FIDE Women's World Cup 2021 Final 1: Kosteniuk swindles Goryachkina

by Shahid Ahmed - 02/08/2021

The battle of Carlsen-Duda and Fedoseev-Karjakin in the Semifinals of FIDE World Cup 2021 ended in draws. It was not a quick or quiet draw. All four players cautiously tested their opponent, but they all were very careful to make a mistake and cause a decisive result. After making a recovery from a completely lost position, Kosteniuk won the first game in the Finals of FIDE Women's Open Cup against Goryachkina. The former women's world champion is just a draw away from winning the first FIDE Women's World Cup. The second game of the Semifinals, Women's Finals and 3rd-4th place match will start today at 5:30 p.m. IST. Photo: Anastasiia Korolkova/FIDE

A peaceful start to the Semifinals

Aleksandra Goryachkina was on the verge of a victory. Unfortunately for her, she loosened her grip and her opponent Alexandra Kosteniuk completely turned things around and won the game. Even in the final moments, Goryachkina had an opportunity to save the game, but she missed that too.

Kosteniuk is a step closer to winning the first FIDE Women's World Cup | Photo: Eric Rosen/FIDE

FIDE World Cup 2021 and FIDE Women's World Cup 2021 Official logo | Photo: Official site

Goryachkina - Kosteniuk: 0-1

Goryachkina got a decisive advantage against Kosteniuk and was on the verge of a victory.

Position after 35...h6

Find out the correct continuation for White. The game continued 36.Nf7+ Kg8 37.Qd5 c3 and White's advantage evaporated.

Position after 52...Ke5

White has one last attempt left to go for a draw. It is quite natural that after missing out on a win from a promising position, White was too devastated to find a way out for a draw in the above position. Thus, she missed again.

Interview with Alexandra Kosteniuk | Video: FIDE

Goryachkina missed a golden opportunity | Photo: Eric Rosen/FIDE

Zhongyi - Anna Muzychuk: 0.5-0.5

Zhongyi Tan and Anna Muzychuk had a rather calm draw. In 2017, they faced each other in a 64-player knockout tournament which was won by Zhongyi and she became women's world champion.

The last time Anna beat Zhongyi was in 2017 | Photo: Anastasiia Korolkova/FIDE

Carlsen - Duda: 0.5-0.5

Both Carlsen and Duda were feeling each other out in the first game. Neither of them took any unnecessary risks for obvious reasons.

Position after 15...Rb8

16.d5 may look tempting, but after 16...Bf6 17.dxe6 Qe7 Black is doing fine no matter what White chooses to play. If the world champion did not bother playing 16.d5, you can be rest assured it was not worth a try. The game eventually ended in a draw in rook and few pawns endgame.

The calm before the storm | Photo: Anastasiia Korolkova/FIDE

Fedoseev - Karjakin: 1.5-0.5

The first game between Fedoseev and Karjakin ended in a draw.

Interview with Vladimir Fedoseev | Video: FIDE

Karjakin has a tough challenge in the form of his compatriot Fedoseev | Photo: Anastasiia Korolkova/FIDE

Photo Gallery

Carlsen is determined to win the World Cup | Photo: Anastasiia Korolkova/FIDE

Anna needs to avenge her Women's World Championship 2017 loss in the Finals | Photo: Eric Rosen/FIDE

Kosteniuk is very close to winning the first FIDE Women's World Cup | Photo: Eric Rosen/FIDE

And then there were eight... | Photo: Eric Rosen/FIDE

Even the world champion brings a sling bag to the World Cup Semifinals | Photo: Eric Rosen/FIDE

Polina Lion, Chief Sustainability Officer of Rosatom, makes the inaugural first move at the FIDE Women's World Cup Finals| Photo: Anastasiia Korolkova/FIDE

There are some things you can envision better with your eyes closed | Photo: Anastasiia Korolkova/FIDE

The stage for the big match | Photo: Eric Rosen/FIDE

Will Duda spoil Carlsen's fantastic run for the second consecutive year? | Photo: Anastasiia Korolkova/FIDE

Who will deliver the knockout blow? | Photo: Anastasiia Korolkova/FIDE

FIDE World Cup 2021 Semifinal Game 1 Live commentary by GM Nigel Short and IM Almira Skripchenko | Video: FIDE

Replay Final 1 Women games

Replay Semifinal 1 Open games

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