Aleksandra Goryachkina ready for World Championship Match
Aleksandra Goryachkina, the Challenger for the Women’s World Championship title, on 24th December gave a press conference at the headquarters of TASS Agency ТАСС in Moscow.
FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich and Chess Federation of Russia Executive Director Mark Glukhovsky were the two other speakers.
“I am in a fighting mood going into the Match. I will reveal my team only after the start of the Match,” said Goryachkina.
She also gave thanks to CFR: “I would like to thank the Chess Federation of Russia for the support and help during the preparation period. I think I have worked all this time efficiently, and I feel confident. I believe I did everything I could do, and my preparation is complete.”
Goryachkina noted that she does not have problems with acclimatisation so she will celebrate the New Year’s eve in Moscow. She will then travel to Shanghai where the Women’s World Championship Match begins on 3rd January 2020. Shanghai is the host city for the first six games. The remaining six games will take place in Vladivostok, Russia. The venue in Vladivostok will be the campus of the Far Eastern Federal University on the Russky Island.
2019 Candidates
Aleksandra Goryachkina won the 2019 Candidates which gave her the right to be the challenger for the World Championship Match.
Goryachkina’s opponent is the reigning Women’s World Champion Ju Wenjun of China.
Alexandra Kosteniuk was the last Russian to hold the Women’s World Championship title. Her reign ran from 2008 to 2010 before she lost the crown to Hou Yifan of China.
IA Shohreh Bayat of Iran is the Chief Arbiter for the Match.
Prize Fund
The prize fund is Euro 500,000 with the winner taking home 60% and the loser 40%.
In case the World Women’s Champion title is decided in the tie-break, the winner receives 55%, and the runner-up gets 45% of the prize fund.
The opening ceremony of the Match will take place at the Inter-Continental Shanghai Jing’An Hotel on 4th January 2020.
The Match consists of 12 games. The time control for each game is 90 minutes for the first 40 moves, followed by 30 minutes for the rest of the game. There is in addition an increment of 30 seconds per move starting from move 1. The player who scores 6.5 points or more wins the Match. If the score after twelve games is equal, the tie-break is played.
Organisers & Partners
Organisers:
International Chess Federation (FIDE).
Chinese Chess Association, Chess Federation of Russia (CFR).
Government of the Primorsky Region.
Partners.
The Match is supported by Gazprom.
General partner of the CFR is PhosAgro.
Partners are Gidrostroy, SILA International Lawyers, and the Far Eastern Federal University.