Women's Candidates matches

[JustinHorton]

Tournament begins this week, in Monaco. Quarter-finals and semi-finals (of four-game matches) this month and November, the final (of the tournament, not the world championship) to be held at an indeterminate date in 2023. In fact there's a lot that's indeterminate about the tournament, as I can't locate a website or a schedule for it, so while I believe it starts on Tuesday, I am not completely sure, and am completely unsure of the kick-off time. Goryachnika presumably the favourite, but three previous champions also in the field.

[JustinHorton]

There is a website. First round starts tomorrow at 3 pm, which I imagine means 2pm UK time

[LawrenceCooper]

Pool B: https://fide.com/news/2052

[JustinHorton]

Absolute pasting for Anna Muzychuk at the hands of Honeru Kumpy

EDIT: short Humpy interview

[JustinHorton]

Her sister fared little better

[JustinHorton]

Mariya v Lei a solid draw today but Humpy missed a chance to beat Anna. Both twins up against it on Friday (rest today tomorrow) as a loss would see them eliminated.

[Reg Clucas]

Mariya v Lei a solid draw today but Humpy missed a chance to beat Anna. Both twins up against it on Friday (rest today tomorrow) as a loss would see them eliminated.

They aren't twins, i think Anna is a couple of years older.

[JustinHorton]

Ah OK, I stand corrected. I wonder how I came to be under that impresssion.

[Mick Norris]

Game 3 today, will be interesting to see how the sisters handle it, assuming they are black again (the sequence white, black, rest day, white, black often is switched in longer matches at some point)

Game 4 tomorrow if needed then the winners meet in the semi final starting Tuesday

[JustinHorton]

Game 3 today, will be interesting to see how the sisters handle it

It has been: they both opted for the kind of variations where you exchaneg the queens in return for having a horrid-looking position and while Anna's been comfortable enough against Humpy [EDIT: agreed drawn shortly after posting] Mariya seemed to be under rather more pressure against Lei. But then it all went the other way after White unaccountably (if not, at first, fatally) let Black's rook into her camp and the time control arrives with White apparently busted. [LATER EDIT: but drawn in the end.]

[JustinHorton]

Mariya is out, but Anna on the brink of forcing a play-off

[Matt Mackenzie]

Mariya is out, but Anna on the brink of forcing a play-off

And so it came to pass.

[JustinHorton]

First game drawn, Muzychuk White, no obvious chances missed.

And the second.

The third drawn after a real drama with Anna missing multiple opportunities to win.

[JustinHorton]

And Humpy loses it on a blunder!

[JustinHorton]

First of four games in the semi-final sees Muzychuk A playing 3 g3 against Lie's e6 Sicilian, for a kind of Tarrasch position. (I seem to remember Luke McShane losing a game in this variation and it's not clear to me what the pros and cons are compard to the actual Tarrasch.)