The participants of the Lausanne Women’s Grand Prix are clearly in full strength mode. All games featured hard battles and three of them ended with decisive results
The symbolic first move was played on Thursday by Simon Fellus, General Secretary of the World Bridge Association. In the subsequent interview, he drew comparisons between the two mind games and praised FIDE for promoting the activity of women in chess.
Two of the five leaders were pitted against each other in Round 4. Nana Dzagnidze tried a different version of the London System which had brought her success in round two. The outcome of the opening was clearly less satisfactory, as Harika Dronavalli quickly got a pleasant position. The Indian was ready to torture her opponent for a long time when Dzagnidze blundered a Rook and resigned on move 27. Dronavalli felt sorry for her opponent afterward and admitted that she is always reluctant to win in such an abrupt way.
Another leader managed to win her game and keep pace with Dronavalli. Aleksandra Goryachkina admitted after the game that she was unhappy with her play overall, as she felt that she should have gained a definite advantage against Antoaneta Stefanova’s treatment of the Pirc Defence. Indeed, the game was about equal around move 15, and only the 23rd move by the Bulgarian paved the way to her demise.
The tournament is not going well for Alexandra Kosteniuk, as she lost her third game in a row and is the clear last. The opening was a Ruy Lopez, where Zhansaya Abdumalik obtained a closed and balanced position. The key moment came on move 20 when Kosteniuk spurned 20.Ndc4, thus allowing Black to open the center with d5. The young Kazakhstani seized the initiative and did not look back. Her attack flowed and she eventually forced Kosteniuk’s resignation on move 37 due to imminent checkmate.
Two draws were particularly exciting with both games finishing quite late in the evening. Alina Kashlinskaya tried a bold knight sacrifice on g7 and felt that the attack was decisive. However, Pia Cramling has seen all sorts of offensives from formidable opponents in her rich career. She remained calm, unimpressed, and repelled all White’s threats. The Russian should be praised for keeping as much tension as possible after that. As fatigue grew, Cramling failed to show the best technique and had settle for a half-point.
Just like in Round 2, Ju Wenjun failed to demonstrate anything convincing against the Grunfeld Defense. The commentator Mikhail Gurevich opined that she should have played 11.e5, as after 11.Bd3, Anna Muzychuk quickly got a nice position. Shortly after, the Ukrainian went for the typical positional exchange sacrifice on f3. Was it really necessary? Did she think that Black would be better after this? In any case, the game remained in a dynamic balance until the endgame, where both players agreed to a draw.
The encounter between Marie Sebag and Mariya Muzychuk followed the opening line of the second-round game between the French and Dronavalli. Black improved with 7…Bb7 and the position remained fairly equal throughout. Sebag sacrificed a pawn, but her activity was only sufficient for a draw.
The 5th round on Friday features the battle of the leaders, as Harika Dronavalli will have white pieces against Aleksandra Goryachkina.
Results of round 4:
Alina Kashlinskaya (RUS) – Pia Cramling (SWE) ½-½
Marie Sebag (FRA) – Mariya Muzychuk (UKR) ½-½
Ju Wenjun (CHN) – Anna Muzychuk (UKR) ½-½
Nana Dzagnidze (GEO) – Harika Dronavalli (IND) 0-1
Aleksandra Goryachkina (RUS) – Antoaneta Stefanova (BLG) 1-0
Alexandra Kosteniuk (RUS) – Zhansaya Abdumalik (KAZ) 0-1
Standings after round 4:
1-2. Harika Dronavalli (IND) and Aleksandra Goryachkina (RUS) – 3 points
3.-4. Anna Muzychuk (UKR) and Alina Kashlinskaya (RUS) – 2½ points.
5.-8. Pia Cramling (SUE), Mariya Muzychuk (UKR) Nana Dzagnidze (GEO) and Zhansaya Abdumalik (KAZ) – 2 points
9.-11. Ju Wenjun (CHN), Antoaneta Stefanova (BUL) and Marie Sebag (FRA) – 1½ points.
12. Alexandra Kosteniuk (RUS) – ½ point.
Program of round 5, 6 March at 3 pm:
Zhansaya Abdumalik (KAZ) – Alina Kashlinskaya (RUS)
Antoaneta Stefanova (BLG) – Alexandra Kosteniuk (RUS)
Harika Dronavalli (IND) – Aleksandra Goryachkina (RUS)
Anna Muzychuk (UKR) – Nana Dzagnidze (GEO)
Mariya Muzychuk (UKR) – Ju Wenjun (CHN)
Pia Cramling (SWE) – Marie Sebag (FRA)
Follow all the action live with commentary by grandmasters Mikhail Gurevich and Keti Tsatsalashvili on the tournament website http://wgp2019.fide.com.
Pictures in high resolution are available for the press at our official Flickr account.
Text: Yannick Pelletier
Photos: David Llada
Contact: press@fide.com
