Tan Zhongyi remains the leader as Vaishali is the only winner in Round 3 of the Women’s Candidates
FIDE Women’s Candidates 2024 (3)
Tan Zhongyi remains the leader as Vaishali is the only winner in Round 3 of the Women’s Candidates
Mark Crowther – Sunday 7th April 2024
Rameshbabu Vaishali and her brother Praggnanandhaa (the R initial in the rating list is the family name) were the only winners in the Candidates today. Photo © | https://candidates.fide.com
Humpy Koneru has looked very solid so far in the Women’s Candidates, she had the draw
that gave her the black pieces in the first two rounds, she met the leader Tan Zhongyi in Round 3 and had the white pieces for the first time.
This was a reversed Gruenfeld and after a slight inaccuracy Koneru allowed the kind of equality
frequently seen in this kind of position and the game was drawn.
Rameshbabu Vaishali just like her brother Praggnanandhaa was the only winner in the women’s event.
Nurgyul Salimova seemed to panic in the face of Vaishali’s aggression and her position collapsed
after several mistakes. Anna Muzychuk almost won her game against Kateryna Lagno, it was
just the final precise sequence that escaped her. Lei Tingjie drew with Aleksandra Goryachkina
in a seemingly well played game by both sides in an Evans Gambit.
Round 3 Standings:
1st Tan 2½pts
2nd Goryachkina 2 pts
3rd-5th Koneru, Lagno, Vaishali 1.5pts,
6th-8th Lei Tingjie, Anna Muzychuk, Salimova 1pt.
Round 4 7th April at 19:30BST:
Lagno-Tan,
Salimova-Koneru,
Goryachkina-Vaishali,
Muzychuk-Lei.
Round 3 Summary
Humpy Koneru had her first game with the white pieces
in the tournament against the leader Tan Zhongyi.
This was a reversed Exchange Gruenfeld. White had
a little something but 14.Nxd5 wasn’t accurate and
black was equal. Trades happened and they drew
by repetition on move 32 in a very drawn position.
Rameshbabu Vaishali bounced back from her
vexing loss to the leader in round 2 by beating
Nurgyul Salimova in a Petroff. The key moments
of the game were in the sequence 10…Bd7N 11.h4?!
(11.Bd3) 11…Re8?! (11…Ng4! and black is more than
equal) 12.Ng5 h6 13.Bd3 (13.Bc4 was better) 13…Ng4
14.Nxf7 (best but only equal) Kxf7 15.Bc4+ Kf8 16.Qd3
Bg5+? (16…Bf6 only move but equal) and now white is winning.
17.Kb1?! (17.hxg5 works not sure what the players were missing)
17…Ne5? (17…Bf6= last chance) 18.Bxe5 (not the only win) Bf6 19.Bxd6
and Vaishali finished up four pawns up and Nurgyul Salimova struck
the flag on move 33.
Anna Muzychuk had a bad loss in round 2 but should have bounced
back in Round 3 against Kateryna Lagno. This was a Ruy Lopez
where white didn’t get much, 19.Nc5 Qd5?! (19…Bc6 was cleaner)
was the start of some tension, 31.Qc8 was an excellent try
forcing black to find 31…e4, a really not obvious reply,
31…Qb5 was losing, but only if Rd1 was found, either straight away
or after 32.Qf5+ Kh8 32.Qc8 returning to the original position. This
was indeed found, most of the hard work was done but a final precise sequence
starting with 37.Qe8+ Kf5 38.Qh5+ Ke6 39.Re8+ needed to be found around here,
instead perpetual check was given by Muzychuk.
Lei Tingjie drew with Aleksandra Goryachkina in an Evans
Gambit in 45 moves. White looked to be slightly better
at one stage but a draw was only a matter of time after move 33.
| FIDE Women’s Candidates Toronto CAN (CAN), 3-26 iv 2024 | cat. XI (2517) | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | |||||||||||||||
| 1. | Tan, Zhongyi | g | CHN | 2521 | * | * | . | . | ½ | . | . | . | 1 | . | 1 | . | . | . | . | . | 2½ | 2796 |
| 2. | Goryachkina, Aleksandra | g | FID | 2553 | . | . | * | * | . | . | ½ | . | . | . | ½ | . | 1 | . | . | . | 2 | 2662 |
| 3. | Koneru, Humpy | g | IND | 2546 | ½ | . | . | . | * | * | ½ | . | ½ | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | 1½ | 2512 |
| 4. | Lagno, Kateryna | g | RUS | 2542 | . | . | ½ | . | ½ | . | * | * | . | . | . | . | ½ | . | . | . | 1½ | 2539 |
| 5. | Vaishali, Rameshbabu | m | IND | 2475 | 0 | . | . | . | ½ | . | . | . | * | * | . | . | . | . | 1 | . | 1½ | 2499 |
| 6. | Lei, Tingjie | g | CHN | 2550 | 0 | . | ½ | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | * | * | . | . | ½ | . | 1 | 2377 |
| 7. | Muzychuk, Anna | g | UKR | 2520 | . | . | 0 | . | . | . | ½ | . | . | . | . | . | * | * | ½ | . | 1 | 2384 |
| 8. | Salimova, Nurgyul | m | BUL | 2432 | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | 0 | . | ½ | . | ½ | . | * | * | 1 | 2390 |
| Round 3 (April 6, 2024) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Koneru, Humpy | – Tan, Zhongyi | ½-½ | 32 | D02 | Queen’s Pawn Game | |
| Vaishali, Rameshbabu | – Salimova, Nurgyul | 1-0 | 33 | C42 | Petroff’s Defence | |
| Lei, Tingjie | – Goryachkina, Aleksandra | ½-½ | 45 | C51 | Evans Gambit | |
| Muzychuk, Anna | – Lagno, Kateryna | ½-½ | 44 | C88 | Ruy Lopez Closed | |
FIDE World Championship Candidates Round 3 Video
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