Women's event at the 43rd Chess Olympiad

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
General information
Dates run 24 September – 5 October 2018
Competitors 747
Teams 151
Nations 146
Venue Sport Palace Batumi
Location Batumi, Georgia
Team medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s)  China
2nd place, silver medalist(s)  Ukraine
3rd place, bronze medalist(s)  Georgia
Board gold medalists
Board 1
Board 2
Board 3
Board 4
Reserve
Boshra Alshaebyi

The women's event at the 43rd Chess Olympiad was held from 24 September – 5 October 2018. It was contested by a record number of 151 teams, representing 146 nations.[1] Georgia, as host nation, fielded three teams, whilst the International Braille Chess Association (IBCA), the International Physically Disabled Chess Association (IPCA), and the International Chess Committee of the Deaf (ICCD) each provided one team. A total of 747 players participated in the open event.[2]

Boshra Alshaebyi of Jordan as a reserve player with 8 out of 8 and a rating performance of 2568.[4]

Competition format and calendar

The tournament was played in a Swiss system format. The time control for all games was 90 minutes for the first 40 moves, after which an additional 30 minutes were granted and increment of 30 seconds per move was applied. Players were permitted to offer a draw at any time. A total of 11 rounds were played, with all teams playing in every round.[5]

In each round, four players from each team faced four players from another team; teams were permitted one reserve player who could be substituted between rounds. The four games were played simultaneously on four boards,

Sonneborn-Berger system; ii) total game points scored; iii) the sum of the match points of the opponents, excluding the lowest one.[5]

Tournament rounds started on 24 September and ended with the final round on 5 October. All rounds started at 15:00 GET (UTC+4), except for the final round which started at 11:00 GET (UTC+4). There was one rest day at the tournament, on 29 September after the fifth round.[6]

All dates are GET (UTC+4)
1 Round RD Rest day
September/October 24th
Mon 		25th
Tue 		26th
Wed 		27th
Thu 		28th
Fri 		29th
Sat 		30th
Sun 		1st
Mon 		2nd
Tue 		3rd
Wed 		4th
Thu 		5th
Fri
Tournament round 1 2 3 4 5 RD 6 7 8 9 10 11

Teams and players

The Women's event was contested a record number of 151 teams, representing 146 nations.[1] Georgia, as host nation, have fielded three teams, whilst the International Physically Disabled Chess Association (IPCA) and the International Chess Committee of the Deaf (ICCD) each provided one team.[7]

The women's section featured most of the top players according to the FIDE rating list published in September 2018 with the highest rated female player Hou Yifan and the former Women's World Champion Tan Zhongyi not playing for China.[8] Former Women's World Champions Alexandra Kosteniuk, Anna Ushenina and Mariya Muzychuk are part of their national teams, while Antoaneta Stefanova was not playing because of the controversy with the Bulgarian Chess Federation.[9] Sweden's Pia Cramling, who first played at the Chess Olympiads, was also not playing because of her role about captaincy.[8]

The team with highest average pre-tournament rating of 2523 was Russia, who are playing with the same line-up from the Baku Chess Olympiad, including former Women's World Champion

Bela Khotenashvili and Meri Arabidze.[10]

  • Current Women's World Chess Champion and world no. 2 Ju Wenjun was playing on board one for China
    Current Women's World Chess Champion and world no. 2 Ju Wenjun was playing on board one for China
  • Former Women's World Chess Champion and world no. 3 Alexandra Kosteniuk was playing on board one for Russia
    Former Women's World Chess Champion and world no. 3 Alexandra Kosteniuk was playing on board one for Russia
  • Humpy Koneru was playing on board one for India
    Humpy Koneru was playing on board one for India
  • Former Women's World Chess Champion Mariya Muzychuk was playing on board two for Ukraine
    Former Women's World Chess Champion Mariya Muzychuk was playing on board two for Ukraine
  • Former Women's World Chess Champion Anna Ushenina was playing on board three for Ukraine
    Former Women's World Chess Champion Anna Ushenina was playing on board three for Ukraine

Rounds

This section uses algebraic notation to describe chess moves.

Round 1

As is common in the first round of an olympiad, several of the poorer federations were unable to field teams. Omitted from the pairings were Nigeria, Pakistan, Ivory Coast, Rwanda and Burundi.

Alexandra Goryachkina on the top board for had even a lost position in one moment against 1943-rated WIM Maria Rodriguez but managed to save the game.[13]

Round 2

The second round was marked by

Natalija Pogonina on the lowest board. Ukraine were also challenged in their match on the first table by Turkmenistan, where Natalia Zhukova scored a nice win in the only decisive game and helped her the Ukrainian team overcome with a minimal win. Germany were unexpectedly held to a draw by Georgia's third team, while Kazakhstan could also not win their match against Peru. On the other hand, India and Azerbaijan did not have problems and eased Venezuela and Belgium, respectively.[14][15]

Round 3

There were no big upsets in the third round. Russia bounced back from the shocking loss to Uzbekistan in the previous round with a convincing 4-0 win over

Humpy Koneru and Harika Dronavalli won their games on the first two boards for India but Serbia's Adela Velikić and Teodora Injac scored on the lower boards.[17] Poland could also not win their match against Turkey and played 2-2.[18]

Round 4

Mammadzada vs Zatonskih
abcdefgh
8
f7 white rook
f4 black knight
e3 black king
g3 white king
g1 black rook
8
77
66
55
44
33
22
11
abcdefgh
In this position, Mammadzada made a blunder by playing 106. Kh4? (106. Kh2 would have saved the game) and resigned immediately after 106... Kf3.

The most interesting match of the fourth round was the clash between Azerbaijan and the United States in which American Anna Zatonskih squeezed out win in a theoretically drawn rook and a knight vs rook endgame against Gunay Mammadzada on the top board (see diagram). China did not allow another surprise by Uzbekistan and won 3-1, while India go back with a 3-1 victory against Poland thanks to the wins by Harika Dronavalli and Tania Sachdev. Ukraine easily routed Slovenia 4-0, Mongolia were convincing against Iran 3½-½, and Armenia edged out Italy 2½-1½. On the other boards, the second Georgian team snatched a narrow victory over Hungary, as well as Turkey in their match against Serbia.[19] Only six teams remained with perfect scores after four rounds: United States, China, Ukraine, Mongolia, Armenia and Georgia.[20]

Round 5

There were several interesting matches played in the fifth round. The main encounter occurred on the third table between Georgia and Ukraine with draws on the higher and one win each on the lower boards.

Bela Khotenashvili scored full point for Georgia. Armenia managed to hold against China thanks to Lilit Mkrtchian's win on the second board but Lei Tingjie scored for the opposing team. India did not habe problems in their comfortable 3½-½ victory over Argentina with wins by Koneru Humpy, Tania Sachdev and Eesha Karavade, while the second Georgian team defeated Turkey with the same result after Salome Melia, Sopio Gvetadze and Sopiko Khukhashvili scored full point each. In the other matches on the higher tables, Azerbaijan and Canada won their clashes against Greece and Tajikistan 3-1, respectively. Czech Republic minimally beat Australia thanks to a win on the top board by Karolína Olšarová. The top-seeded Russian team did not have difficulties in outplaying Germany 3½-½, while the United States scored the same result in their match against Mongolia, thus ascending to the top as the only team with perfect score after six rounds.[21] Only six teams remained with perfect scores after four rounds: United States, China, Ukraine, Mongolia, Armenia and Georgia.[22]

Round 6

The top pairing of the sixth round occurred on the second table, where Ukraine and China exchanged one win each in a 2-2 tie. Both victories were scored by Black on the second and third board, where former Women's World Chess Champion

Jennifer Yu for the American team. Russia suffered their second loss in the tournament after suffering a 3-1 knockdown by Armenia. Lilit Mkrtchian and Siranush Ghukasyan exploited their play as White on the second and fourth board, respectively.[23] Azerbaijan scored a minimal victory against Latvia thanks to Ulviyya Fataliyeva's win on the last board. On the other top tables, Georgia's first narrowly beat Georgia's second team 2½-1½, Italy beat Cuba 3-1, while Lithuania tied their match against Kazakhstan.[24] United States, Georgia and Armenia with 11/12 match points each were on the top after six rounds.[25]

Round 7

The central match of the seventh round was the clash between Armenia and United States on the first table, where Armenians snatched a minimal victory thanks to the

Corina-Isabela Peptan and Elena-Luminița Cosma, while Gulrukhbegim Tokhirjonova scored a futile win for the opposing team. Kazakhstan and Hungary stormed past Argentina and Serbia, respectively, with 3½-½ wins. Armenia were the sole leader after this round ahead of China, Ukraina, Georgia and Romania with one match point behind.[28]

Round 8

Ushenina vs Sargsyan
abcdefgh
8
a8 black rook
b8 black knight
d8 black queen
e8 black king
f8 black bishop
h8 black rook
a7 black pawn
e7 black pawn
f7 black pawn
g7 black pawn
h7 black pawn
c6 black pawn
e6 white pawn
b5 black pawn
d5 black knight
h5 black bishop
c4 black pawn
d4 white pawn
c3 white knight
f3 white knight
h3 white pawn
a2 white pawn
b2 white pawn
e2 white bishop
f2 white pawn
g2 white pawn
a1 white rook
c1 white bishop
d1 white queen
e1 white king
h1 white rook
8
77
66
55
44
33
22
11
abcdefgh
This position has arrived at after 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. e4 b5 6. Be2 Bg4 7. h3 Bh5 8. e5 Nd5 9. e6. Here Sargsyan played 9... fxe6?, which allowed Ushenina to launch a strong attack and leave her in a desperate position. Black resigned after White's 20th move.

Ukraine and the sole leader Armenia played on the top table of Round 8.

Tuvshintugs Batchimeg scored for the winning team, while Karina Szczepkowska brought her team the only point in the match. China and Ukraine topped the table after the round with 14/16 each.[30]

Round 9

The ninth round saw China beating Kazakhstan 3-1 for their third consecutive match victory thanks to

Bela Khotenashvili. On the other boards Georgia's second team tied with Serbia, while no winner occurred in the matches contested between Italy and India, as well as between Uzbekistan and France. After Ukraine failed to win their match against Azerbaijan, China were the only team on the top of the table after the round.[32]

Round 10

All matches of the tenth round played on the first seven tables were tied, while all games in the matches on the top three tables were drawn. These include China against the United States, Russia against Ukraine, and Azerbaijan against Armenia. Vietnam and Hungary as well as Spain and Kazakhstan exchanged one win each. Georgia and the Czech Republic tied with four decisive games and full point scored by those playing as White, where Nana Dzagnidze and Bela Khotenashvili won for the host nation, and Joanna Worek and Kristyna Novosadova for the Czech team.[33][34][35]

Round 11

The final round saw the encounter between the top-seeded Russia and the reigning champions China. Russia took the lead thanks to Alexandra Goryachkina who beat Shen Yang as Black on the second board but her team was held to a draw after Ju Wenjun beat Alewxandra Kosteniuk as Black on board one. Ukraine defeated the United States 3-1 and equalised China in the number of match points on the top. China had, however, a superior tie-break and therefore won the gold ahead of Ukraine. The bronze medal went to the host nation Georgia, whose team scored a commanding 3-1 win over Armenia with wins by Nana Dzagnidze and Lela Javakhishvili.[3][36]

Final standings

Women's World Chess Champion Ju Wenjun of China was the best individual player in the Women's event.

China successfully defended the gold medal won in the Women's event 2016 and claimed their sixth title overall. The team scored seven wins and four draws for a total of 18 match points. This exact achievement was matched only by Ukraine, who had inferior tie-breaker and won the silver medal. These two teams were also the only unbeaten in the Women's event. Host nation Georgia finished solely on the third place and won the bronze medal with seven wins, three draws and one loss for a total of 17 match points.[3][37] Russia, who were top seeds before the tournament, finished immediately after the podium on the fourth place after suffering losses to Uzbekistan in the second and Armenia in the sixth round, and being only on the 24th place after seven rounds.[25] They scored 16 match points and had the highest tie-breaker among the nine teams with the same number of points. Armenia, who were the sole leader after seven rounds, occupied the seventh place at the end. Georgia's second team did also earn spot in the top ten, finishing on the ninth place overall. Teams that disappointed include Poland who finished in 16th place and Germany who finished in 28th place.[36]

Women's World Chess Champion

Boshra Alshaebyi of Jordan as a reserve player with 8 out of 8 and a rating performance of 2568.[4]
Women's event[37]
# Country Players Average
rating		 MP dSB
1  China Ju, Shen, Huang, Lei, Zhai 2485 18 407.0
2  Ukraine
Osmak
 2486 18 395.5
3  Georgia
Khotenashvili, Arabidze
 2484 17 375.0
4  Russia Kosteniuk, Goryachkina, Gunina, Pogonina, Girya 2523 16 379.5
5  Hungary Hoang, A. Gara, T. Gara, Lakos, Terbe 2344 16 372.0
6  Armenia Danielian, Mkrtchian, Sargsyan, Kursova, Ghukasyan 2353 16 366.0
7  United States
Yu
 2382 16 359.5
8  India
Koneru, Dronavalli, Sachdev, Karavade, Rout
 2458 16 352.5
9 Georgia-2 Melia, Charkhalashvili, Gvetadze, Khukhashvili, Mikadze 2334 16 351.5
10  Azerbaijan Mammadzada, Mamedyarova, Balajayeva, Mammadova, Fataliyeva 2369 16 347.5
Notes
  • Average ratings calculated by chess-results.com based in September 2016 ratings.

All board prizes were given out according to performance ratings for players who have played at least eight games at the tournament. Ju Wenjun on the first board had the best performance of all players in the tournament.[4] The winners of the gold medal on each board are listed in turn:[4]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "43rd Olympiad Batumi 2018 Women". Chess-Results.com.
  2. ^ "43rd Olympiad Batumi 2018 Open - Alphabetical list of players in the Women's event". Chess-Results.com.
  3. ^ a b c "43rd Chess Olympiad: Double gold for China!". FIDE. 5 October 2018. Archived from the original on 25 September 2018. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  4. ^ a b c d "The best player per board: according Ratingperformance - Women". Chess-Results.com.
  5. ^ a b "FIDE Handbook: Olympiad Pairing Rules". FIDE.
  6. ^ "43rd Chess Olympiad Batumi - Invitation" (PDF). Batumi Chess Olympiad Organizing Committee. p. 11. Retrieved 24 September 2018.
  7. ^ "Teams – Women". Batumi2018.FIDE.com. Archived from the original on 13 September 2018. Retrieved 24 September 2018.
  8. ^ a b c Klein, Mike (10 August 2018). "Chess Olympiad Lineups Announced; Russian Streak Ends". Chess.com.
  9. ^
    Chess24.com
    . 22 September 2018.
  10. ^ "43rd Olympiad Batumi 2018 Women - Georgia". Chess-Results.com.
  11. ^ Herzog, Heinz. "43rd Olympiad Batumi 2018 Women". Chess-Results.com.
  12. ^ "43rd Chess Olympiad - Round 1". FIDE. 25 September 2018. Archived from the original on 25 September 2018. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  13. ^ McGourty, Colin (25 September 2018). "Batumi 2018, 1: Isolated heroes". Chess24.com.
  14. ^ "43rd Chess Olympiad - Round 2". FIDE. 26 September 2018. Archived from the original on 25 September 2018. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  15. ^ McGourty, Colin (26 September 2018). "Batumi 2018, 2: Uzbekistan shock Russia". Chess24.com.
  16. ^ "43rd Chess Olympiad - Round 3". FIDE. 27 September 2018. Archived from the original on 25 September 2018. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  17. ^ "43rd Olympiad Batumi 2018 Women - Board pairings in Round 3". Chess-Results.com.
  18. ^ McGourty, Colin (27 September 2018). "Batumi 2018, 3: USA set up India showdown". Chess24.com.
  19. ^ "43rd Chess Olympiad - Round 4". FIDE. 28 September 2018. Archived from the original on 25 September 2018. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  20. ^ McGourty, Colin (28 September 2018). "Batumi 2018, 4: Kramnik falls as Poland beat Russia". Chess24.com.
  21. ^ "43rd Chess Olympiad - Round 5". FIDE. 29 September 2018. Archived from the original on 25 September 2018. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  22. ^ McGourty, Colin (29 September 2018). "Batumi 2018, 5: Shak attack!". Chess24.com.
  23. ^ McGourty, Colin (1 October 2018). "Batumi 2018, 6: Azerbaijan and Poland lead". Chess24.com.
  24. ^ "43rd Chess Olympiad - Round 6". FIDE. 1 October 2018. Archived from the original on 25 September 2018. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  25. ^ a b "43rd Olympiad Batumi 2018 Women - Ranking list after Round 6". Chess-Results.com.
  26. ^ McGourty, Colin (2 October 2018). "Batumi 2018, 7: The tension builds". Chess24.com.
  27. ^ "43rd Olympiad Batumi 2018 Women - Board pairings in Round 6". Chess-Results.com.
  28. ^ "43rd Chess Olympiad - Round 7". FIDE. 2 October 2018. Archived from the original on 25 September 2018. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  29. ^ McGourty, Colin (3 October 2018). "Batumi 2018, 8: USA lead as Fabi beats Shak". Chess24.com.
  30. ^ "43rd Chess Olympiad - Round 8". FIDE. 3 October 2018. Archived from the original on 25 September 2018. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  31. ^ McGourty, Colin (4 October 2018). "Batumi 2018, 9: Nakamura loses as Poland beat USA". Chess24.com.
  32. ^ "43rd Chess Olympiad - Round 9". FIDE. 4 October 2018. Archived from the original on 25 September 2018. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  33. ^ McGourty, Colin (5 October 2018). "Batumi 2018, 10: China-USA showdown". Chess24.com.
  34. ^ "43rd Chess Olympiad - Round 10". FIDE. 5 October 2018. Archived from the original on 25 September 2018. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  35. ^ "43rd Olympiad Batumi 2018 Women - Board pairings in Round 10". Chess-Results.com.
  36. ^ a b Klein, Mike (5 October 2018). "Chess Olympiad: China Wins Double Gold". Chess.com.
  37. ^ a b "Final Ranking after 11 Rounds - Women". Chess-Results.com.

External links

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