2 December 2022
Aleksandra Goryachkina Defeats Alexandra Kosteniuk in Round 3 of FIDE Women’s Candidates
The Tan Zhongyi vs. Kateryna Lagno game is drawn.
The FIDE Women's Candidates Tournament resumed in Khiva after a rest day. In round three, Uzbek chess players Nilufar Yakubbayeva and Umida Omonova made symbolic first moves in the Kosteniuk vs. Goryachkina game.
Alexandra Kosteniuk opted for the Giuoco Piano as White against Aleksandra Goryachkina. The resulting setup required a certain amount of accuracy because of Black's compromised pawn structure. Meanwhile, White launched the queenside offensive. The 12th world champion hurried with a pawn break, which only played into Black's hands because she got a chance to exchange one of her doubled pawns and improve her pieces. Later on, the central pawn structure turned to Black's favour, and towards the time control, the endgame saw Goryachkina's knight clearly superior to Kosteniuk's bishop. White blundered heavily on move 42, upon which Black's advantage became decisive. Aleksandra Goryachkina went on to win on move 62.
The match score is now 2:1 in Goryachkina's favour.
Tan Zhongyi and Kateryna Lagno opened into a sharp Vienna variation of the Queen's Gambit Declined. Black reached equal endgame upon having efficiently thwarted her opponent's threats in the early stage of the game. Tan blundered on move 24 by missing a tactical blow and losing a pawn. Going into the time control and being in a severe time trouble, the opponents' play in the typical rook ending was not error-free, and the game eventually equalized. The game ended in a draw after Black's move 48.
The match score is 1.5:1.5.
Round four is scheduled on Saturday, December 3.
Photos by Eteri Kublashvili
