2011-2012 Women's Grand Prix: Rostov

Hmmmm, well, the only shocker in the final round was that Tatiana Kosintseva lost to Alisa Galliamova!  Not that Galliamova isn't a fine player, but - come on!  I would call that an upset for sure, but other than that, things shook out rather tamely.
Results from the last round:

SNo.		Name	Rtg	Res.		Name	Rtg	SNo.
6	GM	Kosintseva Nadezhda	2560	½ - ½	WGM	Ruan Lufei	2479	12
7	GM	Danielian Elina	2521	½ - ½	IM	Muzychuk Anna	2538	5
8	IM	Kovalevskaya Ekaterina	2427	1 - 0	GM	Kosteniuk Alexandra	2497	4
9	GM	Kosintseva Tatiana	2557	0 - 1	IM	Galliamova Alisa	2492	3
10	GM	Lahno Kateryna	2536	½ - ½	GM	Koneru Humpy	2614	2
11	GM	Hou Yifan	2575	½ - ½	GM	Stefanova Antoaneta	2524	1

Here are the final standings - a non-combative draw between Hou and Stefanova. Sigh. Lahno drawing with Koneru?  I get it - but it sucks.

Rank	SNo.		Name	Rtg	FED	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Pts	SB	Res.	Rp
1	11	GM	Hou Yifan	2575	CHN	*	0	1	½	½	1	1	½	1	½	1	1	8	40.00	0	2697
2	10	GM	Lahno Kateryna	2536	UKR	1	*	0	½	1	½	1	1	1	0	½	½	7	38.75	0	2628
3	5	IM	Muzychuk Anna	2538	SLO	0	1	*	½	½	½	1	½	½	1	½	½	6½	34.25	0	2591
4	9	GM	Kosintseva Tatiana	2557	RUS	½	½	½	*	½	½	0	1	½	1	1	½	6½	33.50	0	2589
5	6	GM	Kosintseva Nadezhda	2560	RUS	½	0	½	½	*	½	½	½	½	½	1	1	6	29.75	0	2560
6	2	GM	Koneru Humpy	2614	IND	0	½	½	½	½	*	½	½	½	1	0	1	5½	28.25	0	2519
7	3	IM	Galliamova Alisa	2492	RUS	0	0	0	1	½	½	*	1	0	1	1	½	5½	26.75	0	2530
8	1	GM	Stefanova Antoaneta	2524	BUL	½	0	½	0	½	½	0	*	1	½	1	½	5	25.25	0	2491
9	7	GM	Danielian Elina	2521	ARM	0	0	½	½	½	½	1	0	*	0	1	1	5	24.25	0	2491
10	12	WGM	Ruan Lufei	2479	CHN	½	1	0	0	½	0	0	½	1	*	½	½	4½	24.75	0	2466
11	8	IM	Kovalevskaya Ekaterina	2427	RUS	0	½	½	0	0	1	0	0	0	½	*	1	3½	17.50	0	2403
12	4	GM	Kosteniuk Alexandra	2497	RUS	0	½	½	½	0	0	½	½	0	½	0	*	3	17.50	0	2354

Twelfth Women's World Chess Champion GM Alexandra Kosteniuk was definitely off form the entire tournament. Pressing too much? She had five losses, no wins.  She hasn't lacked for tough competition, having played in several events against much higher rated male players and doing just fine. So, I don't think it's a case of the "yips" like Koneru Humpy seems to be suffering from for the past nine months or so. Some time off and rest may be what the doctor orders. She's been active since the first of the year.  I know she's a better player than her results showed in this event.

I'm very pleased for GM K. Lahno.  Definitely someone to watch.  I think she's got what it takes to become a world champion.

Is Hou unstoppable at this point?  Will she repeat as Women's World Chess Champion later in the year?  I'm sure she's holding back plenty in her arsenal. 

What to make of Koneru Humpy?  I am not even at the patzer level when it comes to playing chess and therefore, I cannot say what's going on with her games.  I play at such a different (low) level that what these players do is like me trying to decipher the Russian alphabet - impossible!  But there are plenty of people out there who can follow her play.  I would like to see some analysis of her games in this event.  Where did she go wrong?  Was she, as I suspect, playing not to lose, which is a sure-fire way to lose every time? 

The next Women's Grand Prix event is 6-20 September 2011, Shenzhen CHINA.  We will once see GM Hou Yifan in action, along with Anna Muzychuk, Ju Wenjun, Elina Danielian, Viktorija Cmilyte, Alisa Galliamova, Zhu Chen, Luan Rufei, Zhao Xue, Ekaterina Kovalevskaya, Munguntuul Batkhuyag, and Betul Cemre Yildiz.  [Players in bold played in 2011-2012 Women's Grand Prix Rostov]. 

As the old proverb proves, the race doesn't always go to the fastest out of the gate; slow and steady wins the race!  Who will be the 2011-2012 Women's Grand Prix Champion???