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Kazan, Russia, from 29 May

Interesting line up

Players: Hou Yifan, Anna and Mariya Muzychuk, Ekaterina Lagno, Alexandra Kosteniuk, Tan Zhongyi, Nana Dzagnidze, Valentina Gunina.

Reserve Aleksandra Goryachkina.

Website

Live games

Promo Video of the players

FIDE

Chess Mind

Pete Doggers preview

Starts today

V. Gunina – K. Lagno,
A. Kosteniuk – A. Goryachkina,
N. Dzagnidze – Tan Zhongyi,
M. Muzychuk – A. Muzychuk

I always enjoy a Muzychuk-Muzychuk pairing. Not for the game of course, but because I like to imagine a retired FM somewhere in Kent spluttering with impotent rage. Hi Steve!

EDIT: and they appear to be playing an actual game, that is embarrassing...

EDIT2: although they have at least agreed a draw on move 20, which might be enough to upset the most sensitive moral compasses...

I have never really understood why it's a such problem if they always play a quick draw. In fact I preferred the way the Kosintsevas did it by just playing exactly the same game every time so there was no doubt what was going on. They might get 2 extra rest days but on the other hand they have 2 fewer games to reach +4 or whatever score is required to win the tournament so I don't see how it gives them an advantage.

What would be a problem is if they reach the second half with only one of them in contention and they suddenly decide to play a proper game and the one in contention wins.

Peter Shaw wrote: ↑

Fri May 31, 2019 2:32 pm

What would be a problem is if they reach the second half with only one of them in contention and they suddenly decide to play a proper game and the one in contention wins.

That's presumably why they're scheduled to play in rounds 1 and 8, so they have the least possible information on which to base that.

IM Jack Rudd wrote: ↑

Fri May 31, 2019 3:01 pm

Peter Shaw wrote: ↑

Fri May 31, 2019 2:32 pm

What would be a problem is if they reach the second half with only one of them in contention and they suddenly decide to play a proper game and the one in contention wins.

That's presumably why they're scheduled to play in rounds 1 and 8, so they have the least possible information on which to base that.

That's been the Candidates format for a while now too with players from the same federation meeting in the first few rounds of each cycle; hence

Round 1
Valentina Gunina — Kateryna Lagno
Alexandra Kosteniuk — Alexandra Goryachkina

Round 2
Kateryna Lagno — Alexandra Kosteniuk
Alexandra Goryachkina — Valentina Gunina

Round 3
Valentina Gunina — Alexandra Kosteniuk
Alexandra Goryachkina — Kateryna Lagno

I turned on the stream just in time to see Gunina and Lagno being interviewed; apparently the players disturbed by loud music during the games. Not great.

Wins for Dzagnidze (with black) & Goryachkina against Anna Muzychuk & Gunina today.

4/4 for white today leaving Dzagnidze & Goryachkina the early leaders on 2.5/3 going into the first rest day.

Women's chess is much more exciting, isn't it?

A cynic might suggest "more exciting" correlates with "lower quality"......

Some of the recent men's events haven't been so bad tbf.

Tournaments where people care more about their finishing position than their rating change tend to produce more exciting chess.

Ian Rogers tweets about the street music which has disturbed the first three rounds.
https://twitter.com/GMIanRogers
The embarrassing aspect for Fide is that the final venue inspection was made by Arkady Dvorkovich himself.

Nana Dzagnidze now on 3.5/4. It must be said that her win v Gunina today was rather one-sided and could not have been mistaken for a game in THE candidates, but I will carry on watching regardless.

(Er, anyone know anything about Nana Dzagnidze?)