WGM Anna Sharevich comments on the 5th round games
Kosintseva Nadezhda – Munguntuul Batkhuyag
The first productive game of the round where the sharp Paulsen variation happened. After the incorrect move 16… g6?! (instead of 16… b5) white got some advantage. But after 20.Nf5?! instead of 20.f5 Nadezhda’s chances for a victory decreased. Nevertheless the most interesting for the Russian player had just started. In the worse endgame Tuul blundered the checkmate.
In the conversation Nadya admitted that had won the game because the opponent’s blunder and she considered the position to be equal.
We cannot but admit that the free day was very useful for the sisters. They visited the waterfalls. And both of them won their 5th round’s games.
Stefanova Antoaneta – Galliamova Alisa
Not all the participants can boast on the good influence of the free day. Not only Tuul blundered the checkmate, Alisa also made a fatal mistake. The move 9… Nd7 is an unbelievable blunder on such a high level. After 10.Ng6 Antoaneta took the exchange with great pleasure. And her position became absolutely won without any counter play for black. Women chess players are not used to resign without a fight and that’s why she tried her best to struggle till the end. But in spite of it, the former world champion achieved the victory.
During the conference Alisa admitted that even in the lost position hoped for good luck. “Even in lost positions miracles can happen, especially in women chess. I didn’t want to resign immediately after move 10.Ng6 and decided to fight further. Unfortunately the position was too bad to show the resistance”, – said Alisa.
Antoaneta said that for some time was checking 10.Ng6. And having calculated all the variations took the exchange and converted the advantage into the victory.
Zhao Xue – Lahno Kateryna
The third productive game of the round. Kateryna played very fighting in the opening, trying to stop the leader. The Ukrainian grandmaster used an interesting variation of the Grunfeld defense 4…c6, sacrificing a pawn with compensation of active figures and threats to the white’s king. But Chinese proved again, that she is in a very good form – she could find the best moves in the complicate position. In one moment Kateryna started to make mistakes. Finally, it happened an unusual position after the leader sacrificed a queen – 18.Qе3. And Chinese realized the slight advantage and win 5-th time in a row.
During the press-conference Zhao said, that the opening was very interesting. The move 4…c6 surprised her. She added, that the game was much tensioned because the attacking style of the opponent. She believed she was lucky to win in the endgame.
«Did the desire to stop the leader disturb you during game»? – Kateryna was asked by journalists. «No, – she answered. – I always try to make the best moves».
Zhu Chen – Kovalevskaya Ekaterina
A traditional result for Kovalevskaya happened in this game – a draw. Anyway, she had some possibilities to outplay the opponent in the endgame. The theoretical variation of the Tarrash defence happened in the opening. Black managed to get some good play. The series of changes happened after pushing 16…с5 and soon only queens and rooks remained on the board. Black was a pawn up but Zhu Chen kept the position. After the 3-times repetition a draw was agreed.
In the conversation after the game Ekaterina joked about another draw in a row. She admitted that after the break in her career that was connected with the birth of the child it’s not so easy to get into a good shape. Anyway the Russian grandmaster doesn’t consider draw to be a bad result.
Zhu Chen thought that in the opening her position was better. But she admitted the active counter play of the opponent and the chances became equal. The grandmaster from Qatar added that she missed 22…h5.
Kosintseva Tatiana – Kosteniuk Alexandra
The series of Alexandra’s disappointments continued. For the second time in the tournament the Petroff’s defence appeared in her game (for the first time Kosteniuk played it in the game against Nadezhda Kositseva). In the opening white didn’t get any advantage and the position was equal. But in spite of three losses in a row Alexandra didn’t want to use an opportunity of the perpetual check after 16… Qa2 and continued to play. 28… Bc4 was an incorrect move because of 30.Bc7! – actually black missed this move. And after the precise realization of the advantage white won the game.
During the press-conference Alexandra admitted that hadn’t seen 30.Bc7. The former world champion added that it had been extremely hard to keep the position and find the right play.
Ju Wenjun –Cmilyte Viktorija
In the Grunfeld defense white chose the system with 4.Bg2. After the opening Viktorija got a good and perspective position. But the Chinese player has shown the persistence and tried to find the best continuation. Black didn’t use an interesting opportunity 17… Nb2. Viktorija chose another plan connected with long-time pressure on b2. After black-squared bishops were changed, black got the passive pawn on the d-file. But Ju Wenjun found the counter play connected with the pushing of the b-file pawn. After the 3-times repetition the players agreed for a draw on the move 51.
Official website: http://nalchik2011.fide.com
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