excellent form so far, let go of her splendid advantage allowing Ju Wenjun to draw the game.

 

Click on the links to view the respective games with Chess King:

Antoaneta Stefanova (Bulgaria) – Harika Dronavalli (India) 1-0
Anna Ushenina (Ukraine) – Ju Wenjun (China) draw

Antoaneta Stefanova from Bulgaria took the lead against the Indian Harika Dronavalli, winning the first game of the match with White pieces. The former World Champion got a promising position after the opening. After lengthy maneuvering White made a break on the kingside and won a pawn. Black still had drawing chances and could equalize with accurate defending, but Harika impatiently went for a sharp counterattack. She sacrificed another pawn and then a piece, but miscalculated and did not get sufficient compensation for her losses. Stefanova combined defensive moves with threats to the black king and finished the game with a nice tactical blow that inevitably led to a checkmate.

Anna Ushenina (Ukraine) trapped her opponent Ju Wenjun (China) in the opening to obtain an overwhelming advantage. The Chinese did not defend perfectly, and her position soon became critical. However, the Ukrainian wrongly rejected the opponent’s exchange sacrifice, and Black managed to come back. A draw was agreed on the 28th move.

From Alexandra Kosteniuk's
www.chessblog.com
Also see her personal blog at
www.chessqueen.com

Don't miss Chess Queen™
YouTube Channel

 

Women's World Chess 2012 Semi-Finals Today: Watch Live Stefanova vs Dronavalli, Ushenina vs Wenjun

Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012

Hi everyone,

Marie Sebag vs Antoaneta Stefanova

The Women's World Chess Championship 2012 is all set for the semi-finals that begin in Khanty Mansiysk on Friday. The pairings are Antoaneta Stefanova vs Dronavalli Harika and Anna Ushenina versus Ju Wenjun. Watch all the action live on Friday at the official website.

Earlier, six participants had played the previous round tiebreaks on Thursday. Antoaneta Stefanova (Bulgaria) convincingly defeated Marie Sebag (France). In the first game of the match emotions took over logic, and the spectators witnessed a completely crazy game with brilliant moves and horrible blunders coming from both sides at an alarming rate. Finally the French player got an overwhelming position with an extra piece, but the Bulgarian kept cool and capitalized on her opponent’s final blunder by promoting a passed pawn. Sebag had to return material, ended up down an exchange and resigned. The second game was one-sided, and Stefanova won convincingly, thus wrapping up the match 2-0. The former World Champion advanced to the semifinal.

Zhao Xue vs Harika Dronavalli

The match between Harika Dronavalli (India) and Zhao Xue (China) was just as tense. The Chinese, playing White in the first game, got a promising position, but her hesitation allowed the opponent to advance her passed pawn a bit too far. Harika combined threats in the center and on the kingside, and finished the game with a nice attack against the king. In the second game the Indian got an opening advantage, pushed in the middlegame, and found the right moment to transpose to a drawn ending, as she was content with a draw. Harika won the match 1.5-0.5 and looked very happy at the press-conference. She thanked her parents, friends, trainers, and especially her grandmother, who also came to Khanty-Mansiysk.

The Chinese Ju Wenjun and Huang Qian were unable to determine the winner in rapid games, drawing both after very tenacious struggle. In the first 10-minute game Ju Wenjun had a big advantage and excellent winning chances, but misplayed in the end, allowing the opponent to make a draw. The second game was also a roller coaster ride: Huang Qian obtained a big advantage with complete domination on the board, but then made several mistakes, and Black turned the tables. Ju Wenjun played flawlessly for the rest of the game, and secured the match victory.

Earlier, Anna Ushenina had already knocked out Nadezhda Kosintseva in the main games to be the first to make it to the semi-finals of the Women's World Chess Championship 2012.

From Alexandra Kosteniuk's

www.chessblog.com

Also see her personal blog at

www.chessqueen.com

Don't miss Chess Queen™  

YouTube Channel