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Shuvalova, Vaishali Get Even vs. Hou, Kosteniuk
Shuvalova and Vaishali are the first players through to the Semifinals. Photos: Maria Emelianova/Chess.com.

Shuvalova, Vaishali Get Even vs. Hou, Kosteniuk

NM_Vanessa
NM NM_Vanessa
Staff
| 14 | Chess Event Coverage

IM Polina Shuvalova and GM Vaishali Rameshbabu prevailed vs. their women's world champion opponents in the Quarterfinals of the 2024 Julius Baer Women's Speed Chess Championship on Monday. 

Shuvalova knocked out women's world number-one, GM Hou Yifan, in a shocking tiebreaker. Trailing as she entered the last segment, Vaishali finished with a three-game winning streak to defeat GM Alexandra Kosteniuk. 

The Quarterfinals continue on Tuesday, September 3, with GM Kateryna Lagno vs. GM Valentina Gunina starting at 8 a.m. ET / 14:00 CEST / 5:30 p.m. IST, followed by GM Ju Wenjun vs. IM Alice Lee.

Julius Baer Women's Speed Chess Championship Bracket 

Hou Yifan 8-9 Polina Shuvalova

As the highest-ranked woman in the world and the WSCC defending champion, Hou was the favorite. Yet, Shuvalova is a formidable aspiring international master and the reigning champion of the I'M Not A GM Speed Chess Championship―as well as the first-ever woman to win it. 

5+1: Hou 1.5-2.5 Shuvalova

Shuvalova jostled her way to the first victory of the match. In a level queen ending, she gave up all three of her kingside pawns to create a passer on the queenside.

Hou responded in kind in the next game, also winning by promoting her a-pawn. Shuvalova regained the lead by sinking her pieces into enemy territory and creating threats against the white king.

3+1: Hou 2.5-1.5 Shuvalova

To kickstart the 3+1 portion, Hou evened the score by crashing through on the kingside.

Shuvalova grabbed back the lead in the next game, yet Hou closed out the blitz with an all-out king hunt.

1+1: Hou 2.5-2.5 Shuvalova

Many battles were fought in endgames where both players just kept fighting for winning chances, such as game 11 where they played to king vs. king. IM Jovanka Houska observed: “Both these players constantly refuse to accept the draw. They want to play it out until the bitter end.”

Both these players constantly refuse to accept the draw. They want to play it out until the bitter end.

―Jovanka Houska

The competitors started the penultimate game still even on the scoreboard. Hou took the lead, needing just a draw to win the match. As both players searched for attacking chances against the opposing kings, Hou hung mate in two―allowing Shuvalova to take the match into overtime. 

Tiebreak: Hou 1.5-2.5 Shuvalova

The tie persisted for three playoff games. Once again, the players were down to one last game with a deadlocked scoreboard and everything on the line. 

Hou gained a winning knight ending, but as she worked out how to convert, she forgot about the clock.

Shuvalova shared about the surprising finish:

I'm feeling shocked still after the last game. I wasn't supposed to win like this, although I felt like we were having a pretty equal match.

I'm feeling shocked still after the last game. I wasn't supposed to win like this.

―Polina Shuvalova

Kosteniuk 5.5-6.5 Vaishali

Kosteniuk vs. Vaishali was a battle of generations. Kosteniuk became the 12th women's world champion in 2008―when her opponent was seven years old. Vaishali, on the other hand, embarked on her own ambitions for the title when she made her first appearance in the Women's Candidates Tournament earlier this year.

Though they are decades apart in experience, both Kosteniuk and Vaishali have sharp, aggressive styles, making this a fascinating matchup between fearsome attackers. 

5+1: Kosteniuk 2-2 Vaishali

Vaishali struck first. In game one, it was a contest between Kosteniuk's queenside minority attack and Vaishali's kingside pressure. Though the ChessQueen had a 25-second time edge as the players reached the time scramble, the Indian grandmaster was able to break through her opponent's defenses.

In the next game, Kosteniuk had an even bigger time advantage of over two minutes as she pressed on Vaishali's weak pawns. The 23-year-old competitor countered by creating a passer in the center. The game ended with a sudden shock when Vaishali forgot to keep guarding Kosteniuk's promotion square.

3+1: Kosteniuk 3-1 Vaishali

The players continued to trade victories. Kosteniuk kept her opponent under pressure on the board and the clock to win a knight ending. Vaishali countered with a comeback in a queen ending. 

The segment ended with two tumultuous endgame clashes. Vaishali trapped her rival’s rook, yet Kosteniuk created connected passers and dashed them toward inevitable promotion.  

In the last game of the 3+1, Vaishali tried to even the score as she pressed in the rook ending, but Kosteniuk’s combination of active defense and speed stole victory. Heading into the final segment, Kosteniuk had taken the first two-point lead of the match. 

1+1: Kosteniuk 0.5-3.5 Vaishali

In the first game of the bullet, Kosteniuk made an unfortunate slip. With a perpetual check in her hands, she let the enemy king sneak away.

With furious attacking play, Vaishali won another game in a row. 

It came down to the last game as the competitors had again reached a completely tied score. After building up pressure against the opposing king, Vaishali sacrificed an exchange to break through, and her tactical skills sealed the match victory. 

Vaishali shared the mentality that fueled her comeback:

Nothing else to do but just keep playing the bullet games—as many as possible.

That game was really painful. Going into the bullet, I knew she would put a lot of pressure on time as well, so I had one more thing to take care of: to play as fast as possible. 

Nothing else to do but just keep playing the bullet games—as many as possible.

—Vaishali Rameshbabu

It was a day of evening the score for the aspiring younger players. Vaishali and Shuvalova both defeated the competitors who had knocked them out in the Quarterfinals last year.

In 2023, Hou outscored Shuvalova by six points while Kosteniuk defeated Vaishali by a five-point margin. On Monday, Shuvalova and Vaishali each edged ahead of their rivals by a point. 

The first Semifinals match is set: Shuvalova and Vaishali will face each other. Before that, there are two more Quarterfinals matches ahead: Lagno vs. Gunina and the reigning women's world champion vs. 14-year-old Lee. 

How to watch?

You can watch the broadcast on Twitch and YouTube. The games can also be checked out on our dedicated events page. 

The live broadcast was hosted by GM Benjamin Bok and IM Jovanka Houska.

The Julius Baer Women's Speed Chess Championship is a Chess.com event where some of the strongest female chess players in the world battle for a $75,000 prize fund. The main event sees 16 players compete in a single-elimination bracket in matches played at 5+1, 3+1, and 1+1 time controls. Four places go to the winners of four Play-ins held on August 12-16 and open to all female titled players. In each Play-in the top four players in a Swiss qualify to compete in a knockout. 

Previous coverage:

NM_Vanessa
NM Vanessa West

Vanessa West is a National Master, a chess teacher, and a writer for Chess.com. In 2017, they won the Chess Journalist of the Year award.

You can follow them on X: Vanessa__West

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