In these two videos Tryfon Gavriel aka Kingscrusher annotates two Volga Gambit games played by Natalia Pogonina vs. Zhao Xue at the recent Women's World Chess Championship. Enjoy!
Georgia Wins World Women's Chess Team Championship
Written by Administrator
Wednesday, 29 April 2015
Team Georgia: Bela Khotenashvili, Lela Javakhishvili, Meri Arabidze, Nino Batsiashvili, Salome Melia Images from the official site
The World Women's Team Chess Championship took place in Chengdu, China from April 18 to 29. The format was a round robin featuring 10 teams which have qualified for the event. Here is the final standings:
Issue #165 of the weekly chess newsletter "Top GM Secrets" has been released.
It is delivered by e-mail on weekends in both pdf and pgn formats.
Table of Contents
Editorial Preface.Shamkir. World Team Chess Championships. By GM Arkadij Naiditsch, best FIDE rating - 2737 and GM Csaba Balogh, best FIDE rating - 2672. Two Best Games of the Week.GM Wesley So (2788) - GM Anish Giri (2790), Shamkir, 1-0 annotated by GM Arkadij Naiditsch. GM Csaba Balogh (2655) - GM Isan Ortiz Suarez (2625), World Team Chess Championship, 1-0 annotated by GM Csaba Balogh. The K-Files. The Blumenfeld Gambit, Part II by GM Alexander Khalifman, ex-FIDE World Chess Champion. David vs. GoliathDavid vs. Goliath. 5 upsets of the week by Peter Zhdanov, Chief Editor of Pogonina.com. Young & Talented. GM Wei Yi (2703) - GM Hrant Melkumyan (2651) annotated by GM Etienne Bacrot, best FIDE rating - 2749. NEW 10 Tactical Puzzles from Recent Games. By the Chess Evolution Team. Endgame Section. GM Fabiano Caruan \a (2802) - GM Magnus Carlsen (2863), Shamkir, 0-1 annotated by GM Csaba Balogh. GM Magnus Carlsen (2863) - GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (2765), Shamkir, 1-0 annotated by GM Arkadij Naiditsch. Chess and the City. "Size matters?!" by WGM Elisabeth Paehtz, best FIDE rating - 2493. Clash of the Titans. Mikhail Botvinnik - Ratmir Kholmov, Moscow Championship 1969, 1-0 annotated by GM Kamil Miton, best FIDE rating - 2655. Surprise Section/Study.By the Chess Evolution Team. Solutions to the puzzles from Top GM Secrets #164.
You can find more information about the "Top GM Secrets" newsletter and the subscription options at Chess-Newsletter.com.
Interview by Anatoliy Samokhvalov, R-Sport
Translation: Pogonina.com
Russian grandmaster Natalia Pogonina told R-Sport interviwer Anatoliy Samokhvalov about her expectations for the World Team Chess Championship which is starting on Sunday in Chengdu, China. Recently Natalia became the runner-up of the Women's World Chess Championship. The tournament was held in Sochi, Russia.
- Natalia you are currently between two world championships. Is this the proper time to be in top shape?
- I don't focus my attention on whether I am in my best form or not. If you try to peak at one event you are likely to fail at another one. After the tournament in China I have one more tournament coming up. Hence, I don't want to program myself in such a way. Of course, for any chess player the World Championship is the main event: more important than the Olympiad or than the World Team Championship. But I am trying to do my best at every competition!
- Don't you overburden yourself this way?
- It depends on the emotions. If you keep wasting them, you will get burned out. I approach my job carefully and calmly. There is no need to tell oneself: "Come on, you have to prove yourself at all costs!". Such slogans lead to fatigue and stress.
- Were you affected by the fact that the championship (originally scheduled for autumn 2014) had been postponed?
- Not really. I was told that the event will probably take place in sprint, so I wasn't planning to play anywhere else during this period.
- Were you expecting to travel to UAE? This was the original plan for the venue.
- To be honest, I wasn't expecting the tournament to take place there. There was no information about the preparation. Russian President Vladimir Putin basically saved us. If not for him, I have no idea who would host the championship. Even with men's events there are often problems finding sponsorship, for example, for the Grand Prix stages. With respect to women's chess fundraising is even more problematic.
Issue #164 of the weekly chess newsletter "Top GM Secrets" has been released.
It is delivered by e-mail on Fridays in both pdf and pgn formats.
Table of Contents
Editorial Preface.Dubai Open. US Chess Championship. Shamkir. World Team Chess Championships. By GM Arkadij Naiditsch, best FIDE rating - 2737 and GM Csaba Balogh, best FIDE rating - 2672. Two Best Games of the Week.GM Vladimir Fedoseev (2674) - GM Yuri Solodovnichenko (2584), Dubai Open, 1-0 annotated by GM Arkadij Naiditsch. GM Kayden Troff (2532) - GM Hikaru Nakamura (2798), US Chess Championship, 0-1 annotated by GM Csaba Balogh. The K-Files. The Blumenfeld Gambit by GM Alexander Khalifman, ex-FIDE World Chess Champion. David vs. GoliathDavid vs. Goliath. 11 upsets of the week by Peter Zhdanov, Chief Editor of Pogonina.com. 10 Tactical Puzzles from Recent Games. By the Chess Evolution Team. Endgame Section. GM Alexander Onischuk (2665) - GM Daniel Naroditsky (2615), US Chess Chess Championship, 1-0 annotated by GM Csaba Balogh. GM Yuri Kuzubov (2667) - GM Dragan Solak (2607), Dubai Open, 0-1 annotated by GM Arkadij Naiditsch. Chess and the City. "Not all that glitters is gold" by WGM Elisabeth Paehtz, best FIDE rating - 2493. Clash of the Titans. Mikhail Botvinnik - Arturo Pomar Salamanca, Chess Olympiad 1962, 1-0 annotated by GM Kamil Miton, best FIDE rating - 2655. Surprise Section/Study.By the Chess Evolution Team. Solutions to the puzzles from Top GM Secrets #163.
Starting from the next issue super GM Etienne Bacrot will join the Top GM Secrets team! His column will be titled "Young & talented".
You can find more information about the "Top GM Secrets" newsletter and the subscription options at Chess-Newsletter.com.
Natalia Pogonina: The race after titles, fame and money is destroying people from the inside
Written by Administrator
Tuesday, 14 April 2015
Natalia, my congratulations to you on an inspiring performance!
What were your expectations for the Womens World Chess Championship? The bookmakers didnt seem to have a lot of confidence in you: one of the companies estimated the odds of you winning the event at 1:41, while the #1 favorites chances, according to their assessment, were almost 13 times higher. Did you set any goals before the tournament?
I dont pay attention to such forecasts. Humans are in charge of all those assessments, and they tend to make mistakes. For a player there is not much sense in studying such information. Under the knockout system anyone can pull oneself together and do well. One shouldnt set any limits for oneself. I didnt have any particular goals and didnt treat it in the the minimal task is to reach round X way. I was mentally prepared to go home after the very first round. If I move on, its nice. If not, its also fine, because I will return to my family. Maybe this attitude helped me to focus on the game itself instead of dwelling on the results. My attention was on the game, not on the outcome.
Vladimir Kramnik: "I am fascinated by Natalia Pogonina's performance"
Written by Administrator
Thursday, 09 April 2015
XIVth World Chess Champion Vladimir Kramnik congratulated the participants of the Women's World Chess Championship Final:
I congratulate the Ukrainian grandmaster Mariya Muzychuk on conquering the queen of chess title. I myself won the World Cup in 2013 and know firsthand how hard it is to prevail in long knock-out competitions. Mariya cruised through this tough and gruelling routine with splendour and demonstrated her power of will, stress tolerance and resourcefulness. This victory can by all means be called a true sports feat.
I am also fascinated by the performance of the Russian player Natalia Pogonina. She established a peculiar record: winning "on demand" three second games of three successive matches.
I wish further creative achievements to both chess players!
Natalia Pogonina: "There Were no Politics in the Chess Final"
Written by Administrator
Tuesday, 07 April 2015
The World Championship finalist Natalia Pogonina told in the interview for Gazeta.ru about her path in the Sochi tournament, the secrets of Olympiad victories, Russian-Ukrainian friendship and the benefits of chess for character development.
A Women's World Chess Championship just ended in Sochi. It was won by Maria Muzychuk from Ukraine, who became the 15th World Champion; she defeated Pogonina 2.5-1.5 in the final. Natalia talked to the Gazeta.ru reporter shortly before the closing ceremony.
I want to move forward
First of all, congratulations with reaching the World Championship final. Does it feel great to become a part of chess history?
I didn't think much about it. I didn't expect to reach the final and to become a vice-champion. This was unexpected, but I can't say that I had any particularly strong emotions or impressions. Perhaps it's only now, perhaps I've just became calmer. I've won two Olympiads and a Russian championship already. I did have good results... So I don't really know what to say.
But there'll be a line in the annals of chess, "In 2015, Muzychuk played Pogonina for Women's World Championship in Sochi..."
I don't think it's that much important whether I became a part of chess history. I'm not too excited.
Venue: Sochi, Russia Schedule: March 16 - April 7 Format: knock-out, 64 participants, 6 rounds Prize fund: $450,000 Official site Regulations
1/32-final: Natalia Pogonina defeated Guo Qi 1.5-0.5.
1/16-final: Natalia knocked out Ju Wenjun 1.5-0.5.
1/8-final: Natalia Pogonina and Marie Sebag traded blows in classical chess. Natalia won the rapid tie-break 2-0.
1/4-final: Natalia Pogonina and Zhao Xue exchanged wins in classical chess. Natalia won the rapid tie-break 1.5-0.5.
1/2-final: Natalia Pogonina prevailed over Pia Cramling after tying the classical match 1-1 and winning the rapid section 1.5-0.5.
Final: Natalia Pogonina vs. Mariya Muzychuk. Mariya won 2.5-1.5 and was crowned the XVth Women's World Chess Champion.
