 The tournament lost half of the participants. The elo difference between the opponents decreased. Aleksandra Kosteniuk made a quick draw with Georgian player Sopiko Khukhashvili with black preferring to seek chance in the second game with white. Four more games were drawn between Skripchenko - Dzagnidze, Ju Wenjun – Kovanova, Hoang Thanh Trang – Lahno, Sochko – Zhu Chen. Among winners are Humpy Koneru, Hou Yifan, Yelena Dembo, Antoanetta Stefanova, Anna and Maria Muzychuk, Harika Dronavalli, Elisabeth Paehtz, Zhao Xue, Zatonskih Anna, Ruan Lufei. Playing with black pieces Elisabeth Paehtz won against Cmilyte Viktorija.
Lithuanian player got a comfortable position from the opening but closer to the time trouble went for complications where Elizabeth Paehtz was stronger. Yelena Dembo could not feel good about her position until the moment when her opponent Tatiana Kosintseva made a crucial mistake which changed the result of the game.
|
|
Read more...
|
|
Interview with Baira Kovanova |
 "Natalia is a very good friend of mine and it was very difficult to play against her"
Anastasia Karlovich- You promoted to the second round winning against Natalia Pogonina in the first round. What do you feel about that result?
Baira Kovanova- I was really upset with the pairings. Natalia is a very good friend of mine and it was very difficult to play against her. She was even helping me and my father with tickets to Hatay. Organizers were contacting Natalia about my accommodation. When I played in the final of Russian cup she was helping me with preparation because at that moment I could not take a computer with me.
|
|
Read more...
|
 The first round finished with tie-breaks. Zhang Xiaowen, Ruan Lufei, Paehtz Elisabeth, Hoang Thanh Trang, Huang Qian, Skripchenko Almira and Dembo Yelena joined the participants who had already promoted. Elisabeth Paehtz confidently won her match against Iolanta Zawadzka 2:0. Chinese Zhang Xiaowen won against Lilit Mkrtchian. In the first game the Armenian player was white. Playing on the last seconds in the endgame she blundered a bishop thinking she was mating, and lost.
In the second game with black Mkrtchian sacrificed a piece and developed dangerous attack on her opponent’s king. In one moment she could give a mate in 3 moves! Instead Armenian player lost control over the position and was defeated. The only match that reached blitz was between Cristina-Adela Foisor and Almira Skripchenko and finished in the favour of French player.
|
|
Read more...
|
|
The Second Game Of The First Round |
 The second game of the first round decided the results in 25 matches, 7 matches were drawn and will be continued by tie-breaks. The biggest sensation of the first round came from the match Pia Cramling against Betul Yildiz. In comfortable position Swedish chess player forgot to make 40th move and lost by time. There were several more remarkable results in the round. After the victory in the 1st game Baira Kovanova repeated her success and won an impressive game against Natalia Pogonina. Chinese player Zhang Xiaowen made the second draw with Lilit Mkrtchian from Armenia therefore the result of the match will be decided on tie-breaks. Elo favorite of the match Natalia Zhukova, playing white, lost to Marina Romanko and is eliminated.
|
|
Read more...
|
 The first game took place in Antakya Archaeological Museum, an excellent museum of ancient art in Antakya. Most of elo favorites won their games. Remarkable draw was made by Turkish player Betul Yildiz against Pia Carmling from Sweden who is three hundred elo points above. Two Indian players that were paired against each other, Harika Dronavally and Nadig Kruttika, made a draw. Kruttika who is three hundred rating points underdog, was black. Two players out of 64 participants didn`t manage to arrive to Hatay. Polish player Iweta Rajlich who was traveling with her husband and new-born kid was stopped by the weather conditions. The Warsaw airport was closed, so the whole Polish delegation went to close by Ukrainian city Lvov to fly from there, but this was not possible either. There was made a decision to travel to Kiev, but Rajlich family decided that it would be a too difficult journey for the kid, so they went back and sent apology letter to FIDE. English player Jovanka Houska, therefore, was lucky to promote to the second match without playing. Australian player Arianne Caolli didn`t come too and her opponent Ju Wenjun from China will start playing from the second match.
|
|
Read more...
|
|
|
|
|
<< Start < Prev 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Next > End >>
|
