The final of the Women’s World Chess Cup already in the first two days took a lot of nerves from the Russian fans. Alexandra Goryachkina’s problems started from the game she played with White. Her opponent, Nurgul Salimova, had the initiative, but competent defense helped Sasha defend the draw.
And the second day there was a real drama on the board. The Russian chess player gained an opening lead, but Salimova was able to equalize the situation with a series of precise moves and then achieved a secure lead. Everything was going to end the game there, but it did not stop there. Goryachkina reached the time control, led her opponent into time trouble, and had an extra horse in the endgame. Until move 118, Alexandra tried to convert her advantage, but in the end she agreed to a draw.
The fate of the World Cup would be decided by a tiebreaker. Goryachkina obviously does not have the most pleasant memories of this format. In 2020, it was in this format that she lost in the chess crown match to Chinese Ju Wenjun. And here again the path to a great victory lay through the fight of nerves with a shorter time control.
FIDE
According to the tie-break rules, the opponents first faced two games of rapid chess. And again, Alexandra had a hard time. But against Nurgul once again she played time trouble. A rare exchange sacrifice brought the position back to equality again and very soon another peace agreement was signed.
But in the second rapid game, Alexandra was already the unconditional owner of the initiative. Thanks to competent moves in the opening, she gained a pawn advantage and began to develop it. On the thirty-sixth move, she could remove all questions about who will become the owner of the trophy. But she didn’t notice the obvious variance with the pawn on e3, and the scales evened out again.
Goryachkina had to find a winning second line within the same game. And she was able to make her opponent make a mistake once more. The f and g pawns, supported by the white king, rushed confidently towards the queen line. And when they reached the seventh horizontal, it became clear that Sasha would not miss the victory. Salimova also understood everything, admitting defeat from her.
FIDE
Aleksandra Goryachkina, who entered the tournament as one of the top seeds, passed the most difficult test in the final matchup. And after losing the chess crown match in 2020 and the World Cup final a year later, she was able to win a major international trophy. The curse of decisive matches has been lifted. And Sasha will go to the Candidates Tournament as the winner of the World Cup.
The fight for the right to compete for the title of world champion for the second time in my life will be very difficult. Not only Salimova will have to fight there: both Ukrainian Anna Muzychuk and several other rivals are ready to impose competition on Goryachkina for the first final place, giving the right to enter the match for the chess crown. But with her performance in Baku, Alexandra proved that now nothing is impossible for her.
