Gaziantep: Gunina overtakes Pähtz, wins European Women's Blitz

European Women's Blitz Championship

After winning the European Women's Championship in classical chess, Russian IM Valentina Gunina has gone on to win the European Women's Blitz Championship as well. In the final round she managed to beat former Women's World Champion Antoaneta Stefanova 2:0, and this victory gave her first place. Elisabeth Pähtz, who was leading before the last round, lost to Nadezda Kosintseva 1.5:0.5 and finished with the silver medal. Nana Dzagnidze placed third.

Elli in action: the German IM (right) scored 2-0 in round five against Antoaneta Stefanova

The prize winners: Elisabeth Pähtz, Silver, Valentina Gunina, Gold, and Nana Dzagnidze, Bronze.

Tatiana Kosintseva receiving her check (from TCF President Ali Nihat Yazici) for
winning the European Women's Rapid Chess Championship on Friday

GM Nana Dzagnidze of Georgia receiving her trophy for the third place in Blitz

Alexandra Kosteniuk receiving her check for Silver in the European Women's Rapid

Note that the prize sums on the checks are given with the European decimal point, which is a comma, while the separators are periods. So 1.500,00 € is equivalent to 1,500.00 € as written in most of the rest of the world.

Top final standings (after twenty rounds)

• Full results with all 41 players here

  
  What to do with all that blond hair? Almira Skripchenko

Sister act: Tatiana and Nadezhda Kosintseva, together weighing in at 5048 Elo

WGM Betul Cemre Yildiz, 22, Turkish women's champion from 2001 through 2006

The other Turkish talent: WGM Kübra Özturk, who scored 10.5/20 in the blitz

Quick interview with Elisabeth Pähtz by Axel Eger

I spoke to the President of the TCF, Ali Nihat Yazici, during the European Team Championship in November in Porto Carras. When I told him I enjoyed working with children he picked up his ears...

My main job is as a trainer. For instance I am to look after the 13-year-old talent Menzi Nezihe Ezgi. She is already rated around 1900 and played for the Turkish team at the European Championship. But there will be more players joining her. In addition I will be doing administrative work, since I am fluent in a number of languages. I may also be present at the World Championship match between Anand and Gelfand in May in Moscow.

We are considering using me as a translator for the TCF President, who is also a FIDE Vice President. He doesn't speak Russian, while I do. That would be my role in Moscow.

Not really. It is a multi-functional job, where I move around a lot. After the European Women's Championships in Gazaintep I will stay in Ankara. In Germany you have less chances to work as a trainer, while in Turkey chess is booming to an unbelievable degree. They are investing heavily in youth support.

Sure thing. I will still play in the major tournaments in Germany, and the Olympiad will take place in August in Istanbul, Turkey. I will also not miss my favourite leagues, for example the German Bundesliga. But I will cut back on the opens.

Nope, in recent years I was very seldom at home anyway.

Elisabeth Pähtz, 27, is a German IM and WGM. She was trained from early childhood by her father Thomas Pähtz, a grandmaster himself. At the age of nine she won her first German championship in the under-11 age group. In 1999 she became the German Women's Champion. In 2002 she became the Youth World Champion in the under 18 age group, and in 2004 the Junior World Champion of the age group under 20.

Previous articles

The world's biggest chess game – possibly by far 29.08.2009 – The chess board is 1200 x 1200 feet in size, with squares measuring 150 feet and pieces 30 to 60 feet in size. The best place to view the action is from the Kyffhäuser Monument in Thuringia, Germany, from an elevation of 1500 feet. The opponents are IM Elisabeth Pähtz, Germany's top female player, and an Internet community that votes every morning at 10 a.m. on their move. You can join in.

Private Pähtz on the attack at the NATO Championship 05.09.2007 – The 18th NATO Chess Championship is taking place in Beytepe-Ankara, Turkey. Combat dress uniforms are discouraged, the soldiers play in civilian clothing. The top seed is IM and former Junior World Champion Elisabeth Pähtz, who is leading with 13 other players after three rounds. But is this wisp of a girl a real soldier in the NATO forces? You better believe it.

Chess stars in PlusCity 14.09.2006 – The scene: a mega mall in Linz, Austria. The actors: Garry Kasparov, Viktor Korchnoi, Elisabeth Pähtz and Kateryna Lahno. The event: two days of total chess, with grandmasters, simuls and scantily clad airbrushed models. And the head of the Austrian government, Wolfgang Schüssel. We bring part one of a big pictorial report.

Shakhriyar Mamedyarov and Elisabeth Pähtz win World Juniors 23.11.2005 – He is (yet another) wonder boy from Azerbaijan, she a German talent who already picked up the under 18 title two years ago. Both finished clear first in the boys' and girls' sections of the World Junior Chess Championship in Istanbul, Turkey. We bring you results, games and a big pictorial report by Frits Agterdenbos.

Elli Pähtz, Junior World Champion 24.11.2002 – It is hard to contain our delight. Germany's Elisabeth Pähtz, who had shown great form at at the Chess Olympiad in Bled and then played a exhibition match against Garry Kasparov at the Munich Electronica trade fair, has just won the girls' under 18 section of the World Youth Chess Championships in Heraklio, Crete. you will find a lot of pictures of our 17-year-old star here.

She had him on the ropes! 17.11.2002 – How often have you been a piece up against Garry Kasparov? How often in two separate games? Well, 17-year-old Elisabeth Pähtz did, and had the world's strongest player fighting for survival in two games. in the end, however, Germany's rising chess star succumbed to the five hundred point Elo difference. You will find our illustrated report here.

Driving Miss Elli 16.08.2002 – Getting to a chess tournament can sometimes be a hazardous affair. Elisabeth Pähtz, who was scheduled to take a four hour trip from Dresden to Mainz to attend the Mainz Chess Classic got caught in Dresden's catastrophic floods and had to practically swim over to Mainz. Alexandra Kosteniuk drove ten hours to get there and had to immediately embark on a five-hour simul. Read all about it here.

All photos by WGM Anastasiya Karlovich, with kind permission of the TCF

Links Official tournament site Games in PGN: R01, R02, R03, R04, R05, R06, R07, R08 All games (zipped) Classical – Rapid The games are being broadcast live on the official web site and on the chess server Playchess.com. If you are not a member you can download a free Playchess client there and get immediate access. You can also use ChessBase 11 or any of our Fritz compatible chess programs.

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