Cover Story
the relaxation ended there. Spectators witnessed a nervous and exhausted Zatonskih for the remainder of the fort- night. She admitted to not eating much, often only having a small bowl of soup after her games (GM Yury Shulman guessed he lost many pounds during his two weeks in St. Louis). In the fourth-place playoff game to
decide the last player to get into the semi- finals, Zatonskih and Foisor repeated their previous day’s battle. This was the first of three “rest days” scheduled for the Championship. For Zatonskih, the nomenclature was just a clever name— she consistently ended up in tiebreak situations and had to play on all three rest days. Collectively she played 19 out of the possible 20 games, easily more than any other player in St. Louis. In the first of her two-game rapid
match with Foisor, the position livened with opposite-sides castling. With both players low on time, the veteran Zaton- skih coyly played 28. … Kh8, allowing a pawn to be captured but setting up a tactic on the open b-file. The trick was not worth noting except that Zatonskih exe- cuted it without even a glance toward the queenside. Her blindfold abilities have been documented before at past championship ceremonies and at chess camps, but rarely does a player use a visual trick during a game. Foisor paused but didn’t bite. Then a few moves later she inexplicably rejected the possibility of repetition. The resulting queen trade offered Foisor nothing but a lost rook-and- pawn ending, which Zatonskih converted without issue. “It looks like the pressure got to Sabina,” said WGM Jennifer Sha- hade in her on-air commentary. In their second game, Zatonskih only
needed a draw but ended up with her third win in a row against the same oppo- nent. After the game, Zatonskih turned to Baginskaite, gave a soft smile, and then got a big hug. The two were joined by Krush and Abrahamyan on equal terms in the semifinals. As the top finisher, Krush paired with Zatonskih, while Bagin- skaite and Abrahamyan squared off. For Foisor, it was another fast start
that stalled. In both 2009 and 2011, she led the way after three rounds, only to fal- ter at the finish. Her misfortune could have been worse. She decided to attend the sponsored trip to the St. Louis Car- dinals game the night of her playoff loss. Had she chosen to fly out that night, she would have been at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport when a tornado heavily damaged the main terminal and caused several injuries. Several players from the U.S. Championship and U.S. Women’s Championship left St. Louis that night after being eliminated, but no one was injured by the storms.
30 Chess Life — July 2011
Irina Krush
Camilla Baginskaite
Rusudan Goletiani In game one of the semifinals, Zaton-
skih, playing White, chose a sideline of the Sicilian Alapin against Krush. After an early knight development to a3 on the fifth move, Krush got confused and quickly faced queenside pressure. “For me it was a surprise that my opening was a surprise for Irina,” Zatonskih said of her felicitous choice. “I’ve played Na3 many times.” For once, Krush’s sharpness hurt her.
She could have traded queens quickly but instead struck at the center with a pawn. Her underdeveloped position could not support the aggressiveness. Except for
Sabina-Francesca Foisor
allowing slight pressure on her own king, Zatonskih seemed satisfied with her game. She reiterated the same pre-game insou- ciance that helped her qualify for the semis. “Recently I have a strategy. I’m not prepar- ing much before my games. It’s really helped me ... to stay more relaxed, just play chess and enjoy it.” Zatonskih also credited her fifth straight win to her attire. She wore, and continued to wear for most of the remain- ing championship, her Olympiad jersey with her surname on the back. But since nothing came easy for Zaton- skih this time around, she fittingly
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