2015 FIDE Women's World Chess Championship

Hola darlings!

I missed it all - and didn't miss it at all, to tell you the truth.  I think the knock-out format is a joke and is not a true measure of the relative skills of the players.  Oh well.

The event was held in Sochi; I hope the Russian army was not out killing stray dogs like they did before the Olympics.  Official website has photos galore and daily reports/interviews, along with round by round results, video, and the games.

U.S. players were Tatev Abrahamyan and Irina Krush; Tatev got knocked out in the first round by India's Dronavalli Harika and Krush got knocked out in the second found, also by Harika.  Harika rendered an excellent performance, making it all the way to the semi-finals before being knocked out by Mariya Muzychuk; likewise, veteran player Pia Cramling (one of the first female players to earn a GM title in the 1980s in the traditional way) made it to the semi-finals and lost to Natalia Pogonina.  The semi-finals devolved into tense tie-break battles to determine who advanced:

Semifinal pairings / results Player Fed Rtg G1 G2 G3 G4 G5 G6 G7 G8 G9 Pts Muzychuk, Mariya UKR 2526 ½ ½ 1 0 ½ 1 3.5 Harika, Dronavalli IND 2492 ½ ½ 0 1 ½ 0 2.5 Player Fed Rtg G1 G2 G3 G4 G5 G6 G7 G8 G9 Pts Cramling, Pia SWE 2495 1 0 ½ 0 1.5 Pogonina, Natalia RUS 2456 0 1 ½ 1 2.5

Pogonina went to the final round and lost to Muzychuk, who is now the 15th FIDE Women's World Chess Champion.

Final rairings / results Player Fed Rtg G1 G2 G3 G4 G5 G6 G7 G8 G9 Pts Pogonina, Natalia RUS 2456 ½ 0 ½ ½           1.5 Muzychuk, Mariya UKR 2526 ½ 1 ½ ½           2.5

Congratulations to GM Mariya Muzychuk.

From the FIDE website, here is the prize structure:

3. 9. Prizes for the Women’s World Championship 
3. 9. 1. Prize list
1st round 32 losers x 3.750 = 120.000
2nd round 16 losers x 5.500 = 88.000
3rd round 8 losers x 8.000 = 64.000
4th round 4 losers x 12.000 = 48.000
5th round 2 losers x 20.000 = 40.000
6th round 1 loser x 30.000 = 30.000
Women’s World Champion = 60.000
TOTAL: 450.000 USD

Evidently the knock-out championship was planned to be held in 2014, with a Women's World Championship "match" to be held this year in October.  Oops!

According to the FIDE website, bidding on the Women's World Championship "match" is open until April 20, 2015, with a minimum prize fund of $200,000 and various bribes administrative fees to FIDE, etc.  Well, who knows, somebody could bid on it and it could actually happen, and then Mariya Muzychuk would have to defend her title six months after winning it!

2012 ACP Women's Cup

Tbilisi, Georgia.  The Georgian Chess Federation and the ACP are hosting the event, starting February 17 and ending February 22, 2012!  The "ACP" is the Association of Chess Professionals and, frankly, darlings, I thought it had gone defunct!  Shows how much I know, har :)  I think this is the official website - in English (but don't quote me on that).

There will be 10 rounds of play plus a tie-break, if necessary.  The rounds are spaced closely together, so this isn't traditional chess, or even chess using the new and improved FIDE time controlled that were put into place some years ago in order to "speed up" the game. 

Here is an alphabetical list of the invitees:

No.			Name	FED	Rtg
1		GM	Chiburdanidze Maia	GEO	2500
2		GM	Cmilyte Viktorija	LTU	2503
3		GM	Cramling Pia	SWE	2491
4		GM	Dzagnidze Nana	GEO	2535
5		GM	Kosintseva Nadezhda	RUS	2537
6		GM	Kosintseva Tatiana	RUS	2513
7		GM	Kosteniuk Alexandra	RUS	2448
8		GM	Lahno Kateryna	UKR	2557
9		WGM	Mamedjarova Zeinab	AZE	2318
10		IM	Muzychuk Anna	SLO	2580
11		GM	Stefanova Antoaneta	BUL	2523
12		IM	Zatonskih Anna	USA	2506

Goddess! U.S. Women's Champion IM Anna Zatonskih has been extremely active in Europe lately. Good for her.  She is one of the professional female players who is balancing a family life while trying to pursue (and improve in the game) a career in chess.  Of the women invitees, I know that Pia Cramling, Alexandra Kosteniuk, Kateryna Lahno and Anna Zatonskih all have young children. It could be that some of the other players could also have children, but I just haven't read about it. 

It's a damn tough life, travelling for months at a time, being constantly away from your loved ones, particularly your small children.  There is something out of whack with an economic system that forces people to make such excruciating choices in order to try and make a living.  I don't care what the sex of the chessplayer (or worker) is; surely it is as hard on fathers to be constantly away from their families, too.  But, you know the drill - Macho Man and all that baloney.  Sigh. 

The ladies, on the other hand, are usually very frank and open in interviews about how much they miss their husbands and children.  In Anna Zatonskih's and GM Pia Cramling's cases, they are both married to chessplayers, which means that both parents are often on the road (sometimes together, but often apart), playing the Euro chess circuit and playing hit-or-miss in other invitationals around the world, as well as in the big Opens (but the chance to win big money in a popular Open that attracts other equally financially hungry players is much less).

It's brutal.  I cannot imagine what such a life would be like.  I cannot even manage to find some hours a week to do a one-hour chess lesson.  I have to try and squeeze it in on a weekend - impossible!  Or try to do it after a 12-hour day at the office.  Try to focus!  Neither is a good choice and, for the time being, I'm given up trying.  I just have too many other things to do, and while I love chess and I would like to improve my playing skills, on the rank of items from 1 to 10, that is down about number 20. 

Anyway, I wish all of these wonderfull talented players a lot of luck, and of course, being a USA gal myself, I'm rooting for Anna Zatonskih, with a close second for Florida resident GM Alexandra Kosteniuk, the 12th Women's World Chess Champion.

The matches start on February 18, 2012.  Here are the pairings for Round 1:

Bo.	No.			Name	Result		Name		No.
1	1		GM	Kosintseva Nadezhda		GM	Dzagnidze Nana		12
2	2		IM	Muzychuk Anna		IM	Zatonskih Anna		11
3	3		WGM	Mamedjarova Zeinab		GM	Chiburdanidze Maia		10
4	4		GM	Cmilyte Viktorija		GM	Stefanova Antoaneta		9
5	5		GM	Lahno Kateryna		GM	Kosteniuk Alexandra		8
6	6		GM	Kosintseva Tatiana		GM	Cramling Pia		7

16th European Club Cup for Women 2011

How did my ladies do?  Here are the relative rankings of players who played five or more games by Board.  I've highlighted the ladies I was following in red:

Board 1

Rank		Name	Rtg	Team	Rp	man	Rtg-O
1	GM	Stefanova Antoaneta	2528	AVS	2674	0	2481
2	GM	Zhukova Natalia	2416	Giprorechtrans	2551	0	2494
3	GM	Hou Yifan	2578	Cercle d'Echecs de Monte-Carlo	2526	0	2401
4	IM	Bojkovic Natasa	2378	BAS	2466	0	2409
5	GM	Kosteniuk Alexandra	2469	SHSM-RGSU	2459	0	2459
6	GM	Dzagnidze Nana	2525	AEM Luxten Timisoara	2420	0	2420
7	IM	Fierro Baquero Martha L	2378	CS R. Fischer Chieti	2408	0	2351
8	GM	Danielian Elina	2517	Mika	2402	0	2402
9	WIM	Yildiz Betul Cemre	2308	Anatolia	2254	0	2379
10	WFM	Dimitrijevic Aleksandra	2287	ZSK Maribor	2200	0	2393
11	WFM	Johnsen Sylvia	2038	Oslo Schakselskap	1571	0	2371

Board 2

Rank		Name	Rtg	Team	Rp	man	Rtg-O
1	IM	Muzychuk Anna	2545	Cercle d'Echecs de Monte-Carlo	2611	0	2418
2	IM	Dembo Yelena	2471	BAS	2606	0	2413
3	GM	Lahno Kateryna	2554	AVS	2589	0	2464
4	IM	Harika Dronavalli	2505	Mika	2578	0	2420
5	IM	Gunina Valentina	2499	SHSM-RGSU	2550	0	2425
6	IM	Zatonskih Anna	2508	AEM Luxten Timisoara	2469	0	2419
7	IM	Munguntuul Batkhuyag	2465	Giprorechtrans	2447	0	2504
8	WIM	Ozturk Kubra	2260	Anatolia	2289	0	2346
9	IM	Sedina Elena	2337	CS R. Fischer Chieti	2280	0	2337
10	WGM	Srebrnic Ana	2222	ZSK Maribor	2224	0	2349
11	WFM	Frank-Nielsen Marie	2020	Oslo Schakselskap	1946	0	2347

Board 3

Rank		Name	Rtg	Team	Rp	man	Rtg-O
1	IM	Javakhishvili Lela	2464	AEM Luxten Timisoara	2593	0	2400
2	IM	Zaiatz Elena	2441	Giprorechtrans	2498	0	2441
3	GM	Cramling Pia	2489	Cercle d'Echecs de Monte-Carlo	2473	0	2348
4	GM	Cmilyte Viktorija	2525	AVS	2434	0	2434
5	GM	Zhu Chen	2490	Mika	2415	0	2365
6	IM	Zimina Olga	2337	CS R. Fischer Chieti	2344	0	2219
7		Khachatourian Yerazik	1967	Oslo Schakselskap	2112	0	2237
8	WGM	Chelushkina Irina	2287	BAS	2089	0	2362
9	WCM	Kaya Emel	1994	Anatolia	2083	0	2323
10	WIM	Ankerst Milka	2084	ZSK Maribor	1866	0	2267

Board 4

Rank		Name	Rtg	Team	Rp	man	Rtg-O
1	WGM	Kashlinskaya Alina	2385	SHSM-RGSU	2484	0	2291
2	WGM	Pogonina Natalija	2446	AVS	2482	0	2357
3	IM	Mkrtchian Lilit	2475	Mika	2450	0	2292
4	IM	Foisor Cristina-Adela	2416	AEM Luxten Timisoara	2425	0	2276
5	GM	Socko Monika	2490	Cercle d'Echecs de Monte-Carlo	2360	0	2303
6	WIM	Drljevic Ljilja	2256	BAS	2290	0	2290
7	IM	Vasilevich Irina	2393	Giprorechtrans	2217	0	2410
8		Orehek Spela	2020	ZSK Maribor	2085	0	2234
9		Di Primio Eugenia	1974	CS R. Fischer Chieti	2037	0	2162
10		Reppen Ellisiv	1969	Oslo Schakselskap	1745	0	2146

Rilton Cup

Final standings for the 2010-2011 Rilton Cup (9 rounds, 70 players).  Hint:  Pia Cramling did okay, she finished in 11th place (her start place was #12):

Plac.			Namn	Nation	Rating	Klubb	Poäng	TB1	TB2
1		GM	Volkov Sergey	RUS	2594		8,0	40,0	0,0
2		GM	Shimanov Aleksandr	RUS	2516	Sollentuna SK	7,5	39,5	0,0
3		GM	Naiditsch Arkadij	GER	2685		6,5	37,0	0,0
4		GM	Karlsson Lars	SWE	2466	SK Rockaden	6,5	31,0	0,0
5		GM	Ivanov Sergey	RUS	2536	Sollentuna SK	6,5	29,5	0,0
6		GM	Grandelius Nils	SWE	2525	Lunds ASK	6,0	37,5	0,0
7		GM	Sokolov Ivan	NED	2642		6,0	31,0	0,0
8		GM	Gleizerov Evgeny	RUS	2572		6,0	30,5	0,0
9		GM	Berg Emanuel	SWE	2627	Burgsviks SK	6,0	30,0	0,0
10		GM	Åkesson Ralf	SWE	2434	Västerås SK	6,0	29,0	0,0
11		GM	Cramling Pia	SWE	2526	Sollentuna SK	6,0	28,5	0,0
12		GM	Macieja Bartlomiej	POL	2636		5,5	33,0	0,0
13		GM	Berczes David	HUN	2526	SK Team Viking	5,5	31,5	0,0
14		IM	Furhoff Johan	SWE	2365	Södra SASS	5,5	30,0	0,0
15		FM	Urkedal Frode	NOR	2438		5,5	30,0	0,0

Rilton Cup

One more round to go.  GM Pia Cramling is, coincidentally (?) in 12th place, where she started the tournament ranking-wise.   Results below from chess-results.com:

Rank after Round 8

Rk.			Name	FED	Rtg	Club/City	Pts.	TB1	TB2
1		GM	Volkov Sergey	RUS	2594		7,0	32,0	0,0
		GM	Shimanov Aleksandr	RUS	2516	Sollentuna SK	7,0	32,0	0,0
3		GM	Grandelius Nils	SWE	2525	Lunds ASK	6,0	31,5	0,0
4		GM	Naiditsch Arkadij	GER	2685		6,0	30,5	0,0
5		GM	Macieja Bartlomiej	POL	2636		5,5	27,5	0,0
6		GM	Berczes David	HUN	2526	SK Team Viking	5,5	26,0	0,0
7		GM	Sokolov Ivan	NED	2642		5,5	25,0	0,0
8		GM	Karlsson Lars	SWE	2466	SK Rockaden	5,5	24,5	0,0
9		GM	Berg Emanuel	SWE	2627	Burgsviks SK	5,5	24,0	0,0
10		GM	Åkesson Ralf	SWE	2434	Västerås SK	5,5	23,0	0,0
11		GM	Ivanov Sergey	RUS	2536	Sollentuna SK	5,5	23,0	0,0
12		GM	Cramling Pia	SWE	2526	Sollentuna SK	5,5	22,5	0,0

2010-11 Rilton Cup

The Rilton Cup has, over the years, hosted an exciting mix of top-level and up-and-coming players of both sexes.  Not so many chess femmes this year, though, and I don't know why, but it is troubling to see. Has the prize structure that was so attractive to female players in prior years been reduced, due to economic strain? 

In any event, GM Pia Cramling of Sweden is participating in the Rilton Cup, and I am happy to see her in competition.  She is very selective these days in what invitations she accepts and the tournaments in which she plays. 

I have been a fan of Cramling ever since I first read about her career in 1999, when I was taking my first baby-steps on the World Wide Web, as it was called back then :)  I really did not know a thing about the 'world of chess' before then (other than the bare basics of how to move the pieces), but while I was searching for information on female chessplayers, after having quickly surmised the near absence of any female names on lists of players in event after event that was making "chess news" at the time, certain names began to crop up - rarely - in my research, but they were there - female chessplayers of note.  I made a trip to my local library branch and found a book about female chessplayers.  Already, at that time, it was "old," from 1987!  But it was the only book I could find about female chessplayers.  Need I say more?

It was that book - by John Graham, Women in Chess, Players of the Modern Age, that led me to explore further.  John Graham, to whom I will always be indebted, introduced me into an entirely new realm of experience (with some familiar echoes to my own experiences as a femme embarked on a career in an entirely different endeavor).  It was clear from what Graham wrote and how he wrote it that he had great admiration for the players he profiled.

Pia Cramling and Susan Polgar earned their respective GM titles within a month or two of each other, and they did it the "traditional" way, by meeting norm requirements, playing a certain number of games, and achieving a certain ELO rating. [Even today, with the advent of computer-assisted game analysis and many more opportunities to play in competitive events that would allow for earning GM norms, earning a GM title is not an easy thing to do, despite headlines given to 14 and 15 year olds who have earned the title].  Both players (at and after the time the book was written, circa 1987) went on to have fine careers, with Polgar ultimately winning a Women's World Chess Champion title, which she held from 1996-1999.  Polgar retired from competitive chess play in - I think 2006 (I have a recollection that her last competition was a NYC Mayor's Cup in 2006 but I could be wrong about that), and went on to other things (SPICE at Texas Tech, Susan Polgar Foundation, chess promotion, spokeswoman, etc.)  I do not know nearly as much about Pia Cramling's career, except that after a break of some years, she resumed competitive play, and has participated in the Women's World Chess Championship "cycle" (such as it was/is), as well as mixed-sex tournaments and women-only tournaments, with some success.  Both women married and have pre-teen children.  Neither woman's "competitive fire" has gone out, that's for sure!

Selected excerpts from John Graham's Women in Chess, Players of the Modern Age (at Goddesschess, of course!)

If you would like to explore the question of women's "ability" to play chess further -- check out our selection of informative articles from past and present at Goddesschess' Gender and Chess: The Ever-Changing, Never-Ending Question... 

Now - to the 2010-11 Rilton Cup! 

December 27, 2010 - January 5, 2011

Rank after Round 5

Rk.			Name	FED	Rtg	Club/City	Pts.	TB1	TB2
1		GM	Naiditsch Arkadij	GER	2685		4,5	14,5	0,0
		GM	Grandelius Nils	SWE	2525	Lunds ASK	4,5	14,5	0,0
3		GM	Volkov Sergey	RUS	2594		4,5	14,0	0,0
		GM	Shimanov Aleksandr	RUS	2516	Sollentuna SK	4,5	14,0	0,0
5		GM	Berczes David	HUN	2526	SK Team Viking	4,0	12,0	0,0
6		GM	Macieja Bartlomiej	POL	2636		4,0	12,0	0,0
7		IM	Furhoff Johan	SWE	2365	Södra SASS	4,0	11,0	0,0
8		IM	Smith Axel	SWE	2448	Lunds ASK	3,5	12,5	0,0
9		GM	Gleizerov Evgeny	RUS	2572		3,5	11,5	0,0
10		GM	Ulibin Mikhail	RUS	2552		3,5	9,5	0,0
			Lindberg Bo	SWE	2404	Sollentuna SK	3,5	9,5	0,0
12		GM	Karlsson Lars	SWE	2466	SK Rockaden	3,5	9,0	0,0
13		GM	Cramling Pia	SWE	2526	Sollentuna SK	3,5	8,5	0,0
14		GM	Tikkanen Hans	SWE	2550	Lunds ASK	3,0	12,0	0,0
15		GM	Sokolov Ivan	NED	2642		3,0	11,0	0,0
		GM	Hillarp Persson Tiger	SWE	2528	Lunds ASK	3,0	11,0	0,0
17		IM	Semcesen Daniel	SWE	2449	SK Team Viking	3,0	10,5	0,0
18		FM	Urkedal Frode	NOR	2438		3,0	10,5	0,0
			Jacobsen Bo	DEN	2317		3,0	10,5	0,0
20		GM	Berg Emanuel	SWE	2627	Burgsviks SK	3,0	10,0	0,0
21		GM	Ivanov Sergey	RUS	2536	Sollentuna SK	3,0	9,0	0,0
		GM	Bellon Juan	ESP	2394	Sollentuna SK	3,0	9,0	0,0
23		GM	Brynell Stellan	SWE	2492	Limhamns SK	3,0	8,5	0,0
24		GM	Åkesson Ralf	SWE	2434	Västerås SK	3,0	8,5	0,0
25			Arman Deniz	TUR	2297		3,0	8,5	0,0
26			Astrup Kim	NOR	2274		3,0	7,5	0,0
27		FM	Lögdahl Harald	SWE	2257	Eskilstuna SK	3,0	7,0	0,0
28			Winge Stefan	SWE	2290	Södra SASS	3,0	6,0	0,0
29		FM	Straeter Timo	GER	2325		2,5	9,5	0,0
30		IM	Leer-Salvesen Bjarte	NOR	2360		2,5	9,0	0,0
		FM	Getz Nicolai	NOR	2317		2,5	9,0	0,0
32		FM	Luukkonen Tommi	FIN	2309		2,5	9,0	0,0
33		IM	Blomqvist Erik	SWE	2449	SK Rockaden	2,5	8,5	0,0
34		IM	Holmsten Aleksei	FIN	2381		2,5	8,5	0,0
35		IM	Souleidis Georgios	GRE	2411		2,5	8,5	0,0
36		IM	Groetz Harald	AUT	2314		2,5	8,5	0,0
37			Kopasov Alexander	RUS	2198		2,5	7,5	0,0
38			Sipila Vilka	FIN	2262		2,5	7,0	0,0
39			Ask Josef	SWE	2205	Västerviks ASK	2,5	6,5	0,0
40		FM	Thompson Ian D	ENG	2264		2,5	6,0	0,0
		WIM	Czarnota Dorota	POL	2229		2,5	6,0	0,0
42			Cederstam Barsk Carl	SWE	2020	Kristallens SK	2,5	5,0	0,0
43			Azizi Haroon	SWE	2140	Solna SS	2,0	7,0	0,0
44		WFM	Frisk Ellinor	SWE	2126	Lunds ASK	2,0	6,5	0,0
45			Wenzel Birger	GER	2060	Wasa SK	2,0	6,0	0,0
46			Holving Rasmus	SWE	2211	Kungstornet	2,0	6,0	0,0
47			Eriksson Jörgen	SWE	2202	SK Rockaden Umeå	2,0	6,0	0,0
			Lindgren Philip	SWE	2091	Limhamns SK	2,0	6,0	0,0
49			Hobber Anders	NOR	2196		2,0	6,0	0,0
50			Johansson Linus	SWE	1966	Limhamns SK	2,0	5,5	0,0
51			Kudzma Laimonas	LTU	2232		2,0	5,0	0,0
52			Egilstoft Nielsen Rógvi	FAI	2116		2,0	5,0	0,0
53		FM	Sagit Rauan	SWE	2406	Sollentuna SK	2,0	4,5	0,0
54			Forsberg Viktor	SWE	2255	SK Rockaden Umeå	2,0	4,5	0,0
55			Bazeev German	RUS	2334		2,0	4,0	0,0
56			Östling Håkan	SWE	2206	Rödeby SK	1,5	6,5	0,0
57			Hedström Johan	SWE	2043	Bollmora SK	1,5	5,5	0,0
58			Markevich Ilya	RUS	2175		1,5	5,5	0,0
59			Jansson Anders Owen	SWE	2171	Sollentuna SK	1,5	4,5	0,0
60			Olander Aleksi	FIN	1990		1,5	4,0	0,0
61			Pettersson Anders	SWE	2127	SS Gambit	1,5	3,5	0,0
62			Bouaraba Max	GER	2219		1,5	3,0	0,0
63			Wiander Michael	SWE	2158	Stockholms SS	1,5	2,5	0,0
64			Lokander Martin	SWE	1982	SK Rockaden	1,0	5,0	0,0
65		FM	Byklum Björnar	NOR	2263		1,0	4,0	0,0
66			Wihlborn Bengt	SWE	1895	Växjö SK	1,0	3,5	0,0
67			Ölund Joar	SWE	2035	SK Rockaden	1,0	2,0	0,0
			Thiborg Jesper	SWE	2020		1,0	2,0	0,0
69			Bryntze Stefan	SWE	2135	SK Rockaden	1,0	1,0	0,0
70			Palmblad Jan Peter	SWE	2142	Kungstornet	0,0	0,0	0,0

Annotation:
Tie Break1: Fide Tie-Break
Tie Break2: Fide Tie-Break (fine)

FIDE Top 100 Women Chessplayers and Growing Ranks of Female GMs

The Top 100 FIDE Ratings Lists are out for September, 2010.

GM Judit Polgar

GM Judit Polgar is #56 on the list at ELO 2682.  How many times now is this in a row she has been in the top 100?

On the Women's List, Judit is again #1.  Other GMs are in bold - the GM title is not the same as the WGM title, which is Woman Grandmaster and a worthy goal in its own right.  In the hierarchy of chess titles, GM is the highest:

Name Title Country Rating Games B-Year
1 Polgar, Judit g HUN 2682 0 1976
2 Koneru, Humpy g IND 2593 11 1987
3 Hou, Yifan g CHN 2578 25 1994
4 Kosintseva, Tatiana g RUS 2573 22 1986
5 Kosintseva, Nadezhda m RUS 2565 16 1985
6 Stefanova, Antoaneta g BUL 2551 28 1979
7 Lahno, Kateryna g UKR 2539 9 1989
8 Muzychuk, Anna m SLO 2535 15 1990
9 Dzagnidze, Nana g GEO 2534 11 1987
10 Kosteniuk, Alexandra g RUS 2524 9 1984
11 Ju, Wenjun wg CHN 2516 8 1991
12 Harika, Dronavalli m IND 2515 18 1991
13 Cmilyte, Viktorija g LTU 2513 16 1983
14 Cramling, Pia g SWE 2509 11 1963
15 Chiburdanidze, Maia g GEO 2500 22 1961
16 Sebag, Marie g FRA 2499 11 1986
17 Zhukova, Natalia g UKR 2499 0 1979
18 Pogonina, Natalija wg RUS 2491 14 1985
19 Krush, Irina m USA 2490 9 1983
20 Socko, Monika g POL 2486 27 1978
21 Mkrtchian, Lilit m ARM 2484 18 1982
22 Hoang Thanh Trang g HUN 2482 11 1980
23 Galliamova, Alisa m RUS 2482 0 1972
24 Zhu, Chen g QAT 2480 20 1976
25 Zatonskih, Anna m USA 2480 9 1978
26 Ruan, Lufei wg CHN 2480 0 1987
27 Xu, Yuhua g CHN 2475 23 1976
28 Gaponenko, Inna m UKR 2469 31 1976
29 Zhao, Xue g CHN 2469 14 1985
30 Paehtz, Elisabeth m GER 2467 3 1985
31 Danielian, Elina m ARM 2466 29 1978
32 Ushenina, Anna m UKR 2466 13 1985
33 Vijayalakshmi, Subbaraman m IND 2466 0 1979
34 Gunina, Valentina wg RUS 2465 5 1989
35 Khotenashvili, Bela m GEO 2464 23 1988
36 Skripchenko, Almira m FRA 2464 10 1976
37 Muzychuk, Mariya m UKR 2464 8 1992
38 Tan, Zhongyi wg CHN 2461 16 1991
39 Hunt, Harriet V m ENG 2454 0 1978
40 Dembo, Yelena m GRE 2452 9 1983
41 Javakhishvili, Lela m GEO 2451 9 1984
42 Arakhamia-Grant, Ketevan g SCO 2451 0 1968
43 Polgar, Sofia m HUN 2450 0 1974
44 Atalik, Ekaterina m TUR 2447 31 1982
45 Repkova, Eva m SVK 2447 9 1975
46 Kovalevskaya, Ekaterina m RUS 2447 0 1974
47 Rajlich, Iweta m POL 2446 0 1981
48 Shen, Yang wg CHN 2443 33 1989
49 Melia, Salome m GEO 2439 29 1987
50 Moser, Eva m AUT 2436 18 1982
51 Huang, Qian wg CHN 2436 16 1986
52 Khurtsidze, Nino m GEO 2435 18 1975
53 Turova, Irina m RUS 2433 43 1979
54 Matnadze, Ana m GEO 2428 18 1983
55 Houska, Jovanka m ENG 2426 11 1980
56 Khukhashvili, Sopiko m GEO 2422 9 1985
57 Girya, Olga wg RUS 2414 22 1991
58 Munguntuul, Batkhuyag m MGL 2412 11 1987
59 Peptan, Corina-Isabela m ROU 2412 11 1978
60 Romanko, Marina m RUS 2411 0 1986
61 Zawadzka, Jolanta wg POL 2410 18 1987
62 Zaiatz, Elena m RUS 2407 9 1969
63 Savina, Anastasia wg RUS 2404 9 1992
64 Jackova, Jana m CZE 2402 0 1982
65 Ovod, Evgenija m RUS 2401 0 1982
66 Peng, Zhaoqin g NED 2400 8 1968
67 Stockova, Zuzana m SVK 2400 0 1977
68 Michna, Marta wg GER 2399 16 1978
69 Bodnaruk, Anastasia m RUS 2399 5 1992
70 Vasilevich, Tatjana m UKR 2399 0 1977
71 Madl, Ildiko m HUN 2397 10 1969
72 Foisor, Cristina-Adela m ROU 2395 16 1967
73 Wang, Yu A. m CHN 2394 14 1982
74 Batsiashvili, Nino wg GEO 2390 26 1987
75 Milliet, Sophie m FRA 2388 29 1983
76 Maric, Alisa m SRB 2387 0 1970
77 Kononenko, Tatiana m UKR 2384 10 1978
78 Tsereteli, Tamar wg GEO 2384 0 1985
79 Tania, Sachdev m IND 2382 18 1986
80 Gara, Anita m HUN 2382 0 1983
81 Alexandrova, Olga m ESP 2381 0 1978
82 Shadrina, Tatiana wg RUS 2379 9 1974
83 Ding, Yixin wf CHN 2379 8 1991
84 Matveeva, Svetlana m RUS 2379 0 1969
85 Molchanova, Tatjana wg RUS 2378 9 1980
86 Paikidze, Nazi wg GEO 2376 20 1993
87 Mikadze, Miranda wm GEO 2375 9 1989
88 Charkhalashvili, Inga wg GEO 2375 8 1983
89 Stepovaia, Tatiana wg RUS 2375 0 1965
90 Galojan, Lilit m ARM 2373 10 1983
91 Sukandar, Irine Kharisma wg INA 2372 18
92 Gu, Xiaobing wg CHN 2371 6 1985
93 Kovanova, Baira wg RUS 2370 11 1987
94 Pokorna, Regina wg SVK 2370 6 1982
95 Cori T., Deysi wg PER 2368 46 1993
96 Fierro Baquero, Martha L. m ECU 2368 29 1977
97 Vega Gutierrez, Sabrina wg ESP 2368 18 1987
98 Bojkovic, Natasa m SRB 2368 0 1971
99 Djingarova, Emilia wg BUL 2368 0 1978
100 Rudolf, Anna wg HUN 2366 18 1987
101 Goletiani, Rusudan m USA 2366 0 1980

GM Koneru Humpy, Second
Ranked Female Chessplayer
in the World

I count 20 GMs on the list of active players. The list does not include GM Susan Polgar or GM Xie Jun, who are retired from active play.  I may have missed some other retired players - . 

Susan Polgar was the first female chessplayer to earn the GM title in the traditional way.  A few months later her sister, Judit, also earned the GM title in the traditional way and at the time was the youngest player EVER to do so, beating American Bobby Fischer by a few months.  Shortly therafter, Pia Cramling of Norway earned a GM title also in the traditional way.  They were the groundbreakers, but we must not forget the great female players who came before them, who were awarded GM titles for their outstanding play over several years  in chess events. 

Less than five years ago, there were only 11 female GMs on the world list of GMs.  Now there are at least 22.  Check out this list from 2006 - so we can see that great progress has been made by female chessplayers as more of them have entered into the competitive ranks of pro chess and play on a sustained basis, earning the title in the tradition way or by winning tough championship events that qualify them for a GM title. 
2006:
Grandmaster/Country/Birth Date/Date of Title/How Earned/WWC/Highest Rating (as of Nov. 2006)/Notes
1. Nona Gaprindashvili Georgia 1941 1978 Won WWC 1962-78 2381
1st woman to get Grandmaster title
2. Maia Chiburdanidze Georgia 17 Jan 1961 ? Won WWC 1978-91 2560

3. Susan Polgar Hungary 19 Apr 1969 Jan. 1991 Traditional way 1996-99 2577?
First woman to earn Grandmaster title the same way as men
4. Judit Polgar Hungary 23 Jul 1976 Dec. 1991 Traditional way - 2735
At age 15, youngest person of either gender to become a GM at the time, beating Bobby Fischer's record by just over a month, held for over 30 years

5. Pia Cramling Sweden 23 Apr 1963 1992 Traditional way - 2528?

6. Xie Jun China 30 Oct 1970 1995 Traditional way 91-96, 99-01 2557

7. Zhu Chen China 16 Mar 1976 2001 Traditional way 2001-04 2538

8. Humpy Koneru India 31 Mar 1987 2002 Traditional way 2539
Became the youngest GM in history, beating J. Polgar's record by 3 mos.

9. Antoaneta Stefanova Bulgaria 19 Apr 1979 2003 Traditional way 2004-06 2520

10. Alexandra Kosteniuk Russia 23 Apr 1984 2004 Won EWC 2004-06 2540

11. Zhaoqin Peng Holland 8 May 1968 Oct. 2004 Won EWC 2004 2460
WWC=Women's World Champion(ship) • EWC = European Women's Championship • Most birthdates from rec.games.chess
These are exciting times for female chessplayers.  As you can see from the above information, the number of GM titled females has doubled between 2006 and now.  That is just an incredible statistic, if you think about it, particularly since the ranks of female players has not doubled during the same time. 

European Individual Women's Chess Championship

It's over - and a woman who earned one of the earliest GM titles back in the early 1990s won it with an incredible 9.0/11 - GM Pia Cramling!  Yaaaaaahhhhhh!  She played and defeated IM Viktorija Cmilyte who led going into the final round.  Well done.  And GM Monika Socko recovered enough to take over third place.

Here are the top finishers:

Rk. Name FED RtgI Pts. TB1 TB2 TB3 Rp n w we w-we K rtg+/-
1 GM Cramling Pia SWE 2523 9,0 0 61,5 74,5 2677 11 9 7,06 1,94 10 19,4
2 IM Cmilyte Viktorija LTU 2485 8,5 0 59,5 73,5 2622 11 8,5 6,56 1,94 10 19,4
3 GM Socko Monika POL 2465 8,0 0 63,5 77,5 2595 11 8 6,16 1,84 10 18,4
4 GM Kosintseva Tatiana RUS 2524 8,0 0 63,0 76,0 2595 11 8 7,01 0,99 10 9,9
5 GM Sebag Marie FRA 2506 8,0 0 60,5 73,5 2555 11 8 7,34 0,66 10 6,6
6 WGM Zhukova Natalia UKR 2492 8,0 0 60,5 72,5 2556 11 8 7,13 0,87 10 8,7
7 IM Dembo Yelena GRE 2457 8,0 0 57,0 69,5 2545 11 8 6,73 1,27 10 12,7
8 GM Stefanova Antoaneta BUL 2555 7,5 0 65,5 80,5 2552 11 7,5 7,42 0,08 10 0,8
9 IM Muzychuk Anna SLO 2533 7,5 0 63,5 77,0 2550 11 7,5 7,18 0,32 10 3,2
10 IM Kosintseva Nadezhda RUS 2554 7,5 0 61,0 74,5 2540 11 7,5 7,63 -0,13 10 -1,3
11 IM Muzychuk Mariya UKR 2444 7,5 0 61,0 74,5 2550 11 7,5 5,87 1,63 10 16,3
12 IM Khurtsidze Nino GEO 2434 7,5 0 60,5 74,0 2526 11 7,5 6,06 1,44 10 14,4
13 IM Skripchenko Almira FRA 2456 7,5 0 60,0 73,5 2514 11 7,5 6,59 0,91 10 9,1
14 IM Ushenina Anna UKR 2452 7,5 0 58,0 70,5 2511 11 7,5 6,58 0,92 10 9,2
15 IM Rajlich Iweta POL 2459 7,5 0 56,5 70,0 2477 11 7,5 7,16 0,34 10 3,4
16 WFM Ziaziulkina Nastassia BLR 2188 7,5 0 56,5 69,0 2543 11 7,5 2,48 5,02 15 75,3
17 IM Kovalevskaya Ekaterina RUS 2438 7,5 0 53,0 66,0 2457 11 7,5 7,12 0,38 10 3,8

Here's how some of my favorites did (out of 150 players):

36 IM Melia Salome GEO 2467 6,5 0 54,5 65,5 2369 11 6,5 7,82 -1,32 10 -13,2
I figure she's disappointed with her back-to-back losses in Rounds 9 and 10. She has lost ratings points, not a good thing. My guess is she was tired out from a heavy schedule since the beginning of the year.
88 WIM Kazimova Narmin AZE 2212 5,5 0 46,0 56,0 2226 11 5,5 5,03 0,47 15 7,1
98 WGM Calzetta Ruiz Monica ESP 2296 5,0 0 49,0 59,0 2193 11 5 6,01 -1,01 15 -15,1
105 WIM Paikidze Nazi GEO 2322 5,0 0 44,5 56,0 2169 11 5 7,24 -2,24 15 -33,6

GM Susan Polgar has reported at her chess blog:  In spite of the loss in the last round, Cmilyte earned an 11 game GM norm. Her rating will also pass 2500. Zhukova also gained nearly 9 points which should put her rating above 2500. Since she already had 3 GM norms, she should be awarded the GM title shortly.

Lots more coverage, of course, at Susan Polgar's blog.

This is good news - we need more women earning GM titles and pushing their ratings up - way up - above 2600.  Yeah, I don't ask for too much, do I. 

Tie-breaks are tomorrow.  I didn't see any awards announced yet for board prizes and officially the medal winners haven't been announced either - at least, when I clicked on the link at the offical website, I got one of those error messages.