The Women blitz event lasted 3 days and 30 games, but was only decided at the last second of play. Hou Yifan of China, and Valentina Gunina dominated the event, and it was soon clear they would take gold and silver. Like in the rapid event, where they also fought neck to neck, it again came down to the final round who would take the gold. And in a direct encounter even, as the drawing of lots have paired the to in what would turn out to be a final. Gunina needed to win the game in order to repeat her feat from the rapids and secure another gold medal, while for the World Champion, a draw would be enough for gold. Not Surprisingly Gunina choose an aggressive strategy:
Valentina Gunina Russia- Hou Yifan China
1.d4 e6 2.c4 Nf6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 0–0 5.Nf3 d5 6.cxd5 exd5 7.Bg5 h6 8.Bh4 c5 9.dxc5 Be6 10.e3 Bxc5 11.Be2 Nc6 12.0–0 Be7 13.Rfd1 Qa5 14.a3 Rfd8 15.b4 Qc7 16.Bg3 Qd7 17.e4!? The Russian has achieved a pleasant position, and now starts immediate complications. Maybe a quiet approach was better from an objective perspective, but going for gold, putting your opponent under maximum pressure makes alot of sense. 17...Rac8 18.Bb5 a6 19.Ne5
Gunina adds up the pressure by tactical means, but Hou Yifan is not know for her passive defence, but for her ability to fight back, and immediately ups the stakes, with a very complex reply: 19...Nxb4
A very bold counterattack, that takes Gunina by surprise. The position is complicated, and with only 3 minutes for the game, calculating the lines at the board becomes impossible, and the players will have to rely on intuition. Hou′s point is that 20 axb4 is met by 20...Qxb5! exploiting the pin in the c-line. 20.Bxd7? A gold medal changes hands. This was Guninas golden opportunity. Instead of taking the black queen, she could win with the amazing 20 Qb2! Qc7 21 Nc6!!
Then due to the threat of the bishop from g3 taking the queen on c7 black will end up losing serious material, and white has a won position. Now, on the other hand the opposite is true, and the World Champion collects yet another gold medal to her impressive collection, despite still only 19 years old! 20...Nxc2 21.Bxc8 Rxc8 22.exd5 Nxa1 23.dxe6 fxe6 24.Ne2 Nb3 The smoke has cleared, black has an extra pawn in the endgame. Enough to win, and more than enough to secure the draw which would be enough for gold. Gunina tries her best, but its too late. 25.Rb1 Nc5 26.Ng6 Kf7 27.Ne5+ Ke8 28.f3 Nfd7 29.Ng6 Kf7 30.Nxe7 Kxe7 31.Nd4 b5 32.Rd1 Nb6 33.Be5 Kf7 34.Bd6 Nc4 35.Bg3 Rd8 36.Bf2 e5 And as white loses a piece due to the pin in the d-line, Gunina resigned. Gold Hou Yifan China 21.5 points
Silver Valentina Gunina Russia 19.5 points
Bronze Anna Muzychuk Slovenia 18.5 points
The next 2 days we will se the ”Basque” event, where the players face each other in 2 simultaneously played games! Will we see another Hou/Gunina race? Or has the time come for the other participants?
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