EC Women's tactics

(1) Galojan,L (2242) - Bojkovic,N (2416) [E46] IEWCC Istanbul TUR (1), 02.06.2003 [Easy] 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 0-0 5.Nge2 d5 6.a3 Be7 7.Nf4 c6 8.Be2 Nbd7 9.cxd5 exd5 10.0-0 Bd6 11.Qc2 Re8 12.Bd3 Nf8 13.Bd2 Qc7 14.g3 Ng6 15.Ng2 Bh3 16.Rae1 Rad8 17.Bc1 a6 18.Na4 a5 19.f3 Bf8 20.b3 Bd6 21.e4 dxe4 22.fxe4 Bf8 23.Bb2 Qb8 24.Nc5 Qa7 25.Re3 Ng4 26.Ref3 Diagram Black to play 31-year-old Natasa Bojkovic of Yugoslavia found an easy way to win a pawn (at least) and the game. 26...N4e5 27.Rxf7 [ 27.dxe5 Qxc5+ ] 27...Bxc5 28.dxc5 Nxf7 29.Qc4 Be6 30.Qc3 Nfe5 31.Bc2 b5 32.Nf4 b4 33.axb4 axb4 34.Qxb4 Nd7 35.Bd4 Ndf8 36.Qc3 Qe7 37.Rd1 Bg4 38.Rd3 Qf7 39.b4 Nxf4 40.gxf4 Qxf4 41.Rg3 Ng6 0-1

(2) Kadziolka,B (2206) - Slavina,I (2381) [A85] IEWCC Istanbul TUR (1), 02.06.2003 [Easy] 1.d4 f5 2.c4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.h4 Bg7 5.h5 d6 6.hxg6 hxg6 7.Rxh8+ Bxh8 8.Bg5 Nc6 9.d5 Ne5 10.Nh3 c6 11.e3 Qa5 12.Qd2 Bd7 13.0-0-0 Rc8 14.Kb1 cxd5 15.cxd5 Qb4 16.f3 Rc5 17.Bxf6 Bxf6 18.Ne4 Qxd2 19.Nxf6+ Kf7 20.Rxd2 Kxf6 21.Be2 Nf7 22.f4 g5 23.g3 Ba4 24.b3 Bd7 25.Kb2 a5 26.a3 Rc8 27.Rc2 Rh8 28.Bf1 gxf4 29.exf4 Rg8 30.Rc3 e5 31.dxe6 Bxe6 32.Bg2 b5 33.Ng1 a4 34.bxa4 bxa4 35.Ne2 Rb8+ 36.Kc1 Ba2 37.Nd4 Rb1+ 38.Kc2 d5 Diagram White to play WGM Irina Slavina of Russia has just played 38...d5. Her 16-year-old opponent, Beata Kadziolka from Poland did not miss the simple tactical opportunity. 39.Bxd5 Ra1 [ 39...Bxd5 40.Kxb1 ] 40.Kb2 Rd1 41.Rc6+ Ke7 42.Bxa2 Rxd4 43.Rc7+ Ke8 44.Bxf7+ Kd8 45.Ra7 Rd2+ 46.Kc3 Rg2 47.Rxa4 Rxg3+ 48.Kd4 Ke7 49.Bd5 Rg1 50.Ra7+ Kf6 51.Ra6+ Ke7 52.Ke5 Rd1 53.Ra7+ Ke8 54.Be6 1-0

(3) Ionescu Brandis,I (2366) - Hagesaether,E (2166) [B07] IEWCC Istanbul TUR (1), 02.06.2003 [Easy] 1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.g3 Bg7 5.Bg2 0-0 6.Nge2 e5 7.0-0 c6 8.a4 a5 9.h3 Na6 10.Be3 Nb4 11.Qd2 Qd7 12.g4 h5 13.g5 Nh7 14.f4 exf4 15.Bxf4 Qe7 16.Rae1 Rd8 17.Nd1 Nf8 18.c3 Na6 19.Nf2 b5 20.d5 Nc5 21.Nd4 Bxd4 22.cxd4 Nxa4 23.dxc6 Ne6 24.b3 Nb6 25.d5 Nxf4 26.Qxf4 a4 27.e5 Bf5 28.exd6 Qxd6 29.Re8+ Kh7 30.Qxd6 Rxd6 31.Rxa8 Nxa8 32.bxa4 bxa4 33.Ne4 Rd8 34.d6 Kg7 35.c7 Rf8 36.Nc5 Nb6 Diagram White to play Ellen Hagesaether of Norway has just played 36...Na8-b6, protecting the c8 promotion square with two pieces. What can her Romanian opponent Irena Ionescu Brandes (29) do about this? 37.Nxa4 [ Or 37.Rxf5 gxf5 38.Nxa4 ] 37...Nxa4 38.Rxf5 Nb6 39.Rb5 1-0

(4) Cramling,P (2470) - Motoc,A (2358) [D00] IEWCC Istanbul TUR (2), 03.06.2003 [Easy] 1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.Bf4 Bg7 5.e3 0-0 6.Be2 Bg4 7.Ne5 Bxe2 8.Qxe2 c6 9.h4 Nbd7 10.0-0-0 Nxe5 11.Bxe5 b5 12.Kb1 Qa5 13.Bxf6 Bxf6 14.Qf3 Qd8 15.h5 e5 16.Qh3 Qe7 17.Ne2 a5 18.e4 Rfd8 19.f4 dxe4 20.fxe5 Bg5 21.Nc3 e3 22.Rd3 Ra7 23.hxg6 fxg6 24.Ne4 Rad7 25.Nxg5 Qxg5 26.Rxe3 Qe7 27.c3 b4 28.Rg3 bxc3 Diagram White to play Veteran Swedish player Pia Cramling knew the best way to finish off this game against her young Romanian opponent. 29.Rxg6+ Kh8 [ 29...hxg6 30.Qh8+ Kf7 31.Rh7+ Ke6 32.Rxe7+ Kxe7 33.Qf6+ Ke8 34.Qxg6+ Ke7 ] 30.Rh6 Rb7 31.Qf5 Rdb8 32.Rxh7+ 1-0

(5) Kouvatsou,M (2233) - Matnadze,A (2386) [B22] IEWCC Istanbul TUR (2), 03.06.2003 [Easy] 1.e4 c5 2.c3 d5 3.exd5 Qxd5 4.d4 Nf6 5.Nf3 e6 6.Bd3 Be7 7.0-0 cxd4 8.cxd4 Nc6 9.Nc3 Qd6 10.a3 0-0 11.Be3 b6 12.Qe2 Bb7 13.Rad1 Rad8 14.Bg5 Rfe8 15.Rfe1 g6 16.Bc4 Nd5 17.Ne4 Qb8 18.h4 Bxg5 19.hxg5 Kg7 20.Nh2 h5 21.gxh6+ Kxh6 22.Bxd5 exd5 23.Qd2+ Kg7 24.Ng4 Rh8 25.Ng3 Bc8 26.Ne5 Qb7 27.Rc1 Nxe5 28.Rxe5 Rh6 Diagram White to play During an attack it is always advantageous to check which of your opponent's pieces are undefended and think about how these can be attacked. 29.Nh5+ gxh5 30.Qg5+ Rg6 31.Qxd8 Bg4 32.Re8 Qa6 33.Rg8+ Kh6 34.Rh8+ Kg7 35.Qf8+ Kf6 36.Rh7 Qb7 37.Qh8+ Kg5 38.Qe5+ Bf5 39.f4+ Kg4 40.Qe2+ Kxf4 41.Rf1+ 1-0

(6) Makropoulou,M (2234) - Mkrtchian,L (2416) [B85] IEWCC Istanbul TUR (2), 03.06.2003 [Easy] 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 d6 6.Be3 Nf6 7.Be2 Be7 8.0-0 0-0 9.f4 a6 10.Qe1 Nxd4 11.Bxd4 b5 12.Rd1 b4 13.Na4 Rb8 14.e5 Ne8 15.Kh1 Qc7 16.Qf2 Bd7 17.Nb6 Bb5 18.Rfe1 g6 19.b3 dxe5 20.fxe5 Ng7 21.Nc4 Bxc4 22.Bxc4 Nf5 23.Bb2 Rfd8 24.Rd3 Rxd3 25.Bxd3 Bc5 26.Qf4 Rd8 27.Bxf5 exf5 28.Qc4 Bb6 29.Qxa6 Bf2 30.Rc1 Diagram Black to play After 20-year-old Armenian WGM Lilit Mkrtchian had played ...Bb6-f2 her experienced Greek opponent moved the attacked rook to a bad square (Re1-c1). How did Lilit punish this mistake? 30...Qxc2 31.h3 [ 31.Rf1 Qxb2 ; 31.h3 Rd1+ ] 0-1

(7) Agababean,N (2319) - Gencer,O [D00] IEWCC Istanbul TUR (3), 04.06.2003 [Easy] 1.d4 Nf6 2.Bg5 d5 3.Bxf6 exf6 4.e3 Be6 5.Bd3 c5 6.dxc5 Bxc5 7.c3 a5 8.Qa4+ Nc6 9.Nd2 0-0 10.Ne2 Ne5 11.Bc2 Bd7 12.Qh4 g6 13.Nb3 Bd6 14.0-0 Nc4 15.Nbd4 Nxb2 16.Rab1 Ba3 17.Nf4 Bc6 18.Qh6 Re8 19.Rxb2 Qe7 Diagram White to play Veteran WGM Naira Agababean of Modova has completely outplayed her 13-year-old Turkish opponent Oziem Gencer. How did the game end? 20.Nh5 Qf8 [ 20...gxh5 21.Qxh7+ Kf8 22.Qh8# ] 21.Nxf6+ [ 21.Nxf6+ Kh8 22.Qxh7# ] 1-0

(8) Tkeshelashvili,S (2293) - Kharashkina,B (2182) [D45] IEWCC Istanbul TUR (3), 04.06.2003 [Easy] 1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 e6 5.Nc3 Nbd7 6.Qc2 Bd6 7.Be2 0-0 8.0-0 Qe7 9.e4 dxe4 10.Nxe4 Nxe4 11.Qxe4 e5 12.Bg5 Qe6 13.c5 Bc7 14.Rfe1 Qg6 15.Qxg6 hxg6 16.Bc4 b5 17.Bb3 Bb7 18.Rac1 Rae8 19.d5 a5 20.a4 b4 21.d6 Bb8 22.Be7 Rxe7 23.dxe7 Re8 24.Rcd1 Rxe7 25.Ng5 Ba7 26.Bxf7+ Kf8 27.Bxg6 Bxc5 Diagram White to play WGM Sopio Tkeshelashvili (go on, it's not that difficult to pronounce) is an exchange up and has the chance to turn it into a full piece. How did she end the game? 28.Rxd7 Bxf2+ [ 28...Rxd7 29.Ne6+ Ke7 30.Nxc5 ] 29.Kxf2 Rxd7 30.Rxe5 1-0

(9) Smokina,K (2269) - Kosintseva,N (2417) [A26] IEWCC Istanbul TUR (4), 05.06.2003 [Easy] 1.c4 f5 2.g3 Nf6 3.Bg2 g6 4.Nc3 Bg7 5.d3 d6 6.e4 Nc6 7.Nge2 0-0 8.0-0 e5 9.h3 Be6 10.b3 Qd7 11.Kh2 Rf7 12.Be3 Raf8 13.Qd2 h5 14.exf5 Bxf5 15.Ne4 Nh7 16.Rae1 Nd4 17.Nxd4 exd4 18.Bh6 c6 19.Bxg7 Rxg7 20.f4 Re7 21.Qb2 c5 22.b4 b6 23.Re2 Kf7 24.Rfe1 Rfe8 25.b5 Nf6 26.Nf2 Rxe2 27.Rxe2 Re6 28.Bf3 Qe7 29.g4 hxg4 30.hxg4 Diagram Black to move After a pawn exchange on g4 the black bishop is black. But the older of the Kosintseva sisters (18) knew what she was doing and turned the game in her favour. 30...Nxg4+ 31.Nxg4 Qh4+ 32.Kg2 Bxg4 33.Rxe6 [ 33.Bd5 would have put up more resistance: 33...Qh3+ 34.Kg1 Qxd3 35.Rc2 Kf8 36.Bxe6 Bxe6 37.Qc1 ] 33...Qh3+ 34.Kg1 Bxf3 0-1

(10) Calzetta,M (2253) - Houska,J (2386) [C77] IEWCC Istanbul TUR (7), 10.06.2003 [Easy] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.Qe2 b5 6.Bb3 Be7 7.c3 d6 8.d3 0-0 9.Nbd2 Bg4 10.h3 Bxf3 11.Nxf3 Na5 12.Bc2 c5 13.0-0 Nc6 14.Rd1 Qc7 15.Be3 Rfe8 16.Nh2 d5 17.exd5 Nxd5 18.Qf3 Nxe3 19.fxe3 e4 20.dxe4 Ne5 21.Qg3 Bd6 22.Ng4 Re6 23.Rd5 Rg6 24.Rad1 h5 Diagram White to play Jovanka Houska has just played ...h7-h5. Why was that a blunder, and how did her Spanish opponent Monica Calzetta Ruiz punish it? 25.Rxd6 Rxd6 26.Qxe5 Rad8 [ 26...hxg4 27.Qxd6 ] 27.Rxd6 Qxd6 28.Qxh5 Qd2 29.Qg5 Qe1+ 30.Kh2 Rd6 31.Qxc5 Rd2 32.Qc8+ Kh7 33.Qf5+ Kg8 34.Bb3 1-0

(11) Fakhiridou,E (2276) - Kononenko,T (2370) [C15] IEWCC Istanbul TUR (8), 11.06.2003 [Easy] 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Nge2 Nc6 5.exd5 exd5 6.a3 Ba5 7.Nf4 Nf6 8.Be2 Ne4 9.Bd2 Bxc3 10.bxc3 0-0 11.0-0 Na5 12.Bd3 Nc4 13.Bc1 c6 14.Qh5 Ncd6 15.a4 Re8 16.h3 Bf5 17.Ne2 Nf6 18.Qf3 Be4 19.Bxe4 Nfxe4 20.Qd3 Nc4 21.Rb1 Qd7 22.Bf4 Re7 23.Ng3 Rae8 24.Rfe1 h6 25.Nh5 Re6 Diagram White to play Why was the last move ...Re7-e7 by 24-year-old Ukraine WGM a petty blunder? 26.Rxe4 dxe4 27.Qxc4 g6 28.Ng3 g5 29.Be3 Rg6 30.Qc5 b6 31.Qf5 Qd5 32.c4 Qxc4 33.Nxe4 Ree6 34.a5 Qa2 35.Nc3 Qa3 36.axb6 axb6 37.Qd3 b5 38.Rb3 Qa1+ 39.Qf1 Qxf1+ 40.Kxf1 f5 41.d5 Rd6 42.Bc5 Rd7 43.d6 Re6 44.Ne2 Re5 45.Rc3 b4 46.Rc4 Rb7 47.Nd4 Kf7 48.Nxc6 1-0

(12) Mar,K (2236) - Lomineishvili,M (2397) [B31] IEWCC Istanbul TUR (1), 02.06.2003 [Medium] 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 g6 4.0-0 Bg7 5.Re1 e5 6.c3 Nge7 7.d3 0-0 8.Ba4 d6 9.Nbd2 h6 10.Nf1 f5 11.Ne3 f4 12.Bb3+ Kh8 13.Nd5 g5 14.Nxg5 Nxd5 15.exd5 Qxg5 16.dxc6 bxc6 17.Kh1 Qh4 18.Qe2 f3 19.gxf3 Diagram Black to play WGM Maia Lomineishvili has just given a pawn with 18...f3 19.gxf3. What did the 25-year-old Georgian have in mind? 19...Bg4 20.fxg4 Rxf2 Threat: ...Qxh2# 21.Qxf2 Qxf2 22.Be3 Qf3+ 23.Kg1 Qxg4+ 24.Kh1 Qf3+ 25.Kg1 Bf6 26.Bf2 d5 27.Bg3 Rg8 28.Rf1 Rxg3+ 29.hxg3 Qxg3+ 30.Kh1 Bg5 31.Rae1 Qh3+ 32.Kg1 Be3+ 0-1

(13) Sedina,E (2434) - Tkeshelashvili,S (2293) [B52] IEWCC Istanbul TUR (2), 03.06.2003 [Medium] 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bb5+ Bd7 4.Bxd7+ Qxd7 5.0-0 Nc6 6.c3 Nf6 7.d4 Nxe4 8.d5 Ne5 9.Re1 Nf6 10.Nxe5 dxe5 11.Rxe5 e6 12.c4 0-0-0 13.Nc3 Bd6 14.Re1 exd5 15.Nxd5 Qf5 16.Be3 Kb8 17.Qa4 Ng4 18.h3 Ne5 19.Rad1 g5 20.b4 g4 21.bxc5 Nf3+ 22.Kf1 gxh3 23.cxd6 hxg2+ 24.Ke2 a6 25.Qa5 g1N+ 26.Rxg1 Nxg1+ 27.Kd2 Nf3+ 28.Kc1 Rc8 Diagram White to play Italian IM Elena Sedina found the best way to finish off this game, and even managed to mate her disconcerted opponent. 29.Qc7+ Rxc7 30.dxc7+ Ka8 31.Nb6+ Ka7 32.Rd8 Qa5 33.Ra8+ Rxa8 34.Nc8# 1-0

(14) Alexandrova,O (2445) - Yildiz,B (2119) [D37] IEWCC Istanbul TUR (2), 03.06.2003 [Medium] 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nf3 Nbd7 5.Bf4 dxc4 6.e3 Nd5 7.Bxc4 Nxf4 8.exf4 Nb6 9.Bb3 c6 10.0-0 Be7 11.Qd3 Nd5 12.g3 0-0 13.Ne4 Qb6 14.Ne5 Rd8 15.Ng5 Bxg5 16.fxg5 Ne7 17.Rfd1 Nf5 18.Nxf7 Rxd4 19.Qf3 Kxf7 20.Qxf5+ Kg8 21.Rxd4 Qxd4 22.Qf3 Qc5 23.h4 Bd7 24.Rd1 Qe7 25.Qe3 Kh8 26.h5 e5 27.h6 Bf5 28.Re1 Re8 29.Qxa7 Qxg5 30.Qxb7 Qxh6 Diagram White to play 25-year-old IM Olga Alexandrova took a brave decision and exploited her Turkish opponent's backrank weakness. Olga had to make sure that her own king could withstand the black counterattack. 31.Rxe5 Qc1+ [ 31...Rxe5 32.Qb8+ Bc8 33.Qxc8+ Re8 34.Qxe8# ; 31...Qh5 32.Bf7 ] 32.Kg2 Bh3+ 33.Kxh3 Qh1+ 34.Kg4 Rf8 [ 34...h5+ 35.Rxh5+ Qxh5+ 36.Kxh5 ] 35.Qf7 1-0

(15) Muzychuk,A (2256) - Houska,J (2386) [B12] IEWCC Istanbul TUR (3), 04.06.2003 [Meduim] 1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 Bf5 4.Nc3 e6 5.g4 Bg6 6.Nge2 c5 7.Be3 Nc6 8.dxc5 Nxe5 9.Nd4 Ne7 10.f4 N5c6 11.Ndb5 Qd7 12.f5 exf5 13.Bf4 Kd8 14.Qd2 a6 15.Nc7 Rc8 16.N7xd5 Nxd5 17.Nxd5 Bxc5 18.0-0-0 Nd4 19.Qa5+ Ke8 20.Nc7+ Rxc7 21.Bxc7 Qd5 Diagram White to play Anna Muzychuk from Ukraine has just turned thirteen, her opponent, WGM Jovanka Houska from England is ten years older. What did the little one do to shock her experienced opponent. 22.Bg2 [ Also possible was 22.Bxa6 bxa6 23.Rhe1+ Kd7 24.Re5 Qb7 25.Qxc5 and the knight is also lost, as is the game.] 22...Qc4 [ 22...Qxg2 23.Rhe1+ Kd7 24.Qxc5 Kc8 25.Rxd4 ] 23.Rhe1+ Kd7 24.c3 Rc8 25.Bf1 b6 26.Bxb6 Qd5 27.Rxd4 Qxd4 28.Rd1 Bxb6 29.Rxd4+ Bxd4 30.Qd5+ 1-0

(16) Mamedjarova,Z (2298) - Mira,H (2126) [A21] IEWCC Istanbul TUR (3), 04.06.2003 [Medium] 1.d4 d6 2.c4 e5 3.Nf3 e4 4.Nfd2 f5 5.e3 c6 6.Nc3 Nf6 7.d5 a5 8.b3 Na6 9.Bb2 Be7 10.Be2 0-0 11.0-0 Bd7 12.Kh1 Nc5 13.a3 Qb6 14.Rb1 cxd5 15.cxd5 Qd8 16.f3 Qe8 17.a4 b6 18.Bc4 Qg6 19.Qe2 Qh6 20.Kg1 Rae8 21.f4 Rc8 22.Rbc1 Be8 23.Ndb1 Bh5 24.Qd2 Be8 25.Na3 Bd7 26.Nab5 Kh8 27.Nd4 Ng4 28.h3 Nf6 29.Ncb5 Nh5 30.Na7 Rce8 31.Nac6 Bh4 32.Ra1 Rf6 33.b4 axb4 34.a5 bxa5 35.Rxa5 Rg6 36.Ra7 Bg3 Diagram White to play She's 20 and a full IM. Zeinab Mamedjarova spotted the deadly weakness in the black position and wrapped up the game in a few moves. 37.Rxd7 Nxf4 [ 37...Nxd7 38.Nxf5 ] 38.exf4 e3 [ 38...Nxd7 39.Nxf5 Qh5 40.Nce7 Rxe7 41.Nxe7 is also lost for Black.] 39.Qe2 Ne4 40.Nxf5 Qxh3 1-0

(17) Peptan,C (2471) - Galliamova,A (2489) [B01] IEWCC Istanbul TUR (6), 08.06.2003 [Medium] 1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.Nc3 Qd6 4.d4 Nf6 5.Nf3 a6 6.Bg5 b5 7.Bd3 Bb7 8.Qe2 Nbd7 9.0-0-0 e6 10.Kb1 Be7 11.Ne5 0-0 12.f4 Nb6 13.Bxf6 Bxf6 14.Ne4 Qe7 15.Rhf1 Na4 16.c3 Rad8 17.Bc2 g6 18.Bxa4 Bxe5 19.Nc5 Bd5 20.Bb3 Bxb3 21.axb3 Bd6 22.Nxa6 c6 23.Qf3 Rc8 24.Qe3 b4 25.c4 Ra8 26.Nc5 Bxc5 27.dxc5 Qf6 28.g4 Ra5 29.f5 Rfa8 30.fxe6 Ra1+ 31.Kc2 Diagram Black to play 31-year-old IM Alisa Galliamova used to be married to Vassily Ivanchuk and was always a contender for the women's world championship. Here she finds a pretty move to finish off her Romanian opponent. 31...Qxb2+ 32.Kd3 [ 32.Kxb2 R8a2# ] 32...Rd8+ [ 32...Qxb3+ 33.Ke2 Qc2+ 34.Kf3 R1a3 was even faster.] 33.Ke4 f5+ 34.gxf5 Raxd1 35.Rxd1 Rxd1 36.e7 Kf7 37.fxg6+ Ke8 38.gxh7 Qc2+ 39.Kf3 Qxh7 40.Qe5 Qd3+ 41.Kf4 Qd4+ 0-1