Chengdu GP: Harika wins the Grand Prix, Humpy second

by Priyadarshan Banjan - 15/07/2016

The Chengdu Grand Prix was hosted by China from 1-14th July 2016. Harika and Humpy left the remaining field a whole point behind, both of them scoring 7.0/11. While Harika hit and ducked to perfection, winning three and not losing a single round, Humpy lost two but won five games. The tie-break favoured Harika and she took first place while Humpy settled for the second spot. An illustrated report with interview.

Chengdu GP: Harika wins the Grand Prix, Humpy second

The Chengdu Grand Prix was hosted by China from 1-14th July 2016. The organizer of the tournament was the Chinese Chess Association, in partnership with the International Chess Federation (FIDE). This was the fourth stage of the 2015-16 FIDE grand Prix cycle.

In a range of stars, two Indians were in the fray, and not surprisingly, both of them have always been there for the nation in the Grand Prix cycle for quite some years now.

Harika and Humpy left the remaining field a whole point behind, both of them scoring 7.0/11. While Harika hit and ducked to perfection, winning three and not losing a single round, Humpy lost two but won five games. The tie-break favoured Harika and she took first place while Humpy settled for the second spot.

Round 09: Harika held GM Bela Khotenashvili with the black pieces, maintaining her lead.

Round 09: Anna Muzychuk vs. Koneru Humpy

Humpy was half a point behind Harika at the end of eight rounds. She slipped further in the ninth, losing to Anna Muzychuk of Ukraine with the black pieces.

White's play against the Classical French defence was nothing spectacular but she managed to trade the minor pieces down to knight vs a restricted bishop.

However, with the possibilities of pawn breaks on both wings and with two pairs of rooks on the board, black had an easy game.

Black (Humpy) to play

White should be praised for pushing hard to find the faintest of possibilities that would allow her to play for a win. Muzychuk was rewarded when Humpy decided to trade the rooks and enter a N+3P vs B+2P ending.

[Event "Women's FIDE Grand Prix Series"] [Site "?"] [Date "2016.07.12"] [Round "9"] [White "Muzychuk, Anna"] [Black "Koneru, Humpy"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C11"] [WhiteElo "2545"] [BlackElo "2575"] [PlyCount "175"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [SourceDate "2003.06.08"] [TimeControl "5400+30"] 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. f4 c5 6. Nf3 Nc6 7. Be3 a6 8. Qd2 b5 9. dxc5 Bxc5 10. Bd3 Qb6 11. Bf2 Bb7 12. O-O Bxf2+ 13. Qxf2 Qxf2+ 14. Kxf2 Ke7 15. a3 Rac8 16. Rfe1 Nc5 17. Ne2 Ne4+ 18. Bxe4 dxe4 19. Nfd4 f6 20. Nxc6+ Rxc6 21. Nd4 Rc5 22. exf6+ gxf6 23. c3 f5 24. Ke3 Kf6 25. g3 Rc4 26. Re2 h5 27. Rg1 Rc7 28. Reg2 Bd5 29. Ra1 Rb8 30. Rag1 a5 31. h3 Rh7 32. Rc1 a4 33. Rcg1 Bc4 34. Nc6 Rg8 35. Ne5 Bd5 36. g4 hxg4 37. hxg4 Rh3+ 38. Rg3 Rgh8 39. Kd4 Rxg3 40. Rxg3 Rh2 41. gxf5 Kxf5 42. Ke3 Rh1 43. Rg5+ Kf6 44. Ng4+ Kf7 45. Kd4 Rd1+ 46. Ke5 Bc6 47. f5 exf5 48. Nh6+ Ke8 49. Nxf5 Bd7 50. Nd6+ Kd8 51. Nxe4 Bc6 52. Nd6 Rd5+ 53. Ke6 Rxg5 $2 (53... Rd2 $1 54. Nf5 Bd7+ (54... Rxb2 55. Kd6 Be8 56. Nd4 Rd2 57. Rg7 $16) 55. Kf6 Bxf5 56. Rxf5 Rxb2 $11) 54. Nf7+ Kc7 55. Nxg5 Bg2 56. Ke5 Kc6 57. Kd4 Bd5 58. Nh3 Bb3 59. Nf4 Bf7 60. Nd3 Kd6 61. Ne5 Be6 62. Nf3 Bd5 63. Nd2 Ba2 64. Ne4+ Kc6 65. Nc5 Bg8 66. c4 Bf7 67. Nd3 Be6 68. c5 Bb3 69. Ne5+ Kb7 70. Kc3 Bd5 71. Kb4 Bc6 72. Nf7 Ka6 73. Nd8 Bd5 74. Kc3 Ka5 75. Kd4 Bg2 76. Ke5 b4 77. c6 bxa3 78. bxa3 Kb6 79. Kd6 Bf3 80. c7 Bg4 81. Nc6 Kb5 82. Nd4+ Kb6 83. Nc6 Kb5 84. Nd4+ Kb6 85. Ne2 Bh3 86. Nc3 Ka5 87. Kc6 Bc8 88. Ne4 1-0

Round 10: Harika settled for another draw with the black pieces, this time against Zhao Xue.

Round 10:Mariya Muzychuk vs. Koneru Humpy

Mariya wanted to try something novel against the Modern but Koneru easily achieved equality. Mistakes followed from the white side and Humpy won the game without much ado.

[Event "Women's FIDE Grand Prix Series"] [Site "?"] [Date "2016.07.13"] [Round "10"] [White "Muzychuk, Mariya"] [Black "Koneru, Humpy"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B07"] [WhiteElo "2545"] [BlackElo "2575"] [PlyCount "74"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [SourceDate "2003.06.08"] [TimeControl "5400+30"] [WhiteClock "0:00:01"] [BlackClock "0:00:05"] 1. e4 {5340} d6 {5340} 2. d4 {31} Nf6 {29} 3. Nc3 {31} c6 {30} 4. Nf3 {31} g6 { 30} 5. e5 {35} dxe5 {35} 6. Nxe5 {30} Bg7 {30} 7. Bc4 {30} O-O {30} 8. O-O {30} Nbd7 {34} 9. Bf4 {33} Nh5 {37} 10. Nxd7 {37} Bxd7 {38} 11. Be5 {34} Bxe5 {39} 12. dxe5 {30} Bf5 {30} 13. Qe2 {31} Ng7 {43} 14. Rad1 {34} Qb6 {31} 15. Bb3 {31 } Rad8 {31} 16. h3 {37} Be6 {34} 17. Na4 {43} Qa5 {33} 18. Qe3 {30} Bxb3 {32} 19. axb3 {30} Ne6 {29} 20. Kh2 {32} Rd5 {37} 21. Rxd5 {30} cxd5 {33} 22. f4 {46 } d4 {36} 23. Qg3 {32} Kh8 {35} 24. c3 {36} Qa6 {32} 25. c4 {31} b5 {30} 26. f5 {33} bxa4 {36} 27. fxe6 {30} Qxe6 {30} 28. bxa4 {32} Qxc4 {29} 29. Rf4 {29} Rd8 {31} 30. Qf2 {35} Kg8 {31} 31. g3 {33} Qd5 {31} 32. e6 {30} fxe6 {31} 33. Rf7 { 31} d3 {30} 34. Rxe7 {30} Rf8 {30} 35. Qxa7 {32} Qe5 {29} 36. h4 {30} Qe2+ {30} 37. Kh3 {29} Qf1+ {30} 0-1

Round 11: Humpy was taking on Antoaneta Stefanova, who shared the second spot with her.

Humpy played masterfully to beat the former world champion tying for the second place with 7.0/11.

[Event "Women's FIDE Grand Prix Series"] [Site "?"] [Date "2016.07.14"] [Round "11"] [White "Koneru, Humpy"] [Black "Stefanova, Antoaneta"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D45"] [WhiteElo "2575"] [BlackElo "2512"] [PlyCount "129"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [SourceDate "2003.06.08"] [TimeControl "5400+30"] [WhiteClock "0:00:02"] [BlackClock "0:00:02"] 1. d4 {5340} d5 {5340} 2. c4 {29} c6 {29} 3. Nc3 {30} Nf6 {33} 4. e3 {30} e6 { 34} 5. Nf3 {30} a6 {30} 6. c5 {30} b6 {40} 7. cxb6 {30} Qxb6 {30} 8. Bd3 {33} a5 {30} 9. Na4 {31} Qa7 {38} 10. O-O {31} Nbd7 {33} 11. b3 {36} Ba6 {36} 12. Bxa6 {38} Qxa6 {29} 13. Qc2 {36} Bd6 {41} 14. Bb2 {31} O-O {30} 15. Ne5 {33} Rfc8 {32} 16. Nd3 {33} Qa7 {33} 17. Rfc1 {42} Qb8 {42} 18. h3 {31} Ne4 {34} 19. Qd1 {39} Ra7 {41} 20. Rc2 {39} Rac7 {30} 21. Rac1 {32} Qa7 {30} 22. Qe1 {35} f5 {32} 23. f3 {32} Bg3 {36} 24. Qe2 {31} Nd6 {30} 25. Ndc5 {33} Nxc5 {30} 26. Nxc5 {30} Re7 {30} 27. Nd3 {35} Rec7 {32} 28. Ba3 {31} Nb7 {30} 29. Bc5 {32} Qa6 {32} 30. Qd1 {33} Re8 {30} 31. f4 {32} Bh4 {30} 32. a4 {31} Bf6 {30} 33. Ba3 {29} Nd8 {31} 34. Bd6 {31} Rc8 {29} 35. Qd2 {30} Nf7 {31} 36. Ba3 {30} Rc7 {31} 37. Kh2 {30} Qb6 {30} 38. Rc3 {30} Rec8 {30} 39. Qc2 {30} Nd8 {30} 40. Bc5 {1} Qa6 {1} 41. Bd6 {35} Ra7 {31} 42. Nc5 {40} Qb6 {30} 43. Nxe6 {30} Nxe6 {33} 44. Qxf5 {31} Re8 {46} 45. Rxc6 {30} Qxb3 {30} 46. R1c3 {34} Qb7 {37} 47. Qxd5 {31} Qf7 {30} 48. Rc8 {33} Nd8 {30} 49. Qb5 {34} Bh4 {33} 50. Be5 {31} Qg6 {31} 51. f5 {30} Qf7 {29} 52. R3c7 {31} Rxc7 {30} 53. Rxc7 {29} Be7 {31} 54. e4 {30} Qf8 {30} 55. Rc8 {30} Bd6 {30} 56. Qd5+ {30} Nf7 {30} 57. Rxe8 {30} Qxe8 {29} 58. Bxd6 {30} h5 {31} 59. e5 {30} Qxa4 {30} 60. e6 {30} Nxd6 {29} 61. e7+ {30} Nf7 {31} 62. Qa8+ {29} Kh7 {29} 63. e8=Q {30} Qxd4 {30} 64. Qg8+ {31} Kh6 {30} 65. Qc6+ {29} 1-0

Round 11: Harika won a pawn in the endgame, but it was already an opposite coloured bishop position.

[Event "Women's FIDE Grand Prix Series"] [Site "?"] [Date "2016.07.14"] [Round "11"] [White "Harika, Dronavalli"] [Black "Girya, Olga"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D45"] [WhiteElo "2526"] [BlackElo "2444"] [PlyCount "123"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [SourceDate "2003.06.08"] [TimeControl "5400+30"] [WhiteClock "0:00:21"] [BlackClock "0:00:03"] 1. c4 {5340} c6 {5340} 2. Nf3 {29} d5 {29} 3. e3 {30} Nf6 {30} 4. Nc3 {29} e6 { 29} 5. d4 {30} Nbd7 {30} 6. Qc2 {30} Bd6 {30} 7. b3 {30} O-O {30} 8. Be2 {30} b6 {30} 9. O-O {30} Bb7 {30} 10. e4 {30} dxe4 {31} 11. Nxe4 {30} Nxe4 {34} 12. Qxe4 {29} Nf6 {30} 13. Qh4 {30} c5 {30} 14. dxc5 {30} Bxc5 {31} 15. Bb2 {30} Bxf3 {44} 16. Bxf3 {34} Rc8 {30} 17. Rad1 {33} Qe7 {29} 18. Bxf6 {32} gxf6 {35} 19. Rd3 {34} Rcd8 {39} 20. Rfd1 {50} f5 {32} 21. Qxe7 {31} Bxe7 {29} 22. Rd7 { 30} Rxd7 {31} 23. Rxd7 {29} Bc5 {30} 24. Rxa7 {32} Rd8 {30} 25. Ra8 {31} Rxa8 { 29} 26. Bxa8 {30} Kg7 {33} 27. Kf1 {32} Kf6 {30} 28. Bc6 {30} Ke5 {44} 29. Be8 {31} f6 {47} 30. Bd7 {30} Kd6 {32} 31. Bc8 {29} Ke5 {30} 32. Ke2 {30} h6 {36} 33. f3 {33} Ba3 {41} 34. Kd3 {30} Bb4 {30} 35. Kc2 {34} f4 {33} 36. Kb2 {31} Kd6 {30} 37. a3 {30} Bc5 {30} 38. b4 {30} Bg1 {30} 39. h3 {30} Be3 {31} 40. Kc2 {2} Ke5 {1} 41. a4 {36} Kd6 {37} 42. Kd3 {30} Bf2 {36} 43. Ke2 {32} Bg1 {30} 44. Ba6 {35} h5 {33} 45. Bb5 {31} h4 {31} 46. Be8 {31} f5 {32} 47. Bf7 {36} Bd4 {30} 48. Kd3 {30} Bf2 {30} 49. Kd2 {31} Be3+ {31} 50. Kc2 {30} Bf2 {29} 51. Kb3 {30} Be1 {33} 52. Bg8 {34} Bd2 {30} 53. Bf7 {32} Be1 {29} 54. Be8 {31} Ke7 {31} 55. Bb5 {33} Kd6 {30} 56. Ba6 {31} Bd2 {30} 57. Bc8 {30} Be1 {30} 58. Bb7 {33} Bd2 {30} 59. Ba8 {31} Be1 {36} 60. Bb7 {37} Bd2 {30} 61. Ba6 {39} Be1 {30} 62. Bb7 {31} 1/2-1/2

This was the first FIDE Grand Prix win for Dronavalli Harika and gained her 145 points in the overall standings.

Post-tourney interview by Goran Urosevic:

Final Ranking:

Rank	SNo.		Name	Rtg	FED	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Pts	Res.	Vict	SB	Koya
1	8	GM	Harika Dronavalli	2526	IND	*	1	½	½	½	½	½	½	1	½	1	½	7	1	3	37.50	4
2	11	GM	Koneru Humpy	2575	IND	0	*	½	1	0	½	1	1	½	1	1	½	7	0	5	36.00	4
3	7	GM	Ju Wenjun	2578	CHN	½	½	*	½	1	½	0	½	½	½	½	1	6	1½	2	32.00	3½
4	1	GM	Stefanova Antoaneta	2512	BUL	½	0	½	*	½	½	1	½	1	½	½	½	6	1	2	31.75	3½
5	10	GM	Muzychuk Anna	2545	UKR	½	1	0	½	*	1	½	½	½	½	½	½	6	½	2	33.25	4
6	2	GM	Khotenashvili Bela	2454	GEO	½	½	½	½	0	*	½	1	½	0	½	1	5½	1½	2	29.25	3½
7	3	GM	Zhao Xue	2510	CHN	½	0	1	0	½	½	*	½	½	½	½	1	5½	1	2	28.50	3
8	12	GM	Muzychuk Mariya	2545	UKR	½	0	½	½	½	0	½	*	½	½	1	1	5½	½	2	27.75	2½
9	6	IM	Javakhishvili Lela	2487	GEO	0	½	½	0	½	½	½	½	*	1	½	½	5	1	1	26.50	3
10	4	WGM	Girya Olga	2444	RUS	½	0	½	½	½	1	½	½	0	*	½	½	5	0	1	27.25	4
11	5	WGM	Tan Zhongyi	2495	CHN	0	0	½	½	½	½	½	0	½	½	*	½	4	0	0	21.25	2½
12	9	GM	Cramling Pia	2463	SWE	½	½	0	½	½	0	0	0	½	½	½	*	3½	0	0	20.00	2

Ju Wenjun took the third position. Though Humpy finished second, she gained 145 points from this performance, taking her atop the overall Grand Prix standings.

Overall FIDE GP Standings:

Games in PGN

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