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

First Chess Lesson Completed

Oh darlings, what a day, what a day.

It started out fine, including some mild weather for this time of year in Wisconsin, happy to have it!  Things started going downhill with the noon Team Meeting.  The firm has implemented a number of changes this year, all geared toward enhancing our "brand" and embracing a "green footprint."  Unfortunately, the people who made the decisions didn't ask for an input from the staff, who actually have to implement these policies on a day to day basis.  Many issues have arisen, including the new stationery being too thick for our printers to process efficiently, the new font that the firm wants used that violates the rules of the 7th Circuit District Court (Federal), and I could go on and on.  I was not looking forward to this Team Meeting, and I was right.  I was hungry, but the food that was offered was not anything I wanted to eat.  Only the desserts looked good but I don't eat desserts generally -- too much sugar. 

And so, while the entire Team was seated around me chowing down, I sat there with a rumbling stomach.  The meeting didn't end until 2 p.m. -- I made a quick trip to Cousins but then was scarfing down the sub-sandwich in between bouts of frantic work.  Not exactly conducive to proper digestion or stress reduction.

Then, issues arose with the high speed scanner, oh, I'm not even going to go there!  I left the office about 3 minutes behind schedule and I knew, I just damn well knew, I was going to miss the bus to take me to the shopping mall where I was to meet the chess coach shortly after 6 p.m.  That bus, my regular bus, would have delivered me to the door of the mall just before 6 p.m. As it was, I had to wait for the 5:16 - that is, the bus leaves the depot at the end of the route at 5:16 and a full hour later deposited me at the mall.

What I look like after I remove my make-up.

So, there I am, no cell phone (don't ask), even if I had a cell phone no way to call the coach because I didn't have his cell phone number on me.  I didn't think I'd need it and if I did, it was in my email which I have access to at the office, of course, but not on a street corner with no cell phone that can tap into a wireless network, assuming one was available!  My head, which had already been pounding, began to throb in earnest.  I'm sure my eyelids were twitching too.  I must have looked dangerous.  Or strange.  Maybe both.  People did not stand close to me - a good thing.  I can't stand the smell of cigarette smoke and without fail, there are always three or four people who light up right next to me while waiting on the bus.  Also without fail, they always seem to somehow position themselves so that no matter where I walk to try to escape from the gagging odor of cigarettes, I can't get away from it!  Also without fail #3, they ALWAYS STAND UPWIND FROM YOU, INSTEAD OF BEING CONSIDERATE AND STANDING DOWNWIND AWAY FROM YOU. 

Now, you know, Wisconsin recently passed a concealed carry law.  All I have to do is take 4 hours worth of training and clear a criminal background check and I can carry a gun around and pop anyone I want whenever I get pissed off, just as long as I have a good enough reason to convince a jury that it was just cause to kill that person.  Or maybe now, with the current nut cases in control of my formerly sane state, I don't even have to have a good enough reason.  I'll just start killing smokers who stand too close to me and are not wise enough to stand downwind - oh the folly of not seeing that power-mad look in my eyes, bwwwwaaaaahhhhhaaaaaaa......

So, the 5:16 finally arrived at my corner and, sure enough, I've got Mr. Pokey as a driver.  He could have delivered me to the mall at least 10 minutes earlier, but that would blow up the schedule.  Isn't it uncanny how the only time bus drivers seem to adhere to "the schedule" is when you absolutely need to get somewhere in a big hurry?

Fortunately, Tom was still waiting for me in the food court when I blew in as fast as my short legs could carry me, about 6:20.  I had confirmed to him the night before that I would be there shortly after 6 p.m.

Poor man!  Not exactly an auspicious beginning.

I have some things to practice, but not tonight.  My head hurts too much.  I shouldn't even be doing this, but I've neglected the blog of late, and in the meantime the Women's World Chess Championship Match between GM Koneru Humpy and GM Hou Yifan has crept up on me.  I'm having a hard time dealing with the fact that I seem to have misplaced most of my summer.  When did that happen?  People put up CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS in the subdivision this weekend.  OY!

A few encouraging signs during the first chess lesson.  We went through my two longest games from Challenge XIV and I made some good moves.  I also really really really need to either buy one of those damn Monroi thingies to keep track of my moves or I need to - I don't know what.  I wrote several moves down wrong, like moving a queen in one game to a square where I already had a pawn parked.  Oh, my head...

Rock circles linked to ancient Indian site

Hmmmm, I think I posted a story about this location a week or two ago...  Yep - found it:  Virginia Site Reveals a Bit of Paleo-Indian Past, October 25, 2011. 

From Native American Times online, nativetimes.com

10 November 2011 VAL VAN METER, The Winchester Star   

BLUEMONT, Va. (AP) – Rock circles on a spit of mountain land along Spout Run may be the oldest above-ground Paleoindian site in North America, according to Alexandria archaeologist Jack Hranicky.

He will deliver an address about the site – which he dates to 10,000 B.C. – to the Society for American Archaeology next April in Memphis, Tenn.

The site could put Clarke County “on the Paleo map,” Hranicky said.

The set of concentric circles drew the attention of landowners Chris and Rene White as they were planning to create a medicine wheel on their 20 acres south of Va. 7 on Blue Ridge Mountain.

After talks with his spiritual elder in Utah, Chris, a descendant of the Cherokee people, and his wife, from the Lumbee tribe of North Carolina, decided to open their property to spiritual leaders of Native American peoples who have business in the Washington area.

The area including the rock circles was the location that drew Chris White in.

When he was building his house, White said, he would often walk by the creek to take a break.

There, “a still, small voice said, `This land is important.' I didn't know what it meant, but I took it to heart,” he said.

As White prepared to put his medicine wheel on the site, he realized that a circle of stones was there – actually, several concentric circles.

“From my experience as a contractor, I knew that was not natural,” he said. “I realized something was already here.”

Someone suggested that White contact Hranicky, who had studied five other Paleoindian sites in Virginia.

He said he saw the pattern in the rocks as soon as he arrived at the site, noting three concentric circles at the western edge, which he believes was a ceremonial area. The inner circle could outline a bonfire space, he said, while the outer ring may have been an area for participants in the ritual to sit or stand.

To the east, touching this area, is another circle that Hranicky calls the observatory.

Here, rocks on the edge of the circle align with features on Blue Ridge Mountain to the east.

From a center rock, over a boundary rock, a line would intersect the feature called Bears Den Rocks on the mountain. Standing on that center rock, looking toward Bears Den, a viewer can see the sun rise on the day of the summer solstice, Hranicky said.

To prove that point, White and his wife took pictures of the sunrise last June 21, he said.

To the right of this rock around the circle, another lines up to Eagle Rock on the Blue Ridge, and with sunrise at the fall equinox (around Sept. 22-23), he said.

Yet a third points to a saddle on the mountain where the sun makes its appearance at the winter solstice (around Dec. 21-22).

“These are true solar positions,” he said.

A dozen feet east of the summer solstice rock is a mound of boulders, piled up, which Hranicky designates as “the altar.”

Hranicky, 69, a registered professional archaeologist who taught anthropology at Northern Virginia community College and St. Johns High School College, has been working in the field of archaeology, for 40 years.

“I had to wait 70 years to find a site like this,” he said.

Dating the site took some digging.

Hranicky was convinced that it was a Paleoindian site, based on the configuration of the concentric circles, the solstice alignment and the altar he has seen at other such sites. But he wanted an artifact.

He picked a five-foot-square area to dig, carefully numbering every rock and setting it aside, to be replaced later.

The reason for that, Hranicky said, is that in the future better methods may be available for dating sites, and he wanted to disturb as little as possible.

His test pit turned up three artifacts. One was a thin blade of quartzite. The second was a small piece of jasper, a type of quartz rock and an important find, Hranicky said.

Jasper was prized by Paleoindians for making tools. It was hard and durable, but could still be worked by Stone Age methods. They traveled miles to find sites where jasper nodules protruded from native rock, and quarried the stone to make projectile points and tools.

The third artifact was the most important. It was a tiny piece of jasper, no bigger than the end of a thumb, but this rock had been worked, Hranicky said. It was a tool, a mini-scraper.

“You don't know how thrilled I was when we found that little bitty tool,” he said.

Jasper on the site ties what Hranicky believes was a ceremonial and heavenly observation site to another proven Paleoindian site just to the south of Clarke County in Warren County – the Thunderbird site.

William Gardiner of Catholic University excavated that site for several years. Indians camped on the east bank of the South Fork of the Shenandoah River and quarried jasper for tool making from bluffs on the west bank.

The Thunderbird site is dated to 10,000 B.C.

Hranicky's theory postulates that Paleoindians, searching for jasper for tool-making, followed the Shenandoah River from the Atlantic coastal areas some 12,000 years ago.

This coincides with the Younger Dryas period, when the climate turned abruptly colder and drier.

Jasper, Hranicky said, can't be “knapped” as easily in cold weather, so it would make sense for Indians traveling to find the stone to do so in the summer months.

An Indian “priest” would find it an advantage to know when summer offered the best work climate, marked by the summer solstice, and when the season was drawing to a close and cold weather was on the way (the fall equinox).

A leader who noticed how points on the mountain marked these calendar moments and could predict, with a rock “clock,” these dates, would be a “genius” to his tribe, Hranicky said.

Such times would be natural days for social celebrations of some type, he added. “They visited this place for a reason, like going to church.”

The visitors would have lived on the west bank of the river, a mile away, where it would be easier to find food, he suggested.

White noted that, to Native Americans, stones are considered “grandfathers.”

“If you see all these grandfathers, that makes it a place of wisdom.”

Water, he added, is a symbol of life. Spout Run, which ends in a sizeable waterfall at the Shenandoah River, would be both eye-catching and significant, while things that emerge from the underground, such as the springs that feed Spout Run, are a sign of rebirth.

All these characteristics could make the spot of the concentric circles significant to native people, White said.

Hranicky is applying to have the Whites' stone circles added to Virginia's list of archaeological sites.

“It will be recorded,” said state archaeologist Mike Barber.

Barber said several ceremonial observatories across North America are attributed to Paleoindians.

“Jack has recorded several of these types,” he said. “The real problem is proving what these things are. We haven't arrived at that level yet.”

Barber said he has received a preliminary report on the site from Hranicky, and is trying to schedule a time to visit it.

Is the Clarke County site an ancient solar observatory for early Americans?

Barber is cautious.

“I'm not to the point where I can say that this is one of them.”

–––

Information from: The Winchester Star, http://www.winchesterstar.co

Bullock Cart Found in Udupi

Udipi?  Where is Udipi?
According to this map, it's on the west side of India, in a province, or county or state of Karnataka.

Nice of them to clean the stone up and show it to us totally out of context.  Perhaps that is actually what the article headline is referring to - ...causes ripples in archaeological circles.  Damn right!  So here is this bullock cart being presented to us as a brand new discovery.  But, it is cleaned up, not shown in context while being excavated -- To put a PERIOD to it, it could have come from anywhere, including the local producer of "antiquities" who lives down the block from where the photograph was taken.  Just saying...

Udupi: Ancient Sculpture Causes Ripples in Archaeology Circles

Udupi: Ancient Sculpture Causes Ripples in Archaeology Circles Hemanath Padubidri Daijiworld Media Network - Udupi (RD/CN) Udupi, Nov 8: A rare stone sculpture depicting a bullock cart has been found by professor and students of Government First Grade College, HD Kote. The sculpture is assumed to be of the Punnata era. Punnata was an ancient kingdom of Karnataka. There are various references to several naval expeditions sent by the rulers of Egypt from V and VI dynasties to the distant and mysterious land of ‘Punt’. This reference of Punt is identified as ‘Punnata’ by some scholars. Ptolemy called it ‘Pounnata’. An inscription from 300 AD says it is adorned by the rivers Kaveri and Kapini. Punnata rulers had matrimonial alliances with Kadambas and Gangas. All these evidences indicate the antiquity of Punnata. Keerthipura or present day Kittur was the capital city of Punnata. But a major portion of Kittur was submerged in the Kabini back water. [What is the Kabini back water???]  Ravirameshwara Temple of Kittur is the only monument that survives there today. The temple is supposed to have been built during the time of Punnata ruler Ravidatta, and was called Ravirameshwara. “On the left side of the road, which leads to the temple, an interesting and a rare sculpture of a bullock cart has been found,” says Professor T Murugeshi, department of ancient history and archaeology, MSRS College, Shirva, in a press release. The cart with two bulls is made of granite and is about two feet in height. We have seen bullock carts and chariots from the Shatavahana period, but as panel figures. This one is an independent sculpture, simply displaying the person who is controlling the cart with ‘chavati’ or a whip in his right hand and holding the reins in his left hand. The wheels of the cart have an arch-shaped covering. Even today, similar carts are widely used in weddings and festivals in villages. Professor Murugeshi and Dr B Rajashekharappa date the cart to the 10th century, but Dr A Sundara holds that it was a kind of memorial figure datable to the Vijayanagar period. [Meaning - what?  Give us some dates!]  Though there are differences in dating the image, it was unanimously agreed that it is a rare sculpture. Professor Ushadevi, Savitha, Shekar, and students of history of the Government First Grade College, HD Kote, are responsible for this notable discovery from Punnata. For more information, contact: Professor Murugeshi, head of department of archaeology, MSRS College, Shirva, at 9482520933 / 2532808.

Enduring Belief in the Supernatural

Let's take a look at popular television shows on commercial (does not include Cable or Satellite television) today and in the not too distant past:

The Vampire Diaries
Once Upon a Time
Grimm
Supernatural
The Circle
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Beauty and the Beast (fairy tale - see Grimm and Once Upon a Time, above)

These are shows that came readily to mind; I'm sure there are lots more!

I am absolutely fascinated with the reality that today, more than ever, there are such shows being broadcast in prime-time.  All these shows - and we've got the Tea Party religious freaks trying to roll us back to the 18th century - pre French-Revolution!  I think to myself that this is just another form of "escapism" from today's really crappy world -- bad politics, bad economy, USA sinking into third world status, etc. etc. -- but - what the hell is really going on?  I mean - what does this mean? 

Minerva (online) has an interesting synopsis that probably dates to around Halloween (October 31, 2011), on witches -- it doesn't have a date on it, but I suppose it doesn't have to.  A disgraceful episode in American colonial history.  And, unfortunately, "witches" are still being hunted and killed today, all around the world.

The Witching Hour approaches

---

Abundant textual evidence in the medieval and post-medieval period attests to the practice of witchcraft. Perhaps the most celebrated case is the Salem Witchcraft Trials of 1692. Archaeological evidence pertaining to witchcraft is understandably thinner on the ground than historical testimony given its secretive practice. A recent discovery in Tuscany may alter this perspective.

Archaeologists have recently discovered the skeleton of a woman from the early 13th century at Piombino. The bones were associated with 13 nails apparently driven into the jaw of the deceased. Lack of material evidence indicates that the woman's body had not been interred in a coffin or wrapped in a burial shroud as was customary in the medieval period.

Alfonso Forgione, based at the University of L'Aquila who is directing the excavation, believes that the unfortunate individual was executed for practising withcraft. Other nails were found surrounding the skeleton that had been nailed into items of clothing and the unorthodox characteristics of the burial lead him to his conclusions: 'This indicates to me that it was an attempt to make sure the woman even though she was dead did not rise from the dead and unnerve the locals who were no doubt convinced she was a witch with evil powers.'

In 2009 a female skull was found near Venice with a stone driven into its mouth. Contemporary superstition implemented such a technique to prevent vampires rising from the grave. Forgione believes that the nails driven into the skull of the woman in Tuscany had a similar intent. Interestingly, another female skeleton was recovered from the same site in Venice surrounded by 17 dice – an unlucky number that was associated with death in medieval times. It is curious that the number 17 can be arranged to create the Latin 'VIXI', meaning literally 'I have lived', in other words, 'I am dead'.

A possible contention against Forgione's hypothesis is that the discoveries outlined above were interred in consecrated ground in churchyards. He refutes this by suggesting 'that perhaps both women came from influential families and were not peasant class and so because of their class and connections were able to secure burial in consecrated Christian ground'. Whatever the truth to this hypothesis it makes a chilling and topical story as we approach the witching hours of Halloween at the end of October. Mark Merrony

Smooth Jazz: Keiko Matsui "Dreamwalk"

Ooohhhh, I like this, I like this.  I can see myself dancing out on my deck in the moonlight on a summer's night to this song...  I want to learn how to play the piano like this - one of the things on my "Bucket" List.  Starting another thing on my "Bucket" List tomorrow night after work - my first lesson with a chess coach.  EEK!

The Swiss Museum of Games - Musee Suisse du Jeu

Goddesschess first met Dr. Ulrich Schaedler in Amsterdam at the end of November, 2001 when Don McLean, Georgia Albert, her daughter Michelle, and I attended a symposium of chess historians, scholars and interested parties at the Max Euwe Institute under the auspices of the Initiativ Gruppe Konigstein ("IGK"). 

Dr. Schaedler or, Stooping Wolf, as we know him (we all gave ourselves 'nicknames' over the years), has been a friend of Gchess ever since.  A year or so ago he visited Georgia in Las Vegas with friends/family to attend a concert at the MGM Grand performed by a group that he'd always wanted to see.  At the time the euro v. dollar ratio was so favorable, the trip was made at a greatly discounted price.  When we first visited Amsterdam in 2001, the price ratio was the just the opposite, and we got round-trip airfares out of Montreal for $333 each, and hotel rooms in Amsterdam for about $30 USD a night.  Back then, we paid in The Netherlands' old currency -- the Euro hadn't been officially adopted by the country at the time!  How times change...

But we don't.  Oh yes, we grow older as we look at ourselves in the mirror and in photographs, but in our heart and in our mind's eye, we remain the same forever -- at whatever "age" we thought we were our "best" ...  In truth, we are always at our best, even as we age, as long as we maintain our zest to always make ourselves better and to keep on learning new things.  Shhhhh, that's a secret not everyone has realized. 

While visiting GM Alexandra Kosteniuk's chessqueen.com, I found photographs of Alexandra and Dr. Ulrich Schaedler taken at The Swiss Museum of Games when she visited there in October, 2011.  Ulrich has been curator at the Museum for several years. When Ulrich first took over as curator, the Musee did not even have a decent website!  Glad to say that now, it does!

In 1999, Don McLean represented Goddesschess at an IGK Symposium in Hamburg, Germany, and gave a talk about how the internet would change the future of research into the origins of chess and other ancient boardgames and how it would facilitate collaberation and the publication of research.  Back then, Don's talk was met with some skeptical eyes, but what he talked about that day proved to be true as the internet grew and grew and grew, and Goddesschess grew along with it.  Now, we take it for granted that you can type in just about any subject you want to find out more about into your favorite search engine, and you will get some results.  But back then, it was still new, and there wasn't much information available like the info we compiled.

On May 6, 2012, Goddesschess will celebrate its 13th anniversary online.  Whew!  Hard to believe.  We're not getting older, we're just getting better and better and better...

Stooping Wolf, you're a handsome man!

2011 European Team Chess Championships - Women

Hola darlings!

Sorry I haven't been posting much the past few days.  We switched to "daylight savings time" last week (the week before?) -- I don't remember exactly when.  I'm having a hard time adjusting, just like I had a hard time in the spring this year when we "leaped ahead" an hour.  Yeah, I supposedly gained an hour of sleep one Saturday night, but honestly, I've been heading to bed at 9 p.m. or shortly after, because my body is telling me it is actually 10 p.m. or after!  I just cannot win!

This year's European Team Chess Championships are now herstory.  The top three women's teams were:

Rk.	SNo		Team	Team	Games	+	=	-	TB1	TB2	TB3	TB4	TB5
1	1		Russia	RUS	9	8	1	0	17	25.5	177.0	165.50	137.5
2	5		Poland	POL	9	6	2	1	14	23.0	178.0	133.25	138.5
3	3		Georgia	GEO	9	7	0	2	14	22.5	181.0	134.00	139.0

I have my favorite players that I follow when I see them listed in events.  In this year's ETCC-Women, I had 10 players I was following, and I lost track of some of them, because they were alternating with other players on their teams and weren't playing every single game.  I won't go into all the details of their performances here, but I would like to point out some things.

First of all, I was following the 12th Women's World Chess Champion, GM Alexandra Kosteniuk.  She had some very tough tournaments earlier this year where she did not perform well.  But - the important thing - she never gave up.  She kept playing, she kept fighting.  Event after event, a very full schedule for this mother away from her husband and young daughter for so long!  Now, I don't follow gossip on line or participate in message boards or post messages at blogs the way I used to years ago, so I don't know for a fact that some people may have been saying that Alexadra was no longer a top-tier female player - but I'll bet such things were said and/or implied. 

Anyone who would say or snidely imply such things just doesn't know this woman or understand how women work, in general!  I don't claim a great acquaintance with Alexandra, but after exchanging correspondence over the years, I did meet her (finally) in person in September in St. Louis, while she was there to participate in the Kings v. Queens Tournament at the St. Louis Chess Club.  I know that Alexandra has a great heart and a great spirit, like all the women's chess champions do.  One simply cannot achieve that peak of success as a chessplayer without having such heart and spirit.  I will never, ever count Alexandra down and out!

And Alexandra proved that she still has what it takes to win!  In addition to winning a Gold Medal for her part in her Team's performance, Alexandra also won an individual Gold Medal for her performance on Board 4.  A well-deserved medal, I might add.  She was great!

You can check out her numbers performance (statistics measuring lots of different performances) at chess-results.com (tournament)  and also at chessqueen.com (story).  We've been invited to share the photos posted there - great photos -- you can check them out in more detail:

A happy Russian Women's Team - and rightfully so.  Anyone who thinks chess is a game of nerds hasn't seen these women, that's for sure! 

Alexandra wrote at chessqueen.com:

All the players in our team had a great result. I got 5.5 out of 7 (4 wins and 3 draws) and got the highest rating performance of my team, 2575 ELO. Our team’s average rating performance was 2523, even higher than our starting average rating of 2509, which was the highest team average at the start of the championship. Out of the 9 x 4 = 36 games played by our team, we only lost 3 individual games, but never lost a single match.

As for individual performances, everyone in our team did great! Apart from everyone in our Russian women’s team getting a team Gold medal, I got an individual Gold medal on the 4th board, as did Tatiana Kosintseva on board 2 and Natalija Pogonina on board 5. Valentina Gunina got an individual Bronze medal on board 3, and Nadezhda Kosintseva barely missed a medal with her 4th place on the 1st board, which is still a great performance. In all our 5-person team got 9 medals (8 Gold, 1 Bronze), almost the maximum!

Of 124 female players, Alexandra's performance ranked 4th overall (top 10 only shown, below):

The best players sorted according Rp,Pts,games,%,board (Final Ranking after 9 Rounds)

No.			Name	Rtg	Team	Rp	Pts.	Games	%	Bo.
1		IM	Muzychuk Anna	2557	Slovenia	2782	8.5	9	94.4	1
2		GM	Lahno Kateryna	2549	Ukraine	2632	5.0	7	71.4	1
3		GM	Dzagnidze Nana	2516	Georgia	2593	5.0	8	62.5	1
4		GM	Kosteniuk Alexandra	2439	Russia	2575	5.5	7	78.6	3
5		IM	Khurtsidze Nino	2440	Georgia	2573	6.5	8	81.3	3
6		GM	Kosintseva Tatiana	2526	Russia	2559	6.0	8	75.0	2
7		IM	Ushenina Anna	2463	Ukraine	2538	6.0	8	75.0	2
8		WGM	Zawadzka Jolanta	2326	Poland	2524	5.5	8	68.8	2
9		GM	Kosintseva Nadezhda	2546	Russia	2524	5.5	9	61.1	1
10		WIM	Ohme Melanie	2361	Germany	2521	6.5	8	81.3	2

Another Goddesschess friend, IM Salome Melia, (who married in early summer this year) playing on the Georgian Women's Team, also won two medals:  A Team Bronze Medal and an Individual Bronze Medal for her performance on Board 5:

Board 5
Rank Name Rtg Team Rp Rtg-O Pts G %
1 WGM Pogonina, Natalija 2451 RUS 2518 2278 4 5 80.0
2 IM Muzychuk, Mariya 2460 UKR 2468 2327 5,5 8 68.8
3 IM Melia, Salome 2392 GEO 2460 2302 5 7 71.4
Come on, Salome!  I have faith that you can earn a GM title. 

GM Kateryna Lahno did well for her team and for herself.  While the Ukrainian Women's Team finished out of contention for a Team Medal, Lahno won an individual Silver Medal for her excellent performance on Board 1:

Board 1
Rank Name Rtg Team Rp Rtg-O Pts G %
1 IM Muzychuk, Anna 2557 SLO 2782 2338 8,5 9 94.4
2 GM Lahno, Kateryna 2549 UKR 2632 2474 5 7 71.43 GM Dzagnidze, Nana 2516 GEO 2593 2498 5 8 62.5

Performance wise, here is how the women I was following placed (of 124 female players):

No.

Name

Rtg

Team

Rp

Pts.

Games

%

Bo.

2

GM

Lahno Kateryna

2549

Ukraine

2632

5.0

7

71.4

1

4

GM

Kosteniuk Alexandra

2439

Russia

2575

5.5

7

78.6

3

20 IM Melia Salome 2392 Georgia 2460 5.0 7 71.4 4
21 IM Dembo Yelena 2468 Greece 2459 5.5 9 61.1 1

50

WGM

Reizniece-Ozola Dana

2281

Latvia

2344

5.0

9

55.6

1

61

WGM

L’ami Alina

2364

Romania

2308

3.0

7

42.9

1

68

WGM

Rudolf Anna

2347

Hungary

2286

3.5

7

50.0

2

70

WGM

Calzetta Ruiz Monica

2301

Spain

2284

4.5

7

64.3

2

73

WIM

Kazimova Narmin

2241

Azerbaijan

2278

3.5

7

50.0

2

87

IM

Houska Jovanka

2415

England

2221

2.5

8

31.3

1

 So, it looks like Kateryna Lahno, Alexandra Kosteniuk, Melia Salome, Dana Reizniece-Ozola and Narmin Kazimova will gain some ratings points as a result of their performances at the 2011 European Team Chess Championships - Women.  Congratulations!

2011 European Team Chess Championships - Women

And the winner is ...  RUSSIA!

Final Ranking after 9 Rounds

Rk.	SNo		Team	Team	Games	+	=	-	TB1	TB2	TB3	TB4	TB5
1	1		Russia	RUS	9	8	1	0	17	25.5	177.0	165.50	137.5
2	5		Poland	POL	9	6	2	1	14	23.0	178.0	133.25	138.5
3	3		Georgia	GEO	9	7	0	2	14	22.5	181.0	134.00	139.0
4	2		Ukraine	UKR	9	6	0	3	12	21.5	180.0	110.50	138.0
5	12		France	FRA	9	6	0	3	12	21.0	172.5	107.50	133.5
6	8		Bulgaria	BUL	9	5	1	3	11	19.5	175.5	100.00	135.5
7	4		Armenia	ARM	9	4	3	2	11	19.0	182.0	104.00	139.5
8	7		Germany	GER	9	4	2	3	10	20.5	161.5	86.50	125.5
9	15		Israel	ISR	9	4	2	3	10	19.0	164.5	85.00	125.5
10	11		Slovenia	SLO	9	4	2	3	10	19.0	146.0	74.50	119.5
11	10		Spain	ESP	9	4	1	4	9	19.5	152.0	69.00	117.5
12	18		Czech Rep.	CZE	9	3	3	3	9	18.0	176.0	85.00	136.0
13	13		Netherlands	NED	9	3	3	3	9	18.0	167.0	81.25	128.5
14	21		Austria	AUT	9	4	1	4	9	17.5	150.0	62.25	120.5
15	6		Hungary	HUN	9	3	3	3	9	17.0	172.0	79.00	129.5
16	19		Croatia	CRO	9	4	1	4	9	17.0	169.0	79.25	129.0
17	9		Romania	ROM	9	4	1	4	9	16.5	184.5	84.75	142.0
18	14		Serbia	SRB	9	3	2	4	8	19.5	151.0	52.75	124.5
19	23		Italy	ITA	9	3	2	4	8	18.0	132.5	48.25	110.5
20	17		Azerbaijan	AZE	9	3	2	4	8	17.5	159.5	65.75	123.5
21	16		Greece	GRE	9	2	4	3	8	17.0	165.5	70.25	127.0
22	27		Turkey	TUR	9	3	1	5	7	17.0	157.5	58.00	124.0
23	22		England	ENG	9	3	1	5	7	17.0	146.5	44.00	122.0
24	26		Lithuania	LTU	9	1	4	4	6	15.5	147.5	37.50	122.5
25	25		Switzerland	SUI	9	2	2	5	6	14.0	152.5	39.25	125.5
26	20		Latvia	LAT	9	2	1	6	5	17.0	133.5	26.50	110.5
27	24		Montenegro	MNE	9	2	1	6	5	13.5	150.5	30.50	125.5
28	28		Norway	NOR	9	0	0	9	0	4.0	151.0	0.00	118.0

Annotation:
Tie Break1: Matchpoints (2 for wins, 1 for Draws, 0 for Losses)
Tie Break2: points (game-points)
Tie Break3: Buchholz Tie-Breaks (sum of team-points of the opponents)
Tie Break4: Sonneborn-Berger-Tie-Break (with real points)
Tie Break5: Buchholz Tie-Breaks (variabel with parameter)

Here are the final match results for Round 9:

Round 9 on 2011/11/11 at 13:00
Bo.	1	Russia	Rtg	-	21	Austria	Rtg	3 : 1
1.1	GM	Kosintseva Nadezhda	2546	-	IM	Moser Eva	2448	½ - ½
1.2	IM	Gunina Valentina	2514	-	WIM	Kopinits Anna-Christina	2276	1 - 0
1.3	GM	Kosteniuk Alexandra	2439	-	WFM	Newrkla Katharina	2131	1 - 0
1.4	WGM	Pogonina Natalija	2451	-	WFM	Novkovic Julia	2089	½ - ½
Bo.	4	Armenia	Rtg	-	5	Poland	Rtg	2 : 2
2.1	GM	Danielian Elina	2507	-	GM	Socko Monika	2479	½ - ½
2.2	IM	Mkrtchian Lilit	2469	-	WGM	Zawadzka Jolanta	2326	0 - 1
2.3	IM	Galojan Lilit	2383	-	WGM	Majdan-Gajewska Joanna	2386	1 - 0
2.4	WGM	Kursova Maria	2315	-	WGM	Szczepkowska-Horowska Karina	2379	½ - ½
Bo.	12	France	Rtg	-	2	Ukraine	Rtg	3 : 1
3.1	IM	Milliet Sophie	2386	-	GM	Zhukova Natalia	2427	1 - 0
3.2	WGM	Maisuradze Nino	2315	-	IM	Ushenina Anna	2463	½ - ½
3.3	WGM	Guichard Pauline	2305	-	IM	Gaponenko Inna	2435	1 - 0
3.4	WGM	Leconte Maria	2282	-	IM	Muzychuk Mariya	2460	½ - ½
Bo.	9	Romania	Rtg	-	3	Georgia	Rtg	1½:2½
4.1	IM	Foisor Cristina-Adela	2418	-	GM	Dzagnidze Nana	2516	0 - 1
4.2	WGM	Cosma Elena-Luminita	2335	-	IM	Javakhishvili Lela	2475	½ - ½
4.3	WIM	Bulmaga Irina	2334	-	IM	Khurtsidze Nino	2440	1 - 0
4.4	WGM	Voicu-Jagodzinsky Carmen	2300	-	IM	Melia Salome	2392	0 - 1
Bo.	15	Israel	Rtg	-	7	Germany	Rtg	2 : 2
5.1	IM	Klinova Masha	2316	-	WGM	Michna Marta	2382	1 - 0
5.2	WIM	Porat Maya	2299	-	WIM	Ohme Melanie	2361	0 - 1
5.3	WIM	Efroimski Marsel	2230	-	WGM	Levushkina Elena	2307	0 - 1
5.4	WIM	Vasiliev Olga	2305	-	WIM	Hoolt Sarah	2286	1 - 0
Bo.	18	Czech Rep.	Rtg	-	8	Bulgaria	Rtg	1 : 3
6.1	WGM	Kulovana Eva	2297	-	GM	Stefanova Antoaneta	2531	½ - ½
6.2	WGM	Nemcova Katerina	2276	-	WGM	Videnova Iva	2297	½ - ½
6.3	WIM	Havlikova Kristyna	2285	-	WGM	Voiska Margarita	2328	0 - 1
6.4	WIM	Olsarova Tereza	2232	-	WGM	Nikolova Adriana	2286	0 - 1
Bo.	11	Slovenia	Rtg	-	14	Serbia	Rtg	2½:1½
7.1	IM	Muzychuk Anna	2557	-	IM	Bojkovic Natasa	2396	1 - 0
7.2	WGM	Krivec Jana	2291	-	WGM	Chelushkina Irina	2276	1 - 0
7.3	WGM	Srebrnic Ana	2219	-	WGM	Stojanovic Andjelija	2280	0 - 1
7.4	WIM	Rozic Vesna	2263	-	WIM	Drljevic Ljilja	2273	½ - ½
Bo.	6	Hungary	Rtg	-	17	Azerbaijan	Rtg	2 : 2
8.1	GM	Hoang Thanh Trang	2446	-	WGM	Mamedjarova Zeinab	2314	½ - ½
8.2	WGM	Rudolf Anna	2347	-	WIM	Kazimova Narmin	2241	½ - ½
8.3	WGM	Gara Ticia	2375	-	WIM	Mammadova Gulnar	2290	0 - 1
8.4	IM	Gara Anita	2340	-	WIM	Umudova Nargiz	2210	1 - 0
Bo.	13	Netherlands	Rtg	-	22	England	Rtg	3 : 1
9.1	GM	Peng Zhaoqin	2379	-	IM	Houska Jovanka	2415	1 - 0
9.2	IM	Lanchava Tea	2320	-	WFM	Yurenok Maria S	2106	1 - 0
9.3	WIM	Bensdorp Marlies	2242	-	WFM	Bhatia Kanwal K	2087	1 - 0
9.4	WIM	Haast Anne	2268	-	WFM	Hegarty Sarah N	2060	0 - 1
Bo.	27	Turkey	Rtg	-	19	Croatia	Rtg	1½:2½
10.1	WIM	Yildiz Betul Cemre	2301	-	WGM	Golubenko Valentina	2293	1 - 0
10.2	WIM	Ozturk Kubra	2239	-	WIM	Franciskovic Borka	2280	½ - ½
10.3		Cemhan Kardelen	1881	-	WGM	Medic Mirjana	2236	0 - 1
10.4		Menzi Nezihe Ezgi	1911	-	WIM	Jelica Mara	2234	0 - 1
Bo.	10	Spain	Rtg	-	26	Lithuania	Rtg	3½: ½
11.1	IM	Alexandrova Olga	2423	-	WGM	Daulyte Deimante	2238	1 - 0
11.2	WGM	Vega Gutierrez Sabrina	2327	-	WIM	Zaksaite Salomeja	2200	½ - ½
11.3	WGM	Calzetta Ruiz Monica	2301	-		Batkovskyte Dominyka	2102	1 - 0
11.4	WIM	Hernandez Estevez Yudania	2284	-		Vanagaite Giedre	1958	1 - 0
Bo.	16	Greece	Rtg	-	20	Latvia	Rtg	2½:1½
12.1	IM	Dembo Yelena	2468	-	WGM	Reizniece-Ozola Dana	2281	½ - ½
12.2	WGM	Botsari Anna-Maria	2313	-	WGM	Berzina Ilze	2320	1 - 0
12.3	WIM	Fakhiridou Ekaterini	2180	-	WIM	Skinke Katrina	2227	½ - ½
12.4	WIM	Pavlidou Ekaterini	2176	-	WGM	Erneste Inguna	2218	½ - ½
Bo.	23	Italy	Rtg	-	24	Montenegro	Rtg	2½:1½
13.1	IM	Sedina Elena	2343	-	WGM	Vojinovic Jovana	2346	½ - ½
13.2	IM	Zimina Olga	2338	-	WFM	Milovic Aleksandra	2171	1 - 0
13.3	WIM	Brunello Marina	2221	-	WFM	Stojanovic Marija R	2095	½ - ½
13.4		Panella Fiammetta	2014	-		Blagojevic Tijana	1925	½ - ½
Bo.	28	Norway	Rtg	-	25	Switzerland	Rtg	1½:2½
14.1	WFM	Johnsen Sylvia	2028	-	WIM	Seps Monika	2198	0 - 1
14.2		Reppen Ellisiv	1949	-	WIM	Heinatz Dr Gundula	2205	0 - 1
14.3		Carlsen Ellen Oen	1931	-		De Seroux Camille	2056	½ - ½
14.4		Hansen Erle Andrea Marki	1762	-		Stoeri Laura	1939	1 - 0

I skipped a couple days - c'est la vie.  You can find full results for the European Women's Team Chess Championship at chess-results.com.