2017 FIDE Women's World Championship (Tehran)

[Jonathan Rogers]

Why is it only in chess that we always get this grouching? If a Wimbledon outsider came through after beating seeds 1, 2 and 4, there would be nothing but praise, rather than complaints about tiebreaks and scrambled saved match points.

Yes, but the Wimbledon Champions don't become World Champion, or even World Number One, albeit they gain a lot of points towards the latter.

Reverting to chess, it doesn't seem to have been suggested that the winner of the British Knockout Championship should become the British Champion, although up to now the BKO has clearly been a stronger event than the British Championship.

That said, it doesn't seem right for a tournament with this format to dethrone a sitting classical champion, whether she played in it or not.

That rather makes my point.

So if Tan won this by virtue of coming through a Candidates tournament, and then winning a match against the incumbent Champion (despite being seeded 14 at the start of the tournament), everyone would be satisfied with that?

I expect most would. Winning a match against the incumbent was quite a big thing to add there!

[Jonathan Rogers]

Why is it only in chess that we always get this grouching? If a Wimbledon outsider came through after beating seeds 1, 2 and 4, there would be nothing but praise, rather than complaints about tiebreaks and scrambled saved match points.

Yes, but the Wimbledon Champions don't become World Champion, or even World Number One, albeit they gain a lot of points towards the latter.

Reverting to chess, it doesn't seem to have been suggested that the winner of the British Knockout Championship should become the British Champion, although up to now the BKO has clearly been a stronger event than the British Championship.

That said, it doesn't seem right for a tournament with this format to dethrone a sitting classical champion, whether she played in it or not.

That rather makes my point.

I think you are agreeing with each other that the format is not suitable for deciding a World Champion.

But Nick was, I think, making a separate point about knock-outs in general, saying that anyone who knocks out the numbers 1, 2 and 4 seeds is probably a deserving winner! I see that; what, was she supposed to crush them all as well?

[Tim Harding]

Why is it only in chess that we always get this grouching? If a Wimbledon outsider came through after beating seeds 1, 2 and 4, there would be nothing but praise, rather than complaints about tiebreaks and scrambled saved match points.

Yes, but the Wimbledon Champions don't become World Champion, or even World Number One, albeit they gain a lot of points towards the latter.

Yes Wimbledon is only one of four Grand Slams, and moreover (highly relevant here) Wimbledon doesn't have tiebreaks in decisive sets.

[Jonathan Rogers]

Again we have already agreed (I think) that any Wimbledon-style knockout is an inappropriate format for a chess world championship.

The question is whether Tan deserved to win this particular tournament, whatever its status should be; and the answer to that, I think, is yes.

[Tim Harding]

I think you are agreeing with each other that the format is not suitable for deciding a World Champion.

But Nick was, I think, making a separate point about knock-outs in general, saying that anyone who knocks out the numbers 1, 2 and 4 seeds is probably a deserving winner! I see that; what, was she supposed to crush them all as well?

Perhaps not crush them all, but not getting crushed herself in a couple of games would have earned more respect.

Rapid game with Black, it's true, but to lose like this suggests major weaknesses of preparation, judgment and calculation.

[Event "WCh Women 2017"] [Site "Tehran IRI"] [Date "2017.02.25"] [Round "5.3"] [White "Harika, Dronavalli"] [Black "Tan Zhongyi"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B06"] [WhiteElo "2539"] [BlackElo "2502"] [PlyCount "33"] [EventDate "2017.02.11"] [EventType "k.o."] [EventRounds "6"] [EventCountry "IRI"] 1. e4 g6 2. d4 Bg7 3. Nc3 a6 4. f4 d6 5. Nf3 Nd7 6. Bc4 e6 7. f5 Nb6 8. Bb3 exf5 9. O-O Ne7 10. Bg5 O-O 11. Qe1 h6 12. Qh4 Re8 13. Bxh6 d5 14. e5 Nd7 15. Ng5 Bxh6 16. Qxh6 Nf8 17. Rf4 1-0

And on Wednesday, in a classical time limit game:

[Event "FIDE Women's World Championship"] [Site "chess24.com"] [Date "2017.03.01"] [Round "48.1"] [White "Muzychuk, Anna"] [Black "Tan, Zhongyi"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C11"] [WhiteElo "2558"] [BlackElo "2502"] [Annotator "Harding,Tim"] [PlyCount "63"] 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. f4 c5 6. Nf3 Nc6 7. Be3 Be7 8. Qd2 O-O 9. dxc5 Bxc5 10. O-O-O Qa5 11. a3 Be7 12. Bd3 a6 13. h4 b5 $2 {Looks like Tan and her seconds didn't run the engine long enough the night before.} 14. Bxh7+ $1 Kxh7 15. Qd3+ $5 (15. Ng5+ Kg8 16. Qe2 $18) 15... Kg8 16. Ng5 f5 17. Nxd5 $1 b4 18. Nxe7+ Nxe7 19. Bd2 $5 (19. Qd6 $1 {but requires a lot of computer moves to be found to justify it}) 19... Rb8 $2 (19... Nd5 $8) 20. Qd6 $18 Qc5 21. Bxb4 Qxd6 22. Bxd6 Ng6 23. Nxe6 Re8 24. Bxb8 Rxe6 25. g3 Bb7 26. Rh2 Nc5 27. Rd8+ Kh7 28. Bd6 Ne4 29. h5 Nh8 30. h6 Nf7 31. Rd7 Rxd6 32. Rxf7 1-0

Actually this is the game that should have eliminated Tan; Black did well to seize the initiative but ran out of time after missing the clearest win, which I've indicated.

[Event "WCh Women 2017"] [Site "Tehran IRI"] [Date "2017.02.25"] [Round "5.7"] [White "Tan Zhongyi"] [Black "Harika, Dronavalli"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B06"] [WhiteElo "2502"] [BlackElo "2539"] [PlyCount "153"] [EventDate "2017.02.11"] [EventType "k.o."] [EventRounds "6"] [EventCountry "IRI"] 1. d4 g6 2. e4 Bg7 3. Nc3 c6 4. Nf3 d6 5. Be3 Nd7 6. h3 Qc7 7. a4 a5 8. Be2 Ngf6 9. O-O O-O 10. Nd2 b6 11. f4 Bb7 12. e5 Ne8 13. Bf3 e6 14. Qe1 Rc8 15. Qf2 d5 16. Ne2 c5 17. c3 Ba6 18. g4 f6 19. exf6 Ndxf6 20. Rfe1 Nd6 21. Ng3 Bd3 22. Qg2 Rce8 23. Be2 Bc2 24. Rec1 Be4 25. Ndxe4 Nfxe4 26. Nxe4 Nxe4 27. Bf3 Nd6 28. b3 c4 29. Rab1 cxb3 30. Rxb3 Nc4 31. Qe2 Nxe3 32. Qxe3 Qxf4 33. Qxf4 Rxf4 34. Bg2 Rc8 35. Rd1 Rc6 36. Rd3 Bh6 37. Bf1 Rf8 38. Rd1 Rf3 39. Re1 Bd2 40. Re2 Bf4 $6 (40... Rfxc3 $19 {and we would have had a different finalist}) 41. Bg2 Re3 42. Rc2 Kg7 43. Kf2 g5 44. Bf3 h6 45. Re2 Rxe2+ 46. Kxe2 Kf6 47. Kd3 Ke7 48. Rb1 Kd6 49. Bd1 Kc7 50. Bc2 Kd7 51. Re1 Ke7 52. Rf1 Kd6 53. Bb3 e5 54. dxe5+ Bxe5 55. c4 dxc4+ 56. Bxc4 Bf4 57. Re1 Kc5 58. Re6 Rxe6 59. Bxe6 b5 60. axb5 Kxb5 61. Kc3 Be5+ 62. Kb3 a4+ 63. Ka2 Kb4 64. Bd7 a3 65. Be6 Bd6 66. Bf7 Kc3 67. Bh5 Kd4 68. Bg6 Ke3 69. Bh5 Kf4 70. Kb3 Kg3 71. Ka2 Kxh3 72. Kb3 Kg3 73. Ka2 Kf4 74. Kb3 Ke3 75. Ka2 Kd2 76. Bg6 Kc3 77. Bh5 1/2-1/2

I actually think Harika is a much better player than Tan really but she suffered from nerves at critical moments.
After missing this, she went down in the Armageddon game which is absolutely no way to decide a world champion.

Tan plays like a machine that sometimes has a screw loose.
I hope and expect Tan to lose the match against Ju Wenjun. As somebody said, there shouldn't be any problem about finding a sponsor/venue for that match. It's just a question of what is a decent interval to allow Tan to enjoy the title.

[LawrenceCooper]

I think you are agreeing with each other that the format is not suitable for deciding a World Champion.

But Nick was, I think, making a separate point about knock-outs in general, saying that anyone who knocks out the numbers 1, 2 and 4 seeds is probably a deserving winner! I see that; what, was she supposed to crush them all as well?

Perhaps not crush them all, but not getting crushed herself in a couple of games would have earned more respect.

Rapid game with Black, it's true, but to lose like this suggests major weaknesses of preparation, judgment and calculation.

[Event "WCh Women 2017"] [Site "Tehran IRI"] [Date "2017.02.25"] [Round "5.3"] [White "Harika, Dronavalli"] [Black "Tan Zhongyi"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B06"] [WhiteElo "2539"] [BlackElo "2502"] [PlyCount "33"] [EventDate "2017.02.11"] [EventType "k.o."] [EventRounds "6"] [EventCountry "IRI"] 1. e4 g6 2. d4 Bg7 3. Nc3 a6 4. f4 d6 5. Nf3 Nd7 6. Bc4 e6 7. f5 Nb6 8. Bb3 exf5 9. O-O Ne7 10. Bg5 O-O 11. Qe1 h6 12. Qh4 Re8 13. Bxh6 d5 14. e5 Nd7 15. Ng5 Bxh6 16. Qxh6 Nf8 17. Rf4 1-0

And on Wednesday, in a classical time limit game:

[Event "FIDE Women's World Championship"] [Site "chess24.com"] [Date "2017.03.01"] [Round "48.1"] [White "Muzychuk, Anna"] [Black "Tan, Zhongyi"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C11"] [WhiteElo "2558"] [BlackElo "2502"] [Annotator "Harding,Tim"] [PlyCount "63"] 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. f4 c5 6. Nf3 Nc6 7. Be3 Be7 8. Qd2 O-O 9. dxc5 Bxc5 10. O-O-O Qa5 11. a3 Be7 12. Bd3 a6 13. h4 b5 $2 {Looks like Tan and her seconds didn't run the engine long enough the night before.} 14. Bxh7+ $1 Kxh7 15. Qd3+ $5 (15. Ng5+ Kg8 16. Qe2 $18) 15... Kg8 16. Ng5 f5 17. Nxd5 $1 b4 18. Nxe7+ Nxe7 19. Bd2 $5 (19. Qd6 $1 {but requires a lot of computer moves to be found to justify it}) 19... Rb8 $2 (19... Nd5 $8) 20. Qd6 $18 Qc5 21. Bxb4 Qxd6 22. Bxd6 Ng6 23. Nxe6 Re8 24. Bxb8 Rxe6 25. g3 Bb7 26. Rh2 Nc5 27. Rd8+ Kh7 28. Bd6 Ne4 29. h5 Nh8 30. h6 Nf7 31. Rd7 Rxd6 32. Rxf7 1-0

Actually this is the game that should have eliminated Tan; Black did well to seize the initiative but ran out of time after missing the clearest win, which I've indicated.

[Event "WCh Women 2017"] [Site "Tehran IRI"] [Date "2017.02.25"] [Round "5.7"] [White "Tan Zhongyi"] [Black "Harika, Dronavalli"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B06"] [WhiteElo "2502"] [BlackElo "2539"] [PlyCount "153"] [EventDate "2017.02.11"] [EventType "k.o."] [EventRounds "6"] [EventCountry "IRI"] 1. d4 g6 2. e4 Bg7 3. Nc3 c6 4. Nf3 d6 5. Be3 Nd7 6. h3 Qc7 7. a4 a5 8. Be2 Ngf6 9. O-O O-O 10. Nd2 b6 11. f4 Bb7 12. e5 Ne8 13. Bf3 e6 14. Qe1 Rc8 15. Qf2 d5 16. Ne2 c5 17. c3 Ba6 18. g4 f6 19. exf6 Ndxf6 20. Rfe1 Nd6 21. Ng3 Bd3 22. Qg2 Rce8 23. Be2 Bc2 24. Rec1 Be4 25. Ndxe4 Nfxe4 26. Nxe4 Nxe4 27. Bf3 Nd6 28. b3 c4 29. Rab1 cxb3 30. Rxb3 Nc4 31. Qe2 Nxe3 32. Qxe3 Qxf4 33. Qxf4 Rxf4 34. Bg2 Rc8 35. Rd1 Rc6 36. Rd3 Bh6 37. Bf1 Rf8 38. Rd1 Rf3 39. Re1 Bd2 40. Re2 Bf4 $6 (40... Rfxc3 $19 {and we would have had a different finalist}) 41. Bg2 Re3 42. Rc2 Kg7 43. Kf2 g5 44. Bf3 h6 45. Re2 Rxe2+ 46. Kxe2 Kf6 47. Kd3 Ke7 48. Rb1 Kd6 49. Bd1 Kc7 50. Bc2 Kd7 51. Re1 Ke7 52. Rf1 Kd6 53. Bb3 e5 54. dxe5+ Bxe5 55. c4 dxc4+ 56. Bxc4 Bf4 57. Re1 Kc5 58. Re6 Rxe6 59. Bxe6 b5 60. axb5 Kxb5 61. Kc3 Be5+ 62. Kb3 a4+ 63. Ka2 Kb4 64. Bd7 a3 65. Be6 Bd6 66. Bf7 Kc3 67. Bh5 Kd4 68. Bg6 Ke3 69. Bh5 Kf4 70. Kb3 Kg3 71. Ka2 Kxh3 72. Kb3 Kg3 73. Ka2 Kf4 74. Kb3 Ke3 75. Ka2 Kd2 76. Bg6 Kc3 77. Bh5 1/2-1/2

I actually think Harika is a much better player than Tan really but she suffered from nerves at critical moments.
After missing this, she went down in the Armageddon game which is absolutely no way to decide a world champion.

Tan plays like a machine that sometimes has a screw loose.
I hope and expect Tan to lose the match against Ju Wenjun. As somebody said, there shouldn't be any problem about finding a sponsor/venue for that match. It's just a question of what is a decent interval to allow Tan to enjoy the title.

I think we can conclude that you aren't a fan of Tan. Given that she has played something like 20 out of 21 days in a high pressure atmosphere against some of the best women in the world then I think mistakes are understandable. Her ability to bounce back from them shows great character.

[Matt Mackenzie]

I think a good term to describe her is "raw". She clearly has it within herself to be a much better player.

[Mick Norris]

Actually, I see the match is due to take place next year in KhantyMansiysk

I would have thought it would get moved to China though

[NickFaulks]

I actually think Harika is a much better player than Tan really but she suffered from nerves at critical moments.

Isn't the ability to overcome nerves at critical moments an important part of being a good player in any sport?

[LawrenceCooper]

I actually think Harika is a much better player than Tan really but she suffered from nerves at critical moments.

Isn't the ability to overcome nerves at critical moments an important part of being a good player in any sport?

Definitely.

[Paul Cooksey]

But nerves are more important in this format, effectively a mixed time limit event, than they would be in a classical event.

A great performance by Tan, but I don't think she has proven herself the best woman classical player in the world yet.

[LawrenceCooper]

But nerves are more important in this format, effectively a mixed time limit event, than they would be in a classical event.

A great performance by Tan, but I don't think she has proven herself the best woman classical player in the world yet.

I'm sure that she would agree but she won't be the first or last world champion to have that thrown at her.

[Kevin Thurlow]

I doubt Tan knows much about cricket, but I am reminded of the English batsman telling the umpire, "That was never out", which got the reply, "Read tomorrow's paper."

[LawrenceCooper]

Jovanka's report on the final: https://www.chess.com/news/view/and-the ... ongyi-5685

[Chris Rice]

The last paragraph of that article was quite telling:

"If you think Tan can now rest on her laurels and enjoy her world title and new grandmaster status, you can think again! In a somewhat ridiculous state of affairs, Tan will be defending her title in just over six months (late 2017) to her compatriot Ju Wenjun. Whatever happens it will certainly not be an easy match."