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https://worldchess.com/2017/03/03/tan-zhongyi-wins-womens-world-championship/
WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
Tan Zhongyi Wins Women's World Championship
By DYLAN LOEB McCLAINMAR 03 — 8:00 PM
Image by David Llada
445
She beat Anna Muzychuk, 1.5-0.5, in the rapid tiebreaker games on Friday.
Tan Zhongyi is the new queen of chess.
Friday, in Tehran, she beat Anna Muzychuk of Ukraine, 1.5-0.5, in a two-game rapid playoff to become the Women’s World Champion. Tan, who is from China, and Muzychuk had ended their four-game regulation match tied at two points apiece. In Friday’s playoff, they drew their first game, in which Muzychuk had White, then Tan won the second when Muzychuk blundered in a difficult position and walked into a mating net.
The championship was organized by the World Chess Federation, otherwise known as FIDE, the game’s governing body. Tan earned $48,000, after fees, for winning; Muzychuk takes home $24,000.
The Women’s World Championship was a 64-player knockout tournament, the same model as in a tennis tournament, that started on February 10. Tan was the ninth seed — the top woman without the full grandmaster title (she is a woman’s grandmaster) — while Muzychuk was the second seed.
David Llada
Tan Zhongyi during the finals. Tan is the fifth woman from China to be the Women's Champion.
On her way to the title, Tan knocked off the top seed, her compatriot, Ju Wenjun, and the fourth seed, Harika Dronavalli of India.
Anna Muzychuk was bidding to become the second woman in her family, after her sister, Mariya (2015-2016), to be the Women's Champion.
Muzychuk had to beat two former Women’s World Champions, Antoaneta Stefanova of Bulgaria and Alexandra Kosteniuk of Russia, to get to the final. She was bidding to become the second woman in her family, after her sister, Mariya, to be the Women’s Champion. Mariya held the title from 2015-2016.
Tan is the fifth woman from China to the Women’s Champion, succeeding Hou Yifan, another compatriot, who did not play in the tournament in protest of the format. (Hou said that only a match should determine the champion because the knockout tournament format does not allow a player to recover from mistakes and is therefore too random.)
Indeed, to retain her title, Tan will have to play Ju, the winner of the Grand Prix, in a match. The dates and venue are yet to be announced.
Here are the games from the playoff. In Game 1, Tan was in a bit of trouble, but Muzychuk made enough small errors to let Tan escape with a draw. Game 2 was very tense and it was only at the end, when Muzychuk blundered that the outcome became clear.
—————————————————-
Dylan Loeb McClain is a journalist with more than 25 years of experience. He was a staff editor for The New York Times for 18 years and wrote the paper’s chess column from 2006 to 2014. He is now editor-in-chief of WorldChess.com. He is a FIDE master as well.
https://worldchess.com/2017/03/03/tan-zhongyi-wins-womens-world-championship/
WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
Tan Zhongyi Wins Women's World Championship
Image by David Llada
445
She beat Anna Muzychuk, 1.5-0.5, in the rapid tiebreaker games on Friday.
Tan Zhongyi is the new queen of chess.
Friday, in Tehran, she beat Anna Muzychuk of Ukraine, 1.5-0.5, in a two-game rapid playoff to become the Women’s World Champion. Tan, who is from China, and Muzychuk had ended their four-game regulation match tied at two points apiece. In Friday’s playoff, they drew their first game, in which Muzychuk had White, then Tan won the second when Muzychuk blundered in a difficult position and walked into a mating net.
The championship was organized by the World Chess Federation, otherwise known as FIDE, the game’s governing body. Tan earned $48,000, after fees, for winning; Muzychuk takes home $24,000.
The Women’s World Championship was a 64-player knockout tournament, the same model as in a tennis tournament, that started on February 10. Tan was the ninth seed — the top woman without the full grandmaster title (she is a woman’s grandmaster) — while Muzychuk was the second seed.
David Llada
Tan Zhongyi during the finals. Tan is the fifth woman from China to be the Women's Champion.
On her way to the title, Tan knocked off the top seed, her compatriot, Ju Wenjun, and the fourth seed, Harika Dronavalli of India.
Anna Muzychuk was bidding to become the second woman in her family, after her sister, Mariya (2015-2016), to be the Women's Champion.
Muzychuk had to beat two former Women’s World Champions, Antoaneta Stefanova of Bulgaria and Alexandra Kosteniuk of Russia, to get to the final. She was bidding to become the second woman in her family, after her sister, Mariya, to be the Women’s Champion. Mariya held the title from 2015-2016.
Tan is the fifth woman from China to the Women’s Champion, succeeding Hou Yifan, another compatriot, who did not play in the tournament in protest of the format. (Hou said that only a match should determine the champion because the knockout tournament format does not allow a player to recover from mistakes and is therefore too random.)
Indeed, to retain her title, Tan will have to play Ju, the winner of the Grand Prix, in a match. The dates and venue are yet to be announced.
Here are the games from the playoff. In Game 1, Tan was in a bit of trouble, but Muzychuk made enough small errors to let Tan escape with a draw. Game 2 was very tense and it was only at the end, when Muzychuk blundered that the outcome became clear.
—————————————————-
Dylan Loeb McClain is a journalist with more than 25 years of experience. He was a staff editor for The New York Times for 18 years and wrote the paper’s chess column from 2006 to 2014. He is now editor-in-chief of WorldChess.com. He is a FIDE master as well.
