CHECKMATE

with Zengani Mkandawire

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White to Move and Checkmate in 2 Moves

Womens World Chess Championship

underway
The 2016 FIDE Womens World Chess Championship match takes place
March 2-18. The current World Champion Mariya Muzychuk of Ukraine
faces her challenger Hou Yifan of China in Lviv, Ukraine.
The match consists of 10 classical games with the first to reach 5.5 points
declared champion. Players receive 90 minutes for 40 moves, then 30
minutes for the rest of the game plus a 30-second bonus per move from
move one. If the score is even, a tiebreak of 4 games will be played at a
rate of 25 minutes plus a 10 second bonus per move starting from move
one.
If no winner is decided after the rapid games there will be a maximum of 5
mini-matches,2 games each, at a rate of 5 minutes plus 3 seconds per
move. If needed, the winner would be decided by a sudden death game.

The prize fund is 200,000, from which the winner will get 60%, the loser
40%.
In openings, Muzychuk usually plays Sicilian Defence with both White and
Black, followed by French Defence with White and Dutch Defence with
Black.Muzychuk has the ability to find unexpected tactical tricks, which
sometimes compensates for flaws in her positional understanding.During
her 2015 World Championship match against Natalia Pogonina, Muzychuk
was called "Miss Tactics" by the media.
Hou Yifan is a Chinese chess grandmaster and former chess prodigy. She
is a former two time Women's World Chess Champion, the youngest ever
to win the title, as well as the youngest female player ever to qualify for
the title of Grandmaster. Hou is the third woman ever to be rated among
the world's top 100 players, after Judit Polgr and Maia Chiburdanidze. She
is widely regarded as the best active female chess player, "leaps and
bounds" ahead of her competitors.
Mariya won the title in a knockout event in 2015. Previous champion Hou
didn't defend her title in that format and is therefore a strong favourite to
regain the title in this match. Prior to this match, Hou and Maria had
played three classical chess games against each other. One game ended
in a draw, while the other two were won by Hou Yifan with the black
pieces.
Muzychuk had White in the first game and steered the opening into the
Guioco Piano. White diverged but after multiple exchanges leading to a
drawn Q+P ending with symmetrical pawns, the game was agreed drawn
by move 31. Hou had the White pieces in game two which featured a Ruy
Lopez (Open). Muzychuk emerged from the opening with at least equality
but after some tentative moves by her, Hou gained a couple of tempi with
a queen retreat and advance, both attacking loose points in Black's
queenside and center, to launch a powerful attack against Black's king
that forced Black's resignation after 32 moves.
Muzychuk with White in game three opened with a Closed Catalan and
managed to gain a small advantage with her two bishops. However this
didn't trouble Hou and the game was agreed drawn after 36 moves when
exchanges reduced the game to opposite coloured bishops with a
symmetrical three pawns each formation on the king side.
White: Yifan Hou Black: Mariya Muzychuk (1-0)

Women's World Chess Championship, UKR, 03/03/2016

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Nxe4 6.d4 b5 7.Bb3 d5
8.dxe5 Be6 9.Be3 Be7 10.c3 O-O 11.Nbd2 Qd7 12.Bc2 Nxd2 13.Qxd2 Bg4
14.Bf4 Bxf3 15.gxf3 Rad8 16.Rfd1 Qe6 17.Qe3 Rd7 18.Bg3 g6 19.a4 Nd8
20.axb5 axb5 21.f4 f6 22.exf6 Qxf6 23.Qe2 c6 24.Qg4 Rb7 25.f5 Bd6
26.Ra6 Rg7 27.fxg6 Bc5 28.Kg2 hxg6 29.Rxd5 Bxf2 30.Bb3 Ne6 31.Rd6
Bc5 32.Qxe6+ 1-0

White: Mariya Muzychuk Black: Yifan Hou (-)

Women's World Chess Championship, UKR, 05/03/2016
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 d5 4.Bg2 Bb4+ 5.Bd2 Be7 6.Nf3 O-O 7.O-O Nbd7
8.Qc2 c6 9.Rd1 b6 10.Bf4 Ba6 11.cxd5 cxd5 12.Ne5 Rc8 13.Nc6 Bb5
14.Nxe7+ Qxe7 15.Nc3 Nh5 16.Be3 Nhf6 17.a4 Bc4 18.a5 bxa5 19.Rxa5
Qb4 20.Rda1 Rb8 21.Rxa7 Qxb2 22.Qxb2 Rxb2 23.Bf3 h6 24.h4 Rc8
25.Bf4 Rc2 26.R7a3 h5 27.Kg2 Kh7 28.Rc1 Rxc1 29.Bxc1 e5 30.dxe5 Nxe5
31.Be3 Nxf3 32.Kxf3 Ne4 33.Nxe4 dxe4+ 34.Kxe4 Bxe2 35.Ra5 f6 36.Rc5
Rxc5 1/2-1/2
The official web site, www.lviv2016.fide.com, is broadcasting the games
with commentary by GM Adrian Mikhalchishin and guests. Personally, I
enjoy watching the live broadcast at www.chessgames.com due to the live
kibitzing.
The game broadcast is being delayed for half an hour, as an anti-cheating
measure. FIDE has been reluctant to implement broadcast delays which
are hated by broadcasters, sponsors and fans alike, but the possibility of
undetectable radio receivers is becoming worrying.
Solution to this weeks Chess Puzzle
1. Ne3