Two Puzzles from the Women's World Championship
Congratulations to Mariya Muzychuk for winning the Women's World Chess Championship!
Try to solve the two puzzles below to see the kind of problems she had to face at the board.
The first tactical puzzle is from round four, the first game between Muzychuk (who is white) and Humpy Koneru. White to play and win:
In the next example, Mariya was 1.5-0.5 against Nataija Pogonina in the final. As many kibitzers noted (helped by computers), she missed the best line in this endgame, which would have given her winning chances and may have saved her from playing one last game to secure the title. In fact, the outcome would still not be clear-cut and the line is not easy to calculate over the board. Can you find the right continuation?
Imagine trying to play that position under time pressure to win the world championship! The drawing line played in the game was much easier to calculate and an understandable choice.
In the last game, Mariya played confidently throughout and happily agreed to a draw in a winning position to secure the title:
A very convincing performance, showing the kind of endgame technique that her older sister Anna is famous for!
