Women's World Championship

Discuss anything you like about women's chess at home and abroad.
Roger de Coverly
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Re: Women's World Championship

Post by Roger de Coverly » Fri Feb 06, 2015 6:45 pm

Matt Mackenzie wrote: What's the point
Having a Knock-out to determine the challenger makes a reasonable amount of sense. Expecting the World Champion to take part and removing her title if she declines or gets knocked out, rather less so.

Having won the 2014 Women's Grand Prix, Hou Yifan is already qualified for a title match.

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Matt Mackenzie
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Re: Women's World Championship

Post by Matt Mackenzie » Fri Feb 06, 2015 7:15 pm

Is it just a "challengers" tournament this time, then? I agree that is a bit more defensible.
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Chris Rice
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Re: Women's World Championship

Post by Chris Rice » Wed Apr 01, 2015 9:02 am

This 2015 world championship contest has lacked in the quality of chess which has been pretty appalling, littered with unbelievable blunders and even the former world champion Anna Ushenina losing to a zero tolerance default. But for sheer drama and tension this tournament has really put women's chess back on the map. The semi-finals were completely off the page. The two losers left utterly devastated setting up a incredible Russia (Natalia Pogonina) v Ukraine (Mariya Muzychuk) four game final starting tomorrow. The pictures from the ChessBase report of Pia Cramling and Harika Dronavalli are heart rending. Waiting in the wings is Hou Yifan who will play the winner in October.

http://en.chessbase.com/post/wwch-semis ... e-humanity

http://www.chess.com/news/natalija-pogo ... final-7059

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Matt Mackenzie
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Re: Women's World Championship

Post by Matt Mackenzie » Wed Apr 01, 2015 3:01 pm

Waiting in the wings is Hou Yifan who will play, and easily beat, the winner in October.

I think that is what you meant to say :)
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Chris Rice
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Re: Women's World Championship

Post by Chris Rice » Thu Apr 02, 2015 6:37 am

I wouldn't disagree. Hou Yifan easily beat Ushenina the same way. The knockout tournament format isn't the best way to produce a credible match game player. Humpy Koneru for instance would have been a more credible challenger one feels. Thought Pia Cramling's comments immediately after the semi-final were interesting:

Reporter: How do you feel after two weeks in Sochi?

Pia Cramling: I am very tired. I am just very happy to go home now. I would like to mention that it has been a very well organized championship. I would love if it would be held every year. But I understand that it is very difficult to find sponsors. The format is also nice, of course if you are not knocked out in the first round. In other words, the format is good for the media.

Kevin Thurlow
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Re: Women's World Championship

Post by Kevin Thurlow » Thu Apr 02, 2015 12:15 pm

I see that Chessbase kept saying that Hou Yifan was absent for "personal reasons", which appeared to be that accepting an invitation to go to Hawaii was preferable. I can't argue with that, and indeed she may have accepted that invitation before the dates for the "world championship" were known.

Chris Rice
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Re: Women's World Championship

Post by Chris Rice » Thu Apr 02, 2015 12:22 pm

She did indeed already have arrangements with Hawaii Kevin. At Gibraltar when talking to Stuart Conquest she was quoted as saying that she had already agreed to play in a tournament in Hawaii and there would be a clash with the championship in Sochi. The Hawaii competition was announced much earlier than the FIDE knock-out which had been initially scheduled for October 2014 but then postponed.

Stuart C: 'If it would've been held when it was supposed to be held, do you think you would've taken part?'
Hou Yifan: 'No, actually that time I was playing in Corsica', Hou Yifan smiled.
Stuart C: 'And if they would've held it during Gibraltar, would you have chosen Gibraltar?', Conquest asked.
Hou Yifan: 'Yes!', was the confident answer. 'Generally speaking, I don't think I will continue to play the World Championship if the knock-out system is used', she said. 'The system is different from the men's. If it were the same that would be much better'.

http://chess-news.ru/en/node/18054

NickFaulks
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Re: Women's World Championship

Post by NickFaulks » Thu Apr 02, 2015 4:38 pm

Chris Rice wrote:and even the former world champion Anna Ushenina losing to a zero tolerance default.
Obviously people like Malcolm Pein have used this as an opportunity to lampoon FIDE, but what are organisers supposed to do when a player turns up an hour late for a rapid game? What would London Chess Classic do?
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Roger de Coverly
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Re: Women's World Championship

Post by Roger de Coverly » Thu Apr 02, 2015 5:01 pm

NickFaulks wrote: but what are organisers supposed to do when a player turns up an hour late for a rapid game?
The implication of the ChessBase story was that it was at most a few minutes. In other words the organisers attempted to contact her. Are the venue and hotel part of the same complex?

http://en.chessbase.com/post/wwch-rd2-t ... nd-of-fate
chessbase wrote:She had been seen at lunch a bit earlier and everything seemed fine, so what could have happened? A call to the hotel uncovered the trivial yet tragic incident that led to the forfeit of her first tiebreak game: her mobile phone had switched off, and after powering up had reset the clock back to the Ukrainian time zone, which is one hour behind Sochi. Ushenina didn't notice the difference and consequently missed the round's start.

The Ukrainian showed up few minutes later and then patiently waited in the media room for her turn to play the second game.
NickFaulks wrote: What would London Chess Classic do?
The London Classic usually waits for the players to arrive, before introducing them and starting the games. It's the players you want to see in action, not the arbiters.

One of the reforms of the Dresden 2008 rule changes which removed the one hour default dating back from the days of Capablanca, was that rapidplay organisers could set an appropriate default time without it being determined by the initial clock setting.

David Sedgwick
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Re: Women's World Championship

Post by David Sedgwick » Thu Apr 02, 2015 6:26 pm

NickFaulks wrote: What would London Chess Classic do?
For the record, the default time in the Super Rapidplay Open Tournament at the London Chess Classic 2014 was the full initial time allowance of 25 minutes 10 seconds.

In the five years out of six for which the main event at the Classic has been Standardplay, the default time has always been 30 minutes. In the first year or two, it was not uncommon for one or two players to be a few minutes late. Nowadays, as Roger has mentioned, the players are clearly expected to arrive on time. This is a matter for the organiser, not the arbiters.
Roger de Coverly wrote: It's the players you want to see in action, not the arbiters.
Really? How disillusioning!

Chris Rice
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Re: Women's World Championship

Post by Chris Rice » Fri Apr 03, 2015 8:43 am

Game 1 (of 4) Pogonina, Natalija (2456) – Muzychuk, Mariya (2526) ½–½

http://en.chessbase.com/post/wwch-final-g1-at-last

Chris Rice
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Re: Women's World Championship

Post by Chris Rice » Sat Apr 04, 2015 9:05 am

Mariya Muzychuk takes the lead:

Game 1 (of 4) Pogonina, Natalija (2456) – Muzychuk, Mariya (2526) ½–½
Game 2 (of 4) Muzychuk, Mariya (2526) - Pogonina, Natalija (2456) 1-0

http://en.chessbase.com/post/wwch-final ... takes-lead

Mick Norris
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Re: Women's World Championship

Post by Mick Norris » Sun Apr 05, 2015 9:22 am

Game 3 was drawn in 67 moves, so Pogonina needs to win today with black
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Chris Rice
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Re: Women's World Championship

Post by Chris Rice » Sun Apr 05, 2015 10:03 am

Mick Norris wrote:Game 3 was drawn in 67 moves, so Pogonina needs to win today with black
Muzychuk should have won game 3 and been home and hosed already so I wouldn't rule it out, Pogonina's come back more than once already in this tournament. Here's what Pogonina said after the finish of round 3:

– What is your mood before the fourth game? How are you dealing with the pressure during the match?

– Tiredness begins to accumulate, especially with extensive amounts of preparation. I think the same is true for my opponent, who needs to works just as much. As for the next game, I am in a fighting mood. Everything is okay.

– Tomorrow you'll play Black. Does it make winning on demand a lot harder?

– It is considered that having White in such situation is better, as there are more chances to catch the opponent in the opening. However, I don't think it matters match in the last game of the match. Having Black is also okay, I have won such games as Black, too.

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Matt Mackenzie
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Re: Women's World Championship

Post by Matt Mackenzie » Sun Apr 05, 2015 6:22 pm

Well, she didn't on this occasion. Muzychuk offered a draw in a won position, and has the pleasure (?) of playing Hou Yifan.
"Set up your attacks so that when the fire is out, it isn't out!" (H N Pillsbury)

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