GM norms for Ju and Harika

1st Hangzhou Women Grandmaster Chess Tournament
Ju Wenjun convincing winner with 6,5 points

The 1st Hangzhou Women Grandmaster Chess Tournament was held from 13th to 23rd July in Hangzhou, China. Ten top women players competed in the round robin event that is concurrent with the World Chess Team Championship in Ningbo, also in China.

The 2010 China chess champion Ju Wenjun signed a couple of important victories in the middle of tournament and drew the final three games to preserve the first place, leaving the second-placed Harika Dronavalli a full point behind. Both Ju and Harika earned Grandmaster norms.

Women's World Champion Yifan Hou had a bumpy ride and only the win in the final round got her rounded at 50% score.

Final standings:

1 WGM Ju Wenjun CHN 2515 - 6.5
2 IM Harika Dronavalli IND 2513 - 5.5
3 GM Zhao Xue CHN 2470 - 5
4 GM Kosintseva Nadezhda RUS 2560 - 5
5 GM Zhu Chen QAT 2485 - 4.5
6 GM Hou Yifan CHN 2575 - 4.5
7 GM Sebag Marie FRA 2510 - 4.5
8 GM Dzagnidze Nana GEO 2537 - 4
9 GM Kosintseva Tatiana RUS 2557 - 3
10 IM Zatonskih Anna USA 2522 - 2.5

Ju Wenjun wins 1st Hangzhou Women Tournament

Round 9 on 2011/07/23 at 11:00
Bo.	No.		Name	Result		Name	No.
1	5	GM	Kosintseva Tatiana	0 - 1	GM	Dzagnidze Nana	10
2	6	WGM	Ju Wenjun	½ - ½	GM	Zhu Chen	4
3	7	IM	Zatonskih Anna	½ - ½	IM	Harika Dronavalli	3
4	8	GM	Zhao Xue	1 - 0	GM	Sebag Marie	2
5	9	GM	Kosintseva Nadezhda	0 - 1	GM	Hou Yifan	1

Final standings

Rk.		Name	FED	Rtg	Pts.	TB1	TB2
1	WGM	Ju Wenjun	CHN	2515	6.5	0.0	4
2	IM	Harika Dronavalli	IND	2513	5.5	0.0	2
3	GM	Zhao Xue	CHN	2470	5.0	0.5	2
	GM	Kosintseva Nadezhda	RUS	2560	5.0	0.5	2
5	GM	Zhu Chen	QAT	2485	4.5	1.5	3
6	GM	Hou Yifan	CHN	2575	4.5	1.5	2
7	GM	Sebag Marie	FRA	2510	4.5	0.0	3
8	GM	Dzagnidze Nana	GEO	2537	4.0	0.0	2
9	GM	Kosintseva Tatiana	RUS	2557	3.0	0.0	1
10	IM	Zatonskih Anna	USA	2522	2.5	0.0	0

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Ju Wenjun is near 1st Hangzhou Women Tournament title

Zhu Chen defeats 3rd seed Tatiana Kosintseva today. This brings Tatiana's score to -2 with 1 game to play. Top seed Hou Yifan does not fare much better. She is at -1 with just 1 game to play. In the mean time, Ju Wenjun leads the field with just 1 game to go.

Round 8 results

Bo.	No.		Name	Result		Name	No.
1	10	GM	Dzagnidze Nana		GM	Kosintseva Nadezhda	9
2	1	GM	Hou Yifan	1/2	GM	Zhao Xue	8
3	2	GM	Sebag Marie	1-0	IM	Zatonskih Anna	7
4	3	IM	Harika Dronavalli	1/2	WGM	Ju Wenjun	6
5	4	GM	Zhu Chen	1-0	GM	Kosintseva Tatiana	5

Standings after 8 rounds

Rk.		Name	FED	Rtg	Pts.
1	WGM	Ju Wenjun	CHN	2515	6.0
2	GM	Kosintseva Nadezhda	RUS	2560	4.5 + 1 game
3	IM	Harika Dronavalli	IND	2513	5.0
4	GM	Sebag Marie	FRA	2510	4.5
5	GM	Zhao Xue	CHN	2470	4.0
6	GM	Zhu Chen	QAT	2485	4.0
7	GM	Hou Yifan	CHN	2575	3.5
8	GM	Kosintseva Tatiana	RUS	2557	3.0
9	GM	Dzagnidze Nana	GEO	2537	2.5 + 1 game
10	IM	Zatonskih Anna	USA	2522	2.0

Final round pairings

Bo.	No.		Name	Result		Name	No.
1	5	GM	Kosintseva Tatiana		GM	Dzagnidze Nana	10
2	6	WGM	Ju Wenjun		GM	Zhu Chen	4
3	7	IM	Zatonskih Anna		IM	Harika Dronavalli	3
4	8	GM	Zhao Xue		GM	Sebag Marie	2
5	9	GM	Kosintseva Nadezhda		GM	Hou Yifan	1

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Ju Wenjun leads by 1 with 2 to go

Round 7 on 2011/07/21 at 15:00
Bo.	No.		Name	Result		Name	No.
1	4	GM	Zhu Chen	1 - 0	GM	Dzagnidze Nana	10
2	5	GM	Kosintseva Tatiana	0 - 1	IM	Harika Dronavalli	3
3	6	WGM	Ju Wenjun	½ - ½	GM	Sebag Marie	2
4	7	IM	Zatonskih Anna	½ - ½	GM	Hou Yifan	1
5	8	GM	Zhao Xue	½ - ½	GM	Kosintseva Nadezhda	9

Standings after 7 rounds

Rk.		Name	FED	Rtg	Pts.	TB1	TB2
1	WGM	Ju Wenjun	CHN	2515	5.5	0.0	4
2	GM	Kosintseva Nadezhda	RUS	2560	4.5	0.5	2
3	IM	Harika Dronavalli	IND	2513	4.5	0.5	2
4	GM	Sebag Marie	FRA	2510	3.5	0.0	2
5	GM	Zhao Xue	CHN	2470	3.5	0.0	1
6	GM	Kosintseva Tatiana	RUS	2557	3.0	1.0	1
7	GM	Zhu Chen	QAT	2485	3.0	0.5	2
8	GM	Hou Yifan	CHN	2575	3.0	0.5	1
9	GM	Dzagnidze Nana	GEO	2537	2.5	0.0	1
10	IM	Zatonskih Anna	USA	2522	2.0	0.0	0

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Ju Wenjun defeats Hou Yifan, maintains a full point lead

Round 6 on 2011/07/20 at 15:00
Bo.	No.		Name	Result		Name	No.
1	10	GM	Dzagnidze Nana	½ - ½	GM	Zhao Xue	8
2	9	GM	Kosintseva Nadezhda	1 - 0	IM	Zatonskih Anna	7
3	1	GM	Hou Yifan	0 - 1	WGM	Ju Wenjun	6
4	2	GM	Sebag Marie	1 - 0	GM	Kosintseva Tatiana	5
5	3	IM	Harika Dronavalli	1 - 0	GM	Zhu Chen	4

Standings after 6 rounds

Rk.		Name	FED	Rtg	Pts.	TB1	TB2	TB3
1	WGM	Ju Wenjun	CHN	2515	5.0	0.0	4	13.00
2	GM	Kosintseva Nadezhda	RUS	2560	4.0	0.0	2	10.75
3	IM	Harika Dronavalli	IND	2513	3.5	0.0	1	9.50
4	GM	Sebag Marie	FRA	2510	3.0	1.0	2	9.25
5	GM	Kosintseva Tatiana	RUS	2557	3.0	0.5	1	9.25
6	GM	Zhao Xue	CHN	2470	3.0	0.5	1	7.25
7	GM	Hou Yifan	CHN	2575	2.5	0.5	1	7.00
8	GM	Dzagnidze Nana	GEO	2537	2.5	0.5	1	6.00
9	GM	Zhu Chen	QAT	2485	2.0	0.0	1	5.00
10	IM	Zatonskih Anna	USA	2522	1.5	0.0	0	4.00

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Hangzhou Women Grand Master Chess Tournament 2011

Special Article for WGM Natalia Pogonina written by Chess Tutor William Stewart

The 1st Hangzhou Women Grand Master Chess Tournament is at the halfway point, taking place July 14th - 23th 2011 in Hangzhou, China. It is a classical time control featuring top female players from around the world, featuring an average FIDE rating of 2525.

Standings After 4 Rounds

Ju Wenjun Dominates 1st 4 Rounds

Ju Wenjun leads the tournament by a full point at 3.5/4, winning her games with some extremely aggressive chess. She attempted to press in Round 1 against Tatiana Kosintseva, playing the black side of a Najdorf with the Anti-Be3 line involving 6. ...Ng4, 7. ...h6 and 8. ...g5 - however Kosintseva responded solidly and the game was drawn in an equal endgame on move 40.

T. Kosintseva Vs Wenjun: Final Position

Round 2 - Dzagnidze Vs Wenjun

Dzagnidze opened with white and Wenjun responded with the King's Indian Defense. White played the opening completely without ambition and allowed black to easily achieve equality. Then, Dzagnidze blundered with 33. e4?? - allowing her opponent to win 3 pawns after the dust had settled - leading to her resignation on move 45.

Dzagnidze Vs Wenjun: Position After 34. ...Nxd4

Round 3 - Wenjun Crushes US Women Champ Zatonskih

It appeared the Zatonskih's preparation was solid as she blasted the complicated 11. ...b5!? - however Wenjun played with precision to reach a favorable pawn-up endgame. Zatonskih's defense was not active enough as Wenjun went on win in 41 moves with accurate technique.

Zatonskih Creates Complications with 11. ...b5!?

Round 4 - Zhao Xue Falls to Wenjun in a Tactical Slugfest

Zhao Xue opened with d4 and again Wenjun played the King's Indian Defense. Wenjun was able to rapidly equalize and achieved a small advantage with 15. ...Ne6 White declined trading queens to enter an inferior endgame with 28. Qa5?! - allowing a Wenjun to infiltrate the white king's position with 28. ...Qf1+ After a few inaccurate moves by Xue, Wenjun was able to land a decisive tactical blow with 32. ...Nf3+!

Xue Vs Wenjun: Position After 32. ...Nf3+!

Brilliancy Prize - Most Spectacular Game

The youngest ever Women's World Champion Yifan Hou is not going to be forgotten in a tournament like this, as she currently shares 2nd place at 2.5/4 with N. Kosintseva. The brilliancy prize for the tournament so far must go to Hou's 1st Round victory over Sebag. Hou opened with the normally tame Rossolimo Opening with 5. Bb5, however opposite side castling made the game much more interesting as each player fought to attack the opponent's king. Perhaps playing in the center and trying to push for ...d5 would have been a better choice for Sebag, as her queenside attack simply proved to be too slow. Hou rapidly forced through on black's kingside with 20. f6 and 21. g6! The resulting complications led Hou to sacrifice her queen for a pawn with 30. Qxh6+! to corral black's king. Sebag resigned after 32. f8=Q+ as she would be mated the next move with 33. Rh8#

Hou Sacs Queen to Mate with 30. Qxh6+!

Photos and Game PGNs are available at ChessBase.com For the Original Article on the Women Grand Master Chess Tournament, please visit William's website

Ju Wenjun maintains lead at 1st Hangzhou Women's Tournament

Round 5 on 2011/07/18 at 15:00
Bo.	No.		Name	Result		Name	No.
1	3	IM	Harika Dronavalli	1/2	GM	Dzagnidze Nana	10
2	4	GM	Zhu Chen	1-0	GM	Sebag Marie	2
3	5	GM	Kosintseva Tatiana	1-0	GM	Hou Yifan	1
4	6	WGM	Ju Wenjun	1/2	GM	Kosintseva Nadezhda	9
5	7	IM	Zatonskih Anna	1/2	GM	Zhao Xue	8

Source: http://blog.sina.com.cn/chessnews

Standings after 5 rounds:

Rk.		Name	FED	Rtg	Pts.	TB1	TB2	TB3
1	WGM	Ju Wenjun	CHN	2515	4.0	0.0	3	9.00
2	GM	Kosintseva Tatiana	RUS	2557	3.0	0.5	1	8.00
3	GM	Kosintseva Nadezhda	RUS	2560	3.0	0.5	1	7.75
4	IM	Harika Dronavalli	IND	2513	2.5	1.0	0	6.00
5	GM	Zhao Xue	CHN	2470	2.5	0.5	1	5.50
6	GM	Hou Yifan	CHN	2575	2.5	0.5	1	5.25
7	GM	Sebag Marie	FRA	2510	2.0	1.0	1	4.75
8	GM	Zhu Chen	QAT	2485	2.0	1.0	1	4.00
9	GM	Dzagnidze Nana	GEO	2537	2.0	0.0	1	4.00
10	IM	Zatonskih Anna	USA	2522	1.5	0.0	0	3.75

Ju Wenjun leads 1st Hangzhou Women's Tournament by a full point

Round 4 results

Bo.	No.		Name	Result		Name	No.
1	10	GM	Dzagnidze Nana	1-0	IM	Zatonskih Anna	7
2	8	GM	Zhao Xue	0-1	WGM	Ju Wenjun	6
3	9	GM	Kosintseva Nadezhda	1/2	GM	Kosintseva Tatiana	5
4	1	GM	Hou Yifan	1/2	GM	Zhu Chen	4
5	2	GM	Sebag Marie	1/2	IM	Harika Dronavalli	3

Standings after 4 rounds

Rk.		Name	FED	Rtg	Pts.
1	WGM	Ju Wenjun	CHN	2515	3.5
2	GM	Hou Yifan	CHN	2575	2.5
3	GM	Kosintseva Nadezhda	RUS	2560	2.5
	GM	Zhao Xue	CHN	2470	2.0
5	GM	Sebag Marie	FRA	2510	2.0
6	IM	Harika Dronavalli	IND	2513	2.0
7	GM	Kosintseva Tatiana	RUS	2557	2.0
8	GM	Dzagnidze Nana	GEO	2537	1.5
9	IM	Zatonskih Anna	USA	2522	1.0
10	GM	Zhu Chen	QAT	2485	1.0

Source: http://blog.sina.com.cn/chessnews

Ju Wenjun leads 1st Hangzhou Women's Grand Master Tournament

Round 1 on 2011/07/14 at 15:00
Bo.	No.		Name	Result		Name	No.
1	1	GM	Hou Yifan	½ - ½	GM	Dzagnidze Nana	10
2	2	GM	Sebag Marie	½ - ½	GM	Kosintseva Nadezhda	9
3	3	IM	Harika Dronavalli	½ - ½	GM	Zhao Xue	8
4	4	GM	Zhu Chen	½ - ½	IM	Zatonskih Anna	7
5	5	GM	Kosintseva Tatiana	½ - ½	WGM	Ju Wenjun	6
Round 2 on 2011/07/15 at 15:00
Bo.	No.		Name	Result		Name	No.
1	10	GM	Dzagnidze Nana	0 - 1	WGM	Ju Wenjun	6
2	7	IM	Zatonskih Anna	½ - ½	GM	Kosintseva Tatiana	5
3	8	GM	Zhao Xue	1 - 0	GM	Zhu Chen	4
4	9	GM	Kosintseva Nadezhda	½ - ½	IM	Harika Dronavalli	3
5	1	GM	Hou Yifan	1 - 0	GM	Sebag Marie	2
Round 3 on 2011/07/16 at 15:00
Bo.	No.		Name	Result		Name	No.
1	2	GM	Sebag Marie	1 - 0	GM	Dzagnidze Nana	10
2	3	IM	Harika Dronavalli	½ - ½	GM	Hou Yifan	1
3	4	GM	Zhu Chen	0 - 1	GM	Kosintseva Nadezhda	9
4	5	GM	Kosintseva Tatiana	½ - ½	GM	Zhao Xue	8
5	6	WGM	Ju Wenjun	1 - 0	IM	Zatonskih Anna	7

Standings after 3 rounds

Rk.		Name	FED	Rtg	Pts.
1	WGM	Ju Wenjun	CHN	2515	2.5
2	GM	Hou Yifan	CHN	2575	2.0
3	GM	Zhao Xue	CHN	2470	2.0
	GM	Kosintseva Nadezhda	RUS	2560	2.0
5	GM	Sebag Marie	FRA	2510	1.5
6	IM	Harika Dronavalli	IND	2513	1.5
7	GM	Kosintseva Tatiana	RUS	2557	1.5
8	IM	Zatonskih Anna	USA	2522	1.0
9	GM	Dzagnidze Nana	GEO	2537	0.5
10	GM	Zhu Chen	QAT	2485	0.5

Source: http://blog.sina.com.cn/chessnews