Tan can’t be stopped
Spherical eight as soon as once more produced three decisive video games. Solely the all-Indian encounter between Divya Deshmukh and Humpy Koneru and the sport between 2017 World Championship runner-up Anna Muzychuk and 2008 world champion Alexandra Kosteniuk resulted in attracts. Each video games remained balanced all through. After beginning with 0/4, Kosteniuk has now drawn 4 video games in a row, whereas Muzychuk has drawn each sport to this point.
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Anna Muzychuk is on fifty p.c with eight attracts in eight rounds! | Photograph: Lennart Ootes
Spherical 8 outcomes
With 5 wins and three attracts, Tan Zhongyi already seems just like the possible winner of this 12 months’s Cairns Cup after eight rounds. Nonetheless, she will be able to nonetheless be caught by the spectacular Alice Lee. After a considerably lucky win over Divya Deshmukh in spherical seven, Tan convincingly defeated Bibisara Assaubayeva, who, like Lee, had been trailing her by one level. Within the King’s Indian Defence, the chaser was unable to generate lasting counterplay with the black items. Tan performed the assault with nice precision.
These days, the listing of necessities for a gap repertoire is lengthy: being sound and sustainable; not requiring a lot memorisation; providing nice attacking probabilities; making your opponent suppose early on and so on… The time of discovering a minimal benefit from the opening has handed, and we’re higher off with a extra sensible strategy – merely understanding the place higher than our opponent does. The Repertoire for White 1.d4 … 2.Bg5! from IM Robert Ris solutions all these necessities!
Free video pattern: Introduction
Free video pattern: 1.d4 Nf6 2.Bg5 e6 3.e4 Be7/d5/c5
Bibisara Assaubayeva (proper) was unable to cease Tan Zhongyi | Photograph: Lennart Ootes
Alice Lee nonetheless with probabilities
Alice Lee continues to have a wonderful event. Though she was unable to transform a place during which she had been clearly higher for a very long time towards Anna Muzychuk in spherical seven, she convincingly defeated Vaishali Rameshbabu with black in spherical eight. It was the 16-year-old’s fourth win of the event towards an opponent with the GM title.
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Alice Lee has been one of many standout gamers on the Cairns Cup | Photograph: Lennart Ootes
Vaishali dealt with the Italian Opening higher than her rival and obtained the extra beneficial place. Nonetheless, her inaccurate strikes on 19 and 20, in addition to a number of different suboptimal selections, allowed Lee to grab the initiative. After Lee performed 29…Nxe4, although, the place was equal. Two strikes later, Vaishali made a decisive mistake.
Lee shortly and convincingly transformed the place after 31.Kg1. She exchanged queens and performed patiently and precisely along with her further pawn.
With this victory, Lee isn’t solely the one chaser who can nonetheless catch Tan, however she will be able to additionally safe her first grandmaster norm with a draw as white towards defending champion Carissa Yip. How a lot she’s going to play for a draw or regulate her theoretical possibilities of successful the event stays to be seen within the closing spherical. Maybe the present instance of Vincent Keymer towards Javokhir Sindarov within the parallel Sinquefield Cup can function a reminder that taking part in for a draw would possibly change into the flawed plan.
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Will Carissa Yip – pictured right here throughout her sport towards Stavroula Tsolakidou – spoil compatriot Alice Lee’s GM norm probabilities in spherical 9? | Photograph: Lennart Ootes
Carissa Yip has additionally had a really robust event. She misplaced her opening sport towards Tan however has remained unbeaten since. In spherical eight, she handed Stavroula Tsolakidou her second consecutive defeat. The Greek IM had been unbeaten by means of spherical six, however has now misplaced some floor on the leaders.
