Munich GP Round 10: Kosteniuk barely escapes with a draw against Humpy

by Shahid Ahmed - 13/02/2023

GM Koneru Humpy was on the verge of ending GM Alexandra Kosteniuk's unbeaten streak. First, she missed a tactical opportunity to convert her decisive advantage. Then she lost her advantage in the queen endgame, allowing the tournament leader to remain unscathed. GM Harika Dronavalli scored her first win of the event after nine draws, against GM Anna Muzychuk who suffered her third consecutive loss. Kosteniuk maintains her full point lead 7.5/10 over Humpy 6.5/10 at Munich GP. She must beat GM Tan Zhongyi in the final round and hope WGM Zhu Jiner wins against Kosteniuk to tie the score. Final Round 11 starts today at 1 p.m. local time, 5:30 p.m. IST. Photo: FIDE/Mark Livshitz

Harika scores her first win of the event

GM Harika Dronavalli finally ended her draw streak by winning her first game of the event, against GM Anna Muzychuk.

GM Koneru Humpy missed a fantastic opportunity against GM Alexandra Kosteniuk | Photo: FIDE/Mark Livshitz

Kosteniuk - Humpy: 0.5-0.5

It was evident that GM Koneru Humpy (2572) was playing for a win only. She did not opt for Petroff or Berlin, she went for a line in the Ruy Lopez which obviously kept her winning chances and she found herself in one.

Position after 37.Rb1

37...Bd4! and it would have been over for White. 38.Qxb4 Qxf3 39.Be3 Nf4 would have caused a resignation by White. The pressure of the tournament situation got to Humpy and she played 37...Nd4. It still maintained a significant advantage for Black. The game eventually liquidated into a queen endgame.

Position after 50.Qc6

Queen endgames are always tricky.. Even with two extra pawns, it is certainly not easy to win. Black had to save the c7-pawn and let go the c3 one, since both cannot be saved. 50...Qe7 51.Qxc3 Qg5+ 52.Kf1 Qxh5 now Black can afford to drop the c7-pawn as f3 is under attack. The game continued 50...Qf6 51.Qc7 and it meandered into a draw.

Harika - Anna: 1-0

After nine consecutive draws, GM Harika Dronavalli (2507) scored her first win of the event against GM Anna Muzychuk (UKR, 2522) who lost her third game in-a-row.

Position after 18.axb4

18...Rxb4 is fine for Black. When you are not in form, correct moves don't seem correct, the other ones do. 18...e5? 19.Bxe5 Bxg4 20.Bc3 Rb6 sure Black managed to develop her bishop and momentarily rendered white's dark squared bishop less powerful. However, eventually White's bishop pair caused Black to lose the game.