2008 European Individual Chess Championships

Here are the female qualifiers for the next World Cup: № Rank SNo. Name IRtg FED Ptt 1 1 5 GM Lahno Kateryna 2479 UKR 8.5 2 2 10 IM Cmilyte Viktorija 2466 LTU 8 3 3 8 IM Ushenina Anna 2474 UKR 8 4 4 14 WGM Zhukova Natalia 2450 UKR 8 5 5 24 IM Mkrtchian Lilit 2413 ARM 8 6 6 17 IM Skripchenko Almira 2443 FRA 8 7 7 20 IM Dembo Yelena 2429 GRE 8 8 8 1 GM Cramling Pia 2539 SWE 7.5 9 9 9 WGM Pogonina Natalija 2470 RUS 7.5 10 10 4 IM Muzychuk Anna 2486 SLO 7.5 11 11 2 GM Stefanova Antoaneta 2538 BUL 7.5 12 12 16 IM Dzagnidze Nana 2443 GEO 7.5 13 13 6 IM Danielian Elina 2479 ARM 7.5 14 14 30 IM Lomineishvili Maia 2400 GEO 7.5

2008 European Individual Chess Championships

GM Kateryna Lahno won the Women's tournament and the gold medal outright with her 8.5/11, but there were tie-break play-offs for the silver and bronze medals as well as spots for the World Chess Championship. Silver: IM Victoria Cmilyte Bronze: IM Anna Ushenina Qualified for WCC: IM Elina Danielian IM Maia Lomineishvili

2008 European Individual Chess Championships

Standings after Round 10: 1 GM Lahno Kateryna 2479 UKR 8.0 (W, defeated Kovalevskaya) 2 WGM Zhukova Natalia 2450 UKR 7.5 (drew with Ushenina) 3 IM Ushenina Anna 2474 UKR 7.5 (drew with Zhukova) 4 GM Cramling Pia 2539 SWE 7.5 (drew with Skripchenko) 5 IM Skripchenko Almira 2443 FRA 7.5 (drew with Cramling) 6 IM Houska Jovanka 2390 ENG 7.0 (drew with Anna Muzychuk) 7 IM Cmilyte Viktorija 2466 LTU 7.0 (drew with Natalija Pogonina) 8 IM Mkrtchian Lilit 2413 ARM 7.0 (B, defeated Margarita Voiska) 9 IM Dembo Yelena 2429 GRE 7.0 (B, defeated Sopio Nikoladze) 10 IM Muzychuk Anna 2486 SLO 7.0 (drew with Houska) 11 WGM Pogonina Natalija 2470 RUS 7.0 (drew with Cmilyte) 12 IM Danielian Elina 2479 ARM 7.0 (B, defeated Tatiana Stepovaia) 13 IM Socko Monika 2505 POL 7.0 (B, defeated Melia Salome) 14 IM Dzagnidze Nana 2443 GEO 6.5 15 IM Kovalevskaya Ekaterina 2421 RUS 6.5 (B, lost to Lahno) 16 GM Stefanova Antoaneta 2538 BUL 6.5 (B, defeated Jana Jackova) 17 IM Lomineishvili Maia 2400 GEO 6.5 18 WGM Demina Julia 2337 RUS 6.5 19 IM Repkova Eva 2381 SVK 6.5 20 IM Rajlich Iweta 2411 POL 6.5 72 Kazimova Narmin 2071 AZE 5.0 (W, defeated WIM Popova Natalija 2239 BLR) In round 11, Narmin (B) faces FM Petra Schuurman (NED 2295), also with 5.0. It’s Lahno’s tournament to lose; behind (W) she will have her hands full with Ushenina (B). Interesting to note that of the top 16, five players won with the black pieces in Round 10.

2008 European Individual Chess Championships

Ladies' top standings after Round 9: 1 GM Lahno Kateryna 2479 UKR 7,0 (draw with Cramling) IM Ushenina Anna 2474 UKR 7,0 (draw with Muzychuk) 3 GM Cramling Pia 2539 SWE 7,0 (draw with Lahno) 4 WGM Zhukova Natalia 2450 UKR 7,0 with B, defeated Dembo; moved up from 5th to 4th, Dembo fell from 6th to 13th) 5 IM Skripchenko Almira 2443 FRA 7,0 (defeated Stefanova) 6 IM Cmilyte Viktorija 2466 LTU 6,5 (defeated Eva Moser, who fell from 21st to 35th) 7 IM Houska Jovanka 2390 ENG 6,5 8 IM Muzychuk Anna 2486 SLO 6,5 (draw with Ushenina) 9 IM Kovalevskaya Ekaterina 2421 RUS 6,5 10 WGM Pogonina Natalija 2470 RUS 6,5 11 IM Mkrtchian Lilit 2413 ARM 6,0 12 IM Dzagnidze Nana 2443 GEO 6,0 13 IM Dembo Yelena 2429 GRE 6,0 (lost to Zhukova) 14 IM Danielian Elina 2479 ARM 6,0 15 WGM Stepovaia Tatiana 2378 RUS 6,0 16 WGM Melia Salome 2413 GEO 6,0 17 IM Lomineishvili Maia 2400 GEO 6,0 18 GM Peng Zhaoqin 2455 NED 6,0 19 WGM Voiska Margarita 2339 BUL 6,0 20 IM Socko Monika 2505 POL 6,0 21 WGM Zimina Olga 2363 ITA 6,0 22 WIM Nikoladze Sopio 2249 GEO 6,0 23 GM Stefanova Antoaneta 2538 BUL 5,5 (Whoa! Stefanova lost with W to IM Almira Skripchenko (FRA 2443) who moved up from 7th place to 5th, and Stefanova fell from 8th all the way to 23rd!) 94 Kazimova Narmin 2071 AZE 4,0 All right, good girl. She had a draw today behind B against WGM Marina Makropoulou (GRE 2254) and moved up from 100th to 94th. Tomorrow: Board 58: Kazimova Narmin 2071 AZE 4,0/4,0 WIM Popova Natalija 2239 BLR Only two more rounds to go! I'm rooting for Kazimova to finish at 50%, which I think would be a great result for her against the competition she has faced in this event.

2008 Individual European Chess Championships

Standings after Round 8. It's obvious that at least some of the ladies came to play chess, and they're not content for draws hoping someone above them makes an "oops." Cramling made a move; so did Yelena Dembo (good for her). Round 11 is coming up fast! 1 GM Lahno Kateryna 2479 UKR 6,5 2 IM Ushenina Anna 2474 UKR 6,5 3 GM Cramling Pia 2539 SWE 6,5 4 IM Muzychuk Anna 2486 SLO 6,0 5 WGM Zhukova Natalia 2450 UKR 6,0 6 IM Dembo Yelena 2429 GRE 6,0 7 IM Skripchenko Almira 2443 FRA 6,0 8 GM Stefanova Antoaneta 2538 BUL 5,5 9 IM Cmilyte Viktorija 2466 LTU 5,5 10 IM Dzagnidze Nana 2443 GEO 5,5 11 IM Houska Jovanka 2390 ENG 5,5 12 IM Kovalevskaya Ekaterina 2421 RUS 5,5 13 IM Danielian Elina 2479 ARM 5,5 14 WGM Voiska Margarita 2339 BUL 5,5 15 IM Javakhishvili Lela 2466 GEO 5,5 16 WIM Batsiashvili Nino 2304 GEO 5,5 17 WGM Melia Salome 2413 GEO 5,5 18 WGM Pogonina Natalija 2470 RUS 5,5 19 WGM Zawadzka Jolanta 2397 POL 5,5 20 IM Gvetadze Sopio 2350 GEO 5,5 21 IM Moser Eva 2395 AUT 5,5 100 Kazimova Narmin 2071 AZE 3,5 Narmin was not able to win with W against WGM Anna Sharevich, and dropped more than halfway down the standings. Tomorrow in Round 9 she will be black: Board 57: WGM Makropoulou Marina 2254 GRE 3,5/3,5 Kazimova Narmin 2071 AZE.

2008 European Individual Chess Championships

Here are the standings of the top 20 after Round 7: 1 GM Lahno Kateryna 2479 UKR 5,5 2 IM Muzychuk Anna 2486 SLO 5,5 3 IM Danielian Elina 2479 ARM 5,5 4 GM Stefanova Antoaneta 2538 BUL 5,5 5 IM Ushenina Anna 2474 UKR 5,5 6 IM Cmilyte Viktorija 2466 LTU 5,5 7 GM Cramling Pia 2539 SWE 5,5 8 WGM Zhukova Natalia 2450 UKR 5,5 9 IM Kovalevskaya Ekaterina 2421 RUS 5,0 10 IM Mkrtchian Lilit 2413 ARM 5,0 11 IM Houska Jovanka 2390 ENG 5,0 WGM Stepovaia Tatiana 2378 RUS 5,0 13 IM Dzagnidze Nana 2443 GEO 5,0 14 IM Dembo Yelena 2429 GRE 5,0 15 IM Javakhishvili Lela 2466 GEO 5,0 16 IM Skripchenko Almira 2443 FRA 5,0 17 WGM Melia Salome 2413 GEO 5,0 18 IM Moser Eva 2395 AUT 5,0 19 IM Peptan Corina-Isabela 2415 ROU 4,5 20 WIM Nemcova Katerina 2344 CZE 4,5 69 Kazimova Narmin 2071 AZE 3,5 Narmin dropped in the standings after losing her Round 7 game, and is now at 50%. Let's see what she does with W in Round 8: Board 47: Kazimova Narmin 2071 AZE 3,5/3,5 WGM Sharevich Anna 2311 BLR So far, there are no real surprises in the top 20. The usual crop of the higher rated players are settling in at the top. I would like to see Cramling make a move.

2008 Individual European Chess Championships

Standings of the top 20 after Round 6: 1 IM Cmilyte Viktorija 2466 LTU 5,0 2 IM Ushenina Anna 2474 UKR 5,0 3 IM Kovalevskaya Ekaterina 2421 RUS 5,0 4 IM Mkrtchian Lilit 2413 ARM 4,5 5 GM Stefanova Antoaneta 2538 BUL 4,5 6 IM Peptan Corina-Isabela 2415 ROU 4,5 7 IM Muzychuk Anna 2486 SLO 4,5 8 GM Lahno Kateryna 2479 UKR 4,5 9 IM Danielian Elina 2479 ARM 4,5 10 WGM Zhukova Natalia 2450 UKR 4,5 11 GM Cramling Pia 2539 SWE 4,5 12 WIM Batsiashvili Nino 2304 GEO 4,5 13 IM Paehtz Elisabeth 2449 GER 4,5 14 WGM Pogonina Natalija 2470 RUS 4,5 15 IM Javakhishvili Lela 2466 GEO 4,5 16 WGM Golubenko Valentina 2253 CRO 4,5 17 IM Matveeva Svetlana 2420 RUS 4,0 18 IM Dzagnidze Nana 2443 GEO 4,0 19 IM Houska Jovanka 2390 ENG 4,0 20 WGM Stepovaia Tatiana 2378 RUS 4,0 39 Kazimova Narmin 2071 AZE 3,5. Kazimova has had a tough two rounds. In Round 6, she lost with W to IM Monika Socko (POL 2505), who had 3.0. In Round 5, she lost with B to IM Victoria Cmilyte (LTH 2466) who had 3.5. In Round 7, she will once again have B against IM Sopio Gvetadze (GEO 2350), with 3.5. Key match-ups in Round 7: Board 1: IM Cmilyte Viktorija 2466 LTU 5,0/5,0 IM Ushenina Anna 2474 UKR Board 2: GM Cramling Pia 2539 SWE 4,5/5,0 IM Kovalevskaya Ekaterina 2421 RUS Board 3: GM Stefanova Antoaneta 2538 BUL 4,5/4,5 IM Paehtz Elisabeth 2449 GER Board 4: IM Muzychuk Anna 2486 SLO 4,5/4,5 WIM Batsiashvili Nino 2304 GEO

2008 European Individual Chess Championships

Key match-ups for Round 6: Board 1: IM Kovalevskaya Ekaterina 2421 RUS 4,5/4,5 IM Cmilyte Viktorija 2466 LTU Board 4: IM Paehtz Elisabeth 2449 GER 4,0/4,0 IM Muzychuk Anna 2486 SLO Board: 5: GM Lahno Kateryna 2479 UKR 4,0/4,0 WGM Zhukova Natalia 2450 UKR Board 6: IM Ushenina Anna 2474 UKR 4,0/4,0 IM Dzagnidze Nana 2443 GEO Board 7: GM Hoang Thanh Trang 2477 HUN 3,5/4,0 IM Mkrtchian Lilit 2413 ARM

2008 European Individual Chess Championships

Here are the standings for the top 20 ladies after Round 5: 1 IM Cmilyte Viktorija 2466 LTU 4,5 2 IM Kovalevskaya Ekaterina 2421 RUS 4,5 3 IM Peptan Corina-Isabela 2415 ROU 4,0 4 IM Mkrtchian Lilit 2413 ARM 4,0 5 GM Stefanova Antoaneta 2538 BUL 4,0 6 GM Lahno Kateryna 2479 UKR 4,0 7 IM Muzychuk Anna 2486 SLO 4,0 IM Ushenina Anna 2474 UKR 4,0 9 GM Cramling Pia 2539 SWE 4,0 10 WGM Zhukova Natalia 2450 UKR 4,0 11 WGM Pogonina Natalija 2470 RUS 4,0 12 IM Paehtz Elisabeth 2449 GER 4,0 13 IM Dzagnidze Nana 2443 GEO 4,0 14 Kazimova Narmin 2071 AZE 3,5 15 WIM Nemcova Katerina 2344 CZE 3,5 16 IM Danielian Elina 2479 ARM 3,5 17 IM Matveeva Svetlana 2420 RUS 3,5 18 IM Vasilevich Tatjana 2360 UKR 3,5 19 WIM Batsiashvili Nino 2304 GEO 3,5 20 IM Houska Jovanka 2390 ENG 3,5

2008 European Individual Chess Championships

In Round 5, Kazimova lost behind the black pieces to Victoria Cmilyte, so Cmilyte moves to 4.5 and Kazimova stays on 3.5. I'll have the standings tonight. IM Cmilyte Viktorija 2466 LTU 3,5 1 - 0 3,5 Kazimova Narmin 2071 AZE

2008 European Individual Chess Championships

Hola! I'm too tired to do the update to Chess Femme News tonight so I'm posting the info on Round 4 Women here - top 20 finishers: Rank Name IRtg FED Pts BH. BH. vict Fide Rtg+/- 1 IM Kovalevskaya Ekaterina 2421 RUS 4,0 4,0 9,0 4 10,0 13 2 IM Cmilyte Viktorija 2466 LTU 3,5 5,5 10,0 3 9,5 9 3 Kazimova Narmin 2071 AZE 3,5 5,0 10,5 3 9,0 73 4 GM Stefanova Antoaneta 2538 BUL 3,5 5,0 9,5 3 8,5 5 5 IM Peptan Corina-Isabela 2415 ROU 3,5 4,5 10,0 3 9,5 9 6 IM Muzychuk Anna 2486 SLO 3,5 4,5 9,0 3 8,5 8 7 GM Lahno Kateryna 2479 UKR 3,5 4,5 8,5 3 9,0 8 IM Dzagnidze Nana 2443 GEO 3,5 4,5 8,5 3 9,0 9 9 GM Cramling Pia 2539 SWE 3,0 5,5 11,0 2 7,5 -2 10 WGM Stepovaia Tatiana 2378 RUS 3,0 5,5 10,5 2 8,5 6 11 IM Gvetadze Sopio 2350 GEO 3,0 5,5 10,5 2 8,0 18 12 IM Mkrtchian Lilit 2413 ARM 3,0 5,5 10,0 2 8,5 7 13 WIM Nemcova Katerina 2344 CZE 3,0 5,5 9,5 3 9,0 18 14 IM Ushenina Anna 2474 UKR 3,0 5,0 10,0 2 8,5 1 15 IM Matveeva Svetlana 2420 RUS 3,0 5,0 10,0 2 8,0 4 16 WGM Zhukova Natalia 2450 UKR 3,0 4,5 9,5 2 8,5 4 17 IM Danielian Elina 2479 ARM 3,0 4,5 9,0 3 7,0 1 18 IM Paehtz Elisabeth 2449 GER 3,0 4,5 9,0 2 8,0 3 IM Lomineishvili Maia 2400 GEO 3,0 4,5 9,0 2 8,0 6 20 IM Vasilevich Tatjana 2360 UKR 3,0 4,0 8,5 3 9,0 6 As you can see, the "usual suspects" are in the top rankings after Round 4 - but the big story is Narmin Kazimova. Who? I'd never heard of her - nor recall seeing her name crop up in tournament reports. So who the heck is she and how is she managing to stay on par with the top players given her vastly inferior ELO??? There must be a story there, darlings! Ohmygoddess, she's a baby! According to the official FIDE website, she was born in 1993! Her first FIDE-rated games showed up in January, 2006 - from the 2004 World Youth Chess Championships U-12! There was no reported activity before or after, until 3 events for all of 2007. She played in the World Youth Chess Championships in Turkey in November, 2007 where she scored 5.5/9; and four tournaments in Azerbaijan in late 2007 (2) and early 2008 (2). In this event, in Round 4, Kazimova (W) defeated WGM Salome Melia (GEO 2413) (B); in Round 3, Kazimova (B) drew with GM Pia Cramling (W); in Round 2 she defeated WGM Baira Kovanova Baira (RUS 2372) (B); in Round 1 she (B) defeated WFM Ekaterina Akatova (RUS 2320)(W). Can she keep it up?