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Round 3: Harika Dronavalli and Ju Wenjun are leading |
 Round 3: Harika Dronavalli and Ju Wenjun are leading
Ju Wenjun defeated her compatriot Zhao Xue today to catch up Harika Dronavalli, who made a draw against World Champion Hou Yifan. Humpy Koneru and Nafisa Muminova played a dramatic game, which finished in a draw but not before both players missed good chances to win. Batchimeg Tuvshintugs and Anna Ushenina played a relatively quiet game and split a point just before the first time control. Alina L’Ami and Zhu Chen lost the third game in a row against Tatiana Kosintseva and Elina Danielian respectively.
Ju Wenjun 1-0 Zhao Xue
After the quiet opening it looked like another game between two Chinese players was about to finish in a draw. However, Black underestimated the dangers in an opposite colored bishop endgame.
It’s hard to say if Black could still make a draw but at the press conference players agreed that Zhao Xue hasn’t used all defensive recourses and could have created more difficulties for White.
 Black chose unnecessary 27…Nc6 and went into the endgame with opposite colored bishops. The players agreed that 27…f6 and 28…Nd7 was safer for Black.
Danielian, Elina 1-0 Zhu Chen
Elina Danielian got an advantage out of the opening but nothing crucial was happening until Zhu Chen put her rook on e4. White reacted strongly and it became clear that Black pieces were trapped and there is no way to escape without losing material.
 After 23.Ne5! Black are in trouble.  26.Rc6! and the position of Black collapsed. Tuvshintugs, Batchimeg ½-½ Ushenina, Anna
Very quiet and solid game where both players didn’t really have chances to play for something more than a draw.
l'Ami, Alina 0-1 Kosintseva, Tatiana
It seems Tatiana Kosintseva is always ready to sacrifice a pawn to get some activity. Alina L’Ami has accepted the gift but later on she could have regretted as the attack on the King’s side became really strong.
It was still possible to defend the position but in the time trouble Romanian player made a crucial mistake.
 After 28.Bg4! White has good chances to escape. After 28.Qg2 Tatiana simply changed the queens and continued crashing attack on White's king. Muminova, Nafisa ½-½ Koneru Humpy
Humpy Koneru decided to play a new line with 7…Na6. Black managed to obtain comfortable position and had high hopes to develop an attack on the King’s side.
In this position Humpy Koneru underestimated her chances after 28…f4 but chose 28…Bc5 instead. She was afraid of 29. Nf5 but a brief analyze at the press conference showed it was a good opportunity to play for win.
After 28…Bc5 Indian player lost her track and started to miss the moves of the opponent. Humpy ended up in the lost position and was lucky to make a draw due to help from Nafisa Muminova.
Hou Yifan ½-½ Dronavalli Harika
Harika was surprised with Yifan’s choice at the opening but still knew the main ideas. While White tried to play on King’s side Black managed to create strong counter play on the other side of the board.
The position was balanced until Hou Yifan played passively 28.Nf1. According to Harika she got a strong feeling that there was a chance to play for more at that point. She could have tried 29…Nd4 but didn’t manage to calculate a precise way under time pressure. The game finished with three times repetition after 35 moves.
In the fourth round one of the central games of the tournament will be played - Hou Yifan will face Humpy Koneru. Hou Yifan is half a point ahead of Koneru and plays more stable so far. Nevertheless, Indian player has white pieces and strong motivation. |
