Russian chess player Alexandra Goryachkina became the winner of the Women's World Cup held in Baku. In the decisive match, she defeated the representative of Bulgaria Nurgyul Salimova in a tie-break. A participant in the match for the title of world champion in 2020 won the prestigious tournament on the second attempt. In 2021, Goryachkina lost in the final to compatriot Alexandra Kosteniuk, who has recently represented Switzerland.
Cold-blooded victory in the final
In the capital of Azerbaijan, 24-year-old Goryachkina confidently made her way to the final, most of the meetings (except the quarterfinals) winning in two games in classical chess. However, the match for victory in the competition was extremely difficult for the Russian woman, she was on the verge of defeat more than once.
Nevertheless, Goryachkina calmly and steadfastly walked along the edge of the abyss and snatched the victory. On the tie-break, which she loves to play and where she is very strong, Alexandra can «overroll» any opponent.
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“Sasha won the final due to her great experience and the fact that in such difficult situations her nerves turned out to be stronger,” Sergey Smagin, vice president of the Russian Chess Federation (RCF), emphasized in a conversation with. “Perhaps because she wasn’t feeling better, she couldn’t play her chess. But on the other hand, in terms of sports, she looked very good: she was looking for her chances both in lost positions and in won ones. As in a decisive duel — in the endgame Sasha clearly understood where to put the king correctly and what to do next.
Goryachkina was born in September 1998 in Orsk. Her love for chess was instilled in her by her father. At an early age, Sasha and her family moved to the other side of the country, to Salekhard, and soon began studying at the school of the 12th world champion Anatoly Karpov. By the way, Salekhard is the only city in the world that stands exactly on the border of the Arctic Circle. Imagine, it is worth taking just one or two steps to the side, and you are already in the Arctic. On September 9, the capital of the region will celebrate City Day, and Alexandra has already made one of the best gifts for the residents of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug.The talented athlete, with whom coach Vladimir Belov began to work, quickly achieved serious success, successively winning the world championships among girls under the age of 10, 14, 18 and 20 years old. The representative of Yamal also had gold medals in the European championships among chess players under 12, 14 and 18 years old.
But do not think that Alexandra everything turned out completely well. A striking example is that in order for the young talent to be able to go to the first world championship, held in Vietnam, the family had to take out a large loan. It's good that the Salekhard authorities subsequently helped the Goryachkins with the repayment of the debt.
At 13, the Russian woman fulfilled the standard of an international grandmaster, and then made a splash in adult chess, at the age of 16 she won the Superfinal of the Russian Championship in Chita. By the way, it was Anatoly Karpov who awarded the young champion of the country!The Candidates Tournament for the match with the world champion Chinese woman Ju Wenjun in 2019 was held in Kazan. Experts predicted victory in the competition for other titled participants, because three world champions of different years came to the start at once, and two more grandmasters had previously played in matches for the chess crown. Few expected that the inexperienced Goryachkina was capable of success.
But the debutant of the tournament from the start developed such a hurricane pace that no one could withstand. After nine rounds, the Russian woman was leading with a phenomenal result of 7.5 points out of 9 (six wins, three draws) and secured victory in the tournament two rounds before the finish. — fate favors the participant included in the tournament at the last moment. After all, Goryachkina was the first substitute and got into the coveted eight only after the refusal of the Chinese woman Hou Yifan.
Alexandra modestly explained her success, saying in an interview: “In such a situation, the most important thing is faith in yourself. If you start to doubt, this is the worst thing that can happen. Few people believed in me, and if only I began to doubt, then nothing good would have happened.»
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And modestly added: “I didn’t have any special sensations — it seems to me that I didn’t do anything phenomenal. And there is not even some kind of euphoria, only wild fatigue. Now I will go for about a week to my grandparents in the Orenburg region, in Orsk. You need to exhale and talk with your loved ones — from whom you don’t need anything, who are just happy to see you. tryout
In January 2020, the Russian woman entered the title fight with Ju Wenjun. The main part of the classical chess match, held in Shanghai and Vladivostok, ended in a draw — 6-6. Goryachkina confidently fought with a more experienced opponent, but at the tie-break in rapid chess the world champion still managed to gain the upper hand (2.5 — 1.5) and stay on the throne.
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FSH Vice President Alexander Zhukov praised the quality of Goryachkina's game, emphasizing: «Sasha did a good job, she fought and played the match very worthily. I played with the world champion absolutely on an equal footing, and the fight could end with any result. I think that this is just the beginning and Alexandra will be the world champion.
Grandmaster Konstantin Landa assisted Goryachkina in the Candidates Tournament and in the match for the title of World Champion. Communication with a well-known coach undoubtedly helped the chess player improve certain aspects of her game, and cooperation in the future could become productive and promising. But fate intervened. Last October, Landa died of inoperable brain cancer at the age of 50.
In the style of Karpov
In recent years, Goryachkina often played in men's tournaments, one of her achievements was reaching the Superfinal of the Russian Championship. The chess player consciously chose such a strategy, aimed at gaining new experience and improving in the class. Experts note that now Alexandra plays harder, male chess.
In her decisions, the athlete clearly adheres to the creed expressed in an interview several years ago. Then, after winning the tournament in Kazan, Alexandra said: “I don’t call a dream what I can achieve on my own. A dream is something that is unattainable and does not depend on your work, skill and luck. and tried to win. It's not a dream, it's a goal. The title of world champion? It's also a goal, because I can achieve it on my own.»
Now the leader of Russian chess in 2024 will have to participate in the tournament contenders. Surprisingly, Goryachkina won the right to participate in the prestigious competition twice — first following the results of a series of Grand Prix tournaments of the International Chess Federation (FIDE), and now after winning the World Cup. A rare achievement!
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«Sasha's style is close to Anatoly Karpov's style of play,» Smagin believes. «She also strives for clear positions over the board, plays endgames with pleasure and is ready to play them for a long time. Another thing is that Karpov's style was much cleaner, but this is natural. Anatoly Evgenievich is a great chess player, and Sasha still needs to grow and grow in order to become great. And she has all the prerequisites for this.»
By the way, Alexandra named her younger sister her talisman in 2019. Oksana is now 13 years old, she also plays chess and this year she has already participated in the stage of the Russian Cup among women.