IM Polina Shuvalova and GM Kateryna Lagno scored essential wins within the 1+1 bullet segments to stage a comeback and win their respective matches to advance to the Quarterfinals of the 2024 Julius Baer Girls’s Velocity Chess Championship.
Shuvalova recovered from a 1-3 deficit at the beginning of the match, and once more from a 4-5 deficit after the primary recreation of the 1+1 bullet phase to defeat GM Tan Zhongyi within the thrilling first Spherical of 16 match of the day. Tan missed many promising positions towards the top of the match, dropping the essential tenth and eleventh video games and thus serving to Shuvalova to win with the ultimate rating of 7-6.
Lagno’s victory was much more dramatic, as she scored 4 wins in a row within the remaining stretch of the 1+1 bullet phase to prevail with a rating of 8.5-6.5. She gave the impression to be watching defeat trailing WIM Alua Nurman at 4.5-6.5 after the top of the primary recreation of the bullet phase when wins in all of the remaining 4 video games sealed the match in her favor.
The following Spherical of 16 match GM Hou Yifan vs. IM Anastasia Bodnaruk takes place on Monday, August 26 at 7.00 a.m. ET / 13.00 CEST / 4.30 p.m. IST.
Julius Baer Girls’s Velocity Chess Championship Bracket
On the very starting of the primary match, commentator GM Judit Polgar identified the significance of a particular sort of psychological preparation for such on-line matches, with completely different time controls woven right into a single episode, and every recreation began by the system instantly after the top of the earlier recreation. Not like an over-the-board match, this does not give a participant any time for restoration.
“How do you take care of [a] loss? How do you take care of your errors [and blunders]? As a result of, it’s important to transfer on, proper? …It’s a must to go to the following recreation. It is a very severe distinction from participant to participant. It will outline how good they are often,” predicted Polgar. In each the matches of the day, her prophecy grew to become a signpost, as each Shuvalova and Lagno needed to struggle exhausting to bury their instant reminiscences and to beat their mishaps within the earlier video games.
Tan Zhongyi 6-7 Polina Shuvalova
Despite the fact that Tan gave the impression to be the extra formidable of the opponents, commentator GM Benjamin Bok identified Shuvalova’s higher expertise in such on-line occasions to be an X-factor, thus predicting an evenly contested match.
Blitz 5+1: Tan 3-1 Shuvalova
Despite the fact that she misplaced the primary recreation as a consequence of a blunder within the remaining seconds, Tan appeared to show her credentials as a former ladies’s world champion and a former ladies’s world fast champion, when she gained an extra three video games in a row to seize the lead at 3-1.
Tan gained the second and fourth video games by grinding out lengthy endgames, whereas she was gifted with a chunk within the third recreation with a curious oversight.
White has a small benefit, which Black can attempt to struggle out with a transfer like 22…Qf6. As a substitute, she performed 22…Ba8?? when she was compelled to surrender a chunk after 23.a5.
Blitz 3+1: Tan 1.5-2.5 Shuvalova
This was essentially the most well-fought phase, when Shuvalova confirmed her resilience to flee from troublesome positions, though Tan confirmed her energy in dynamic positions to construct superior positions in virtually each recreation. After a loss within the sixth recreation as a consequence of a blunder in an equal endgame, Tan scored a fluent win within the seventh recreation.
Thus, Shuvalova was trailing within the match at a rating of two.5-4.5 factors at this level, and she or he was watching defeat within the subsequent recreation too.
Thus, on the finish of the phase, Shuvalova was trailing at 3.5-4.5.
Bullet 1+1: Tan 1.5-3.5 Shuvalova
The tenth-round encounter was essentially the most essential recreation for Shuvalova, as Tan blundered after build up an enormous benefit proper from the opening.
Thus, the scores received degree at this level at 5-5, and Shuvalova scored a well-deserved win within the eleventh recreation, and staved off Tan’s makes an attempt within the final two video games, to earn a well-fought win within the match.
Kateryna Lagno 8.5-6.5 Alua Nurman
Lagno is a former ladies’s world fast champion and thrice ladies’s world blitz champion, although it was a query as to how she would carry out in a web-based format with progressively faster time controls. One other was the age issue, with Nurman at 17 years, being simply half her age.
Lagno additionally revealed after the match that she is presently collaborating within the Russian Staff Championship, and this was a relaxation day for the match.
Comparatively, this was a way more fascinating match when it got here to the sharpness of video games. Each Lagno and Nurman didn’t shrink back from ways, making the match thrilling although error-prone.
Blitz 5+1: Lagno 2-3 Nurman
Lagno gained the primary recreation, seemingly proving her status as a blitz specialist.
Nevertheless, Nurman exploited Lagno’s tactical errors within the second and fourth video games to seize the lead on the finish of the phase.
Blitz 3+1: Lagno 2.5-2.5 Nurman
This was essentially the most thrilling a part of the match, with each combatants buying and selling wins and lacking a pair every. Nurman performed top-of-the-line video games of your complete match when she scored a convincing win from an equal-looking place within the tenth recreation.
After this win, Nurman had the lead within the match with a rating of 5.5-4.5.
Bullet 1+1: Lagno 4-1 Nurman
Lagno began the phase by dropping the very first recreation, by way of a blunder in a sophisticated middlegame, thus permitting Nurman to stretch her result in two factors.
White had blundered together with his earlier transfer, and Black got here up with the easy 23…Nxe5! successful a pawn and went on to win the sport. At this level, Nurman’s lead was a wholesome 6.5-4.5, and the match seemed going her means.
Nevertheless, Lagno recovered an instantaneous comeback, successful the following recreation with black items conducting an environment friendly kingside assault. Within the essential thirteenth recreation, Nurman blundered a chunk on the twenty third transfer in an in any other case degree place, thus permitting Lagno to tie the general match rating at 6.5-6.5.
Black’s earlier transfer was a blunder, permitting White to win a complete piece with 24.b4, because the knight on c5 is trapped.
Thus, with nearly seven minutes remaining for the conclusion of the match with a 1+1 time management, one other nail-biting finale was on the playing cards.
This outstanding turnaround gave Lagno the lead within the match for the primary time with 7.5-6.5, and she or he gained the following recreation too convincingly to win a dramatic match.
The Julius Baer Girls’s Velocity Chess Championship is a Chess.com occasion the place among the strongest feminine chess gamers on this planet battle for a $75,000 prize fund. The principle occasion sees 16 gamers compete in a single-elimination bracket in matches performed at 5+1, 3+1, and 1+1 time controls. 4 locations go to the winners of 4 Play-ins held on August 12-16 and open to all feminine titled gamers. In every Play-in the highest 4 gamers in a Swiss qualify to compete in a knockout.
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