Women's World Championship match

[Bob Clark]

@ Bob Clark: I don't think so

Well I think you are going to struggle to prove its a draw after 23 fxg4.
Having just checked it on Shredder it seems that white is definitely winning!

[Tim Harding]

@ Bob Clark: I don't think so

Well I think you are going to struggle to prove its a draw after 23 fxg4.
Having just checked it on Shredder it seems that white is definitely winning!

You must have set up the wrong position. After 23 fxg4 Black mates in two starting Qc1+.

[Barry Sandercock]

Today is a rest day. I see there are six rest days for ten games. Seems quite a lot.

[Mick Norris]

Same schedule as other WC matches

Play 2 days then rest day, repeat until 2 games left when there is a rest day after penultimate game

Seems reasonable to me though a slightly longer match would be better if it could be financed

[Roger de Coverly]

Play 2 days then rest day, repeat until 2 games left when there is a rest day after penultimate game

The "traditional" schedule, think Fischer-Spassky and Kasparov-Short had been three days play and four days "rest". Add to that the facility of players and sometimes organisers to take time-outs and you got the near farce of the first Karpov-Kasparov match where they would turn up about once a week and play a twenty move draw in a couple of hours.

Admittedly in the "old" days, if a game went past move 40, they would come back the next day to finish it after pausing overnight for analysis.

[Mick Norris]

I'd rather not think back to matches lasting months and being full of acrimony to be honest

Apart from financial considerations, I'd like the Women's match to be the same duration as the main World Championship match, and indeed to have a similar qualifying schedule with a Candidates tournament rather than a World Cup format masquerading as a world championship

[LawrenceCooper]

I'd rather not think back to matches lasting months and being full of acrimony to be honest

Apart from financial considerations, I'd like the Women's match to be the same duration as the main World Championship match, and indeed to have a similar qualifying schedule with a Candidates tournament rather than a World Cup format masquerading as a world championship

The current Women's Grand Prix 2015-2016 is being used for that purpose. From the two completed events in this cycle we have had the following results:

http://monaco2015.fide.com/en/component ... view&kid=2
http://tehran2016.fide.com/en/component ... view&kid=2

with Batumi in April and Chengdu in July to complete the cycle.

https://www.fide.com/component/content/ ... -2016.html

A bit like the men/open we have a clear number one and then it's far from clear who is the next best player.

[Mick Norris]

chess mind analysis of game 4

[John McKenna]

In game 5 Hou, White twice in succession, has switched to the English -

1.c4 c6 2.Nf3 d5 3.g3 g6 4.Bg2 Bg7 5.Qa4 dc 6.Qc4 e5 7.d3 Ne7...

She is playing the opening more slowly than Muzychuk.

[Tim Harding]

In game 5 Hou, White twice in succession, has switched to the English -

1.c4 c6 2.Nf3 d5 3.g3 g6 4.Bg2 Bg7 5.Qa4 dc 6.Qc4 e5 7.d3 Ne7...

She is playing the opening more slowly than Muzychuk.

Commentary by Mikhalchishin and a WGM on chess24 at

https://chess24.com/en/watch/live-tourn ... 2016/1/1/5

Hou Yifan doesn't seem to have considered 8...Na6 when she prepared the rather strange Qa4.

[Event "World ch women"] [Site "Lviv"] [Date "2016.03.08"] [Round "5"] [White "Hou, Yifan"] [Black "Muzychuk, Mariya"] [Result "*"] [ECO "A11"] [PlyCount "18"] [EventDate "2016.03.02"] [EventType "match"] [EventRounds "10"] 1. c4 c6 2. Nf3 d5 3. g3 g6 4. Bg2 Bg7 5. Qa4 dxc4 6. Qxc4 e5 7. d3 Ne7 8. O-O Na6 9. Bd2 O-O *

[Roger de Coverly]

Hou Yifan doesn't seem to have considered 8...Na6 when she prepared the rather strange Qa4.

8. .. Na6 seems to be a novelty, previously 8. .. O-O had been popular, if such conclusions can be drawn against a set of around 20 games.

The Qa4 idea pops up in a number of positions as an anti-Grunfeld, the idea being seemingly either to provoke dxc4 as in this game, or to prevent c6xd5 as a reply to cdxd5.

[Tim Harding]

The game just ended in a draw.

[Event "World ch women"] [Site "Lviv"] [Date "2016.03.08"] [Round "5"] [White "Hou, Yifan"] [Black "Muzychuk, Mariya"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A11"] [PlyCount "66"] [EventDate "2016.03.02"] [EventType "match"] [EventRounds "10"] 1. c4 c6 2. Nf3 d5 3. g3 g6 4. Bg2 Bg7 5. Qa4 dxc4 6. Qxc4 e5 7. d3 Ne7 8. O-O Na6 9. Bd2 O-O 10. Qc1 Nf5 11. Na3 Nd4 12. Re1 Bg4 13. Nxd4 exd4 14. Bh6 Re8 15. Bxg7 Kxg7 16. Qd2 Qd7 17. Nc4 f6 18. h4 Re7 19. e4 dxe3 20. Nxe3 Be6 21. d4 Rae8 22. b3 Nc7 23. Qb4 Nd5 24. Nxd5 Bxd5 25. Rxe7+ Qxe7 26. Qxe7+ Rxe7 27. Bxd5 cxd5 28. Rc1 Kf7 29. Kf1 Ke6 30. Ke2 Kd6+ 31. Kd3 Rc7 32. Re1 Re7 33. Rc1 Rc7 1/2-1/2

Mariya seemed a little better at one point. At any rate she has survived the double Black and has White tomorrow.

[Mick Norris]

Another draw in just over 30 moves, so Hou Yifan is 1 up at halfway but having had an extra white

[LawrenceCooper]

Another draw in just over 30 moves, so Hou Yifan is 1 up at halfway but having had an extra white

It's encouraging for Muzychuk to have neutralised the double white without any problems but now she has to try and win, or even a get position with chances, with the white pieces.

[Tim Harding]

Lively game today in the Italian. It looks as if Mariya played the line (with Bg5) that she was thinking about for so long in Game 1.

EDITED COMMENTS:
Actually the move order was slightly different by Hou Yifan, delaying ...a6.
Muzychuk got well ahead on the clock.

https://chess24.com/en/watch/live-tourn ... 2016/1/1/6

LATER: Hou Yifan may have slipped at move 18:

[Event "World ch women"] [Site "Lviv"] [Date "2016.03.02"] [Round "6"] [White "Muzychuk, Mariya"] [Black "Hou, Yifan"] [Result "*"] [ECO "C54"] [PlyCount "40"] [EventDate "2016.03.02"] [EventType "match"] [EventRounds "10"] [SourceDate "2013.06.03"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. O-O Nf6 5. d3 d6 (5... O-O 6. c3 d6 7. h3 { Game 1}) 6. c3 O-O 7. Bg5 h6 8. Bh4 g5 (8... Be6 {Kolisch-Paulsen, 26th game match game, London 1861}) 9. Bg3 g4 10. Nh4 Nh5 11. a4 a6 12. Na3 Qg5 13. Nc2 Ba7 14. Ne3 Ne7 (14... Bxe3 15. fxe3 Nxg3 16. hxg3 $13) 15. d4 Qg7 (15... exd4 16. cxd4 Qg7 $15 {claim engines}) 16. dxe5 dxe5 17. Nef5 Bxf5 18. exf5 Bc5 $6 ( 18... Nc8 $11 {online engine}) 19. Re1 (19. f6 $5 $14) 19... Nxg3 20. hxg3 Kh8 *