The FIDE Women’s Speed Chess Championship concluded Monday, July 20, on the chess.com playing server with a finals victory for Ukrainian GM Anna Ushenina.
Ushenina narrowly defeated former world women’s champion GM Alexandra Kosteniuk in the 28-game championship match, 14½-13½, which was made up of 5+1 and 3+1 blitz games and 2+1 bullet games.
Ushenina and Kosteniuk disputed the championship after emerging on top of the leaderboard of the 4-leg Grand Prix stage of the championship.
Unlike Kosteniuk though, Ushenina went through an initial qualifying stage before she can join the Grand Prix legs. The Ukrainian lass also has to eliminate Russian GM Valentina Gunina to arrange the superfinal clash with Kosteniuk who topped the Grand Prix overall. In the end, the 35-year old Ushenina’s top physical and mental condition paid off against the 36-year-old Kosteniuk who complained later of being physically exhausted.
The event drew all the big names in world women’s chess except for Judot Polgar. Reigning world champion Ju Wenjun, former champs Hou Yifan, Mariya Muzychuk and Antoaneta Stefanova, India’s top female players Humpy Koneru and Dronavalli Harika along with Irina Krush and Zhanzaya Abdumalik were among the 22 participants in the Grand Prix stage.
Ushenina, A (2416)-Kosteniuk, A (2471) [D02]
chess.com (16) 2020
1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 d5 3.Bf4 c5 4.e3 Nc6 5.Nbd2 cxd4 6.exd4 Bf5 7.Bb5 e6 8.Ne5 Qb6 9.c4 dxc4 10.Bxc6+ bxc6 11.Ndxc4 Qa6 12.0-0 Be7 13.Rc1 0-0 14.Ne3 Be4 15.f3 Bd5 16.Nxd5 cxd5 17.Nc6 Rfe8 18.a4 Bf8 19.b4 Nd7 20.b5 Qb7 21.Na5 1-0
Kosteniuk, A (2471)-Ushenina, A (2416) [C42]
chess.com (19) 2020
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.Nc3 Nf6 6.d4 Be7 7.Bd3 0-0 8.0-0 Re8 9.Bg5 Nbd7 10.Re1 b6 11.Bb5 Bb7 12.d5 a6 13.Bc6 Bxc6 14.dxc6 Nc5 15.Nd4 h6 16.Bh4 g5 17.Bg3 Bf8 18.Qf3 Bg7 19.Nf5 Re6 20.Nxg7 Kxg7 21.b4 Rxe1+ 22.Rxe1 Ne6 23.h4 Qh8 24.Qd3 Qh7 25.Ne4 Nxe4 26.Rxe4 Qf5 27.c4 a5 28.Qd5 Qf6 29.b5 Kf8 30.Kh2 Re8 31.Qd2 Ng7 32.Rxe8+ Kxe8 33.c5 bxc5 34.Qxa5 Ne6 35.Qa8+ Ke7 36.Qc8 gxh4 37.Qd7+ Kf8 38.Bxd6+ cxd6 39.Qxd6+ Qe7 40.Qb8+ Kg7 41.b6 c4 42.b7 c3 43.Qe5+ f6 44.Qxe6 Qxe6 45.b8Q Qe5+ 46.Qxe5 fxe5 47.c7 1-0
Ushenina, A (2416)-Kosteniuk, A (2471) [A47]
chess.com (20) 2020
1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 b6 3.Bg5 Bb7 4.Nbd2 e6 5.e4 h6 6.Bxf6 Qxf6 7.Bd3 g5 8.c3 Nc6 9.0-0 g4 10.Ne1 Qf4 11.g3 Qg5 12.f4 gxf3 13.Ndxf3 Qg7 14.Ng2 0-0-0 15.Qe2 Kb8 16.Ba6 Ba8 17.a4 f5 18.exf5 exf5 19.a5 Bd6 20.axb6 cxb6 21.Qd2 Rdf8 22.Nf4 h5 23.Nh4 Be7 24.Nfg2 Bd6 25.Nf4 Qg5 26.Rf2 Re8 27.Raf1 Rhf8 28.Bd3 Na5 29.Nfg6 Qxd2 30.Rxd2 Rf6 31.Nf4 Nb3 32.Rdf2 Re3 33.Bc2 Bxf4 34.Rxf4 Nd2 35.Rd1 Nc4 36.Rxf5 Rxf5 37.Bxf5 Nxb2 38.Rf1 Rxc3 39.Bxd7 Kc7 40.Nf5 Be4 41.Be6 a5 42.d5 a4 43.d6+ Kc6 44.d7 Rd3 45.Ne7+ Kc7 46.Rf8 a3 47.Kf2 Bb7 48.Rc8+ Bxc8 49.dxc8Q+ Kd6 50.Nf5+ Ke5 51.Qh8+ Ke4 52.Qxh5 Rd2+ 53.Ke1 Rd1+ 54.Qxd1 Nxd1 55.Kxd1 b5 56.Kc2 b4 57.Kb3 1-0
Ushenina, A (2416)-Kosteniuk, A (2471) [D92]
chess.com (26) 2020
1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 d5 3.Bf4 g6 4.c4 Bg7 5.Nc3 c5 6.dxc5 Be6 7.Nd4 Bc8 8.e3 0-0 9.Rc1 Nc6 10.Nxc6 bxc6 11.Be2 Be6 12.0-0 dxc4 13.Qa4 Nd5 14.Bg3 Nxc3 15.bxc3 Qd5 16.Bf3 Qxc5 17.Bxc6 Rad8 18.Be4 Rd2 19.Rfd1 Rxd1+ 20.Rxd1 Bxc3 21.Rb1 Bf6 22.Rb5 Qc8 23.h3 Qd7 24.Qa6 c3 25.Rc5 Qd1+ 26.Kh2 h5 27.Qxa7 h4 28.Bc7 Qd2 0-1
Kosteniuk, A (2471)-Ushenina, A (2416) [C43]
chess.com (27) 2020
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.d4 Nxe4 4.Bd3 d5 5.Nxe5 Nd7 6.0-0 Nxe5 7.dxe5 Nc5 8.f4 Nxd3 9.Qxd3 g6 10.Be3 Bf5 11.Qb3 b6 12.Rd1 c6 13.c4 d4 14.Rxd4 Qc7 15.Rd1 Be7 16.Nc3 0-0 17.h3 h5 18.Ne2 Rad8 19.Nd4 Be4 20.Bf2 c5 21.Nb5 Qb7 22.Qg3 a6 23.Nc3 b5 24.Nxe4 Qxe4 25.cxb5 axb5 26.Re1 Qf5 27.e6 fxe6 28.Re5 Qf6 29.Rae1 Rd6 30.Bxc5 Rd7 31.Bxe7 Rxe7 32.f5 h4 33.Qxg6+ Qxg6 34.fxg6 Rf6 35.Rg5 b4 36.Re4 b3 37.axb3 Rb7 38.b4 Kg7 39.Rxh4 Rxg6 40.Rxg6+ Kxg6 41.Rg4+ Kf5 42.Kf2 e5 43.Ke3 Rc7 44.b5 Rc2 45.Rb4 Rxg2 46.b6 Rg7 47.b7 1-0
*******
PUZZLERS
WHITE TO MOVE,
MATE IN TWO.
The key to our last problem is 1.Nxe4! Black’s futile options are 1…Qxe4 2.Sxe6#; 1…Rxe4 2.Sxc6#; 1…Sxe4+ 2.Kxg2#; 1…Bxe4 2.Kxf2#./PN
