The Women's World Chess Championship was held from 16 March to 7 April 2015 in Sochi, Russia. It was a 64-player knockout tournament. It was originally scheduled from 11 to 31 October 2014 but problems in finding a sponsor and host city eventually forced international chess organisation FIDE to announce the postponement of the Championship on 24 September 2014,[1] scheduling it for early 2015 in Sochi.[2] The unclear state of the tournament was highly criticised by the Association of Chess Professionals (ACP).[3]
The players were selected through national chess championships, zonal tournaments and continental chess championships. 51 players from women's continental and zonal qualifiers:[4] Europe 28,[5] Asia 12, Americas 8 and Africa 3.
The qualified players were announced on 22 January 2015, subject to signing the contract.[6]
Three former world champions were in the field: Alexandra Kosteniuk seeded 5th, Antoaneta Stefanova 9th and Anna Ushenina 15th. Notably, women's world number one and defending champion Hou Yifan from China opted not to play, because of a prior commitment to a chess tournament in Hawaii.[7][8] Also absent from the world top 10 were Nana Dzagnidze and Kateryna Lagno. (They were replaced by two spots from E13.)
The participating players were seeded by their FIDE rating of March 2015.
Two days per match were followed by possible tie-breaks on the next day if the match was tied. The only rest day was 1 April the day after the semi-finals.
The total prize-money was 450,000 US dollars, the same as in 2010 and 2012.[9]
Round
Matches
Tie-breaks
Prize-money (US$)
First round
17–18 March
19 March
3,750
Second round
20–21 March
22 March
5,500
Third round
23–24 March
25 March
8,000
Quarter-finals
26–27 March
28 March
12,000
Semi-finals
29–30 March
31 March
20,000
Final
2–5 April
6 April
loser 30,000 winner 60,000
Resultsedit
Final matchedit
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
8
8
7
7
6
6
5
5
4
4
3
3
2
2
1
1
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
Position after move 40 in game 4 of the final.[10]
The final was the only match of the tournament which consisted of four classical games (from 2 to 5 April 2015), played on consecutive days with a rest-day between the semi-final tie-breaks and match 1. Eventual tie-breaks, if needed, were scheduled to play on 6 April 2015, in the same manner as the whole tournament: two rapid games (25+10), i.e. 25 minutes for the whole game plus 10 seconds increment, the two rapid games (10+10), two blitz games (5+3) and an armageddon decider.
Pogonina had the white pieces in the first game. Before the final they had met only once, in the 2007 European Individual Chess Championship, which ended in a draw.[11]
In the final game 4, white pieces belonged to Muzychuk, who opened the game with her favorite 1.е4.[12] Pogonina responded with her favorite 1...е5.[12] In the Scotch Four Knights Game she tried to avoid the main variations by putting the bishop to b4 via c5.[12] The idea allowed Black to duck the home preparation of Muzychuk.[12] White, however, achieved a spatial advantage and overall more favorable game after the opening.[12] Later White decided to advance kingside pawns, weakening own king.[12] The Black also had pawn weaknesses and a sharp and dynamically balanced position emerged. On the move 41 Muzychuk carried out a simplifying combination, transposing to an endgame with two strong passed pawns against a knight.[12] Pogonina was left with no winning chances, and the game ended in a draw on the move 56 after the move repetition.[12]
Players were seeded by their March rating. The standard bracket is used, i.e. seed #1 plays #64, #2 plays #63 and so on. The draw of who plays white first is done at the opening ceremony. Pairings published on 3 March.[13]
^. FIDE. 2015-01-22. Archived from the original on 2015-03-20. Retrieved 2015-04-06.
^"Feb 05 - Hou Yifan Won't Defend World Champion Title in 2015". Yourgibraltartv.com. 2015-02-05. Retrieved 2015-04-06.
^"Challenge Hou Yifan, Timur Gareev and Sam Shankland in Hawaii!". Chess.com. 2015-01-25. Retrieved 2015-04-06.
^"Women's World Championship About To Take Off (But Hou Yifan Doesn't Play)". chess24.com. 15 March 2015. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
^"Mariya Muzychuk Wins Women's World Championship". Chess.com. 5 April 2015. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
^"* Chess game search engine". Chessgames.com. Retrieved 2015-04-06.
^ abcdefgh. FIDE. 5 April 2015. Archived from the original on 13 April 2015. Retrieved 7 April 2015.
^. FIDE. 2015-03-03. Archived from the original on 2015-04-06. Retrieved 2015-04-06.
External linksedit
Official website
Regulations, etc
January 01, 1970
women, world, chess, championship, 2015, women, world, chess, championship, held, from, march, april, 2015, sochi, russia, player, knockout, tournament, originally, scheduled, from, october, 2014, problems, finding, sponsor, host, city, eventually, forced, int. The Women s World Chess Championship was held from 16 March to 7 April 2015 in Sochi Russia It was a 64 player knockout tournament It was originally scheduled from 11 to 31 October 2014 but problems in finding a sponsor and host city eventually forced international chess organisation FIDE to announce the postponement of the Championship on 24 September 2014 1 scheduling it for early 2015 in Sochi 2 The unclear state of the tournament was highly criticised by the Association of Chess Professionals ACP 3 Women s World Chess Championship 2015Mariya Muzychuk winner of the 2015 championshipLocationSochi RussiaDates16 March 7 April 2015Competitors64ChampionMariya Muzychuk 20132016 In the final Ukrainian Mariya Muzychuk seeded 8th defeated Russian Natalia Pogonina seeded 31st As a result of this victory Muzychuk was awarded the title of Grandmaster GM qualified for the FIDE World Cup 2015 and earned the right to defend her title in a 2016 match against the winner of the Women s FIDE Grand Prix Series 2013 14 Hou Yifan Contents 1 Participants 1 1 Qualification paths 2 Schedule and prize money 3 Results 3 1 Final match 3 2 Bracket 4 References 5 External linksParticipants edit nbsp Natalia Pogonina finalist of the championship The players were selected through national chess championships zonal tournaments and continental chess championships 51 players from women s continental and zonal qualifiers 4 Europe 28 5 Asia 12 Americas 8 and Africa 3 The qualified players were announced on 22 January 2015 subject to signing the contract 6 Three former world champions were in the field Alexandra Kosteniuk seeded 5th Antoaneta Stefanova 9th and Anna Ushenina 15th Notably women s world number one and defending champion Hou Yifan from China opted not to play because of a prior commitment to a chess tournament in Hawaii 7 8 Also absent from the world top 10 were Nana Dzagnidze and Kateryna Lagno They were replaced by two spots from E13 The participating players were seeded by their FIDE rating of March 2015 nbsp Humpy Koneru India GM 2581 R nbsp Ju Wenjun China GM 2557 WC nbsp Anna Muzychuk Ukraine GM 2552 E12 nbsp Viktorija Cmilyte Lithuania GM 2530 E12 nbsp Alexandra Kosteniuk Russia GM 2529 E12 nbsp Valentina Gunina Russia GM 2528 E12 nbsp Zhao Xue China GM 2527 R nbsp Mariya Muzychuk Ukraine IM 2526 R nbsp Antoaneta Stefanova Bulgaria GM 2522 R nbsp Bela Khotenashvili Georgia GM 2513 E12 nbsp Pia Cramling Sweden GM 2495 E13 nbsp Dronavalli Harika India GM 2492 WC nbsp Elina Danielian Armenia GM 2488 E12 nbsp Tan Zhongyi China WGM 2487 R nbsp Anna Ushenina Ukraine GM 2486 WC nbsp Alisa Galliamova Russia IM 2484 PN nbsp Tatiana Kosintseva Russia GM 2483 E12 nbsp Marie Sebag France GM 2482 E12 nbsp Lela Javakhishvili Georgia IM 2481 E12 nbsp Elisabeth Paehtz Germany IM 2479 R nbsp Irina Krush USA GM 2477 Z2 1 nbsp Hoang Thanh Trang Hungary GM 2475 E12 nbsp Huang Qian China WGM 2473 AS13 nbsp Natalia Zhukova Ukraine GM 2471 PN nbsp Monika Socko Poland GM 2463 E13 nbsp Salome Melia Georgia IM 2459 E12 nbsp Olga Girya Russia WGM 2459 E13 nbsp Shen Yang China IM 2459 Z3 5 nbsp Nino Khurtsidze Georgia IM 2457 E12 nbsp Aleksandra Goryachkina Russia WGM 2456 J13 nbsp Natalia Pogonina Russia WGM 2456 E12 nbsp Lei Tingjie China WGM 2444 Z3 5 nbsp Deysi Cori Peru WGM 2444 Z2 4 nbsp Guo Qi China IM 2443 J12 nbsp Lilit Mkrtchian Armenia IM 2443 E13 nbsp Ekaterina Kovalevskaya Russia IM 2438 E13 nbsp Alina Kashlinskaya Russia IM 2436 E13 nbsp Ekaterina Atalik Turkey IM 2419 E13 nbsp Irine Kharisma Sukandar Indonesia IM 2415 AS12 nbsp Deimante Daulyte Lithuania IM 2395 E13 nbsp Inna Gaponenko Ukraine IM 2384 E13 nbsp Baira Kovanova Russia WGM 2381 E12 nbsp Ketevan Arakhamia Grant Scotland GM 2379 E13 nbsp Sophie Milliet France IM 2377 E13 nbsp Meri Arabidze Georgia IM 2374 E13 nbsp Sopiko Guramishvili Georgia IM 2367 E13 nbsp Wang Jue China WGM 2365 Z3 5 nbsp Mary Ann Gomes India WGM 2354 Z3 7 nbsp Carolina Lujan Argentina IM 2349 Z2 5 nbsp Zhang Xiaowen China WGM 2349 Z3 5 nbsp Guliskhan Nakhbayeva Kazakhstan WGM 2337 Z3 4 nbsp Yaniet Marrero Lopez Cuba WGM 2322 Z2 3 nbsp Tatev Abrahamyan USA WGM 2322 Z2 1 nbsp Mitra Hejazipour Iran WIM 2302 Z3 1 nbsp Kubra Ozturk Turkey WGM 2284 E13 nbsp Yuanling Yuan Canada WIM 2267 Z2 2 nbsp Nguyen Thi Thanh An Vietnam WGM 2261 Z3 3 nbsp Marisa Zuriel Argentina WIM 2219 AM nbsp Camilla Baginskaite USA WGM 2192 Z2 1 nbsp Irina Berezina Australia IM 2182 Z3 6 nbsp Akter Liza Shamima Bangladesh WIM 2130 Z3 2 nbsp Amina Mezioud Algeria WIM 2071 AF nbsp Shrook Wafa Egypt WGM 2058 AF nbsp Ayah Moaataz Egypt WIM 2022 AF Qualification paths edit WC Semi finalists of the Women s World Chess Championship 2012 and runner up of 2013 J12 and J13 World Junior Champions 2012 and 2013 R Rating average of all published ratings from February 2013 to January 2014 was used 5 E12 and E13 European Individual Championships 2012 and 2013 28 AM American Continental Chess Championship 2014 AS12 and AS13 Asian Chess Championships 2012 and 2013 AF African Chess Championship 2013 3 Z2 1 3 Z2 2 Z2 3 Z2 4 Z2 5 Z3 1 Z3 2 Z3 3 Z3 4 Z3 5 4 Z3 6 Z3 7 Zonal tournaments PN FIDE President nominee 2 Schedule and prize money edit nbsp FIDE president Kirsan Ilyumzhinov right awaiting the second round Two days per match were followed by possible tie breaks on the next day if the match was tied The only rest day was 1 April the day after the semi finals The total prize money was 450 000 US dollars the same as in 2010 and 2012 9 Round Matches Tie breaks Prize money US First round 17 18 March 19 March 3 750 Second round 20 21 March 22 March 5 500 Third round 23 24 March 25 March 8 000 Quarter finals 26 27 March 28 March 12 000 Semi finals 29 30 March 31 March 20 000 Final 2 5 April 6 April loser 30 000winner 60 000Results editFinal match edit abcdefgh8 nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp 877665544332211abcdefghPosition after move 40 in game 4 of the final 10 The final was the only match of the tournament which consisted of four classical games from 2 to 5 April 2015 played on consecutive days with a rest day between the semi final tie breaks and match 1 Eventual tie breaks if needed were scheduled to play on 6 April 2015 in the same manner as the whole tournament two rapid games 25 10 i e 25 minutes for the whole game plus 10 seconds increment the two rapid games 10 10 two blitz games 5 3 and an armageddon decider Pogonina had the white pieces in the first game Before the final they had met only once in the 2007 European Individual Chess Championship which ended in a draw 11 In the final game 4 white pieces belonged to Muzychuk who opened the game with her favorite 1 e4 12 Pogonina responded with her favorite 1 e5 12 In the Scotch Four Knights Game she tried to avoid the main variations by putting the bishop to b4 via c5 12 The idea allowed Black to duck the home preparation of Muzychuk 12 White however achieved a spatial advantage and overall more favorable game after the opening 12 Later White decided to advance kingside pawns weakening own king 12 The Black also had pawn weaknesses and a sharp and dynamically balanced position emerged On the move 41 Muzychuk carried out a simplifying combination transposing to an endgame with two strong passed pawns against a knight 12 Pogonina was left with no winning chances and the game ended in a draw on the move 56 after the move repetition 12 Women s World Chess Championship Final 2015 Rating 1 2 3 4 Total nbsp Mariya Muzychuk Ukraine 2526 1 2 nbsp Natalia Pogonina Russia 2456 0 1 Bracket edit Players were seeded by their March rating The standard bracket is used i e seed 1 plays 64 2 plays 63 and so on The draw of who plays white first is done at the opening ceremony Pairings published on 3 March 13 Round of 64Round of 32Round of 16Quarter finalsSemi finalsFinal nbsp Humpy Koneru 1 2 nbsp Ayah Moaataz 64 0 nbsp Humpy Koneru 1 2 nbsp Lei Tingjie 32 0 nbsp Lei Tingjie 32 2 nbsp Deysi Cori 33 0 nbsp Humpy Koneru 1 2 nbsp Alisa Galliamova 16 0 nbsp Alisa Galliamova 16 3 nbsp Carolina Lujan 49 2 nbsp Alisa Galliamova 16 1 nbsp Tatiana Kosintseva 17 0 nbsp Tatiana Kosintseva 17 5 nbsp Mary Ann Gomes 48 4 nbsp Humpy Koneru 1 1 nbsp Mariya Muzychuk 8 2 nbsp Mariya Muzychuk 8 2 nbsp Yuanling Yuan 56 1 nbsp Mariya Muzychuk 8 3 nbsp Monika Socko 25 1 nbsp Monika Socko 25 4 nbsp Deimante Daulyte 40 2 nbsp Mariya Muzychuk 8 1 nbsp Antoaneta Stefanova 9 0 nbsp Antoaneta Stefanova 9 1 nbsp Nguyen Thi Thanh An 57 0 nbsp Antoaneta Stefanova 9 2 nbsp Inna Gaponenko 41 1 nbsp Natalia Zhukova 24 0 nbsp Inna Gaponenko 41 1 nbsp Mariya Muzychuk 8 3 nbsp Dronavalli Harika 12 2 nbsp Viktorija Cmilyte 4 2 nbsp Akter Liza Shamima 61 0 nbsp Viktorija Cmilyte 4 1 nbsp Ekaterina Kovalevskaya 36 0 nbsp Nino Khurtsidze 29 0 nbsp Ekaterina Kovalevskaya 36 1 nbsp Viktorija Cmilyte 4 1 nbsp Meri Arabidze 45 2 nbsp Elina Danielian 13 0 nbsp Yaniet Marrero Lopez 52 1 nbsp Yaniet Marrero Lopez 52 0 nbsp Meri Arabidze 45 1 nbsp Elisabeth Paehtz 20 2 nbsp Meri Arabidze 45 4 nbsp Meri Arabidze 45 0 nbsp Dronavalli Harika 12 1 nbsp Alexandra Kosteniuk 5 2 nbsp Irina Berezina 60 0 nbsp Alexandra Kosteniuk 5 1 nbsp Shen Yang 28 0 nbsp Shen Yang 28 2 nbsp Alina Kashlinskaya 37 1 nbsp Alexandra Kosteniuk 5 1 nbsp Dronavalli Harika 12 2 nbsp Dronavalli Harika 12 2 nbsp Tatev Abrahamyan 53 0 nbsp Dronavalli Harika 12 2 nbsp Irina Krush 21 1 nbsp Irina Krush 21 1 nbsp Sophie Milliet 44 0 nbsp Mariya Muzychuk 8 2 nbsp Natalia Pogonina 31 0 1 nbsp Ju Wenjun 2 2 nbsp Shrook Wafa 63 0 nbsp Ju Wenjun 2 0 nbsp Natalia Pogonina 31 1 nbsp Natalia Pogonina 31 1 nbsp Guo Qi 34 0 nbsp Natalia Pogonina 31 3 nbsp Marie Sebag 18 1 nbsp Anna Ushenina 15 1 nbsp Zhang Xiaowen 50 0 nbsp Anna Ushenina 15 1 nbsp Marie Sebag 18 2 nbsp Marie Sebag 18 1 nbsp Wang Jue 47 0 nbsp Natalia Pogonina 31 2 nbsp Zhao Xue 7 1 nbsp Zhao Xue 7 3 nbsp Marisa Zuriel 58 1 nbsp Zhao Xue 7 1 nbsp Salome Melia 26 0 nbsp Salome Melia 26 3 nbsp Irine Kharisma Sukandar 39 1 nbsp Zhao Xue 7 1 nbsp Bela Khotenashvili 10 0 nbsp Bela Khotenashvili 10 1 nbsp Kubra Ozturk 55 0 nbsp Bela Khotenashvili 10 4 nbsp Huang Qian 23 3 nbsp Huang Qian 23 2 nbsp Baira Kovanova 42 1 nbsp Natalia Pogonina 31 2 nbsp Pia Cramling 11 1 nbsp Anna Muzychuk 3 1 nbsp Amina Mezioud 62 0 nbsp Anna Muzychuk 3 1 nbsp Aleksandra Goryachkina 30 0 nbsp Aleksandra Goryachkina 30 5 nbsp Lilit Mkrtchian 35 4 nbsp Anna Muzychuk 3 1 nbsp Lela Javakhishvili 19 0 nbsp Tan Zhongyi 14 1 nbsp Guliskhan Nakhbayeva 51 0 nbsp Tan Zhongyi 14 0 nbsp Lela Javakhishvili 19 1 nbsp Lela Javakhishvili 19 3 nbsp Sopiko Guramishvili 46 2 nbsp Anna Muzychuk 3 2 nbsp Pia Cramling 11 3 nbsp Valentina Gunina 6 2 nbsp Camilla Baginskaite 59 0 nbsp Valentina Gunina 6 2 nbsp Olga Girya 27 0 nbsp Olga Girya 27 2 nbsp Ekaterina Atalik 38 0 nbsp Valentina Gunina 6 0 nbsp Pia Cramling 11 1 nbsp Pia Cramling 11 2 nbsp Mitra Hejazipour 54 0 nbsp Pia Cramling 11 1 nbsp Ketevan Arakhamia Grant 43 0 nbsp Hoang Thanh Trang 22 0 nbsp Ketevan Arakhamia Grant 43 1 References edit Women s World Championship 2014 FIDE 2014 09 24 Archived from the original on 2015 04 28 Retrieved 2015 04 06 Women s World Championship to Take Place in Sochi chess news ru 25 November 2014 Retrieved 27 November 2014 Open Letter to FIDE President Mr Kirsan Ilyumzhinov chessprofessionals org 26 August 2014 Retrieved 27 August 2014 Regulations of the WWCC Cycle PDF FIDE List of competitors 2012 amp 2013 PDF FIDE Retrieved 2015 04 06 Women s World Championship 2015 Player s Contract FIDE 2015 01 22 Archived from the original on 2015 03 20 Retrieved 2015 04 06 Feb 05 Hou Yifan Won t Defend World Champion Title in 2015 Yourgibraltartv com 2015 02 05 Retrieved 2015 04 06 Challenge Hou Yifan Timur Gareev and Sam Shankland in Hawaii Chess com 2015 01 25 Retrieved 2015 04 06 Women s World Championship About To Take Off But Hou Yifan Doesn t Play chess24 com 15 March 2015 Retrieved 16 March 2015 Mariya Muzychuk Wins Women s World Championship Chess com 5 April 2015 Retrieved 8 April 2015 Chess game search engine Chessgames com Retrieved 2015 04 06 a b c d e f g h Mariya Muzychuk is Women s World Chess Champion FIDE 5 April 2015 Archived from the original on 13 April 2015 Retrieved 7 April 2015 Women s World Championship 2015 Ranking List amp Pairings FIDE 2015 03 03 Archived from the original on 2015 04 06 Retrieved 2015 04 06 External links editOfficial website Regulations etc Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Women 27s World Chess Championship 2015 amp oldid 1165456912, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
