The FIDE Women’s Grand Prix, concluded in Tehran, Iran, on the 23rd of February, 2016.
Going in to the final three games of the tournament, Nana Dzagnidze led with 6½ points from 8 games. Unfortunately she was unable to build on this lead. Having a bad final stage, the Georgian lost her final 3 games, to Cramling, Ju and Pogonina. As a result, she would stay on 6½.
Natalia Pogonina had been an early leader, but from there had not really been in the mix. She was obviously hoping for a final stage surge. Unfortunately, she didn’t get it and would only score a point from her final three games. Her win over Dzagnidze would be muted somewhat with losses to Zhao and Zhukova.
The top performers of the final stage were Natalia Zhukova and Humpy Koneru, who scored 2½ points from the 3 games. Nino Batsiashvili, Sarasadat Khademalsharieh and Wenjun Ju were just behind on 2-points.
All of this meant that Wenjun Ju, having been a point off the lead after round 8, leapfrogged Dzagnidze to win the tournament outright, with 7½/11. It was a very narrow finish in the end, with Sarasadat Khademalsharieh and Xue Zhao just a half point from taking the event to tie-breaks. Sarasadat Khademalsharieh, as the youngest competitor in the field, at just 19-years-of-age, must be very satisfied with her tournament, even with the disappointment of just missing out. With victories over Zhao and Stefanova in the final part of the tournament, she improved her situation very admirably and shows great promise for the future in my opinion.
As it is, Wenjun Ju, as winner, collects the spoils and is in contention to go forward to challenge for the Women’s World Chess Championship. Crucial to this, was her round-10 win, over former tournament leader, Nana Dzagnidze, (given below).
Final Standings: Wenjun Ju — 7½; Sarasadat Khademalsharieh, Xue Zhao — 7.0; Natalia Pogonina, Nana Dzagnidze — 6½; Humpy Koneru — 6; Natalia Zhukova — 5½; Dronavalli Harika, Valentina Gunina — 4½; Pia Cramling — 4; Antoaneta Stefanova, Nino Batsiashvili — 3½.
[Event “Fide2016”]
[Site “Tehran”]
[Date “2016.02.22”]
[Round “10.5”]
[White “Dzagnidze, Nana”]
[Black “Ju, Wenjun”]
[Result “0-1”]
[BlackClock “0:06:07”]
[BlackElo “2558”]
[ECO “E11”]
[EventDate “2016.??.??”]
[WhiteClock “0:04:13”]
[WhiteElo “2529”]
{ Annotations by John Lee Shaw for www.hotoffthechess.com. } 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Bb4+ 4.Bd2 Qe7 5.Nc3 b6 6.e3 Bb7 7.Be2 O-O 8.O-O d6 9.Rc1 Bxc3 10.Bxc3 Ne4 11.Qc2 Nd7 12.Rfd1 f5 13.Be1 a5 14.Nd2 Nxd2 15.Qxd2 e5 16.f3 Rae8 17.Bf1 Qg5 18.d5 { Black would have been quite happy to see this move,
psychologically. It was by no means forced, and White had good alternatives,
(Qf2, Be2, even Bg3). Further more, the advance to d5 provides White with no
advantage and so one can reasonably speculate that White was just not at ease with the central tension. } 18…h5 { This is ok, but perhaps slightly too soon. …Rf6
and …Nc5 were also good options here. } 19.b3 { Having led the tournament
after round 8, Dzagnidze had lost her round 9 game to Pia Cramling. Perhaps
she went in to this, her final game with White, with a wish to consolidate and
to play rather safely; gain a draw and likely be assured tie-breaks at least.
Her play certainly does not strike me as very ambitious. } 19…h4 20.a3 { Out of context this, White really had to take a time out from her own plans in
order to stop the h-pawn’s mischief-making capacity. This is the essence of
such positions, with the advantage going to the player who makes their
opponent defend first. Or, as in this case, disadvantage goes to the player
who focusses only on their own intentions. } 20…h3 21.g3 { This move is necessary, as to allow Black to take on g2 would be dangerous, what with …Rf6 ideas, even …Kf7 and …Rh8, (possibly both ideas combined actually),
Black can mobilise quickly. This is all the more indictative of White’s folly
at her previous move, when she failed to play h3 herself. } 21…Qh5 { Dealing with
the threat to h3, while also making the opponent defend in return. Good,
prophylactic chess. But it turns out that Ju is also freeing up the g-file for
her pawn. } 22.Be2 { Dzagnidze would not be feeling very happy with the state
of affairs at this stage, I feel. Her setup is not the most positive in the
world, and she is being made to defend by Black, who at the moment must be deemed to be holding the initiative. } 22…g5 { Clearly, Ju has come in to the game
with only one intention, and that is to throw all she can at her opponent.
Bare-knuckle stuff. } ( 22…Nc5 { This move keeps up the dictatorship towards
White very well, while mobilising another piece. } 23.Qc2 a4 24.f4 Qg6 25.b4 ( 25.bxa4 { After this, Black can take time in order to mobilise her
light-squared bishop, such is her stranglehold on the position. } 25…Bc8 { it is
not easy to see a plan for White, here actually. I always learned that in such
cases one improves the worst piece, which in this instance is the dark-squared
bishop. I suppose, with that in mind, a5 is an interesting idea. } 26.a5 Bd7 27.Rd2 Ba4 28.Qb2 { This is probably the least painful square for the Queen
to go to, but that is indicative of how bad the others are, because after
Black’s next, the piece would be quite nervous. } 28…bxa5 { And Black is sitting
pretty on both wings. } ) 25…Nb3 26.Rb1 exf4 27.exf4 Re4 { and Black has a
very nice initiative. } ) 23.b4 { The counter punch on the opposite wing,
textbook stuff. Things are about even here, but the chances of a mistake are
vast, and when it comes to human chess, this can be as decisive as simply
playing the move with the best numerical evaluation. In the battle of minds,
it is who understands the position the best that will emerge victorious. } 23…axb4 ( { Also possible was } 23…g4 24.fxg4 fxg4 25.e4 Qg6 26.Qe3 axb4 27.axb4 Ra8 { with equal chances. } ) 24.axb4 g4 25.f4 ( 25.fxg4 fxg4 26.e4 { and Black
now has nothing. } 26…Qg6 27.Qe3 { White will feel quite content, here, with a
greatly improved position. } ) 25…Qf7 { I don’t like this move too much, it seems to be an acknowledgement that the wheels have come off the bus. There is certainly a bit of a swing in the position now. The other moves for consideration, here, were …Nf6 and …exf4. } ( 25…exf4 26.exf4 Nf6 27.Qc2 Ne4 28.Bd3 Re7 { with equality. } ) ( 25…Nf6 { would most likely result in the same, via a
different move order. } 26.Qc2 Ne4 27.Bd3 exf4 28.exf4 Re7 $11 ) 26.Ra1 Ra8 { I doubt Ju was happy playing this move — somehow any initiative she held has
evaporated and White is now doing rather nicely. } 27.fxe5 { Perhaps a missed chance, Dzagnidge seems over eager to
simplify and to not have tension lingering. e4 was a very good alternative,
not only expanding, but also attacking the pawn chain at its base. } 27…Nxe5 28.Qd4 b5 29.cxb5 { Again, an over-eagerness to exchange. This was by no means forced, infact, exchanging on a8, followed by c5 would have been a very good alternative to maintain the equalibrium. As it is, Black has the opportunity for advantage. } ( 29.Rxa8 Rxa8 30.cxb5 Ra2 31.Kf2 Kh7 32.Bc3 Kg6 { should be
heading to a draw with good play. } ) 29…Rxa1 { The immediate …Bxd5 was also good. } ( 29…Bxd5 30.Rxa8 ( { not } 30.Qxd5 Qxd5 31.Rxd5 Rxa1 { Winning. } ) 30…Bxa8 31.Rc1 Re8 { with a clear edge to Black. } ) 30.Rxa1 Bxd5 { And in the space of a couple of moves, the position swings again. Black definately has the best of things now. } 31.Bc3 { With a masked threat now towards the h8-square, of course, but I just have the feeling that this move does very little to keep Black honest. I would have preferred something a little more punchy, such as Ra7 or b6, attacking Black’s pawn chain at its base. } 31…Bf3 32.Bf1 Be4 33.Kf2 Qb3 34.Be2 Qc2 35.Qd2 { Rd1 was perhaps a little more positive, preparing to repel the Queen’s hostiility, rather than submit to it. } ( 35.Rd1 Bf3 36.Rd2 { and now the Queen must withdraw. } 36…Qb3 { with equality. } ) 35…Qxd2 36.Bxd2 Bf3 { Black, with the advantage, seeks to exchange pieces. White must try to resist this, she will need all her resources in order to defend, and maintain the b-pawns. Unfortunately, the combination of knight and bishop, here, makes this a futile undertaking. } 37.Bf1 Bd5 38.Be2 Bf3 39.Bf1 Be4 40.Be2 Bd3 41.Bc3 Bxe2 42.Bxe5 { not Kxe2? when after …Nf3, the h-pawn is doomed and Black has a passer. } 42…Bxb5 { The pawn is niether here nor there, really. More importantly is that Black has complete dominance now. } 43.Bd4 Rc8 44.Ra5 Bd3 45.Ke1 { With h2 under no threat for the moment, White turns her attentions towards improving her activity and bringing her King in to the game. } 45…Kf7 46.Kd2 Be4 47.Kc3 Ke6 48.Kc4 { It looks good, this, but can’t really be maintained, and the King will eventually go back. Actually, White can not make in-roads and unfortunately for Dzagnidze, it is a case of waiting to see what Black can do. } 48…Bf3 49.Kc3 Be2 50.Kd2 Bf1 { Here, we see the contrasting quality between the two bishops. White’s being a mere spectator, while Black’s is heavily influencing White’s game. } 51.Kc3 c6 52.Ba7 ( 52.e4 { This was another way to go, but not really to Dzagnidze’s taste, judging by her play so far. In the long term, is does not work out any better for her anyway. } 52…fxe4 53.Rg5 Rf8 54.Rg6+ Kd7 55.Rg7+ Kc8 56.Be3 Rf3 { And White is hanging on by her fingernails. } ) 52…Bb5 53.Kd4 Re8 54.Ra2 Kd7 55.Kc3 Re4 { Very nicely limiting her opponent’s available moves, restricting the White King and preparing to roll her pawns. } 56.Rc2 Re5 57.Bd4 Re8 58.Ba7 Ra8 59.Ra2 { When you feel your best option is to self-impose a pin, you are not having a good time. To have moved the bishop would have allowed …Ra3+, most likely followed by …Rd3, and White does not want to allow this. } 59…c5 60.Ra3 { Placing the Rook on the same colour complex as the bishop, so as to threaten to take twice on c5. Hence Black’s next. } 60…Rc8 61.Bb6 { the only move, really. } 61…Kc6 { Slowly, but surely, Black makes headway. } 62.Ba5 ( 62.bxc5 { This is another way, but no better longterm. } 62…dxc5 63.Ba5 Ra8 { and White is back to square one. } ) 62…Re8 { With her opponent rather tied up on the Queenside, Ju switches focus. This is a perfect example of how to overwork your opponent’s pieces. There are so many considerations for White to cover, here, c5-c4 possibilities, …Kd5, the e3-pawn, and all the while having to ensure that Black can not penetrate to the 2nd rank. Too much. } 63.Kd2 f4 { A well known device, and Black is now unstoppable. The key to this is Black’s Bishop and White’s King having been lured too far away. } 64.gxf4 g3 65.hxg3 Bf1 66.Ke1 { Ra1 was also possible of course, but would change nothing, after …Bg2 the h-pawn would still Queen and White would be material down. } 66…h2 { and here, Dzagnidze resigned. 0-1. } 0-1
[/pgn]
