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Hou Yifan is a winner of Rostov Women's Grand Prix |
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Sunday, 14 August 2011 18:20 |
The first leg of the FIDE Women’s Grand Prix was concluded in Rostov with a convincing win by the Women World Champion, 17 year old Hou Yifan of China. In the presence of two other former Women World Champions and the world’s leading female players she dominated the field from the outset setting a blistering pace which made it hard for the other contestants to catch up. Second place was also clinched in an exciting last round by GM Lahno of Ukraine who was the only player to defeat GM Yifan in their direct encounter.
Rating statistics FIDE (in start number order)
| No. |
|
Name |
FED |
Fide-No. |
Rtg |
W |
n |
We |
W-We |
K |
Rtg+/- |
Ra |
Rp |
| 1 |
GM |
Stefanova, Antoaneta |
BUL |
2902257 |
2524 |
5.0 |
11 |
5.44 |
-0.44 |
10 |
-4 |
2527 |
2491 |
| 2 |
GM |
Koneru, Humpy |
IND |
5008123 |
2614 |
5.5 |
11 |
6.92 |
-1.42 |
10 |
-14 |
2519 |
2519 |
| 3 |
IM |
Galliamova, Alisa |
RUS |
4129725 |
2492 |
5.5 |
11 |
4.94 |
0.56 |
10 |
6 |
2530 |
2530 |
| 4 |
GM |
Kosteniuk, Alexandra |
RUS |
4128125 |
2497 |
3.0 |
11 |
5.02 |
-2.02 |
10 |
-20 |
2529 |
2354 |
| 5 |
IM |
Muzychuk, Anna |
SLO |
14111330 |
2538 |
6.5 |
11 |
5.68 |
0.82 |
10 |
8 |
2526 |
2591 |
| 6 |
GM |
Kosintseva, Nadezhda |
RUS |
4134974 |
2560 |
6.0 |
11 |
6.03 |
-0.03 |
10 |
0 |
2524 |
2560 |
| 7 |
GM |
Danielian, Elina |
ARM |
13300210 |
2521 |
5.0 |
11 |
5.41 |
-0.41 |
10 |
-4 |
2527 |
2491 |
| 8 |
IM |
Kovalevskaya, Ekaterina |
RUS |
4116704 |
2427 |
3.5 |
11 |
3.88 |
-0.38 |
10 |
-4 |
2536 |
2403 |
| 9 |
GM |
Kosintseva, Tatiana |
RUS |
4133471 |
2557 |
6.5 |
11 |
6.01 |
0.49 |
10 |
5 |
2524 |
2589 |
| 10 |
GM |
Lahno, Kateryna |
UKR |
14109336 |
2536 |
7.0 |
11 |
5.66 |
1.34 |
10 |
13 |
2526 |
2628 |
| 11 |
GM |
Hou, Yifan |
CHN |
8602980 |
2575 |
8.0 |
11 |
6.30 |
1.70 |
10 |
17 |
2522 |
2697 |
| 12 |
WGM |
Ruan, Lufei |
CHN |
8602727 |
2479 |
4.5 |
11 |
4.71 |
-0.21 |
10 |
-2 |
2531 |
2466 |
With this result Hou Yifan has increased her rating and get close again to 2600 whilst top rated woman Humpy Koneru lost 14 points and hence the gap between these two players who will be facing off for the World Championship title in November 2011 in Tirana, Albania is very small now.
IM Ana Muzychuk, also got her third GM-norm in this event but she commented that she is still some games short of the overall number required for the title. No doubt that with such results it will only be a matter of time before IM Muzychuk earns this prestigious title. Also WGM Ruan Lufei from China and finalist in the last Women’s World Championship in Hatay, Turkey earned an IM norm.
The overall ranking points and results in tie break order are as follow :
| Rank |
SNo. |
|
Name |
Rtg |
FED |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
11 |
12 |
Pts |
SB |
Rp |
GP Pts |
| 1 |
11 |
GM |
Hou, Yifan |
2575 |
CHN |
* |
0 |
1 |
½ |
½ |
1 |
1 |
½ |
1 |
½ |
1 |
1 |
8 |
40.00 |
2697 |
160 |
| 2 |
10 |
GM |
Lahno, Kateryna |
2536 |
UKR |
1 |
* |
0 |
½ |
1 |
½ |
1 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
½ |
½ |
7 |
38.75 |
2628 |
130 |
| 3 |
5 |
IM |
Muzychuk, Anna |
2538 |
SLO |
0 |
1 |
* |
½ |
½ |
½ |
1 |
½ |
½ |
1 |
½ |
½ |
6½ |
34.25 |
2591 |
100 |
| 4 |
9 |
GM |
Kosintseva, Tatiana |
2557 |
RUS |
½ |
½ |
½ |
* |
½ |
½ |
0 |
1 |
½ |
1 |
1 |
½ |
6½ |
33.50 |
2589 |
100 |
| 5 |
6 |
GM |
Kosintseva, Nadezhda |
2560 |
RUS |
½ |
0 |
½ |
½ |
* |
½ |
½ |
½ |
½ |
½ |
1 |
1 |
6 |
29.75 |
2560 |
80 |
| 6 |
2 |
GM |
Koneru, Humpy |
2614 |
IND |
0 |
½ |
½ |
½ |
½ |
* |
½ |
½ |
½ |
1 |
0 |
1 |
5½ |
28.25 |
2519 |
65 |
| 7 |
3 |
IM |
Galliamova, Alisa |
2492 |
RUS |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
½ |
½ |
* |
1 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
½ |
5½ |
26.75 |
2530 |
65 |
| 8 |
1 |
GM |
Stefanova, Antoaneta |
2524 |
BUL |
½ |
0 |
½ |
0 |
½ |
½ |
0 |
* |
1 |
½ |
1 |
½ |
5 |
25.25 |
2491 |
45 |
| 9 |
7 |
GM |
Danielian, Elina |
2521 |
ARM |
0 |
0 |
½ |
½ |
½ |
½ |
1 |
0 |
* |
0 |
1 |
1 |
5 |
24.25 |
2491 |
45 |
| 10 |
12 |
WGM |
Ruan, Lufei |
2479 |
CHN |
½ |
1 |
0 |
0 |
½ |
0 |
0 |
½ |
1 |
* |
½ |
½ |
4½ |
24.75 |
2466 |
30 |
| 11 |
8 |
IM |
Kovalevskaya, Ekaterina |
2427 |
RUS |
0 |
½ |
½ |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
½ |
* |
1 |
3½ |
17.50 |
2403 |
20 |
| 12 |
4 |
GM |
Kosteniuk, Alexandra |
2497 |
RUS |
0 |
½ |
½ |
½ |
0 |
0 |
½ |
½ |
0 |
½ |
0 |
* |
3 |
17.50 |
2354 |
10 |
The games were hard fought and in total there were only 32 draws (48%), 21 wins for white and 13 wins for black.
In the closing ceremony, FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov augured the contestants good luck for the next leg which is being organized by the Chinese Chess Association and Shenzhen Media Group in Shenzhen in early September.
Official web-site
View the Photo Gallery from the closing ceremony here
Round 11
Hou Yifan became a sole winner of the first stage of FIDE Women Grand Prix in Rostov-on-Don! In 11 round playing white World Champion made a draw against Antoanetta Stefanova, fixed a victory in the tournament and killed all hopes for the first place of following her Tatiana Kosintseva and Katerina Lahno. Ukrainian Katerina Lahno managed to make a draw against Humpy Koneru and became second in the tournament with 7.5 points. Tatiana Kosintseva was defeated by Alisa Galliamova and shared the third place together with Anna Muzychuk who managed to make a draw against Elina Danielian. Nadezhda Kosintseva drew the game against Ruan Lufei and missed the opportunity to fight for the prize places.
During the press-conference after the game the winner of the tournament Hou Yifan shared her feelings about the tournament and her play: "I like the organization of the tournament. It was comfortable for me to stay here and I really enjoyed playing in this strong event. Of course I’ll be very glad if I have a chance to come back here again and participate in more tournaments. Sometimes it’s normal to lose one game during the tournament… So I just decided to continue playing normally last two rounds and I’m glad everything finished well."
The next stage of FIDE Women Grand Prix is going to be in Shenzhen China from 6th till 20th of September.
Official web-site
View the Photo Gallery of Round 11 here
Round 10
The Round 10 brought three resultative games and three draws. The game between two Chinese chess players and the finalists of the last year’s World Championship Ruan Lufei and Yifan Hou finished in a draw. The Ukrainian chess player Kateryna Lahno won the second game in a row by defeating a former world champion Antoanetta Stefanova. Alexandra Kosteniuk got a promising position in the game with Elina Danielian, but in the complications that followed missed the advantage and lost the game. Alisa Galliamova defeated her compatriot Ekaterina Kovalevskaya.The games Muzychuk – Kosintseva Nadezhda and Koneru-Kosintseva Tatiana finished in a draw. One round to go Hou Yifan is still leading in the tournament one point ahead of Kateryna Lahno and Tatiana Kosintseva who share the second place. Tomorrow's round will start at 13.00 Moscow time and will be decisive.
Visit the Official web-site for more detailed information
Photo Gallery of Round 10
Round 9
After the rest day all games passed along in a tense fight. For the first time all 6 games were scored. Ekaterina Lahno managed to stop a non-loosing series of the Womem's World Chess Champion Hou Yifan and put the final result of the first Grand Prix under question again. Although the battle for the first place is still topical. The Rostovite Ekaterina Kovalevskaya made a day to her fans having defeated the tournament rating favourite Humpy Koneru. The Kosintsev sisters Tatiana and Nadezhda won their games against ex-World Champions Antoanetta Stefanova and Alexandra Kosteniuk respectively. The current Russian champion Alisa Galliamova lost to the Armenian chess player Elina Danielian. Two rounds before the end of the tournament Hou Yifan is leading one point ahead of Tatiana Kosintseva who is on the second place so far. Ekaterina Lahno and Anna Muzychuk share the third place after Round 9.
Official web-site
Please view the Photo Gallery of the 9th Round here
Round 8
Round 8 of the Women's FIDE Grand Prix has finished. Two games were scored: Women's ex-World Champion Antoanetta Stefanova won her second game in a row against Ekaterina Kovalevskaya. The Runner-up of the last year Women's World Chess Championship Ruan Lufei did not plan to go for a victory but overcame Katerina Lahno by using several mistakes of the opponent. Other games Alisa Galliamova - Nadezhda Kosintseva, Humpy Koneru - Elina Danielian, Alexandra Kosteniuk - Anna Muzychuk as well as the game of two leaders of the tournament Hou Yifan and Tatiana Kosintseva were drawn. Before the second rest day the situation in the standings did not change: Hou Yifan leads, having lost only 1 point in all her previous games. Tatiana Kosintseva, placed second, is 2 points behind of World Champion. Humpy Koneru, Anna Myzuchuk, Antoanetta Stefanova and Katerina Lahno share the third place after Round 8.
View the Photo Gallery of the 8th Round here
Official web-site
Round 7
Hou Yifan continues dominating in the tournament. Today she beat Ekaterina Kovalevskaya playing Black. The game Danielian - Stefanova also finished in favour of Black. Anna Muzychuk playing White with Alisa Galliamova took advantage of her opponent's mistakes and added one more point to the score sheet. The other games (Kosteniuk-Lufei, Kosintseva N. - Koneru, Kosintseva T. - Lahno) were drawn: three out of them had Spanish Defense in the opening.
Tomorrow Tatiana Kosintseva who occupies the second place in the tournament will face the leader of the tournament Hou Yifan. Only two weeks ago Tatiana Kosintseva and Hou Yifan met at the chess board in the Women's Supertournament in China: at that time the Russian Chess player managed to defeat the World Champion.
Photo Gallery of the 7th Round
Please read the detailed information on the tournament here
Round 6
After a short "draw break" the World Champion continued her victorious march: this time Elina Danielian could not resist the Chinese player's pressure. Tatiana Kosintseva is speeding up. Today she scored the second point in a row by winning a game against Ruan Lufei and appeared in the leading group. The game Galliamova-Kosteniuk, where the current Russian Champion had all the chances to win at the beginning, is drawn. The games Stefanova - Kosintseva Nadezhda, Koneru - Muzychuk and Lahno - Kovalevskaya also finished in a draw. After 6 games Hou Yifan remains the sole leader with 5. 5 points, 1. 5 points ahead of Kateryna Lahno and Tatiana Kosintseva.
Please visit the Official web-site
Please view the Photo Gallery of Round 6
Round 5
Nadezhda Kosinzeva managed to stop the winning series of the Women’s World Champion Hou Yifan: after the long fight a draw in a game Kosintseva-Hou was recorded. Another game Muzychuk – Stefanova was also finished in a peaceful outcome. The Bulgarian chess player missed good chances to win. Other games were decided: the victories of Black outnumbered White’s success with 3 to 1.
Alisa Galliamova got a comfortable position against Ruan Lufei and managed to convert it into a full point. Humpy Koneru won against Alexandra Kosteniuk. In the double edged position of a game Danielian – Lahno, Armenian player made a mistake and lost to Katerina Lahno. Tatyana Kosintseva turned to be stronger in the almost equal position in the game against Ekaterina Kovalevskaya. After 5 rounds the Women’s World Chess Champion Hou Yifan is leading with 4.5 points. The Ukrainian chess player Katerina Lahno placed second and has one point down. Humpy Koneru and Tatyana Kosintseva share the third place with 3 points each.
Photo Gallery of Round 5
Please visit the Official site for more detailed information
Round 4
The fourth round of the Women's FIDE Grand Prix brought another point to the Chinese chess player Hou Yifan. The Marshall attack in the Spanish defense could guarantee a draw for Anna Myzuchuk. But the game was continued and the Chinese player managed to win. Kateryna Lahno won with white against Nadezhda Kosinseva who made a mistake at the end of the first time control and could not hold the worse endgame.
Other games Humpy Koneru - Alisa Galliamova, Tatyana Kosinseva - Elina Danielian, Ruan Lufei - Ekaterina Kovalevskaya, Antoaneta Stefanova - Alexandra Kosteniuk were finished in a draw. Elina Danielian from Armenia could have gained one more point in her score asset, but she lost the advantage in the time trouble. Before the rest day Hou Yifan leads in the tournament, having increased the gap from the closest chaser Kateryna Lahno to 1.5 points.
Visit the Photo Gallery of the 4th Round
Visit the Official web-site
Round 3
The Kosintsev sisters ended their third game in a quick draw, Other participants continued their fights. As a result all other games finished with a score. In the game Muzychuk-Lahno playing white Anna Muzychuk attacked the opponent's king and rather quickly led the game to a victory. Alisa Galliamova and Elina Danielian won their first games of the tournament playing against Antoanetta Stefanova and Ekaterina Kovalevskaya respectively. Humpy Koneru did not start her tournament successfully but could improve her situation today by winning the Chinese chess player Ruan Lufei. The Women's World Chess Champion Hou Yifan won the ex-World Women's Chess Champion Alexandra Kosteniuk and strengthened her leading positions in the tournament. Anna Muzychuk and Nadezhda Kosintseva have one point below the leader.
Please visit the Photo Gallery of the 3rd Round
Please view the Ofiicial web-site here
Round 2
The second round of the FIDE Women's Grand Prix started as it was planned at 3.00 pm Moscow time. The second day presented three resultative games: Nadezhda Kosintzeva won with black playing against the local chess player Ekaterina Kovalevskaya, Alisa Galliamova played inaccurately in the opening and lost with black to the Chinese Hou Yifan. Elina Danielian made a decisive mistake on the move 40 and lost to another Chinese player Ruan Lufei. Three other games Tatiana Kosintseva - Muzychuk, Lahno - Kosteniuk and Stefanova - Koneru were drawn. After the second round the Women's World Chess Champion Hou Yifan is leading in the tournament with an absolute result. Half a point below are Ruan Lufei, Nadezhda Kosintseva and Ekaterina Lahno, all of them take part in the Grand Prix series for the first time.
The second day of the tournament was marked with another interesting event: the President of the Chess Federation of Rostov region Sergey Nesterov played a blitz game with the Deputy Chief Arbiter Zhuzha Verochi before the start of the round. The game was finished in a friendly draw.
Visit the Photo Gallery of Round 2
Official web-site
Round 1
The first round of FIDE Women`s Grand Prix tournament got under way on the 2nd of August. The Mayor of Rostov-on-Don M.A. Chernyshov made the first symbolic move in the game between top seeds Humpy Koneru and Hou Yifan. The opening round passed in a tense struggle on all the boards.
The key game of the 1st round Koneru-Hou who will compete for the chess title in December was ended in favor of the acting Women's Chess Champion.
Аnother resultative game was played between Alisa Galliamova and Kateryna Lahno. Russian GM made an interesting Queen sacrifice but later on she lost the game in complications. The other four games Nadezhda Kosintseva – Danielian, Kovalevskaya-Muzychuk, Stefanova-Lufei, Kosteniuk - Tatiana Kosintseva were drawn. After the end of the round 1 the players shared their impressions on the games.
Visit the official site of the tournament http://rostov2011.fide.com/
View the Photo Gallery of the 1 Round here
 The Chess Federation of Rostov in collaboration with FIDE and Global Chess is organising the first event for the Women's Grand Prix series 2011/2012. The tournament will be held in the Don-Plaza Hotel (Rostov-on-Don, Russia) beginning on the 1st of August 2011.
The sponsor of the event is Rostov Chess Federation and Rostov Region Government.
The Rostov Chess Federation is one of the most active regional Federations and has already organised 64th Russian Championships - Higher League in 2011, Taganrog (near Rostov) and many other chess events.
The first tournament of FIDE Women's Grand Prix in Rostov will be one of the strongest women tournaments of all times. The participants of the event include current Women World Champion Hou Yifan, two former Women World champions: Alexandra Kosteniuk and Antoaneta Stefanova as well as challenger in the World Championship Match Humpy Koneru who are all among the highest ranked women players in the world.
Another former Women World champion – Nona Gaprindashvili – is a technical adviser. Chinese Ruan Lufei is one of the “newcomers” in FIDE Grand Prix Series. Her appearance in World Chess scene was bright - she reached the final in the 2010 Women's World Championship, having won on tiebreaks in every round (eliminating previous champion Alexandra Kosteniuk in the process), and faced fellow Chinese Hou Yifan in the final. Certainly the participation of the local player and two-time Women Russian Champion Ekaterina Kovalevskaya will attract a lot of attention of the chess lovers and press.
The FIDE Women Grand Prix is a series of elite tournaments which will be organised by FIDE and Global Chess. There will be 6 stages over two years in various countries around the world with three tournaments every year.
The winner of each tournament will win 6,500 euros out of a prize fund of 40,000 euros and the overall winner of the series will win a further 15,000 euros at the end of the series.
Opening ceremony will take place in Don-Plaza Hotel at 7 p.m. on 1st of August. Games start: rounds 1-10 at 3:00 PM local time and round 11 at 12 AM local time.
Rest days: August 6th (after round 4) and August 11th (after round 8).
The official tournament web page is http://rostov2011.fide.com/
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