The 3rd and 4th round games of the Women’s World Championship 2016 witnessed interesting draws. While the 3rd game was more of a positional battle, the 4th game turned out to be a short but exciting tactical skirmish. Thanks to the draws, GM Hou Yifan goes into the second rest day with a point’s lead over the defending Women’s World Champion GM Mariya Muzychuk.
A detailed game-by-game explanation follows:
Game 3
After being unable to obtain any advantage from the opening in Game 1, Mariya wheeled-in 1.d4 in Game 3, subsequently opting for the Catalan opening. In reply, Hou Yifan chose a solid continuation. Almost immediately after the opening, a queen trade took place, leaving White with the more comfortable position. However, a few precise moves by Hou Yifan enabled her to neutralize White’s play. The game was agreed drawn on move 36.
Game 4
The 4th game saw a repeat of the opening from Game 2 – once again Mariya opted for the Open Ruy Lopez. Hou Yifan was the first to deviate as she chose the line starting with 9.c3 instead of 9.Be3 (as seen in game 2). However, Mariya seemed extremely well prepared. What ensued was a tactical bloodbath where both the players played the ‘only’ moves. The game was drawn on move 21 when Mariya forced a picturesque repetition.