Chess Femme News

Chess Notes (The Boston Globe at Boston.com)

By Harold Dondis and Patrick Wolff
August 21, 2010
Patrick Wolff's column analyzes Iryna Zenyuk's 8th round game against Irina Krush at the U.S. Women's Chess Championship. 

Leonard Barden on Chess (guardian.co.uk)
Saturday 21 August 2010
Chess still struggling to capture imagination of the masses in China
Barden talks about the ascent of Chinese chess players to the elite level in the past 30 years, including GM Hou Yifan who convincingly won the latest Women's Grand Prix in Ulaanbaatan, and briefly analyzes a game from the China v. Russia teach match (in which China spanked Russia, particularly the Russian male players fell flat) between chess femmes Bodnaruk and Tan. 

In conjunction with the national French championships, there were many other tournaments hosted by the French Chess Federation, including this one exclusively for "up and coming" female chessplayers:

Championnat de France - Accession Féminine

Belfort
August 10 - 20, 2010

Moyenne : 1985 Pays Elo 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Pts NV

1 mf SASU-DUCSOARA Andreea-Teodora 2227 1 ½ 1 1 1 ½ 1 1 1 1 1 10 9
2 ff CHOISY Mathilde 2168 0 ½ 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 9,5 9
3 ff BENMESBAH Natacha 2165 ½ ½ 0 1 0 1 ½ 1 1 1 1 7,5 6
4 ff HAUSSERNOT Cecile 1992 0 0 1 0 ½ 1 1 0 1 1 1 6,5 6
5 RIGOLOT Lucie 1902 0 0 0 1 ½ ½ 0 1 1 1 1 6 5
6 NEUHAUSER Salome 2054 0 0 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 1 0 ½ 1 6 4
7 ARMAS Lara-Maria 1988 ½ 0 0 0 ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 1 1 6 4
8 VINCKIER Delphine 1830 0 0 ½ 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 3,5 3
9 BISMUTH Lea 1935 0 0 0 1 0 0 ½ 1 0 0 1 3,5 3
10 GERTOSIO-SERENA Sophie 1810 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 ½ ½ 3 2
11 GRIGGIO Julie 1795 0 0 0 0 0 ½ 0 0 1 ½ ½ 2,5 1
12 BONVALOT Isabelle 1952 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 ½ ½ 2 1

As for the French Women's Chess Championship, final standings:

85th ch-FRA w Belfort (FRA), 10-20 viii 2010 cat. IV (2333)

1 2 3 4 5 6

1. Skripchenko, Almira m FRA 2458 * * ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 1 1 1 7½ 2500
2. Milliet, Sophie m FRA 2367 ½ ½ * * 0 ½ ½ 1 1 0 1 1 6 2397
3. Leconte, Maria wg FRA 2337 0 ½ 1 ½ * * ½ ½ 0 1 1 ½ 5½ 2367
4. Collas, Silvia m FRA 2333 ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ * * ½ 1 ½ ½ 5 2332
5. Guichard, Pauline wm FRA 2320 0 0 0 1 1 0 ½ 0 * * ½ 1 4 2263
6. Roumegous, Marina wm FRA 2181 0 0 0 0 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 * * 2 2123

Judit Polgar sighting:

Arctic Securities Chess Stars 2010

Mark Crowther - Tuesday 10th August 2010

The Arctic Securities Chess Stars tournament takes place in Kristiansund 28th-30th August 2010. Magnus Carlsen, Viswanathan Anand, Judit Polgar and Jon Ludvig Hammer play in a two stage event. Double Round Robin between the four players followed by finals and 3rd-4th placed playoff on the Monday. 20 minutes + 10 seconds a move.

Arctic Securities Chess Stars 2010 (Kristiansund NOR)
Sat 28th Aug 2010 - Mon 30th Aug 2010 - Official Site

Arctic Stars Prelim (4 players 6 Rds DRR Indiv TC:20m+10spm(1))
Arctic Stars 3rd-4th (2 players 4 Rds Match Indiv TC:20m+10spm(1))
Arctic Stars Final (2 players 4 Rds Match Indiv TC:20m+10spm(1))

Zenyuk Preparing for U.S. Women's Chess Championship

She lives in "Squirrel Hill" - I take that as a good omen :) (Photo: Iryna Zenyuk, 23, of Squirrel Hill will compete in the U.S. Women's Chess Championships in St. Louis next week. Philip G. Pavely/Tribune-Review ) From the Pittsburgh Tribune Review Squirrel Hill chess player hooked on strategy, winning By Jodi Weigand TRIBUNE-REVIEW Tuesday, September 29, 2009 Every morning, Iryna Zenyuk gets on her computer to video conference with her chess coach in Ukraine who is helping her prepare for this week's U.S. Women's Chess Championship. She studies chess from 6:30 to 8:30 a.m. before heading to her job in a research lab at Carnegie Mellon University, where she is working toward a master's degree in mechanical engineering. Eventually, she hopes to earn a doctorate. Zenyuk, 23, who moved from New York City to Squirrel Hill in July to attend CMU, said the strategy of the game and thrill of winning keep her coming back to the chessboard. "The satisfaction that the game gives you -- I can't compare it to anything else," said Zenyuk, who is ranked eighth among American women chess players. "You have a vision in your game. ... It is such a thing of beauty of strategy and planning. You get to achieve all your ideas in such a short time spent." Zenyuk is a Woman International Master, one step below Grandmaster, the highest ranking awarded by the World Chess Federation. She will compete against 10 of the top 12 women players in the country during the chess championship Saturday through Oct.13 in the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis, in Missouri. "She has just as much of a chance as anyone to win," said Tony Rich, the center's executive director. "She will be a fierce competitor." The hardest part of the tournament will be playing two of her closest friends: Irina Krush, who at 14 became the youngest player to win the U.S. Women's Championship in 1998, and Tatev Abrahamyan, who has played for the championship five times. "It's uncomfortable for them and for me because I have to treat them as enemies," Zenyuk said. "And then after the game we have to become friends again." The player with the most points at the end of the round-robin tournament will win $15,000, the biggest share of the $64,000 purse. Zenyuk said that if she takes first place, she might use the money for a down payment on a car. Zenyuk grew up in Ukraine and moved to the United States when she was 15 to join her mother, Polina Zenyuk, who had emigrated six years earlier. She has been playing chess since she was 4, when she started competing daily with her grandfather. By age 7, she spent two hours a day at a local chess club and played in weekend tournaments. "I didn't think of being a top player," Zenyuk said. "As I grew older, at 15 and 16, that was my goal. I put so many hours into chess, about six hours a day. You don't spend that much time for a hobby." The dedication paid off when she accomplished what she considers the highlight of her career -- defeating Grandmaster Giorgi Kacheishvili. "He is top-ranked among men in the U.S., and this win was very shocking for everybody because I was very underrated," she said. "So it was a big deal because not many people get a chance to beat a grandmaster."

Iryna Zenyuk Simul

WFM Iryna Zenyuk will be giving a simul on June 13, 2009 at the Jackson (Wyoming) Chess Club, starting at 5:30 p.m., as part of a tournament scheduled for that day: Rounds will begin at 9 and 11 a.m., and 1:30 and 3:30 p.m. at 3155 Beech Bluff Road. Directions and a map are available at the club's Web site, jacksontnchessclub.com. Registration will be from 8 to 8:30 a.m. on site for $35. A variety of food and beverages are included in the entry fee. All participants in the tournament will be able to take part in the simul. Full article. Iryna, who moved to the United States in 2001, finished 7th in the 2008 U.S. Women's Chess Championship after winning one of the qualifying spots.

WIM Iryna Zenyuk Earns IM Norm!

Iryna Zenyuk has been busy with her education and she had not appeared much in the news, but stepped up her chessplaying activities during 2008. She is a player with great potential. I featured Iryna my Chessville column in April, 2008. I was very pleased to see the news that Iryna earned WGM and IM norms in the 2nd Berkeley Masters Tournament which took place from December 14 - 23, 2008. Information from TWIC: The 2008 Berkeley Masters took place December 14th-23rd 2008 in Berkeley, California, Giorgi Kacheishivili won with 7.5/10. IM-norms: FM Daniel Rensch, FM Marc Esserman, WIM Iryna Zenyuk WGM-norm: WIM Iryna Zenyuk. It is a 10 round swiss, open to players rated fide 2200+. Space in the tournament and conditions for some Grandmasters are available on a first-come first-serve basis. Prize fund $5000 US. Games were broadcast on ICC. Info at http://dotq.org/chess. Final Standings: Berkeley Masters (USA), 14-23 xii 2008 1 Kacheishvili, Giorgi g GEO 2572 7.5 /10 2 Izoria, Zviad g GEO 2610 7.0 /10 3 Friedel, Joshua E m USA 2498 6.0 /10 4 Krush, Irina m USA 2452 6.0 /10 5 Rensch, Daniel f USA 2354 6.0 /10 6 Bhat, Vinay S m USA 2498 5.5 /10 7 Pruess, David m USA 2422 5.5 /10 8 Kraai, Jesse g USA 2502 5.0 /10 9 Sarkar, Justin m USA 2451 5.0 /10 10 Sharavdorj, Dashzegve g MGL 2441 5.0 /10 11 Esserman, Marc USA 2348 5.0 /10 12 Zenyuk, Iryna wf USA 2237 5.0 /10 13 Milman, Lev m USA 2488 4.0 /10 14 Naroditsky, Daniel f USA 2382 4.0 /10 15 Haessel, Dale R f CAN 2199 4.0 /10 16 Evans, Bela f USA 2258 3.5 /10 17 Kustar, Sandor m HUN 2356 3.0 /10 18 Lee, Andy C USA 2240 1.5 /2 19 Jahedi, Salar USA 2106 0.5 /3 20 Shivaji, Shivkuma f PLE 2308 0.0 /1