'Chess Queen' Kosteniuk Wins Battle Of Generations Vs. Vaishali

GM Alexandra Kosteniuk advances to the Julius Baer Women's Speed Chess Championship 2023 Semifinals after defeating IM Vaishali Rameshbabu 13-8. She will play GM Hou Yifan in the Semifinals on Thursday.

The "Chess Queen," who's also participating in the European Women's Team Chess Championship over the board in Montenegro, won all three segments of the match. As the time control got faster, her lead ballooned further. 

The Semifinals kick off on Thursday, November 16 with Kosteniuk vs. Hou, starting at 6:00 a.m. ET / 12:00 CET / 4:30 p.m. IST.

Kosteniuk 13-8 Vaishali | Quarterfinals 

• 5+1: Kosteniuk 4-3 Vaishali
• 3+1: Kosteniuk 4.5-2.5 Vaishali
• 1+1: Kosteniuk 4.5-2.5 Vaishali

The previous day, IM Irene Sukandar labeled this as "one of the most anticipated matches in the Quarterfinals," and indeed it was a battle of generations. Kosteniuk, a former women's world champion, is the only player to participate in all WSCC events so far; Vaishali, on the other hand, just won the 2023 FIDE Women's Grand Swiss and is three rating points away from the grandmaster title.

SmarterChess was pretty close, though, in reality, Kosteniuk won by an even wider margin.

5+1: Kosteniuk 4-3 Vaishali

The first portion was a close struggle, and Kosteniuk was only able to score two consecutive wins in the final three games.

In the first game, Vaishali had a winning position for just one evanescent move—but, with three seconds, missed it. With the black pieces, she made up for it in the next game and justified the saying, "Knights on the rim are dim."

Vaishali draws first blood to lead 1.5-0.5 after trapping Kosteniuk's knight! #SpeedChess #WSCC pic.twitter.com/NeAMvGhNeR

— chess24.com (@chess24com) November 15, 2023

The black pieces won the next three consecutive games, too, as the players traded blow for blow.

Kosteniuk squeezed out a long endgame, but then, in the next game, Vaishali won again with a knight fork. Then Kosteniuk rushed back with what we can safely call the Game of the Day. 

In throw-the-kitchen-sink fashion, Black sacrificed a knight and then her queen for a winning attack. While our silicon overlords may not approve of all the moves (as always), it was good enough to win the game and procure several style points. GM Rafael Leitao analyzes the game below.

The now-Swiss grandmaster won the next game with White, after converting a long rook endgame. With a draw in the next game, she finished the segment with a one-point lead.

3+1: Kosteniuk 4.5-2.5 Vaishali

Kosteniuk stretched her lead to three points by the end of this segment. Curiously, it was Vaishali who said before the match that she preferred the faster time controls, with her favorite being 1+1, but it was her opponent who thrived in them.

Kosteniuk started strong by winning the exchange and going on a +2 score after the first game. And, in the second, Sukandar was just saying, "This is now a technical win by White. She should be able to finish this off if there is no—" when Vaishali blundered her extra bishop.

Just when Vaishali was about to get back on track with a win, she blunders a piece! #SpeedChess #WSCC pic.twitter.com/easwzJsqcq

— chess24.com (@chess24com) November 15, 2023

The Chess Queen won the following game, but Vaishali found the stunning 26.Nxe6!! in the one that followed. Although she was winning, the point was left on the table—draw.

The 12th women's world champion won the next game after calculating one move deeper than her opponent.

The Indian GM-to-be then scored her first win in nine games. And, after Vaishali saved a draw in the last game, Kosteniuk still held a three-point lead.

1+1: Kosteniuk 4.5-2.5 Vaishali

"I've never been a bullet fan. I think it's the only chess discipline that I try to avoid almost completely," said Kosteniuk before the match. "I don't enjoy it. It's too fast. Too nerve-wracking for me." But as Kosteniuk demonstrated, you don't have to love it to win!

I've never been a bullet fan.... It's too fast. Too nerve-wracking for me.

—Alexandra Kosteniuk

Kosteniuk won the first game after fearlessly allowing a discovered check, and then the second after winning the opponent's rook with a passed pawn.

Vaishali won the third game, though she did nearly lose her own chess queen early in the opening. Judging by Vaishali's reaction, she probably meant to move her pawn to the b3-square.

A Botez-Gambit-Unaccepted! #SpeedChess #WSCC pic.twitter.com/KJozV4pkjC

— chess24.com (@chess24com) November 15, 2023

Speaking of queens, Kosteniuk won the next game with a nice tactic that won the opponent's queen.

Three more games were played, but the match was over; Kosteniuk was up by five points. They each traded wins and, with a draw, Kosteniuk was off to the Semifinals.

The winner earns $3,562.50 plus an additional $2,205.36 by win percentage. Vaishali takes $1,357.14 by win percentage as she leaves the tournament.

Kosteniuk was just elated in the interview: "It's such a delightful feeling actually to win a few games.... I haven't had a lot of victories lately. I mean, winning a chess game seems to be, nowadays, mission impossible to me."

In the Isle of Man, she did win three games out of 11, but she clarified: "I couldn't win a single game, a single decent game." In the European Team Chess Championship, which she's playing over the board at the same time as this event, she's made three draws so far.

"Being a professional chess player now and in my free time trying to be a mum is more than enough!" #WSCC pic.twitter.com/xsh32AqKBm

— chess24.com (@chess24com) November 15, 2023

On Thursday, the rest day at her over-the-board tournament, Kosteniuk will play Hou, to whom she lost in the Semifinals last year. "It's always a pleasure to play against her and I will just want to improve my last year's results.... As long as I enjoy my level of playing, it's more than enough!"

You can listen to the full interview below:

The 2023 Julius Baer Women's Speed Chess Championship (WSCC) is an online competition featuring some of the strongest women chess players in the world, with the main event starting on November 13. The WSCC features a $75,000 prize fund.

Previous coverage

• Lagno Clinches With Double-Digit Margin, Advances To Semifinals
• Harika Wins All 3 Segments, Hou Yifan Cranks Out 7-Game Winning Streak
• Shuvalova, Priyanka Qualify For Julius Baer WSCC 2023
• 'Hou Yifan Out For Revenge Against Lagno In 2023 Julius Baer Women’s Speed Chess Championship