Sensational Chess Results in Khanty-Mansiysk: All Top Stars Hou, Kosteniuk, Koneru, Gunina, Lahno, Muzychuk Knocked out from World Championship 2012
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012
Hello everyone,
Polish Grandmaster Monika Socko has knocked out Women's World Chess Champion Hou Yifan of China in the second round in Khanty Mansiysk. The Polish grandmaster told journalists about her victory against the World Champion: It certainly wasn’t easy. I expected a different line of the Sicilian, but Hou Yifan decided to play 6.Bb5, after which we both were out of book. The last moves I remembered were 5…Nc6 and 6…Nd7. I think 8.b3 is already a bit passive. Maybe she started to play for a draw, which is not always a good idea. My plan was very simple, and soon I had a bishop pair in an open position as well as a strong d-pawn.
Q: Hou Yifan usually plays quite actively. Did you feel her hesitation during this game? Maybe she started to play for a draw indeed, and such attitude was the main reason of her defeat?
– I was also surprised to see her playing like this. Maybe she simply did not expect the Sicilian and prepared for the French. I wasn’t sure about my opening choice until the very end, but fortunately made the right decision. This is my first victory against the World Champion in a classical game. Before that I could only beat her in rapid chess, and in classical chess I made two draws and lost a few times.
Players proceeding to Round 3 include: Monika Socko, Antoaneta Stefanova, Marie Sebag, Valentina Gunina, Nino Khurtsidze, Lela Javakashvili, Tatiana Kosintseva, Nadezhda Kosintseva, Natalia Pogonina, Anna Ushenina, Huang Qian, Irina Krush, Ju Wenjun and Natalia Zhukova. It's just one of the most shocking World Chess Championship result to have all the top stars eliminated from Hou Yifan, Alexandra Kosteniuk, Anna Muzychuk, Kateryna Lahno, Humpy Koneru and Valentina Gunina.
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Labels: Alexandra Kosteniuk, Anna Muzychuk, Hou Yifan, Humpy Koneru, kateryna lahno, khanty mansiysk chess, Monika Socko, valentina gunina, Women's World Chess Championship
Ukraine Women's Chess Championship 2012: Mariya Muzychuk Wins Title on Tiebreak
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012Hi everyone,
Mariya Muzychuk has won the 72nd Ukrainian Women's Chess Championship that was held from September 24 to October 3 at te Students’ Palace of National University “Law Academy Yaroslav the Wise” in Kharkiv. It was the strongest women national chess championship in the history of the country. The participants included: the 2006 Olympic champions Kateryna Lahno (Donetsk), Natalia Zhukova (Odessa), Anna Ushenina (Kharkiv), Inna Gaponenko (Herson); the bronze medal winner of the World Chess Olympiad Mariya Muzychuk (Stryi, Lviv), two times bronze medal winner of European Club Cup Tatiana Kononenko (Kramatorsk), Ukrainian Champion of 2011 Kateryna Dolzhykova (Kiev), winners of international and national tournaments Oksana Gritsayeva (Feodosia, Crimea), Anastasiya Rakhmangulova (Nikolaev) and Irina Andrenko (Kharkiv). (In the photo from left): Lahno, Muzychuk and Ushenina.
Read more »Labels: anna ushenina, kateryna lahno, mariya muzychuk, ukraine women's chess
Ukraine Women's National Chess R6- Anna Ushenina Leads
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012
Hi everyone,
The Final of the 72nd Ukrainian Women Chess Championship is taking place from 24th September to 3rd October at the Students’ Palace of National University “Law Academy Yaroslav the Wise” in Kharkiv. Chessdom has the report after Round 6. The sole leader Anna Ushenina moved to the top after winning in the titanic fight (100 moves!) against Oksana Gritsayeva who was undefeated so far.
Gritsayeva had an exchange for the pawn and all the reasons to think about the victory, though Black’s position was full of defending resources. But around move 60 White rook got trapped and Black was already a pawn up.
Read more »Labels: anna ushenina, inna gaponenko, kateryna lahno, mariya muzychuk, natalia zhukova, tatiana kononenko, ukraine women chess
Ukraine Women's Chess Championship Begins
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012
Hi everyone,
The Final of the 72nd Ukrainian Women Chess Championship is taking place from 24th September to 3rd October at the Students’ Palace of National University “Law Academy Yaroslav the Wise” in Kharkiv. Ten players compete in the round robin event, forming the line-up for the strongest national Championship in the history.
Top seed Kateryna Lahno
There were two decisive games on the first day: Kateryna Dolzhykova lost to Tatiana Kononenko and Irina Andrenko lost to Anastasiya Rakhmangulova. The other three games were drawn, including one of the main encounters between top seeds Kateryna Lahno and Natalia Zhukova. The longest game of the round was played between Oksana Gritsayeva and Inna Gaponenko – 108 moves! White kept the advantage throughout the game, but on move 67 she made a mistake that allowed Black to save the game.
Results of round 1:
Lahno – Zhukova ½
Gritsayeva – Gaponenko ½
Andrenko – Rakhmangulova 0:1
Kononenko – Dolzhykova 1:0
Muzychuk – Ushenina ½
More information is available on the official website
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Labels: anastasiya rakhmangulova, kateryna lahno, natalia zhukova, tatiana kononenko, ukraine women chess
Ukraine Women's Chess Championship 2012 Begins Sept 24 with Kateryna Lahno as Top Seed
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012Hi everyone,
The latest chess news is that the 72nd Ukrainian Women's Chess Championship will begin on September 24 and run up to October 2 with GM Kateryna Lahno as top seed. The players' line-up includes 10 players: 2006 Olympic champions Kateryna Lahno (Donetsk), Natalia Zhukova (Odessa), Anna Ushenina (Kharkiv), Inna Gaponenko (Herson); bronze medal winner of the World Chess Olympiad Maria Muzychuk (Stryi, Lviv), two-time bronze medal winner of European Club Cup Tatiana Kononenko (Kramatorsk, Donetsk region), Ukrainian Champion of 2011 Kateryna Dolzhykova (Kiev), winners of international and national tournaments Oksana Gritsayeva (Feodosia, Crimea), Anastasiya Rakhmangulova (Nikolaev) and Irina Andrenko (Kharkiv). (Right: Kateryna Lahno/www.chesspics.com: The #1 chess photo database.)
The rounds will be held daily from September 25 till October 2 from 15.00 till 20.00. The last round will be played at 11.00 on October 3rd. The closing ceremony and winners awarding will be on October 3rd at 18.00. Further information and live broadcast of games is available at ukrchess.org. Live broadcast with commentary by GM Valeriy Aveskulov would be available at: http://www.chesslaw.org.ua/72w/.
The venue of the chess tournament is Students’ Palace of National University “Law Academy Yaroslav the Wise” in Kharkiv. This is the strongest-ever national women's chess championship of Ukraine.
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Labels: anna ushenina, inna gaponenko, kateryna lahno, maria muzychuk, natalia zhukova, tatiana kononenko, ukraine women chess
Istanbul Chess Olympiad R3: Ukraine Survives Israel Scare in Open; China Ground Down Ukraine in Women's Section
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012
Hi everyone,
The Istanbul Chess Olympiad 2012 is only three rounds old. The fun is just starting with stronger teams finding opponents closer in strength. Ukraine nearly lost against Israel, but for a cool turnaround by Ruslan Ponomariov. GM Ponomariov was clearly worse against his Israeli counterpart GM Maxim Rodshtein, but the former World Chess Champion somehow turned the tables after the first time control and managed to win the game. (left Ruslan Ponomariov).
GM Boris Avrukh ground down GM Pavel Eljanov, but GM Andrei Volokitin showed no mercy against GM Evgeny Postny. With Ivanchuk and Gelfand drawing on the top board, Ukraine won the match by 2,5-1,5.
Russia again played safely, scoring three draws and a win by Jakovenko in their match against Latvia. After yesterday's exhausting game with Lithuania, USA top board Hikaru Nakamura played the necessary 30 moves to take a draw with GM Eduardo Iturrizaga of Venezuela. Nakamura's team-mates cleared the rest of the opposing team for the convincing 3,5-0,5 victory.
Read more »Labels: alexander beliavsky, harikrishna, Hou Yifan, istanbul chess olympiad 2012, kateryna lahno, maria muzychuk, maxim rodshtein, Ruslan Ponomariov, Zhao Xue
Cool Chess Video from Jermuk Women's Chess Grand Prix
Congrats to Hou Yifan for Winning Jermuk Women's Chess Grand Prix and Overall Grand Prix As Well!
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012
Hi everyone,
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Winners: Nadezhda Kosintseva (joint second), Hou Yifan (first), Kateryna Lahno (joint second)
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Women's world chess champion, China's Hou Yifan has won the Jermuk Women's Chess Grand Prix in Armenia with a solid performance. She won a clear first despite a last-round loss to Kateryna Lahno tallying a score of 7 out of 11 points. Incidentally, Hou Yifan has also won the overall Grand Prix as well!
All the three Chinese players - Yifan, Ju Wenjun and Ruan Lufei - at the top of the table lost their last round game to Lahno, Koneru Humpy and Nadezhda Kosintseva respectively. all suffered defeats against Lahno, Humpy Koneru and Nadezhda Kosintseva, respectively.
Check the following games with Chess King
Kateryna Lahno-Hou Yifan 1-0
Ju Wenjun-Koneru Humpy 0-1
Nadezhda Kosintseva-Ruan Lufei 1-0
Final standings:
1. GM Hou Yifan CHN 2617 – 7
2-4. GM Kosintseva Nadezhda RUS 2516, GM Lahno Kateryna UKR 2537 and GM Koneru Humpy IND 2598 – 6.5
5-6. WGM Ju Wenjun CHN 2518 and WGM Ruan Lufei CHN 2483 – 6
7. GM Zhao Xue CHN 2556 – 5.5
8-9. GM Danielian Elina ARM 2480 and IM Mkrtchian Lilit ARM 2450 – 5
10. IM Kovalevskaya Ekaterina RUS 2417 – 4.5
11. IM Munguntuul Batkhuyag MGL 2447 – 4
12. IM Khurtsidze Nino GEO 2456 – 3.5
Hou Yifan had also won the first and second editions of the Grand Prix in Rostov and Shenzhen. Chinese Zhao Xue had won the next Grand Prix in Nalchik. The fourth Grand Prix was won by Anna Muzychuk and Koneru Humpy jointly in Kazan.
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Labels: elina danielian, Hou Yifan, je wenjun, kateryna lahno, koneru humpy, lillit mkrtchian, nadezhda kosintseva, ruan lufei, Zhao Xue
Jermuk Chess Grand Prix R9: Hou Yifan Takes Sole Lead
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012
Hi everyone,
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| Koneru Humpy |
China's Ju Wenjun was not able to hold her lead in the ninth round played at the Jermuk Women's Chess Grand Prix in Armenia. The Chinese drew with Lilit Mkrtchian and conceded a half-point lead to compatriot Women's World Chess Champion Hou Yifan. The latter beat Ekaterina Kovalevskaya. However, Wenjun earned a men's GM norm for her excellent form in the tournament so far. You can replay the Kovalevskaya-Yifan game with Chess King.
In other games of Round 9, Ruan beat Zhao Xue, Nadezhda Kosintseva and Elina Danielian drew a tense match, Kateryna Lahno let Nino Khurtsidze slip away with a draw. The game between Batkhuyag Munguntuul and Koneru Humpy also ended in a draw as the Indian played safe after two losses.
Standings after Round 9 have Hou Yifan at 6.5 points followed by Ju Wenjun at 6.0 and Ruan Lufei at 5.5. Nadezhda Kosintseva and Kateryna Lahno are both at 5.0. Humpy and Zhao have 4.5 points each. Danielian and Mkrtchian both have 4.0 points. Munguntuul is at 3.5, Kovalevskaya at 3.0 and Khurtsidze at 2.5 points. Two more rounds have to be played.
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Labels: Hou Yifan, jermuk chess, ju wenjun, kateryna lahno, Women's Chess Grand Prix
Jermuk Chess Grand Prix R8: Ju Wenjun, Hou Yifan in Joint Lead; Humpy Blunders Against Lahno
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012
Hi everyone,
The excitement at the Jermuk women's chess Grand Prix is up as the last few rounds come with top players all close to each other in the lead. Women's world chess champion Hou Yifan played a nice game to push Ruan Lufei on the backfoot and won to join Ju Wenjun in the lead.
India's Koneru Humpy went down to Kateryna Lahno. In the game Koneru – Lahno, the world vice-champion committed a very uncharacteristic blunder and the game was virtually decided on the spot. After the opening, in a rich and equal position, white gave away a key central pawn, allowing black to emerge from the sequence with a decisive position.
The similar scenario was played out in the game between Zhao Zue – Lilit Mkrtchian. To the chagrin of the hometown fans, Mkrtchian also blundered away a key central pawn in an innocuous position in which white had a nominal advantage but not more.In the Khurtsidze – Kosintseva both players blundered by returning each other's favour and the game ended in a draw. The only quiet draw of the round came between Ju Wenjun and Munguntuul Batkhuyag.
The clash between Danielian – Kovalevskaya was a most interesting game. A dynamically balanced position arose from the opening, with each side having its relative advantages. In the middle game, white drifted a bit and black was able to generate a certain plus. However, both missed chances in time trouble and the game ended in a draw after several hours.
After eight rounds, both Hou Yifan and Ju Wenjun have 5.5 points. A full point behind at 4.5 are Kateryna Lahno, Zhao Xue and Ruan Lufei. Nadezhda Kosintseva, Elina Danielian and Koneru Humpy are at 4.0. Lilit Mkrtchian is at 3.5. Batkhuyag Munguntuul and Ekaterina Kovalevskaya are at 3.0. Nino Khurtsidze is at 2.0.
From Alexandra Kosteniuk's
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www.chessqueen.com Labels: Hou Yifan, jermuk chess, kateryna lahno, koneru humpy, ruan lufei, Women's Chess Grand Prix
Ivanchuk, Lahno win best chess players in Ukraine 2010 prize
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2011
Hi everyone,
According to www.chess-news.ru updates, none other than Vassily Ivanchuk and Kateryna Lahno have been announced as the Best Chess Players in Ukraine for 2010. Congratulations to both.
Vassily Ivanchuk and Kateryna Lahno became winners of the prize according to Gazeta.ua.Winners were determined by individual voting which included 48 Ukrainian grandmasters. Each of them named the top five among men and women. For 1-ranked nominee got 10 points for 2 nd - 7, for the third - 5, for 4 th - 3, 5 th - 1 point.
MEN (total 11 nominees)
1. Vassily Ivanchuk (Lviv, 2779) - 314
2. Pavel Eljanov (Kharkov, 2736) - 183
3. Ruslan Ponomariov (Kiev, 2737) - 181
4. Zahar Efimenko (Mukachevo, 2708) - 165
5. Anton Korobov (Kharkov, 2647) - 35 ...
WOMEN (14 nominees)
1. Kateryna Lahno (Donetsk, 2531) - 284
2. Maria Muzychuk (Stry, 2476) - 171
3. Inna Gaponenko (Kherson, 2435) - 157
4. Natalia Zhukova (Odessa, 2443) - 102
5. Tatjana Vasilevich (Evpatoria, 2418) - 65
From Alexandra Kosteniuk's
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www.chessqueen.com Labels: chess blog, chess grandmaster Vassily Ivanchuk, kateryna lahno
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