Women’s World Chess Champion Hou Yifan absolutely dominated the Shenzhen FIDE Women Grand Prix 2011 which took place on September 7th-19th, going undefeated to win clear first place by a full point over fellow female prodigy 21 year-old IM Anna Muzychuk. Hou followed up her 2697 performance rating in the 1st Grand Prix in August 2011with a 2649 performance rating in the 2nd Grand Prix in Shenzhen, pragmatically dominating the opposition to ensure the tournament win. Yifan’s level of chess has been fantastic in 2011, mixing thorough opening preparation with practical game-time decisions based on her tournament standing. The 17 year-old Chinese superstar is exceeding expectations at an incredible rate, and it will be a pleasure to the chess world to witness her climb even higher in the coming years. The 3rd leg of the 2011 Female Chess Grand Prix will begin promptly in Nalchik, Russia on October 8th.
Ju Wenjun continues to dominate
Ju Wenjun Continues to Play Well in 2011. Ju Wenjun tried to recover from a lukewarm start to press Yifan towards the end of the tournament, however Wenjun was unable to catch up to the lead and finished the tournament sharing 3rd with WGM Tan Zhongyi. Wenjun has had a great 2011 thus far, having dominated the 1st Hangzhou Women Chess Tournament to earn her 1st GM norm with a 6.5/9 score and close to a 2700 performance rating.
Watch Zhu Chen vs Ju Wenjun
In this game Zhu Chen opened with d4 and Wenjun responded with the sharp King’s Indian Defense, rapidly creating complications with an attack against white’s king. This game was a classic reflection of the aggressive KID ideology, as black first defended against white’s queenside pressure and later completely abandoned that side of the board to direct her entire energy towards a decisive kingside attack. In the midst of extreme complications, Wenjun struck with 40. …Bh3! after which Zhu Chen was unable to recover against black’s onslaught. Black’s Q + 2N combination worked wonders on white’s defenseless king, leading to Chen’s resignation after 48. …Nh3+
Tournament Results
Original article on the Shenzhen FIDE Women Chess Grand Prix is available here
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