Kanying continues dream run

By P.K. Ajith Kumar

NEW DELHI, DEC. 9. There seems to be no stopping the Chinese. The possibility of an all-Chinese final in the women's World chess championship looms large after the first game in the semifinals at Hyatt Regency on Saturday. Qin Kanying won with white pieces against Alisa Maric of Yugoslavia and World champion and firm favourite Xie Jun drew with Ektaerina Kovalevskaya of Russia with black pieces.

Maric and Kanying met across the board today after demolishing their respective opponents in the tie-breakers in the quarterfinals yesterday. So neither of them would have been short of confidence, but the Yugoslav, who opted for French Defence again (this time it was Tarrasch), ran into problems pretty early on in the game.

Kanying had the better of the opening. She had an advantage in space, and her pieces were better placed for action. Maric had a problem with her light squared bishop, which she could not move until the 27th move. White, on the other hand, had an active light squared bishop, with which she made Blacks position more comfortable with a check on the 17th move. That ruled out castling for Maric. It was also the beginning of a series of few fine moves from the Chinese girl, as she brought her queen to `e3, followed by the `f pawn push.

On the 20th move Black went for the exchange of queen and minor piece, and White never had it better. Kanying had the full control of the `d file, and Maric had little play. White gave her `a pawn on the 23rd moved to make way for the smooth passage of her queen-side pawns, and a move later she doubled her rooks on `d. On the 26th move, Black was to give the pawn back, to finally bring her `dead bishop on `c8 to life. But it, of course, was too late.

White, who played very actively throughout, by now was clearly on her way to a well deserved victory. Maric had for some time tried to protect her `a3 pawn for some time with her rook, but was forced to give it on the 36th move. The rook was threatened by the `b pawn push. Though she got the pawn back a couple of moves later, the ominous looking White pawn on `c had reached the seventh rank.

Maric resigned on the 39th move. It was not an easy win today, said Kanying after the game, but I thought after the queen exchange I was going to win anyway. But I had to play correctly, and I am happy that I was able to do it. Maric, I thought, I did not make the right moves.

On the other board it was a Four Knights game. White did try to make thing happen by taking the `b7 with rook and had the control of the `a8-h1 diagonal thanks to her bishop. Jun exchanged her queen on the 18th move, and a rook a move later. It was then rook, bishop and knight against rook and double bishop, with pawns on the same files for both.

A prolonged end game now followed. Black pushed her `g pawn forward and got it to the third rank on the 35th move. White was forced to give her bishop on the 42nd move for that pawn when it advanced to the seventh rank. That, however, was not enough for Jun to force a win, and they decided to split the point on the 52nd move. ``Well, this draw is alright for me, as I was playing with black pieces today,'' said the World champion later. ``Anyway I dont think I would have been able to win from that ending.''

lThe results (semifinals, game one): Ekaterina Kovalevskaya (Rus 2475) drew with Xie Jun (Chn 2568); Qin Kanying (Chn 2501) bt Alisa Maric (Yug 2443).

Qin Kanying of China (left) who beat Alisa Maric of Yugoslavia in a semifinal game of the women's world chess championship.

Evgeny Bareev of Russia (right) in deep thought during his game against Spain's Alexi Shirov in the men's world chess championship in New Delhi on Saturday. - Photos: S. Subramanium

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