The Rector of the Altai State University, Doctor of Economics, member of the Board of Trustees of the Altai Krai Chess Federation Sergey Bocharov, made the ceremonial move in the game A. Grischuk vs V. Artemiev in round 5 of the Russian Championships Superfinals in Barnaul, Russia. He also congratulated all participants and organizers on the 100th anniversary of the Chess Federation of Russia, which is being celebrated on this very day, 21st August 2024.
In the open championship, Andrey Esipenko (photo above) scored his first victory by defeating Rudik Makarian as White. The opponents battled it out in a position typical of the Closed Variation of the Catalan Opening. White prepared and executed a standard centre break, to which Black did not react optimally and lost control of the d-file. Soon good advice was beyond price for Black: Esipenko got the advantage of two bishops over two knights and exploited it in a textbook fashion.
The games Dreev – Dubov, Nesterov – Matlakov (photo above), Timofeev – Ponkratov, Grischuk – Artemiev, and Grebnev – Najer were drawn.
Tournament standings after Round 5:
1. Arseniy Nesterov – 3.5 points
2-4. Andrey Esipenko, Evgeniy Najer, Alexander Grischuk – 3
5-9. Maxim Matlakov, Vladislav Artemiev, Daniil Dubov, Aleksey Grebnev, Aleksey Dreev – 2.5
10-11. Rudik Makarian, Pavel Ponkratov – 2
12. Artyom Timofeev – 1.
Round 6 pairings:
Najer – Ponkratov, Matlakov – Timofeev, Dubov – Nesterov, Artemiev – Dreev, Makarian – Grischuk, Grebnev – Esipenko.
There are now three leaders in the women’s section: Leya Garifullina was caught up by Kateryna Lagno and Aleksandra Goryachkina.
Natalija Pogonina and Kateryna Lagno (photo above) opened the game into the King’s Indian Defence with a closed pawn centre. White was advancing her pawns on the queenside and Black was looking for her chances in a direct attack on the king. When Black focused all her major pieces on the g2-square, White made a tactical mistake. A spectacular rook sacrifice allowed Kateryna to launch an irresistible attack and win on move 30.
Aleksandra Goryachkina (photo above, standing) and Olga Girya discussed the Anti Berlin. Out of the opening, Black voluntarily walled up her bishop on a7, where it remained until the end of the game. Goryachkina gained a large space advantage, seized the central outposts with her knights and launched a direct attack on her opponent’s king. To avoid being checkmated, Black had to go for serious material concessions. However, she ended up lacking enough resources for a perpetual check.
Playing Black against the Superfinal first-timer Olga Karmanova, the current Russian champion Baira Kovanova (photo above) was looking for a complex battle full of tactics from the very first moves. White had a very promising position out of the opening but then lost her way: she spent many tempi on fruitless kingside manoeuvres and ended up under direct attack on the queenside. Due to heavy material losses, Karmanova resigned immediately after the time control move.
Daria Charochkina (photo above) and Ekaterina Goltseva were engaged in a double-edged battle in a position with opposite castlings. White sacrificed a pawn and got excellent compensation but then began to perform imprecisely, allowing Black to seize the initiative and organise an attack on the enemy king. Charochkina defended stubbornly, looking for counter-chances, and before the time control move Goltseva began to make mistakes: the fatal blunder came on move 40. Daria delivered a beautiful tactical shot and soon won.
The games Shuvalova vs. Garifullina (photo above) and Voit vs. Gunina ended in a draw.
Tournament standings after Round 5:
1. Aleksandra Goryachkina, Leya Garifullina, Kateryna Lagno – 4 points
3-6. Olga Girya, Daria Voit, Daria Charochkina – 2.5
7-10. Polina Shuvalova, Valentina Gunina, Natalija Pogonina, Baira Kovanova – 2
11. Ekaterina Goltseva – 1.5
12. Olga Karmanova – 1.
Round 6 pairings:
Gunina – Garifullina, Goltseva – Shuvalova, Kovanova – Charochkina, Girya – Karmanova, Lagno – Goryachkina, Voit – Pogonina.
The Russian Championship Superfinals are played separately for men and women in a round robin system in 11 rounds with one rest day. Game days: August 17-22 and 24-28. All rounds start at 3 PM local time (11 AM Moscow time). In case of a tie for the 1st place, an additional competition will be held.
Five best players of the open event will qualify for the FIDE World Cup, while three best players of the women’s tournament will get the right to play in the FIDE Women’s World Cup.
The Superfinals are organised by the Chess Federation of Russia with support of the Russian Ministry of Sport and Timchenko Foundation in cooperation with the Government of the Altai Territory and the Chess Federation of the Altai Territory.
The CFR general partner is PhosAgro. The CFR partners are Aeroflot and Sima-land.