Aleksandra Goryachkina inches forward
Aleksandra Goryachkina inches forward in the eleventh round of the Women’s Candidates when she held Anna Muzychuk to a draw.
The sole leader of the tournament made a comfortable draw and is still 2.5 points ahead of the nearest pursuer. Kateryna Lagno drew against Mariya Muzychuk and remained in the second place.
The derby between two former World Women’s Champions Tan Zhongyi and Alexandra Kosteniuk ended with a victory of the Chinese player. The Women’s Candidates is a roller-coaster for Tan Zhongyi who had four losses, three wins and four draws so far. Valentina Gunina defeated Nana Dzagnidze after 106 moves and more than 5 hours of play.
Goryachkina after 11 rounds, leads with 8.5 points. Kateryna Lagno is in second place with 6 points. Mariya and Anna Muzychuk share third place with 5.5 points. Tan Zhongyi is in fifth place with 5 points. Valentina Gunina, Alexandra Kosteniuk, and Nana Dzagnidze have 4.5 points.
Aleksandra Goryachkina v Anna Muzychuk
Aleksandra Goryachkina vs Anna Muzychuk was a Grunfeld Defence with g3. It seems neither player wanted to take too many risks, and as a result, the game petered out to a balanced position. White managed to get a stable position with a small edge. The leader of the tournament did not see any direct way to improve her position significantly and chose to agree to a draw.
Goryachkina with three rounds left only needs to gain half a point to become the winner of the tournament.
Aleksandra Goryachkina v Anna Muzychuk
Kateryna Lagno v Mariya Muzychuk
The Sveshnikov Variation of the Sicilian Defence appeared in this game, and according to Kateryna, it went pretty good for her. “It was an interesting game, and my opponent defended well. Maybe I could have played better somewhere but after 29.Bh6 it should be just equal,” commented the Russian player. Mariya was not sure when her preparation stopped and even though she spent a lot of time in the middle game, she did not feel Black was at any danger after 23.a5. The players agreed to a draw after the first time control.
Kateryna Lagno v Mariya Muzychuk
Tan Zhongyi v Alexandra Kosteniuk
The Nimzovich Defence happened in the game Tan Zhongyi vs Alexandra Kosteniuk. The critical moment appeared after 14.e5.
Alexandra relatively quickly answered 14…g6, which turned out to be a fatal mistake for Black. The Russian player did not like her position after 14…Nce5 15.Bh7 Kh8 16. Ne5 Ne5 17.Re3 but it looks like Black was doing fine after 17…Nf3! 18.gxf f5!
20.Be8! A powerful move, found by Tan Zhongyi. The Bishop is untouchable because of 21. Qxd7. Black’s position becomes hopeless, and a few moves later, Alexandra resigned.
Tan Zhongyi v Alexandra Kosteniuk
Gunina Valentina v Nana Dzagnidze
The game between Valentina Gunina against Nana Dzagnidze started off as an English Opening.
The longest game of the round was a great fight, in which both players were choosing the most principal lines. An exceptionally double-edged struggle continued in a very complex ending, and Dzagnidze was the last to make a mistake.
Gunina Valentina v Nana Dzagnidze
12th round pairing
The twelfth round will take place on Friday, June 14th, at 15:00 local time. The pairings will be as follows.
Mariya Muzychuk — Valentina Gunina.
Nana Dzagnidze — Alexandra Kosteniuk.
Tan Zhongyi — Aleksandra Goryachkina.
Anna Muzychuk — Kateryna Lagno.
Links
Goryachkina extends her lead in round in round 10.
Aleksandra Goryachkina extends her lead in round 9.
Goryachkina extends her lead in round 8.
Rest day at the Women’s Candidate Tournament.
Goryachkina extends her lead in round 6.
Goryachkina grabs the lead in the Women’s Candidate Tournament.
Promotional video for the 2019 Women’s Candidates Tournament done by Kim Bhari.
Article on the Opening Ceremony.
