Dzagnidze beats Cramling in playoff, wins ACP Women Cup

Nana Dzagnidze of Georgia won the ACP Women Cup in Tbilisi, Georgia on Tuesday after beating Pia Cramling of Sweden in a blitz playoff. Both ladies had finished on 8/11 in the rapid event, half a point ahead of Kateryna Lahno. 

Nana Dzagnidze receives the first prize - here together with (L-R) President of ACP, Emil Sutovky, Director General of SOCAR Energy, Georgia Mahi Mammedov and Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs, Lado Vardzelashvili | Photos © Anastasya Karlovich for the official website

We'll pick up the tournament where we left it: after five rounds, when Anna Muzychuk was leading the field with 4.5 points. In the sixth round, Muzychuk managed to keep her small lead. Nana Dzagnidze, who had started with 0.5/3 but then won two games, continued her rise to the top as she profited from a huge blunder by a former World Champion.

[Event "ACP Women Cup 2012"]
[Site "Tbilisi GEO"]
[Date "2012.02.20"]
[Round "6.1"]
[White "Dzagnidze, Nana"]
[Black "Stefanova, Antoaneta"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A07"]
[WhiteElo "2535"]
[BlackElo "2523"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "5k2/b1q2pp1/8/3Q1PP1/2B5/8/5P2/5K2 b - - 0 67"]
[PlyCount "2"]
[EventDate "2012.02.18"]

67... Qe7 $4 68. Qa8+ 1-0

When they have to play each other, the two Russian sisters Nadezhda and Natalia Kosintseva often agree to a draw before the game and this time they picked a well-known line in the Ruy Lopez Exchange to achieve the desired result.

[Event "ACP Women Cup 2012"]
[Site "Tbilisi GEO"]
[Date "2012.02.20"]
[Round "6.4"]
[White "Kosintseva, Nadezhda"]
[Black "Kosintseva, Tatiana"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C69"]
[WhiteElo "2537"]
[BlackElo "2513"]
[PlyCount "26"]
[EventDate "2012.02.18"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Bxc6 dxc6 5. O-O Bg4 6. h3 h5 7. c3 Qd3 8.
hxg4 hxg4 9. Nxe5 Bd6 10. Nxd3 Bh2+ 11. Kh1 Bg3+ 12. Kg1 Bh2+ 13. Kh1 Bg3+
1/2-1/2

In the 7th round Muzychuk lost her first game. It can be included in a new collection of 'good knight versus bad bishop' examples.

[Event "ACP Women Cup 2012"]
[Site "Tbilisi GEO"]
[Date "2012.02.20"]
[Round "7.3"]
[White "Kosintseva, Tatiana"]
[Black "Muzychuk, Anna"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C65"]
[WhiteElo "2513"]
[BlackElo "2580"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "3q2k1/5pbp/2p3p1/p1p1p3/N1P1P3/1P3Q2/P4PPP/6K1 b - - 0 25"]
[PlyCount "84"]
[EventDate "2012.02.18"]

25... Qd2 26. g3 Qxa2 27. Nxc5 Bf8 28. Nd7 a4 29. bxa4 Qxa4 30. Qd3 Be7 31. Kg2
Qa5 32. Qb3 Qc7 33. Qb8+ Bd8 34. Nf6+ Kh8 35. Qxc7 Bxc7 36. Kf3 Bd8 37. Nd7 Bc7
38. Ke3 Kg7 39. Kd3 f6 40. Nc5 Kf7 41. Nb3 Bb6 42. c5 Bd8 43. Kc4 Ke6 44. f3 f5
45. Nc1 Bg5 46. Nd3 Be3 47. Nb4 Kd7 48. Nd3 Ke6 49. h3 h5 50. g4 fxg4 51. fxg4
hxg4 52. hxg4 Bd4 53. Nb4 Kd7 54. Nc2 Bf2 55. Nb4 Bd4 56. Nd3 Ke6 57. Kb4 Kf6
58. Ka5 Bxc5 59. Nxc5 Kg5 60. Kb6 Kxg4 61. Kxc6 g5 62. Kd5 Kh4 63. Nd3 g4 64.
Kxe5 g3 65. Ne1 Kg4 66. Kd4 Kf4 67. Kd3 1-0

Tatiana Kosintseva vs Anna Muzychuk, 1-0

Kateryna Lahno grabbed sole lead in this round thanks to the following victory.

[Event "ACP Women Cup 2012"]
[Site "Tbilisi GEO"]
[Date "2012.02.20"]
[Round "7.2"]
[White "Lahno, Kateryna"]
[Black "Mamedjarova, Zeinab"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A15"]
[WhiteElo "2557"]
[BlackElo "2318"]
[PlyCount "63"]
[EventDate "2012.02.18"]

1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. g3 g6 4. Bg2 Bg7 5. O-O O-O 6. d4 cxd4 7. Nxd4 Nc6 8.
Nc3 Qa5 9. Nb3 Qa6 10. Nb5 Qa4 11. Nc7 Rb8 12. c5 b6 13. cxb6 axb6 14. h3 Bb7
15. Be3 Nb4 16. Nd4 Qxd1 17. Rfxd1 e5 18. Bd2 Na6 19. Ndb5 Nxc7 20. Nxc7 Rfc8
21. Rac1 Bc6 22. Bxc6 dxc6 23. Rxc6 Rb7 24. Rdc1 Ne4 25. Be3 Nc5 26. b4 Rbxc7
27. Rxc7 Rxc7 28. bxc5 bxc5 29. Rxc5 Rxc5 30. Bxc5 f5 31. a4 e4 32. a5 1-0

Nana Dzagnidze won her fifth consecutive game in round 8.

[Event "ACP Women Cup 2012"]
[Site "Tbilisi GEO"]
[Date "2012.02.20"]
[Round "8.1"]
[White "Dzagnidze, Nana"]
[Black "Chiburdanidze, Maia"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A04"]
[WhiteElo "2535"]
[BlackElo "2500"]
[PlyCount "63"]
[EventDate "2012.02.18"]

1. Nf3 e6 2. g3 d5 3. Bg2 Nf6 4. O-O Bd6 5. d3 O-O 6. Nbd2 Qe7 7. e4 dxe4 8.
dxe4 e5 9. Nc4 Nxe4 10. Re1 f5 11. Nfxe5 Bc5 12. Nd3 Nc6 13. Be3 Bxe3 14. Nxe3
Qf7 15. c3 Be6 16. Qa4 Rae8 17. Nf4 Bc8 18. Rad1 Kh8 19. h4 Ne5 20. Qxa7 c6 21.
Qa4 Nc5 22. Qd4 Ncd7 23. b3 Ng6 24. Nc4 Rxe1+ 25. Rxe1 Nxf4 26. Qxf4 Qf6 27.
Qd4 Qxd4 28. cxd4 Nf6 29. Nd6 Kg8 30. Re7 f4 31. Nxc8 Rxc8 32. Rxb7 1-0

Daznidze was now in third position with 5.5/8, half a point behind Kateryna Lahno and Pia Cramling. The latter was having a very solid tournament thus far, with four wins and four draws. (She would finish with two more draws and another win.)

[Event "ACP Women Cup 2012"]
[Site "Tbilisi GEO"]
[Date "2012.02.20"]
[Round "8.4"]
[White "Muzychuk, Anna"]
[Black "Cramling, Pia"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B23"]
[WhiteElo "2580"]
[BlackElo "2491"]
[PlyCount "42"]
[EventDate "2012.02.18"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 e6 3. g3 d5 4. exd5 exd5 5. Bg2 Nf6 6. d3 d4 7. Ne4 Nxe4 8.
dxe4 Be7 9. Ne2 O-O 10. O-O Nc6 11. c3 Bf6 12. cxd4 Nxd4 13. Nc3 Be6 14. f4 Bc4
15. Rf2 Ne2+ 16. Rxe2 Qxd1+ 17. Nxd1 Bxe2 18. e5 Bxd1 19. exf6 Rad8 20. fxg7
Rfe8 21. Bxb7 Bg4 0-1

Pia Cramling would only lose one game in Tbilisi: the Armageddon

Dzagnidze caught Cramling in first place in the final round.

[Event "ACP Women Cup 2012"]
[Site "Tbilisi GEO"]
[Date "2012.02.21"]
[Round "11.1"]
[White "Kosintseva, Tatiana"]
[Black "Dzagnidze, Nana"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B42"]
[WhiteElo "2513"]
[BlackElo "2535"]
[PlyCount "86"]
[EventDate "2012.02.18"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 a6 5. Bd3 Bc5 6. Nb3 Be7 7. Qg4 Bf6 8.
Qg3 Nc6 9. Nc3 Nge7 10. Bf4 e5 11. Bd2 d6 12. h4 Be6 13. O-O-O Rc8 14. Kb1 h5
15. Bg5 Ng6 16. Nd5 Bxg5 17. hxg5 h4 18. Qe3 Nce7 19. c4 O-O 20. g3 b5 21. cxb5
Nxd5 22. exd5 Bxd5 23. f3 Bxb3 24. axb3 axb5 25. f4 Qa5 26. Be4 Rc7 27. Rxd6
Ra7 28. Rxg6 fxg6 29. Bd5+ Rff7 30. Qxe5 Qd8 31. Rd1 Kf8 32. Bf3 Rad7 33. Qc5+
Rfe7 34. Rh1 Qc7 35. Bc6 Rd6 36. Rc1 b4 37. Qb5 Qd8 38. Qxb4 Rd1 39. gxh4 Rxc1+
40. Kxc1 Qc7 41. Qc4 Qd6 42. b4 Re1+ 43. Kc2 Qd1+ 0-1

Zeinab Mamedyarova lost her first ten games (!) but could finish the event with a smile:

[Event "ACP Women Cup 2012"]
[Site "Tbilisi GEO"]
[Date "2012.02.21"]
[Round "11.4"]
[White "Stefanova, Antoaneta"]
[Black "Mamedjarova, Zeinab"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A46"]
[WhiteElo "2523"]
[BlackElo "2318"]
[PlyCount "106"]
[EventDate "2012.02.18"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 c5 3. e3 g6 4. dxc5 Qa5+ 5. Nbd2 Bg7 6. a3 Qxc5 7. b4 Qc7 8.
Bb2 O-O 9. c4 b6 10. Be2 Bb7 11. O-O d6 12. Rc1 Nbd7 13. Nd4 Rac8 14. Bf3 Ne5
15. Bxb7 Qxb7 16. Qe2 a6 17. f4 Ned7 18. N4b3 Rc7 19. e4 e5 20. f5 Rfc8 21. a4
Nh5 22. Qd3 Nb8 23. b5 Bf8 24. g4 Ng7 25. Nf3 Ne8 26. Nfd2 Nd7 27. g5 Nc5 28.
Nxc5 Rxc5 29. Qh3 Ng7 30. Rc3 axb5 31. axb5 Nh5 32. Rcf3 Qe7 33. Qh4 Ra8 34.
Rh3 Ra2 35. Bc3 Rc2 36. Kh1 h6 37. fxg6 fxg6 38. Rg1 hxg5 39. Qf2 Rxc4 40. Rxh5
gxh5 41. Qf5 R4xc3 42. Rxg5+ Bg7 43. Rxh5 Rxd2 44. Qh7+ Kf8 45. Rf5+ Ke8 46.
Qg6+ Kd8 47. Rf1 Rdc2 48. Rf7 Rxh2+ 49. Kxh2 Qh4+ 50. Kg2 Qh3+ 51. Kf2 Rc2+ 52.
Ke1 Qc3+ 53. Kf1 Qa1# 0-1

ACP Women Cup 2012 | Round 11 standings

Playoff

According to the regulations, a blitz playoff between Cramling and Dzagnidze would decide who would win the US $10,000 first prize. The first two games (4 minutes + 2 seconds increment) ended in a draw (and were not saved for eternity, it seems - we cannot find them anywhere) and so the tournament ended with an Armageddon game. White got 5 minutes on the clock, Black only 4 but with draw odds. (The 2-second increment after move 61 was not relevant this time.)

[Event "ACP Women Cup T/B 2012"]
[Site "Tbilisi GEO"]
[Date "2012.02.22"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Cramling, Pia"]
[Black "Dzagnidze, Nana"]
[Result "0-1"]
[EventDate "2012.02.22"]

1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 b6 4. Bg2 Bb7 5. d4 Be7 6. O-O O-O 7. Re1 Qc8 8. Bg5
h6 9. Bxf6 Bxf6 10. e4 d6 11. e5 Be7 12. Nc3 dxe5 13. Nxe5 Bxg2 14. Kxg2 c5 15.
d5 Bf6 16. f4 Rd8 17. Qf3 Bxe5 18. fxe5 Nd7 19. Rad1 Nf8 20. d6 Ng6 21. h4 Rb8
22. Re2 Qb7 23. Qxb7 Rxb7 24. h5 Nf8 25. a3 Rc8 26. Nb5 Rd7 27. Rdd2 Rcd8 28. b4
f6 29. bxc5 bxc5 30. Nc3 fxe5 31. Ne4 Rc8 32. Rb2 Nh7 33. Rb5 Nf6 34. Rxc5 Rxc5
35. Nxc5 Rxd6 36. Rxe5 Rd4 37. Nxe6 Rxc4 38. Ra5 Rc6 39. Nd4 Rc7 40. Kf3 Rd7 41.
Ne6 Rd6 42. Nf4 a6 43. Rc5 Rb6 44. a4 Rb3 45. Kg2 Rb4 46. Rc8 Kf7 47. Rc7 Kg8
48. Ne6 Nxh5 49. Kf3 Rb3 50. Ke4 Nxg3 51. Ke5 Nh5 52. Rc8 Kf7 53. Kd4 0-1

Local hero Nana Dzagnidze with the trophy

The ACP Women Cup was organized by the Association of Chess Professionals (ACP) and the Georgian Chess Federation. It was the final tournament of the ACP Women Series 2009/2010 and 2010/2011 and was held February 17-22 at the Sheraton Hotel, in Tbilisi, Georgia. The time control was 20 minutes and 5 seconds increment on the clock. The ACP Women Cup was one of the strongest rapid events for women ever held, with a prize fund of US $40,000.