PHOTO: FIDE/Timur Sattarov
4 gamers, two video games, two attracts, the primary day of Girls’s Candidate’s Pool B was concluded. The occasion is happening from 29 November to 11 December, and the winner qualifies to the Candidates finals, dealing with Pool A winner, Lei Tingjie, for the fitting to take part within the Girls’s World Championship Match towards Wenjun Ju.
Throughout yesterday’s opening ceremony, the very best rated participant of every pair, selected between bins containing both a white or a black queen; Each Aleksandra Goryachkina and Kateryna Lagno selected the one containing a black, giving the white items to their opponents for the first and third recreation of their matches.
The Occasion Format
For the Girls Candidates 2023, an 8 gamers knockout event format was adopted by the FIDE council, performed in 2 separate swimming pools of 4 gamers – with the winners of every assembly within the ultimate match, preventing for the world championship spot.
In response to the occasion rules, the primary two rounds shall be performed with 4 video games matches, whereas the ultimate with a 6 video games match.
- In case the match is tied, 4 video games of quarter-hour plus 10 seconds increment shall be performed;
- In case the match remains to be tied, two video games of 5 minutes plus 3 seconds increment shall be performed’
- In case the match remains to be tied, a recreation of three minutes plus 2 seconds increment shall be performed till a participant wins, with colours alternating.
For extra particulars you may learn the event rules.
The whole prize fund is 250,000 euros, with 60,000 going to the winner.
The Pool’s Lineup
Pool B goes to deal with us with a much-anticipated match, between Aleksandra Goryachkina, the runner up of 2020 Girls’s World Championship match and 2nd highest rated girl since November 2020 score record, versus Alexandra Kostenyuk, the 2008-2010 Girls’s World Champion and 2021 Girls’s World Cup winner.
The second match of the pool options one more former World Girls’s Champion, Tan Zhongyi, holding the title for 2017-18, dealing with Kateryna Lagno, former girls’s Blitz and Speedy chess Champion, and two instances European Girls Champion.
With 4 extremely skilled and aggressive gamers, thrilling video games and shut matches are undoubtedly to be anticipated – tell us whom you’re rooting for within the feedback!
Spherical 1 Recreation 1
Alexandra Kosteniuk v Aleksandra Goryachkina
PHOTO: FIDE/Timur Sattarov
With the Berlin Defence performed, the gamers had deviated from the primary strains already by transfer 9; Kosteniuk performed Kh1 making ready a Ng1 – Ne2 maneuver, preserving the choices of f4 or Ng3 aiming for the f5 sq., relying on her opponent’s play. Goryachkina replied with the pretty versatile 9…b6. By transfer 16, the 2 gamers had reached an equal on first sight place, nonetheless Kosteniuk’s g3 allowed Goryachkina to execute a brand new plan, rerouting her knight all the way in which from f4 to the queenside — successful a tempo in most steps!
https://lichess.org/examine/embed/td4camFK/89uruy04#33
Certainly, she started with 17… Nh3 18. Rf1 Ng5 19. Qe2 Nf7 20. b3 Nd6 21. Nh4 Nb5 (threatening Bd4 – Nc3!) Within the ensuing place, white had the choice to play f4 exf4 gxf4 and postpone c3 till her opponent performed f5, with a nonetheless difficult recreation and good possibilities, nonetheless she determined to play c3 first. After retreating her knight, Goryachkina performed the a4 – a5 pawn break and shortly managed to paralyze her opponent’s place. Black performed f5; maintaining the strain, activating her queen on h5 and later enjoying b4 to additional weaken white’s kingside and making an attempt to invade along with her items can be higher. Goryachkina certainly managed to create an remoted f5 pawn for her opponent that was confirmed inadequate (she additionally had to remember her personal doubled c pawns), and the 2 gamers agreed a draw after transfer 40.
Zhongyi Tan v Kateryna Lagno
PHOTO: FIDE/Timur Sattarov
For the primary time of their video games towards one another, the 2 gamers explored a reasonably strong line of the Queen’s Gambit Declined. Lagno tried to achieve a bonus on the queenside with 11..a5 adopted by Na6 – b5-b4. Tan’s 18. axb4 allowed black to achieve the bishop pair with Nxb4 (she nonetheless determined to present her personal lightsquared bishop for her opponent’s knight later within the recreation).
https://lichess.org/examine/embed/td4camFK/ymfsXSJ3#41
Nonetheless, the 2 gamers stored the sport fairly balanced and never managing to achieve any substantial benefit, they simplified into an equal endgame and agreed a draw on transfer 40.
Lichess Protection
Each day, Lichess will likely be offering a broadcast of the video games performed in real-time. Keep tuned on our social media and weblog for extra chess content material within the coming days!
