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Saturday, 08 May 2010 |
 Tatiana Kosintseva and Hou Yifan appeared at the closing press conference in their casual clothes, although later on Tatyana amazed everyone by wearing a traditional Kabardian dress. The first question was the customary one: how was your game today?
Tatiana Kosintseva: - I used Nimzowitsch defence, and I chose the right variant. My opponent made a fast move 13.f3 but I had a knight sacrifice reserved for it in advance. After that White considered for about an hour. I had a huge advantage in time, so I lost my concentration a bit and made a few inaccurate moves. The position became unclear but, under time pressure, my opponent, in her turn, committed several gross errors. It rendered my advantage even more tangible, and I succeeded in making the most of it.
Hou Yifan: - My rival made a mistake by playing 17...Nе8, and I gained advantage after White’s move to 18.a4. Then, when I moved my queen to b5, I earned a winning position.
- Yifan, are you pleased with your second place?
 - It’s
impossible always to be number one. Sometimes you win, sometimes you
lose. I just try to play well instead of worrying too much about the
overall result.
- Tatiana, can you pick out the best and the toughest game you played
at this tournament?
- I can’t say which one was the best. As for the toughest one, I think
it’s yesterday’s game against Cramling: first of all, it was very long,
and, secondly, it was extremely important. I wanted to make proper use
of white pieces and interrupt my draw series. I was particularly focused
on it. It wasn’t the only tough game, though. The game against Yildiz
in the 9th round was pretty difficult as well, and I was on the verge of
defeat in it.
- What about you, Hou, which game sticks in your memory?
- I never thought about it. Well, I have nice memories of the game
against Zhao Xue. The games I lost were all tough, there were four of
them at this tournament.
The ninth of May marks the beginning of men’s Grand Prix. Will you be
supporting anyone?
Tatiana Kosintseva: - I’ll be watching it online, as usual. As for
supporting, I really don’t know.
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