World Women’s Chess Championship: Harika Dronavalli lost glorious chance to enter title round

25 February was a day filled with excitement and heartbreak for Indian chess fans as Harika Dronavalli took on Tan Zhongyi in the tie-breakers of the 2017 World Women’s Chess Championship semi-final. In the classical match, Tan had won the first game. Harika came back strongly to pick up full point in the second game and take the match into the shorter time controls. Harika was the favourite to win as she was considered to be a better rapid and blitz player than Tan. But the Chinese showed she had nerves of steel, something that is required with the time ticking down.

A) Two games of 25 minutes each plus 10 second increment

Game 1: Harika completely demolished her Chinese opponent. She was all over Tan’s king and forced her to resign in just 17 moves! It was a sight to behold.

After such a start Harika had become a huge favourite to win the match. All that she had to do was draw the next game and she would have been through.

Game 2: It was a ‘knightmare’ for Harika. The game was moving towards a draw with both sides having a knight and six pawns. However, Tan didn’t relent easily. She had to win at all costs. By keeping time on her clock and making her moves quickly, she managed to push Harika on the back foot and picked up the full point.

B) 10 minutes each plus 10 seconds increment per move

After two games of 25 minutes plus a 10 second increment, the score stood at one point apiece. Hence, the match moved into shorter time control.

Game 1: It seemed like Harika had a fine position but suddenly she got her knight in big trouble. She had very little time, lost the piece and gave the game up. This time around, it was Harika in a do-or-die situation.

Game 2: Perhaps, this was the most dramatic game of the match. After the opening it seemed like the end of the road for Harika. She lost her queen for a rook and bishop. Although materially she wasn’t lost, she definitely had no winning chances. A draw meant that Harika was knocked out. I personally had shut down my computer, until I got a few messages on my mobile that she is winning! It was an unbelievable turn of fortunes. Harika managed to create a passer, and using her king-plus-rook-plus-bishop-plus-pawn, was able to outplay her opponent’s lone queen. It clearly showed that nerves had become a huge element in the match. Both the players weren’t able to keep their cool.

C) Five minutes each plus three seconds increment per move

This was the last tie-break of the match. If this had also ended in a 1:1 tie, the players would have had to go into an Armageddon. Five minutes per game for each player is a very short time and it is important to not commit a huge blunder. Usually the player who makes lesser mistakes is the one who wins in blitz.

Game 1: Harika managed to completely outplay Tan positionally. All of white (Tan) pawns were weak, but the Indian girl just didn’t pick them up. Why? She wanted to win in a way that gave her Chinese opponent no counterplay. But in doing so, she let victory slip. As her time went down to 10 seconds, there was no longer a win and the players agreed to a draw.

Game 2: A relatively correct game where Harika, with the white pieces, got no real advantage and both players tried for a while before shaking hands and getting ready for the Armageddon encounter.

D) Armageddon: Harika had white pieces and five minutes against her opponent’s four. She had to win at all costs as a draw would have been fine for Tan. That’s what is meant by Armageddon in chess. After the game a winner is found for sure.

The game started as a better opening position for Tan, but Harika kept manouevring her knights. Suddenly the Chinese girl blundered her e5 pawn and Harika was in the clear. She was winning right until the very end. But when the time started to go really down, it was no longer a game of chess. Utter chaos ensued on the board as both players queened and Harika’s flag fell. In any case the position was just a draw, which meant Harika was knocked out.

This meant that Harika was eliminated and Tan progressed to the final against Anna Muzychuk. The Ukrainian has had a smooth road towards the final and seems to be in great form. It will be interesting to see if Tan is able to stop Muzychuk from winning her classical title after she had won the rapid and blitz world championships in Doha a few months ago.

As Indian fans it is natural to feel dejected at Harika’s elimination. However, I think Harika was not in her best shape. She was making plenty of errors and not making the most of the opportunities presented to her. Yet, her fighting spirit ensured that she was able to knock out strong players like Dinara Saduakassova, Sopiko Guramishvili and Nana Dzagnidze.

The next world championship isn’t far and I am sure that Harika will prepare harder than ever to come back with vengeance. As of now, all that she requires is rest and a good 10 days without wearing a hijab to recover from this exhausting experience!

Sagar Shah is an International Master and CEO of ChessBase India .