2011 Asian Women's Chess Championship

Mashad, Iran, May 2 - 9, 2011
Standings after R5 - the lady from Mongolia (a very dangerous player) is a full point ahead of everyone else.  Harika Dronavalli is a disappointment - she should be beating up on everyone, but she isn't.  Well, let's see what she does in the final round.  Are the Indian ladies planning an ambush, leading to a 3-way tie for first place with 4.5 each?  We'll see...

Rk.		Name	FED	Rtg	Pts.	TB1	TB2	TB3
1	IM	Munguntuul Batkhuyag	MGL	2463	4.5	0.0	2427	13.0
2	WIM	Pham Le Thao Nguyen	VIE	2340	3.5	0.0	2410	12.5
3	IM	Harika Dronavalli	IND	2520	3.5	0.0	2383	12.0
4	WGM	Huang Qian	CHN	2400	3.5	0.0	2358	11.5
5	WIM	Sabirova Olga	UZB	2225	3.5	0.0	2347	11.5
6	IM	Karavade Eesha	IND	2343	3.5	0.0	2336	10.5
7	WGM	Sukandar Irine Kharisma	INA	2362	3.0	0.0	2400	14.0
8	WIM	Muminova Nafisa	UZB	2346	3.0	0.0	2371	11.5
9	WGM	Gomes Mary Ann	IND	2338	3.0	0.0	2369	12.0
10	WGM	Nguyen Thi Thanh An	VIE	2338	3.0	0.0	2343	12.0
11	WGM	Tan Zhongyi	CHN	2401	3.0	0.0	2329	11.5
12	WIM	Nguyen Thi Mai Hung	VIE	2309	2.5	0.0	2372	11.5
13	WIM	Nakhbayeva Guliskhan	KAZ	2244	2.5	0.0	2371	11.0
14	WFM	Khademalsharieh Sarasadat	IRI	2166	2.5	0.0	2356	10.5
15		Asgarizadeh Minoo	IRI	2036	2.5	0.0	2353	10.5
16	WGM	Hoang Thi Bao Tram	VIE	2325	2.5	0.0	2308	11.0
17	WGM	Padmini Rout	IND	2342	2.5	0.0	2267	9.5
18	WIM	Ghader Pour Shayesteh	IRI	2250	2.0	0.0	2373	12.0
19	WFM	Hakimifard Ghazal	IRI	2218	2.0	0.0	2363	11.5
20	WIM	Hamrakulova Yulduz	UZB	2201	2.0	0.0	2353	10.0
21		Nodirjanova Nodira	UZB	2166	2.0	0.0	2351	9.5
22		Alavi Homa	IRI	2009	2.0	0.0	2343	7.5
23	WGM	Pourkashiyan Atousa	IRI	2374	2.0	0.0	2310	8.5
24	WGM	Soumya Swaminathan	IND	2374	2.0	0.0	2289	9.0
25	WIM	Hejazipour Mitra	IRI	2246	1.5	0.0	2432	12.5
26	WGM	Swathi Ghate	IND	2317	1.5	0.0	2327	10.5
27		Vardkar Mariam	IRI	1897	0.5	0.5	2239	10.0
28		Ghaderi Farzaneh	IRI	1716	0.5	0.5	2184	9.0
29	WGM	Tuvshintugs Batchimeg	MGL	2313	0.0	0.0	0	9.0

Wow - when did Tuvshintugs Batchimeg switch federations from the USA?  I must pay closer attention. Unfortunately, it appears she withdrew from this event.  Here are the pairings for Round 6:

Bo.	No.		Name	Rtg	Pts.	Result	Pts.		Name	Rtg	No.
1	2	IM	Munguntuul Batkhuyag	2463	4½		3½	IM	Karavade Eesha	2343	9
2	21	WIM	Sabirova Olga	2225	3½		3½	IM	Harika Dronavalli	2520	1
3	11	WIM	Pham Le Thao Nguyen	2340	3½		3½	WGM	Huang Qian	2400	4
4	8	WIM	Muminova Nafisa	2346	3		3	WGM	Tan Zhongyi	2401	3
5	12	WGM	Gomes Mary Ann	2338	3		3	WGM	Nguyen Thi Thanh An	2338	13
6	10	WGM	Padmini Rout	2342	2½		3	WGM	Sukandar Irine Kharisma	2362	7
7	14	WGM	Hoang Thi Bao Tram	2325	2½		2½		Asgarizadeh Minoo	2036	26
8	17	WIM	Nguyen Thi Mai Hung	2309	2½		2½	WIM	Nakhbayeva Guliskhan	2244	20
9	23	WIM	Hamrakulova Yulduz	2201	2		2½	WFM	Khademalsharieh Sarasadat	2166	24
10	27		Alavi Homa	2009	2		2	WGM	Pourkashiyan Atousa	2374	5
11	6	WGM	Soumya Swaminathan	2374	2		2	WFM	Hakimifard Ghazal	2218	22
12	25		Nodirjanova Nodira	2166	2		2	WIM	Ghader Pour Shayesteh	2250	18
13	28		Vardkar Mariam	1897	½		1½	WGM	Swathi Ghate	2317	15
14	19	WIM	Hejazipour Mitra	2246	1½		½		Ghaderi Farzaneh	1716	29
15	16	WGM	Tuvshintugs Batchimeg	2313	0	0			not paired

In the Open, current Women's World Chess Champion GM Hou Yifan (CHN 2612) is eating some humble pie, sitting in 46th place with 1.5 and one round to go.  This is a reality check - and good training.  I don't know what her plans are - maybe she will say bye bye to chess as soon as she is of legal age (if there is such a thing in China).  But, if she hopes to replace GM Judit Polgar as the best female player and one of the best overall players in the world (still), Hou can only do so by playing in events like this, gaining invaluable experience, and sharpening her skills accordingly.  Beware the women's chess ghetto!

Updated May 7, 2011:  I got it wrong, darlings!  I thought Round 6 was the final round for the ladies but it wasn't.  They are going 9 rounds.