Norway Chess Women 2024 R5: Vaishali victorious in a must-win Armageddon against Tingjie Lei
R Vaishali scored in a must-win Armageddon with the white pieces against Tingjie Lei (CHN) in Round 5 of Norway Chess Women 2024. Vaishali made her intentions clear that she will leave no stone unturned to push for a win when she temporarily sacrificed an exchange. She was guaranteed to get it back and the position remained equal. However, the intent to score a win made a significant difference. Eventually, her opponent faltered and Vaishali walked away with 1.5 points. She maintains her sole lead 10/15. Anna Muzychuk (UKR) defeated Pia Cramling (SWE) to reduce the gap with the leader 9/15. Wenjun Ju (CHN) slipped to third place 7.5/15 as she won Armageddon against Koneru Humpy. Round 6 starts today from 5 p.m. CET, 8:30 p.m. IST. Photos: Norway Chess/Stev Bonhage
Anna Muzychuk wins a Classical again, reduces the gap with Vaishali
Anna Muzychuk became the only woman to score two consecutive Classical wins at this event. She is also the only one to score a Classical victory in Round 5.
Vaishali - Tingjie: 1.5-1
R Vaishali (2489) faced the former Women's World Championship Challenger - Tingjie Lei (2548) only twice in rated games at FIDE Women's Candidates 2024 last month. They traded wins, the last win being scored by Vaishali. The Classical game ended in a well-contested draw.
Armageddon
Being in a must-win situation, Vaishali went all-in by temporarily sacrificing an exchange 17.Rxf6 Qxf6 18.Qxf6 gxf6 19.Nd5 Kg7 20.Nxc7 Nxc2 21.Rd1 Nd4 22.Ng4 White does not need to hurry in regaining the exchange. Instead, she improved the sidelined knight's position. 22...f5 23.Ne3 Rac8 24.Nxe8+ thus it was a temporary sacrifice as White was virtually guaranteed to recover it Rxe8. After a back and forth play, Vaishali went on to win the game after her opponent blundered a mate in one.
Wenjun - Humpy: 1.5-1
The last three Classical rated game between Wenjun Ju (CHN, 2559) and Koneru Humpy (2545) ended in draws. Before that, they had their last decisive game against each other, way back in February 2016. The Classical battle ended in a draw. The Armageddon had a series of material trades, resulting in an occurrence of a double rook and bishop endgame within the first 20 moves.
Armageddon
Black had to make a critical decision. Where to move the king? Humpy made the incorrect decision 39...Kd6?? and went on to lose the game.
Anna - Pia: 3-0
The last time Anna Muzychuk (UKR, 2505) defeated Pia Cramling (SWE, 2449) in a rated game was in March 2015. Over nine years later, Anna defeatd the legend in a rated game, that also in Classical which gave her three points and reduced the gap with Vaishali.
Loose pawns drop off. 33...a5? created a loose pawn for Black. 34.Rb5 Bc6 35.Rxa5 Nb7 36.Ra7 Kc7 37.Bc4 Rd2 38.Bf8 g5 39.Bxh6 and White won the game eventually.
Replay live stream
Replay Round 5 games
Round 5 results
Vaishali R - Tingjie Lei: 1.5-1
Wenjun Ju - Koneru Humpy: 1.5-1
Anna Muzychuk - Pia Cramling: 3-0
Standings after Round 5
Vaishali - 10/15
Anna Muzychuk - 9/15
Wenjun Ju - 7.5/15
Tingjie Lei - 7/15
Koneru Humpy - 4/15
Pia Cramling - 3/15
Round 6 pairings
Format
6 players will take part in the Tournament.
The Tournament is a double-round event with Armageddon.
The Tournament consists of 10 rounds.
Time Control
Each player will have 120 minutes on the clock with an increment of 10 seconds starting from move 41. The time control for the Armageddon game: white has 10 minutes and black has 7 minutes with an increment for both players of 1 second per move, starting from move 41.
Draw by Mutual Agreement
Players are not allowed to agree to a draw until at least 30 moves have been made by each player. This rule does not apply to Armageddon games.
Armageddon
If the classical game is drawn, an Armageddon game will be played. It shall start within 20 minutes of the conclusion of the classical game. The player with White pieces will continue with White in Armageddon. If the Armageddon game is drawn, black will win.
Points
Players will get the following points per round:
Win in the classical game: 3 points
Loss in the classical game: 0 points
Draw in the classical game & win Armageddon: 1½ points
Draw in the classical game & loss Armageddon: 1 point
Schedule
From 27th May to 7th June, every day game starts at 5 p.m. local time and 8:30 p.m. IST. Rest days are on Friday 31st May and Wednesday 5th June.
Prize money
Prize Money The total prize fund of the Tournament is 1690000 NOK. Distribution of Prize money occurs as followed:
1st - NOK 700000
2nd - NOK 350000
3rd - NOK 200000
4th - NOK 170000
5th - NOK 150000
6th - NOK 120000
Watch the tournaments live at the venue:
SR-Bank in Stavanger City.
Address: Christen Tranes Gate 35, 4007 Stavanger
All tickets are purchased directly at the venue. No pre-sale.
It is possible to reserve tickets, however, this is normally not necessary due to good capacity at the venue. Reserve your ticket by e-mailing the desired dates and names to: bjorn@norwaychess.com.
Ticket prices per day:
Adults: 200 NOK
Children: 100 NOK
Family: 400 NOK
Links
Norway Chess: Official site, facebook, twitter, instagram, youtube, linkedin
