Chess: Yifan, Wenjun in joint lead of Women’s Grand Prix

Sharjah: Women’s world champion Hou Yifan of China and compatriot grandmaster (GM) Ju Wenjun both won their seventh round games to maintain joint lead with six points each at the halfway mark of the World Chess Federation (Fide) Women’s Grand Prix at Sharjah Chess Club on Monday.

Hou outplayed former women’s world champion Zhu Chen, also of China, who used the Berlin Defence in a Ruy Lopez game. Hou gave the exchange of Rook for Knight on the 49th move to create connected passed pawns. She centralised the King and weaved a mating net on the back rank with Rook and Knight. Zhu Chen could not stop pawn promotion and resigned on the 68th move.

Ju Wenjun used the Sicilian Defence and needed only 28 moves to beat Nafisa Muminova of Uzbekistan. Ju pushed her centre pawn deep in the opening to hamper Muminova’s development of her Queenside pieces. Muminova got her Rook trapped and was forced to give it up for a Knight on the 26th move and resigned two moves later in the face of mating threats.

In the other decisive game, Koneru Humpy of India used the Queen’s Gambit Declined against Tatiana Kosintseva of Russia and in the ensuing Rook and pawn endgame penetrated with her King. She escorted her passed pawns to threaten promotion and force resignation on the 60th move.

Tuvshintugs Batchimeg of Mongolia follows with four-and-a-half points after a draw with Zhao Xue of China. The Mongolian gained a slight advantage against the Queen’s Indian Defence of the Chinese GM but the game transposed to an equal Rook and pawn endgame and they agreed to halve the point in 40 moves.

Former women’s world champion Anna Ushenina of Ukraine and Harika Dronavalli of India are tied at 4 points each after they drew with each other by repetition of position in 42 moves of a Queen’s Gambit Declined.

Zhao Xue, Kosintseva and Elina Daniela of Armenia are tied at three-and-a-half points each. Danielan used the Nimzo Indian defence against cellar dweller Alina L’Ami of Romania and drew by stalemate in a amarathon 80 moves. Koneru follows with 3 points to lag behind in the tournament but she is a shoo-in to qualify from the Grand Prix.

In the Women’s Grand Prix, each player plays in four of the six Grand Prix tournaments, but only the best three results count. The player accumulating the highest number of points will get the right to Challenge the Women’s World Champion in a match next year. If the women’s world champion, Hou Yifan, wins both events, the second placed in the Grand Prix circuit, currently Koneru Humpy, will become the Challenger.