Chess Femme News From Around the Net

At Chessbase, the City of Montreal Open Chess Championships' newest sweetheart reports on the Reykjavik Open, in which reigning Women's World Chess Champion, GM Hou Yifan of China, played:

GM Hou Yifan, final round, 2012 Reykjavic Open

Alina L'Ami hears the Call of the North
20.03.2012– The Reykjavik Open 2012 took place from March 6–13, and our playing correspondent WGM Alina L'Ami sent us a number of beautiful reports from the Icelandic capital. She was obvious so enthralled by the Nordic country, its people and landscape, that she has written one more massively illustrated report. It is filled with a yearning to go back to Reykjavik next year.


Also at Chessbase, a report on the 2012 European Individual Women's Blitz Chess Championship, won by :

Gaziantep: Gunina overtakes Pähtz, wins European Women's Blitz
19.03.2012– She already won the title in the classical time controls, now Russian IM Valentina Gunina added the Blitz title to it. In the final round she was able to defeat former women's world champion Antoaneta Stefanov 2-0 and overtake the leading Elisabeth Pähtz. The German IM will remain in Turkey, since she has signed a contract to train young talents. Big pictorial report.

At Chessdom:

Aleksandra Goryachkina becomes WGM at 13
Mar 16, 2012

Aleksandra Goryachkina, born in 1998, has just conquered her last norm for WGM title at the European Women Chess Championship. The young Russian girl finished at the amazing 40th place with 6,0/11, competing with a large number of GMs and IMs in what is considered to be the strongest EIWCC in history.

Elizabeth Vicary's blog is chock-full of chess news of "Her Kids" in NYC, and very promising news and reviews on "Brooklyn Castle," which could be a major game-changer for I.S. 318:

Monday, March 19, 2012 NPR review of Brooklyn Castle! also
SXSW Film: 'Brooklyn Castle' And The Looming Threat Of Commercial Success
If I could pick only one film from the South By Southwest film festival and bodily force everyone I know to see it, it would be Brooklyn Castle, a documentary directed by Katie Dellamaggiore that follows the chess team at I.S. 318, a New York junior high school that has become a superpower at national tournaments.

... I have a gnawing fear of seeing somebody like Charlize Theron (an actress I really like) as the woman who coaches the kids in chess. (!!!!)

read it all

GMSusan Polgar announced the 9th Annual Susan Polgar Foundation Girl's Invitational at her blog:

March 21, 2012
9th annual Susan Polgar Foundation Girl's Invitational

From GM Alexandra Kosteniuk's Chessqueen blog:

March 20th, 2012
May 5 Tucson Chess Fest invites Chess Queen Kosteniuk

Press Release: 9 Queens brings Chess Queen Alexandra Kosteniuk to celebrate Tucson’s chess community. Alexandra will be honored at the 5th Annual Chess Fest and will receive the 9 Queens Award. The event is sponsored by the Soroptomist International of Desert Tucson and Chess King software. Read the full press release below and mark your calendars if you can make it to Tucson on May 5!

2012 European Individual Women's Blitz Chess Championship

Valentina Gunina won her second gold medal at this year's European Women's Chess Championships (regular, rapid, blitz) by taking the gold in the final round of the Blitz Championship.  Congratulations to IM Gunina and to all the ladies.  Here are the final Blitz standings:

Rank	SNo.		Name	Rtg	FED	Pts	ratP	BH.-1	BH.	vict
1	7	IM	GUNINA Valentina	2511	RUS	15	2601	213	214	15
2	11	IM	PAEHTZ Elisabeth	2459	GER	14½	2652	230	237	13
3	2	GM	DZAGNIDZE Nana	2559	GEO	13½	2612	228	236	10
4	5	GM	STEFANOVA Antoaneta	2531	BUL	13½	2607	226	233	11
5	1	GM	MUZYCHUK Anna	2583	SLO	13	2586	229½	238	10
6	20	GM	ZHUKOVA Natalia	2435	UKR	12½	2540	229	239	11
7	6	GM	KOSINTSEVA Tatiana	2513	RUS	12½	2539	221½	230	11
8	4	GM	KOSINTSEVA Nadezhda	2535	RUS	12½	2512	213½	221	11
9	3	GM	LAHNO Kateryna	2546	UKR	12	2512	196½	204	11
10	13	IM	USHENINA Anna	2458	UKR	12	2502	235	245	9
11	40	WIM	BEZGODOVA Svetlana	2109	RUS	12	2439	195	201	10
12	15	GM	KOSTENIUK Alexandra	2448	RUS	11½	2479	214	221	10
13	8	IM	KHOTENASHVILI Bela	2490	GEO	11½	2468	196½	205	8
14	33	IM	GVETADZE Sofio	2334	GEO	11	2473	198½	206	8
15	35	WGM	OZTURK Kubra	2314	TUR	10½	2447	196	203	9
16	21	IM	BODNARUK Anastasia	2412	RUS	10½	2436	186	192	9
17	23	WGM	GIRYA Olga	2406	RUS	10½	2412	181	187	9
18	14	WGM	POGONINA Natalija	2449	RUS	10½	2409	184	192	9
19	18	GM	HOANG Than Trang	2438	HUN	10½	2397	184	190	8
20	22	IM	PAIKIDZE Nazi	2406	GEO	10½	2395	204	213	9
21	17	IM	KHURTSIDZE Nino	2447	GEO	10	2436	196	202	9
22	26	WGM	KASHLINSKAYA Alina	2377	RUS	10	2429	211	212	10
23	12	IM	MKRTCHIAN Lilit	2458	ARM	10	2410	188	194	9
24	19	WGM	BATSIASHVILI Nino	2438	GEO	10	2329	170	176	10
25	27	WGM	CHAROCHKINA Daria	2371	RUS	9½	2404	203	209	8
26	16	IM	JAVAKHISHVILI Lela	2448	GEO	9½	2352	180	187	7
27	34	IM	SAVINA Anastasia	2325	RUS	9½	2331	191	197	5
28	28	IM	GALOJAN Lilit	2364	ARM	9½	2324	183	189	8
29	25	WGM	KOVANOVA Baira	2392	RUS	9	2341	208	216	6
30	39	WIM	BEZGODOVA Maria	2200	RUS	9	2332	178	179	7
31	32	WIM	ARABIDZE Meri	2337	GEO	9	2324	178	184	6
32	29	WGM	MOLCHANOVA Tatjana	2346	RUS	9	2298	165	166	7
33	30	WGM	YILDIZ Betul Cemre	2342	TUR	9	2241	162	163	6
34	9	IM	MUZYCHUK Mariya	2490	UKR	8½	2374	203	210	8
35	24	WGM	GURAMISHVILI Sopiko	2395	GEO	8½	2245	174	175	5
36	10	IM	SKRIPCHENKO Almira	2468	FRA	8	2351	182	188	7
37	36	WIM	BULMAGA Irina	2307	ROU	8	2296	181	188	6
38	31	WIM	GORYACHKINA Aleksandra	2341	RUS	8	2201	178	179	5
39	38	WIM	BRONNIKOVA Elizaveta	2252	RUS	7	2141	163	164	4
40	37	WGM	VIDENOVA Iva	2301	BUL	7	2097	157	158	5
41	41		DURMUS Aslihan		TUR	2	1541	156	157	0

It was a hotly contested affair, but why would I expect anything else when the regular and rapid championships were just as fiercely contested? From the official website:

Russian player Valentina Gunina became the winner of the European blitz championship among women and got the second gold medal in Gazientep. In the last round she managed to win against Antoaneta Stefanova 2:0 and this victory placed her on the first rank. Elisabeth Paehtz, who was leading before the last round, lost to Nadezda Kosintseva 1,5:0,5 and got the silver medal. Nana Dzagnidze placed third.