Wrap Up of News Coverage: 2011 Women's World Chess Championship Match

The New York Times:

17-Year-Old From China Repeats as Women’s Chess ChampBy DYLAN LOEB McCLAINPublished: November 24, 2011

In the growing rivalry between the emerging superpowers China and India, Beijing scored a symbolic victory on Thursday: a Chinese woman won a chess match.

The woman, Hou Yifan, 17, easily retained the Women’s World Chess Championship title when she drew the eighth game of a match against Humpy Koneru, the best Indian woman to play the game.
The final score of the best-of-10 match was 5.5 points to 2.5 points.

Despite the lopsided score, the victory was not as easy as it appeared, Ms. Hou said in a telephone interview from Tirana, Albania, where the match was held. “Every game was interesting. Both of us had chances,” she said. The difference was that “in the middle games, I caught her mistakes.”

Ms. Koneru said she was disappointed but not entirely surprised. “I’ve been struggling for the last year with my game,” she said by telephone, adding that her mistakes were caused by a lack of patience at critical points when she played too aggressively.

Rest of article.

From The Times of India:

Humpy lost it in the mindHari Hara NandananHari Hara Nandanan, TNN | Nov 25, 2011, 09.16PM IST

CHENNAI: The Tirana experience must be hurting Koneru Humpy a lot. A 5.5-2.5 win for defending champion Hou Yifan of China after the eighth-game draw on Thursday night meant that this match was one of the most one-sided in women's World chess championship history, highlighting the mental state of the Indian more than her preparation.

Realistically, Humpy is not inferior to Yifan, though her scores in the 10-game Tirana championship and also her past score against the Chinese would weigh against her strength. In fact, Humpy was stronger in rating when they started the match, though the 17-year-old Chinese was still the champion.

Maybe, the Indian did not have the kind of run up to the longest battle that she waged against anyone in her career. The 10-game format came back to women's chess title match after a long time but this cannot be a reason for failure because Yifan had the same experience.

Perhaps, the Chinese was less experienced in top-flight chess compared to Humpy. "Better and tougher preparation earlier in the year, huge backing from the Chinese Chess Federation, a huge plus score against Koneru, two match wins in the FIDE KO (knockout) format against Koneru, youth and I believe superior talent all on her side all suggested to me that this would happen," noted Mark Crowther in his analysis of Yifan's triumph.

Among the factors Crowther mentioned, the backing of the Chinese Chess Federation is striking because by now it is obvious to the world that Humpy has not enjoyed the best of support from All India Chess Federation. It is difficult to conclude that either Humpy or AICF is to blame in the cold war but Hou Yifan was certainly in a better position in that respect as any Chinese player is given the way chess is run in that country.

Perhaps, the decisive factor that swung the match in Yifan's favour was that the Indian had a huge mental lag againt Yifan, who had scored two wins in shorter matches against her in the same championship in the last three years. Humpy was slightly better in games 1,2 and 8 but still she could not take it beyod the opening level.

"In the first two games she got the position she wanted (out of the opening), but she could not get much," said GM Abhijit Kunte. "Though Yifan was taken out of the book, she coud find over-the-board solutions." Kunte does not think that this is the end of the world for the Indian. "In fact, Humpy is more experienced and the difference between them is not much as the score would indicate," he added. Humpy is only in her mid-20s and this match would certainly help her in the battles to come.

Koneru Humpy Still Has the Yips When It Comes to Hou Yifan

While I've been enjoying this last-minute get-away from the Wisconsin weather during this long Thanksgiving Holiday weekend (yippee!) I've been neglecting the news on the outcome of the Women's World Chess Championship Match - Koneru Humpy lost the Match to reigning champ GM Hou Yifan of China, who is all of 17 years old.  I can only speculate as to what Humpy, who is only 21, is feeling right now. 

I had such high hopes for Koneru Humpy in this Match, but it was not to be.  During the months leading up to the Match, Hou Yifan played in big event after big event, sometimes top women's events, sometimes Chinese Team events, sometimes mixed events.  She got spanked by better players plenty of times during those months, but she also finished first in many of the events she played in.  No matter what her performance was in the prior event she had played in, she just moved on to the next one, and then the next one, and then the next one.  She was in intense training - so much so that during the later part of the Match the unrelenting stress finally manifested itself in physical symptoms that could not be ignored; Hou Yifan was rushed to a local hospital for tests.  It was determined that her stomach problems were stress-related and not due to a "serious" illness.  As if stress isn't serious?  Stress in a teenager bad enough to manifest itself in such a debilitating way?

In any event - and I doubt we will never know the full story unless Hou Yifan decides to talk one day -- the next day she was back at the chessboard and won aganst Humpy.  It was all over then, except for the shouting.  Hou was touted as a heroine, stiff upper lip and all that.  Actually, I think it's all rather disgusting.  Why do we abuse our best and our brightest by subjecting them to that kind of unrelenting psychological pressure?  I guess no one has learned a damn thing from Kim Yu Na...

During the months while I was constantly reading and reporting on Hou Yifan's "preparation" for the Match, Koneru Humpy played in very few events and her training and preparation were shrouded in secrecy.

Whatever it was she was doing, it is obvious now that it did not hold a key to a Humpy victory.   Humpy has not had a good record against Hou Yifan and it seems evident that her preparation was inadequate to allow her to overcome her psychological 'yips' that somehow manifest to prevent Humpy from playing her absolute best chess against Hou Yifan.  And it would take her best chess in order to win, for certainly Hou is a formidible chessplayer.

Usually in other sports (figure-skating and golf come to mind), a disastrous outcome at a major event leads to shake-ups in the coaching/training structure of the athlete.  In the ordinary course of events, Humpy would fire her coach and start over with one or more new people on her training and support team, and perhaps spend some time with a sports psychologist.  Negative-thought loops are notoriously difficult to overcome - but they can be overcome with persistence and a dedicated professional rendering assistance.  Koneru Humpy's coach is her father.  Humpy is an Indian woman.  Indian society is very conservative.  I don't believe that Humpy is going to fire her father.

Too bad Hou Yifan can't or won't fire anyone on her team, either.  They should all be fired as far as I'm concerned. 

Congratulations to GM Hou Yifan on retaining the Women's Champion title. 

The final game scores (10 rounds were scheduled, with time for an additional four games if they had been needed to decide the title; as it was, the title was decided in Game 8):

WCh w Tirana (ALB), 14 - 30 xi 2011
Name	Ti	NAT	Rtng	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Total	Perf
Hou, Yifan	g	CHN	2578	½	½	1	½	½	1	1	½	.	.	5½	2741
Koneru, Humpy	g	IND	2600	½	½	0	½	½	0	0	½	.	.	2½	2437

There's no point in my saying anything further.

2011 Women's World Chess Championship Match: Press Coverage

From The Times of India

Humpy surrenders two-point lead
Hari Hara NandananHari Hara Nandanan, TNN | Nov 22, 2011, 06.37PM IST

CHENNAI: Koneru Humpy courted disaster in Game 6 to hand over a two-point lead to defending champion Hou Yifan of China in the Women's Word chess championship at Tirana ( Albania) on Monday.

The Indian challenger got a playable position and even looked slightly better at times with white when she got into time trouble. She made a few weak moves during a spell of two minutes and quickly lost the position.

With this win, Yifan leads the 10-game series 4-2. The Chinese will have white on Wednesday in Game 7 after a rest day. Hou Yifan's win is all the more creditable as she was battling a severe stomach pain the previous night.

The 17-year-old was taken to the hospital. The doctors checked her medical condition and diagnosed it was a psychological problem as the tests revealed nothing conclusive.

Yifan refused to take any pain-killers, but still turned up for the game in stable condition. And in a couple of hours from then, it was Humpy who looked in pain, of course, as a result of the Chinese's moves.

Humpy could not get any tangible advantage though she got a slight advantage. The Chinese GM managed to equalise and this must have prompted the Indian to try harder.

Humpy kept the bishops against the bishop and knight and tried to find a good sequence of moves in the last five minutes before the first time control. Yifan countered by doubling the rooks in the kingfile.

In time trouble, Humpy wasted a couple of rook moves and allowed the black knight to penetrate into the white kingside. In just three moves, Yifan broke open the position and sacrificed her knight to find a mate-in-four.

It is now imperative that Humpy has to go all out in the remaining four games if she has to reverse the results.

From ibnlive.in.com
Posted on Nov 22, 2011 at 06:03pm IST

Humpy suffers second defeat; trails Yifan 2-4

Tirana: Koneru Humpy suffered her second defeat in six games on Tuesday against defending champion Yifan Hou of China in the Women's World Chess Championship here.

With two losses and four draws so far in the 10-game contest, Humpy is trailing Yifan 2-4.

And now with just four games to go, Yifan has a two-point lead over her Indian opponent.
Yifan yet again capitalised on an erroneous plan by Humpy and went on to record her second win.

The 17-year old Chinese had experienced severe stomach pains the previous night and was immediately rushed to the hospital by the organisers and FIDE officials. The doctors checked her medical condition, but the necessary tests proved there was no other problem, besides psychological pressure.

Humpy, playing with white pieces, came up with a new plan and again had the better position once the opening was over.

She expressed her fears of a draw in the post match conference, "I prepared some line and got a very decent position after the opening. I had two bishops. I wanted to press for a win. At the beginning I had a lot of time but then I was trying to find the best line. I was afraid that some variations would lead to a draw."

As it happened, the advantage slipped out of Humpy's hands in quick time and then in acute time pressure for both players, Yifan managed to snatch the initiative with her offensive manoeuvres.

It was on move 30 that Humpy had her last chance and once she let it slip, Yifan was on top and it took just eight more moves for the Chinese to trap the King.

The seventh game of the 200000 Euros prize money match will be played after the third rest day.

2011 Women's World Chess Championship Match

Hola darlings!

Wouldn't you know it.  I thought maybe it was just my allergies acting up over the weekend, but Saturday night I ended up sleeping sitting up in the recliner in the family room and Sunday morning my throat felt horrid; after I gargled it felt better, and then didn't bother me all day.  This morning, worse.  It's been scratchy all day and my sinuses are draining down the back of my throat as well as drip, drip, dripping constantly into an always-in-hand tissue.  Argggh!  A cold!  I knew it when I started feeling worse at the office as the morning wore on, so those aches and pains and that feeling cold -- it's a fever, Jan!  Duh!  It's not the flu, I had a shot and I'm sure it's not that.  So, at noon I went to Walgreens and got some Cold Eze and some Day Quil.  I hope I've caught it soon enough with the Cold Eze so that the zinc will moderate the symptoms and duration of the cold - we'll see.  I'm travelling in three days, I don't want to be feeling sick!  But the truth is right now I'm feeling poorly and all I want to do is go to bed.

Speaking of feeling sick, Hou Yifan was rushed to a hospital yesterday evening when she experienced stomach pains.  She was checked out -- nothing could be discovered -- and it was determined that it was most likely stress-related.  She was in form today.  She defeated Koneru Humpy in Game 6 and now holds a commanding 2 point lead with only 4 games remaining in the match. 

I'm glad she was able to rebound to play good chess.  But I'm absolutely dismayed that at 17 she is so stressed out by the events in her life/this competition that she's experiencing stomach pains strong enough to send her to a hospital.  I think that's awful.  I can't help but wonder, will Hou Yifan be the chess equivalent of figure skating's Kim Yuna? 

Here's the game from R6.  Tomorrow the ladies have a rest day, and it seems both of them need it badly.  I sure do hope the organizers just let them alone!  Let them stay in their rooms and rest and meet with their people rather than prancing them around like fillies on display.  Geez!

Information from The Week in Chess:

GM Koneru, Humpy (2600) - GM Hou, Yifan (2578)
WCh w Tirana ALB (6), 2011.11.21

1.d4 e6 2.c4 Nf6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Bb4 5.Qa4+ Nc6 6.e3 O-O 7.Bd2 dxc4 8.Bxc4 Bd6 9.Qc2 a6 10.a3 e5 11.dxe5 Nxe5 12.Nxe5 Bxe5 13.f4 Bxc3 14.Bxc3 Qe7 15.O-O Qxe3+ 16.Kh1 Qb6 17.f5 Bd7 18.Bb4 Rfe8 19.Rad1 Qc6 20.Qb3 Kh8 21.Rc1 Qb6 22.Bxf7 Re5 23.Bc3 Qxb3 24.Bxb3 Re3 25.Bc4 Rae8 26.Bd4 R3e7 27.Ba2 Re2 28.Bf7 R8e7 29.Bc4 R2e4 30.Bc5 Re8 31.Bf7 R8e5 32.Ba2 Bc6 33.Rg1 Re2 34.Bd4 Rxf5 35.Bc4 Rd2 36.Bc3 Ne4 37.Rge1 Ng3+ 38.hxg3 Rh5+ 0-1

2011 Women's World Chess Championship Match: News Coverage

From The Times of India
Humpy under pressure in World Chess Championship
PTI | Nov 20, 2011, 01.02PM IST

TIRANA (Albania): Grandmaster Koneru Humpy is facing the heat but needs just one good game to be back in hunt in the Women's World Chess Championship match against defending champion Yifan Hou of China.

After the first four games of a 10-game match, the Indian trails 1.5-2.5 with one loss and three draws and will need to pull her act together in the remaining six games.

It was a bright start that went haywire in the third game that Humpy lost and in the fourth game again she was made to defend for a long time before the draw was achieved.

Yifan, on the other hand, showed that her skills are beyond her age. At 17, the world champion displayed remarkable acumen to come up triumphant in extreme complexities in the third game.

The Chinese has been a picture of confidence and her approach has been simple in this match - to strike whenever the opportunity presented itself.

To sum up the match thus far, Humpy was on the offensive but could not get any decisive foray in the first two games and her over-ambitious play in the third game did not come good.

Even as there are six games to come, Humpy will be hoping for an early revival in her fortunes to get a chance to have a go at the title.

If the results are tied after 10 games, shorter duration games will be played to determine the winner in the 2,00,000 Euros championship.

For Humpy there is an added bonus as it will be a rare double for India with Anand already world champion since 2007.

From the look of it, there is enough optimism in Humpy's camp for the fifth game after the second rest day. It remains to be seen though how far it would translate in the games to come.


From The Hindu
Fifth game drawn
NEW DELHI,November 21, 2011

K. Humpy did not have to work too hard to force a draw with black pieces against champion Hou Yifan in the fifth game of the women's World chess championship at Tirana, Albania, on Sunday. The 43-move deadlock kept Yifan 3-2 ahead in the 10-game match.

The battle in Ruy Lopez saw the queens coming off the board by the 15th move. Yifan tried to create some complications for the black's castled king with the help of the bishop-pair but without much success. Yifan established a central pawn to restrict space for Humpy's pieces but again, the Indian smartly neutralised it.

For some time, Humpy's dark-squared bishop had to assume a defensive role while Yifan enjoyed more space and looked at more options. Slowly, the exchange of bishops and pawns did not leave any player with any decisive advantage.

From The Times of India

Koneru Humpy draws Game 5 Hou Yifan

TNN | Nov 20, 2011, 11.13PM IST

CHENNAI: Koneru Humpy fought another bitter battle with black in the fifth game against world champion Hou Yifan of China and managed a draw in 43 moves in the Women's World chess championship at Tirana ( Albania) on Sunday.

The 10-game series stands 3-2 in favour of Yifan, who had won the third game. The sixth game with Humpy having white will be played on Monday.

Humpy defended well after a well-analysed Ruy Lopez opening got simplified into an ending quickly. The queens got exchanged after 14 moves and both the players tried to test each other in a rooks and same-coloured bishop ending.

Though Humpy was in time pressure, it was not severe enough to land her in trouble. Eventually, after reaching dead end they shook hands.

2011 Women's World Chess Championship Match

Game 5 was a draw on move 43:

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Nxe4 6. d4 b5 7. Bb3 d5 8. dxe5 Be6 9. Nbd2 Nc5 10. c3 Be7 11. Bc2 d4 12. cxd4 Nxd4 13. Nxd4 Qxd4 14. Nf3 Qxd1 15. Rxd1 O-O 16. Nd4 Rfd8 17. b4 Na4 18. Nc6 Rxd1+ 19. Bxd1 Bf8 20. Bf3 Re8 21. a3 Nb6 22. g3 h6 23. h4 g6 24. Bg2 Bg7 25. f4 f6 26. Bb2 fxe5 27. Bxe5 Nc4 28. Bxg7 Kxg7 29. a4 bxa4 30. Rxa4 Bg4 31. Ra2 Re3 32. Kf2 Rc3 33. Ne5 Nxe5 34. fxe5 Rc4 35. Rxa6 Rxb4 36. Rc6 Rb2+ 37. Kg1 Rb1+ 38. Kh2 Rb2 39. Rxc7+ Kg8 40. Kg1 Rb1+ 41. Kh2 Rb2 42. Kg1 Rb1+ 43. Kh2 ½-½

Humpy had the black pieces again after a rest day (the second so far in the match) on a greed rule that no player would be able to have two whites in a row after a rest day; Humpy had white in the game after the first rest day.

Game 6 tomorrow.

Photos of the ladies from R5, from the official website - I like both of these photographs very much:

GM Koneru Humpy

GM Hou Yifan

 

2011 Women's World Chess Championship Match In the News

From First Post:
Humpy loses to Yifan in World Chess Championships
Nov 18, 2011

Tirana (Albania): Grandmaster Koneru Humpy misplayed a fine position and went down to defending champion Yifan Hou of China in the third game of the Women’s World Championship here.
Looking good after the first two of the 10-game match, Humpy went for an erroneous plan and Yifan cashed in to go one up. The scoreline now reads 2-1 in the favour of the Chinese 17-year old.
With seven games still to come, Humpy will now be under pressure especially as her loss came with white pieces. The Indian will have to device [sic] new ways to tackle Yifan as the wild complications did not work in the third game.

The Queen pawn opening by Humpy did not see another Catalan and Yifan went for a complicated variation right from the beginning. Typical of the system, Yifan had weaknesses on the king side and her king itself looked a bit vulnerable as the game progressed.

In the middle game, Humpy went for a pawn sacrifice on the queen side to pursue her attack on the other flank but Yifan, who calculates deep, had judged well that the attack was only optical.  By the 25th move, it was clear that white should have looked towards equalise but a mistake there turned the tide decisively in the favour of the Chinese.

Humpy recovered the lost pawn at a huge concession of giving black a central passed pawn and it was all over in quick time thereafter. Yifan won in 37 moves.

“I took my time to think about taking the pawn on ‘a2′. My king could get in trouble, but I decided to go for this principal continuation,” said Yifan.

“I had a good position, but I was not making good moves,” Humpy said on her play in the middle game.

The fourth game of the euro 2,00,000 Championship will be played before the second rest day. Humpy will now have to play two black games in a row.
PTI

From The Hindu:
Humpy on backfoot in fourth game
NEW DELHI,November 19, 2011

Challenger K. Humpy was battling an inferior endgame against champion Hou Yifan after 41 moves of the fourth game in the women's World chess championship match at Tirana, Albania, on Friday. Playing white, Yifan emerged slightly better from the opening lines of Ruy Lopez. Once the queens were off the board, Humpy had better defensive options after choosing not to castle. In this positional warfare, Yifan exploited the weakness of Humpy's queenside pawns. Her rooks and the lone knight enjoyed more space-advantage and Humpy had to find the right continuation to keep safe.

Unlike the third game which Humpy lost after poorly managing her time, she had more time on her clock on this day. Yifan did manage to create a passed pawn on the queenside, but Humpy's rook and knight minimised Yifan's advantage by winning a kingside pawn.

2011 Women's World Chess Championship Match

Hola darlings!  TGIF.

Today was Game 4.  Hou Yifan had the white pieces but was held comfortably by Koneru Humpy with black, and the game was an agreed draw on move at move 58:

[Event "Women's WCC 2011"]
[Site "Tirana"]
[Date "2011.11.18"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Hou, Yifan"]
[Black "Koneru, Humpy"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Nxe4 6. d4 b5 7. Bb3 d5 8. dxe5 Be6 9. Nbd2 Nc5 10. c3 Be7 11. Bc2 d4 12. Nb3 d3 13. Nxc5 dxc2 14. Qxd8+ Rxd8 15. Nxe6 fxe6 16. Be3 Rd5 17. c4 bxc4 18. Rac1 Nb4 19. a3 Nd3 20. Rxc2 Kd7 21. Bd4 Rb8 22. Bc3 c5 23. Nd2 Nxe5 24. f4 Ng4 25. Nxc4 Bf6 26. Re1 Bd4+ 27. Bxd4 Rxd4 28. h3 Nf6 29. Ne5+ Kd6 30. Nf7+ Kd7 31. Ne5+ Kd6 32. Nf7+ Kd7 33. Rxc5 Rxb2 34. Ne5+ Ke8 35. Nf3 Re4 36. Rxe4 Nxe4 37. Re5 Nc3 38. Rxe6+ Kf8 39. Rxa6 Ne2+ 40. Kh2 Nxf4 41. Kg3 Nxg2 42. Re6 h6 43. Ne5 Ra2 44. a4 g5 45. Rxh6 Ne1 46. Rf6+ Kg7 47. Rg6+ Kh7 48. Rxg5 Rxa4 49. h4 Ra3+ 50. Kg4 Ng2 51. h5 Ne3+ 52. Kf4 Nd5+ 53. Kf5 Ra5 54. Rg1 Ra2 55. Ng4 Ra5 56. Ke4 Nc3+ 57. Kd3 Nd5 58. Ke4 1/2-1/2

After today's draw, the score stands Hou Yifan 2.5/Koneru Humpy 1.5.

Tomorrow is a rest day for the ladies, and play resumes on Sunday - Game 5, after which will mark the second half of the Match.  Wow!  Both players appear to be very well prepared.  I don't think it's out of line to expect to see some sharp play in Game 5...

Hou Yifan (left) and Koneru Humpy (right).  Today both
ladies were casually dressed but very trendy. 

I am very curious about what the rest of the Match will bring.

Coverage at The Week in Chess. 
Play through the game at Susan Polgar's chess blog. 

2011 Women's World Chess Championship Match

Hola!  Game 3 was today and as Eugene Wee promptly advised me, GM Hou Yifan, who had the black pieces today, defeated GM Koneru Humpy, who had a slightly better position out of the opening behind the white pieces.  The game was not a long, drawn out battle.

Perhaps it just wasn't Humpy's day today, or maybe she had something uncorked on her that she wasn't prepared for, or maybe she tried something and it didn't work and her plan went down in flames.  Don't know.  The match is 10 games, so I'm not going to downplay a loss with white, but it does happen and fine players overcome such things during the course of a match.  So, I'll see what happens tomorrow.  I can't speak as to how other chessplayers react, but when I have the black pieces I tend to play better, and if I have black and I'm feeling outgunned and outnumbered, I fight back as ferociously as I know how. 

The start of Round 3.  Humpy in a stunning outfit and Yifan
in her comfort faux-fur hoody.  At least, I hope it's faux-fur!
Humpy Koneru. Photo © Anastasiya Karlovich with kind permission of FIDE
(from The Week in Chess coverage)

Coverage at Susan Polgar's Chess Blog:
November 17, 2011:  Game 3: Hou Yifan Takes the Lead
November 16, 2011:  Costly Time Pressure  (ahhhh, time pressure - I've never had a problem with that, for the simple reason that I usually don't get that far into games before going down in flames)

I would like to see some analysis as the games progress by GM Susan Polgar, who has been there, done that, with her own Women's World Champion title.

Official website coverage.  I don't know how the streaming live coverage is working since I've been ver busy at the office and haven't had a chance to try it.  But the official website by the organizers of the match is clean, crisp and clear.  I like it.

The Week in Chess:
November 17, 2011:  Hou Yifan Takes Women's World Championship Lead With Win in Game 3
Nice photos and game analysis, play-through game with board. 

Koneru, Humpy - Hou Yifan
WCh w Tirana ALB (3), 2011.11.17

1.d4 e6 2.c4 Nf6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Bb4 5.cxd5 exd5 6.Bg5 h6 7.Bh4 c5 8.e3 c4 9.Be2 g5 10.Bg3 Ne4 11.Rc1 Qa5 12.Ne5 Bxc3+ 13.bxc3 Nc6 14.O-O O-O 15.Bf3 Nxg3 16.fxg3 Nxe5 17.dxe5 Be6 18.Bh5 Qxa2 19.Rf6 Qb2 20.Rxh6 Bf5 21.Rf6 Be4 22.Bf3 Bd3 23.Qe1 Rae8 24.Bxd5 Rxe5 25.e4 Kg7 26.Rf2 Qb6 27.Qd2 Rd8 28.Qb2 f5 29.Qxb6 axb6 30.Bxb7 fxe4 31.Rb2 Re7 32.Bc6 Rd6 33.Ba4 e3 34.Re1 e2 35.Bc2 Rf7 36.Bxd3 cxd3 37.Rd2 Rdf6 0-1

Chessdom is offering live coverage of the games.

Chessvibes is also featuring up to the minute coverage. 

2011 Women's World Chess Championship Match

Hola!  Today was a "day off" for reigning champion GM Hou Yifan of China and challenger GM Koneru Humpy of India in their World Championship Match.  So - I have a chance to look at Game 2 that took place yesterday.

Today, evidently, the ladies were taken on an escorted tour to some mountains or other, when I'm sure they'd much rather be resting in their hotel suites and going over strategies with their coaches!  What were those organizers thinking?  Obviously only about photo opportunities, and not about the actual needs of the players themselves.  Doh!

Game two, with Humpy behind the black pieces, ended in a draw.  Again, I see this as an auspicious sign for Humpy. 

Now that I've got my first official chess "lesson" under my belt, I paid more attention than usual to the moves of this game. Those things that my coach showed me during Lesson 1 - many of them showed up in this game, including several moves that "broke the rules" too.  Well, that's how I play.  I break rules left and right, but it's always been by the seat of my pants and on instinct, not because I actually knew what I was doing.  Very very interesting, this glimmering of light on the distant horizon.  Oh Caissa, I've got soooo much to learn...

Before Monday night "controlling the center" was a concept that I knew about, but didn't really understand, viscerally.  Not sure I do - yet - but I'm fast developing a new appreciation for this "simple" concept...

Developing the knights and the bishops, castling, getting the rooks centered, the queen in a ready position and the king protected - also concepts I knew before, and sometimes even tried to deploy in my chess games.  Now, new found appreciation for what those concepts could actually mean.  Whether I can execute or not - I've got some homework to do...

Back to Game 2 of the WWCCMatch -- I won't say that I was astounded to see certain moves unfold, but I certainly do see the sense and sensibility behind at least a few of them now, where I did not, before.  Oh, I felt some of those moves, some times, that they were brilliant or the best thing or the only (sudden death speeding toward you at 100 MPH) move you could make to try and hang on, but didn't really know why I thought they were so good before.  Oh, listen to me rambling on, like I'm suddenly an expert after one official chess lesson.  LOL!  Like I said, I'm at the merest glimmering of sunrise on the horizon.

Humpy, I love how you play chess!

Again, this match is being followed closely at several major chess websites/blogs around the internet.  I just happened to visit The Week in Chess first tonight for its coverage of Game 2.

GM Koneru Humpy, behind the black pieces in Game 2.
Serene, contemplative, and determined. Nice outfit, too.
Photo © Anastasiya Karlovich and Anna Burtasova with
kind permission of FIDE.   | http://www.wwcc2011tirana.com

Now I know this has absolutely nothing to do with chess, darlings, but I'm really liking Humpy's tunic-top outfit, and I'm really not liking the slacks (trousers) that Hou Yifan wore, although her top (blouse or shirt), was really cute.  I like lumberjack checks and I liked the black/white theme of both of the ladies' outfits, but the checked slacks Hou Yifan wore are awful.  They do not match the top at all.  Colors are off, pattern scale is off.  Hou Yifan, what were you thinking?

Round 2, Hou Yifan with white pieces and awful outfit, Koneru Humpy with
black pieces and really cute outfit.
Hou Yifan against Humpy Koneru. Photo © Anastasiya Karlovich and Anna Burtasova
with kind permission of FIDE. http://www.wwcc2011tirana.com/

Okay, now I know this is going to sound really really silly, but I think the blue chair looks much  more comfortable than the red chair, even though I prefer the red chair's color.  I like the color red over blue (does that say something about me, psychologically?)  - although I have to admit I'm partial to cobalt blue, especially cobalt blue glass with sunlight shining through it.

Oh yes -- the game.  Sorry!  Here it is in standard PGN:

WCh w Tirana ALB (2) 15th Nov 2011
Hou Yifan
Koneru, Humpy

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. Nc3 Nxc3 6. dxc3 Be7 7. Be3 O-O 8. Qd2 Qe8 9. O-O-O Qa4 10. Kb1 Nc6 11. h4 Be6 12. b3 Qa5 13. Nd4 Nxd4 14. cxd4 Qxd2 15. Rxd2 d5 16. h5 h6 17. Bd3 a5 18. a4 Bb4 19. Rdd1 Bc3 20. Rh4 c6 21. Bc1 Bd7 22. Bb2 Bb4 23. Ka2 Rfe8 24. Rhh1 b5 25. c3 Bf8 26. axb5 cxb5 27. Rde1 Bd6 28. Ba3 Rxe1 29. Rxe1 b4 30. Bb2 a4 31. bxa4 Bxa4 32. Kb1 bxc3 33. Bxc3 Rb8+ 34. Ka2 Ra8 35. Kb2 Kf8 36. Ra1 Rb8+ 37. Kc1 Bf4+ 38. Bd2 Rc8+ 39. Kb2 Rb8+ 40. Kc1 Rc8+ 41. Kb2 Rb8+ 42. Kc1 Rc8+ 1/2-1/2

At the bottom of TWIC's Round 2 coverage, is a board and the Round 2 game that you can play through, move by move, by clicking on any move -- it will instantly bring up the positions of the pieces on the board at that move no matter what move you click on.  A nice tool for those of us who don't know diddly squat about how to play the game...

2011 Women's World Chess Championship Match

It seemed it would never come about, but then, a date was set.  And then, the date is here.  NOW. 

Holy Cow!  No offense, Goddess.

The first game of the WWCC match took place today between GM Koneru Humpy of India, the challenger, and GM Hou Yifan of China, the reigning Women's title holder.

It was a draw.

You know what - I see this as - a good thing, actually.  Maybe I'm just not thinking straight right at the moment, I've got a booming pounding headache. I think I really do need to buy a good bottle of whiskey and one of brandy, too. So I can down a shot - neat - when necessary, for purely medicinal purposes.  Like, to knock me out fast when my eyeballs feel like they're going to pop out of my skull at any second.  Hmmm, maybe I should turn the web cam on and capture some photos.  Maybe I can star in my own horror picture show...  Back to why I think this could be a good sign for Koneru -- it's because she's had the damn yips the last year plus when playing Hou that, under normal circumstances, I believe she would have managed to lose this game. Yep, you read that right.  This is a good thing, because I think this is signalling that Koneru has got over her Hou yips.  We shall see.  Yeah, she was pissed off that she couldn't convert to a win.  But hey, give Hou credit.  She's not easy

I'm sure there's coverage of the opening, etc. all over everywhere, and I'm way late with this besides.  Oh well.  My two cents worth:

From The Week in Chess
From Susan Polgar's Chess Blog
Of course, The Times of India will be following this particular match extremely closely! 
Official website is overloaded right now, will try later
Chessdom coverage of Game 1
Chessvibes coverage - oh, I like those photos!
Game in PGN - also, you can play through it move by move at The Week in Chess - I'm not even gonna try that tonight. GREEN BAY SCORES AGAIN!  Woooo wooooo!  We're playing the Vikings.  I HATE the Vikings!  I HATE the Vikings almost as much as I HATE THAT TRAITOR BRETT FARVE.  Packers lead by 24 about half-way through the 3rd quarter.  As in 24 Packers, ZERO Vikings.

Okay - back to chess:

GM Koneru, Humpy (2600) - GM Hou, Yifan (2578)
WCh w Tirana ALB (1), 2011.11.14

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 d5 4.Bg2 Be7 5.Nf3 O-O 6.O-O dxc4 7.Qc2 a6 8.Qxc4 b5 9.Qc2 Bb7 10.Bd2 Be4 11.Qc1 Bb7 12.a4 b4 13.Bf4 Nd5 14.Bg5 Nd7 15.Bxe7 Qxe7 16.Ne5 Nxe5 17.dxe5 a5 18.Nd2 Ba6 19.Nc4 Qc5 20.Ne3 Qe7 21.Rd1 Rad8 22.Nxd5 exd5 23.Qc6 Bxe2 24.Rxd5 Rxd5 25.Qxd5 c5 26.Re1 Bg4 27.Rc1 Rc8 28.Qc4 h5 29.Bd5 Qd7 30.Re1 Rd8 31.e6 fxe6 32.Bxe6+ Bxe6 33.Rxe6 Qf7 34.h4 Rf8 35.Qe2 Qf3 36.Qxf3 Rxf3 37.Re5 c4 38.Rxa5 Rb3 39.Rc5 Rxb2 40.Rxc4 Kf7 41.Kg2 b3 42.Rb4 g6 43.Kf3 Ra2 44.Rxb3 Rxa4 45.Re3 Kf6 46.Re4 Ra3+ 47.Kf4 Ra2 48.f3 Ra5 49.Rc4 Rf5+ 50.Ke3 Re5+ 51.Re4 Ra5 52.Rf4+ Kg7 53.Rc4 Ra6 54.Rc5 Kf6 55.Rd5 Ra3+ 56.Ke4 Ra6 57.Rd4 Re6+ 58.Kf4 Ra6 59.Rb4 Rc6 60.g4 hxg4 61.Kxg4 Rc5 62.Rb6+ Kg7 63.Re6 Kf7 64.Re4 Ra5 65.f4 Ra1 66.Re3 Kf6 67.Rb3 Rg1+ 68.Rg3 Ra1 69.Rg2 Rb1 70.Rh2 Rg1+ 71.Kf3 Kf5 72.h5 gxh5 73.Rxh5+ Kf6 74.Ra5 Rf1+ 75.Ke3 Re1+ 76.Kf2 Rb1 77.Kg3 Rg1+ 78.Kf3 Rf1+ 79.Kg4 Rg1+ 80.Kf3 ½-½