Round 11 report
Hou Yifan became a sole winner of the second stage of FIDE Women Grand Prix in Shenzhen! In the 11th round playing black World Champion made a draw against Elina Danielian and fixed a first place in the tournament. During the tournament Hou Yifan managed to make 8 points (5 wins, 6 draws) and didn’t lose any game. Slovenian player Anna Muzychuk made a draw against Ju Wenjun and became second in the tournament with 7 points. Tan Zhongyi made a draw in the game against Ruan Lufey and shares the third place together with her compatriot Ju Wenjun. Ekaterina Kovalevskaya had better position after the opening but made a draw in the game against Zhao Xue. Munguntuul Bathhuyagh won the game against Betul Yildiz. Looking at the table with the final standings one can see the domination of Chinese players – 5 out of 6 first places are occupied by them and Anna Muzychuk is the only one who managed to be placed inside of their group.
Ju Wenjun – Anna Muzychuk 1/2 – 1/2
Anna Muzychuk: Of course I was a bit nervous – the last round is always decisive one. I just tried to play a normal game but of course there were some troubles. I prepared Slav Defence but Ju Wenjun plays so many different lines so I was not sure which one she was going to choose today. I looked all of them but I didn’t prepare the variation with Qb3. Maybe I had to take on b3 before she took on b6 but it seems like we both didn’t know what to play (laughing). So I was making such moves like Rd8 and was giving to my opponent the right to decide what to play. I think after Ne2 White had some advantage because they threat Ng3, Nf5. I decided to play knight h5 in order to change the knights but still White had slightly better position.
Ju Wenjun: I think f4 was a bad move. I don’t think I had an advantage, I think the position was about equal but the game had to continue so we were just playing it. In one moment Black had the position with advantage but I manage to hold it.
Ekaterina Kovalevskaya – Zhao Xue 1/2 – 1/2
Ekaterina Kovalevskaya: My opponent didn’t play accurately in the opening and it was difficult not to receive better position. Afterwards I think I had to play Rf1 instead of f4. I feel pity that I didn’t make it. Probably I also have an advantage in the end but I didn’t find the right plan under the time pressure and decided to make a draw.
Zhao Xue: I made a very big mistake – Bb4. In my mind I was thinking she had to play Bd2 and I didn’t think about Bb2. After that my position became worse. It was logical to play Bg7 and just keep my bishop on the king’s side and I should not have problems in the endgame because my pawn structure is better.
Elina Danielian – Hou Yifan 1/2 – 1/2
Hou Yifan: I was not nervous before the last round I was ready to play a normal game. I think Black didn’t have problems in the opening. In one moment my opponent could play c6 instead of Rc1 and receive pass pawn “a” while I had pass pawn c. It should be also equal but I thought her “a” pawn could become dangerous in some moments.
Elina Danielian: I considered a move c6 but I didn’t like it, maybe I`ll try it next time (lauphing). I thought my opponent could take on c6 and then play c5-c4, put her knight on d5 and all her pieces could become active. It’s not easy to decide which pawn is stronger.
Munguntuul Bathhuyagh – Betul Yildiz 1-0
Betul Yildiz: I prepared this opening before the game and knew some games till a4. probably it was better for me to keep bishops because my bishop could be more active in the future than her bishop. I think I had quite good position and there were some moments when I could play stronger. Of course Qh3 was blunder but I didn’t have any time at that moment, so I didn’t see a simple defence.
Munguntuul Bathhuyagh: I didn’t calculate Qh3 and was surprised of course from the beginning but then I decided to calm down and saw that I was winning. I didn’t expect Yanish Variation today, she has never played it before. I decided to play solid and chose the line with d3. It’s not easy to play the main lines if you don’t remember them properly. After she changed the bishops the position became more comfortable for me and I was not afraid of sacrifices on h3. I also think it was better for her to keep Bishops.
Ruan Lufei – Tan Zhongyi 1/2 – 1/2
Ruan Lufei: I was trying to play for win but it was equal from the opening and after queen exchange it became totally equal but I was continuing playing. I thought I had slightly better position after Nf4 but it seems she played well and I didn’t find any chance to win.
Tan Zhongyi: I was playing Black so I’m satisfied with draw today. I didn’t expect this line today,so my preparation finished after her 4th move Kf3.
Viktorija Cmilyte – Zhu Chen 1-0
Viktorija Cmilyte: My opponent made a mistake quite early in the opening by playing f6. She lost a pawn and her position was unpleasant as well. F5 was a decisive mistake because I simply played Nf4, Rd6 and the game was over after that.
Official website: http://shenzhen2011.fide.com
She should stop playing in women’s tournaments.