Women's Candidates matches

[JustinHorton]

Second game also a pretty tame draw

[Mick Norris]

Chess Mind catch up report

[JustinHorton]

Not much happening today either

[LawrenceCooper]

Lei Tingjie wins game four and the match. https://chess24.com/en/watch/live-tourn ... 2023/2/1/4

[Mick Norris]

TWIC reminds me that Pool B starts tomorrow

Website

Schedule

Players

Opening ceremony

A long-awaited second pool of the FIDE Women's Candidates has started in Uzbekistan, in the beautiful oasis city of Khiva. In the next two weeks the chess world will have a chance to follow exciting chess battles of leading female players of the globe and find out who will join the winner of pool A, Lei Tingjie, in the big final.

After the speeches, it was time for drawing of colours for each match. Traditionally dressed Uzbek ladies presented the players with beautiful chests with chess queens hidden inside of them - one with the black and other with the white one. Player with the higher rating in each match up had a right to choose first.

Goryachkina, the highest rated player in the event, was the one who picked chest with the black queen inside, thus giving Kosteniuk white pieces in the first round.

In the second match it was Lagno to choose before Tan. Again, the right to choose did not prove very lucky as Lagno chose the box with the black queen.

[JustinHorton]

Kostenuik - Goryachkina Berlin Lopez with 4 d3 Bc5
Tan - Lagno QGD Exchange

[LawrenceCooper]

Kostenuik - Goryachkina Berlin Lopez with 4 d3 Bc5
Tan - Lagno QGD Exchange

Commentary options include FIDE, chess.com & chessqueen Twitch channels.

[Mick Norris]

Both games drawn; it looks like Goryachkina had chances for more?

[JustinHorton]

Though not necessarily the kind where you look at the computer line and say oh yeah, White was clearly busted

[JustinHorton]

Kosteniuk
Lagno

[JustinHorton]

Two draws again today. Lagno seems to have let slip a sizeable but not winning advantage.

[Mick Norris]

I see Goryachkina won game 3 and drew game 4 to qualify

4 draws in the other match

[LawrenceCooper]

I see Goryachkina won game 3 and drew game 4 to qualify

4 draws in the other match

Zhongyi Tan wins the rapid match 2.5-1.5 to advance to the Candidates final. She won the first game followed by a draw in the second. The third was very dramatic with Lagno seemingly winning from a very early stage before a miscalculation gave white the advantage but still in a very messy position. The game eventually ended in a draw. In the fourth game Lagno tried to convert an extra pawn but black was able to escape.

[LawrenceCooper]

Two draws so far in the Tan-Goryachkina match, in 98 and 40 moves respectively. The Chinese player has had slightly the better of both games.

[Mick Norris]

Chess Mind includes a link to analysis of Tan's win