 Good evening and welcome to our second masterclass of the 2017 trade-wise Gibraltar Chess Festival And with me a very special guest. Thank you so much for agreeing to do this Yifan. The reigning women's world champion Who are you Yifan? Welcome to the chair Welcome back to Gibraltar your third visit to the rock. Yeah, my third time to play here and probably also my third time to do with the masterclass Yeah, we were just talking about that whether you did remember one of the audits we did two years ago Yeah, two years ago. I remember I was showing you a very interesting game, but that game was ending in a drawer actually I remember that was quite interesting one and I don't really remember whether I did the first time but probably But it's like, you know five years ago. Long time ago. Yeah, better just start with the new one. So you have You won a nice game today, which is the game you're going to show us Right, you got three and a half out of four. So good start and you played four women That's amazing. Yifan you've played four women so far. How is that possible? Yeah, I'm also wondering how that possible. Nobody is impossible Well, of course my results was kind of okay. I cannot comply at all though It's not something dramatically good. And of course I was hoping for more interesting games and more like, you know like quite Exciting tournaments for the next six games, right? Okay So you're going to show your game. So yesterday you drew with Anna Moisicciuk Yeah, correct. So today the sister and you played her sister. Now, of course you and Maria played the World Championship match Not too long ago Like almost a year ago, right? So what do you guys at year crumbs? Yeah, so you must have studied each other's games and you must know each other's You know style of playing everything Quite deeply, you know after that much the preparation for that much Yeah, of course, so we did some preparation for the opening That's any kind of serious match with the players the participants will do but I was thinking After the match, I think we don't play any single game. So this is the first time we play like Yeah, great. Okay, so I figured let's have a look at the game. So this is you found against Maria So we're going to start the game Night after 8, 5 Yeah, okay this before the game was just trying to avoid some long theories I mean just want to try to get a real game as soon as possible. So that's why I decided to play that I mean just a setup During the match when I was wide out there was a game I played I think G3 and That game was to continue with G6 shop G2 shop G7 here during that game. I was trying interesting move QA4 and Okay, her home preparation was quite good She reacted immediately this DTXC4, QTXC4 and E5 that game she was doing quite well Later on she also had this interesting homework preparation this night A6 quite interesting move and With a deep idea and this game was anything in your drawer actually without without a real battle And those of the players just went to a very solid variation. So you have nothing from the opening in that game No, not really. Okay, maybe same as today actually today I also got nothing from the opening and I decided to try this move B3. Okay, and My lap 6 B2 B4 E3 9 BD7 So it's kind of like a setup variation where I believe that the blood actually is not your favorite compared to the normal variation because She successfully move out the bishop and also if white wants to trade with the knight It's not so easy to achieve that and White spent two moves with the earlier B3 bishop B2 It might be useful, but if you play these two moves at a very early age Maybe it could be double. I mean double H. Did you prepare this line especially for the game today? No, you just turned up and played it. Yeah, I just turned up and played it because I actually Heard the parents from you started this morning. That's right Yeah So I didn't really have a lot of time to prepare for this game and also actually can I just say something? Sorry because that's two days running. I've told you your opponent at breakfast second day running Yeah, you don't you don't like me because well I used to play I never used to look at the parents before I went to bed I used to go to sleep go to bed not bother about the parents until the morning Is that the same with you generally in this kind of tolerance? Well, it depends for example like here and some some games are finished quite late So that's why I decided just to check next morning and It really depends on the situation. All right, thank you. Mm-hmm. All right. So long we go and Okay, three five Nice is three Okay, actually from this moment. I already have some idea like G4 G5 Yeah, because you know in such a position point trying to fight for something Okay, you can choose like short castle and the player long and another positional game Which I did like the first two rounds with D4 nice is three But as I said when the bishop is out from the CA the queen side The white is very difficult to get some clear advantage from the opening So that's why I was trying to seek out for some new idea, but G4 now seems like too early because Black will have this 94 square So it seems like that's too much for why to do that at this moment So I play nice is real normal multi-shop D6 and again here this this move will face again a 94 And this H4 doesn't work because this knight of history I know the bishop cannot attack G7 directly. What happens this H4 now? Maybe something like H6 right. Yes Yeah, but exposition is quite solid. Well, hang on, but then you could take only four Yes Because there's a tempo, of course. Yeah Yeah Okay, so I was also considering some move like C take D5 trying to change the course of the position But I think black can take with both pawns for example if C take D5 It will also be fine for black because this knight B5 doesn't really bring the white anything and Also E take D5. I wasn't sure probably I would even prefer to play with black in such positions Yeah, because I mean it's not clear what white wants to do to achieve in those positions I mean if you wanted to play D4 then it will be a No normal setup, but the bishop on B2 looks a bit weird. Yeah, but if you don't play D4 then I mean black is very comfortable with castle or ok8 and maybe C5 later on just trying to Improve the position while white is doing nothing. I mean there's 94 knight F5 seems like it never works I mean you could achieve but still not clear it. I mean black did nothing wrong Why should black be worse? Black played normal moves. Okay, so I played these three Well a bit doubtful. Maybe I should just play D4 like a regular game do But of course, I'm still having this idea like G4 So that's why I decided to wait for a tempo and H6 seems like a Well, it's a clever move at this moment about considering what happened later on in the game It might be also a weakness because later on because of this H6 I could break through with G5 But of course the castle here seems a bit Provocative. Yeah, like G4 G5 and with H4 H5 Well complicated, but so probably white can't help for something and H6 now A3 is really a bit risky I mean normally we should play short castle and a short castle to play the structure But of course A3. You played A3, though. Yeah, I was waiting for black to play short castle, obviously But this move just to wait for short castle. It looks a bit too aggressive And of course if black want to do something, she can even start with A6 Or like just to keep the position quite balanced Because if white plays short castle then short castle there's There's nothing with attacking chances on the king side And it's not clear what one could do better than short castle because this B4 C5 doesn't really bring anything So it's a waiting game for both people. Yeah, but we cannot say that short castle is Doubtful move. Of course, this is the most accurate one But just to say from psychological part probably this move like A6 could also be interesting, right? Okay, so short castle Well, actually I doubt whether it works out I still didn't really check with the computer and to see how things going on But seems to be... Did you feel confident at this point? You felt you felt good? You felt strong? Well, of course, I understand that I'm taking some risks But in a real chess game actually if you want to really to win a game sometimes you need to You know, to be brave and trying to try to do something Yeah, and the E5 seems quite natural, but also she could do the move like 90s Well, somebody I had dinner with or I met before dinner said the 95 I think that maybe checked with the computer. The 95 was the best in my fear Ah, okay, but E5 looks like even a human being move because trying to break the center Okay, but 95 also reasonable because when white trying to create some attacks It's better to exchange some pieces and to release the pressure Right And also it's not clear what white could do here because this H4 looks too exposed on the king side And this, well, F4 also I was going to say Yeah, so maybe some queen moves and to prepare later on long castle I have no clear idea, but we should also watch out with D4 Because if the pawn structure could be fixed then black is clearly better And after 95 you have no other option than to exchange 90 H4 is a bad move, is it? Oh, well, 90 H4 maybe just simply Bh7 I say the simplest one Because of course my idea was H4 G5 or H5 G5 I saw this knight on H4 It seems like they are lacking of, you know, continuations Yes, yeah, not very consistent Okay, so 95, yeah What would you have done on 95? You would have exchanged Maybe I'll start to think what to do next Well, of course I mean this G4 G1 cannot be just better for white It's not reasonable If black reacts quite accurately, of course white needs to be more careful I mean, cannot say this position is already better for white But it's the white who should be more careful and trying to equalize in such positions Because as you say, nothing is wrong with black You can pick queen D2 But I like your attitude of you play slightly unconventional moves Like this, like A3 And then you take your chance with G4 G1 Okay, and in open tournaments you need to win games Yeah, especially with this very interesting pairings And nice pairings, yeah Okay, I mean this A3 is not like a useless move Because as later shown in the game, we prevent some bishop before queen A5 Like the weakness of this diagonal Okay, E5 actually is also quite good Because H4 seems like a natural move Although I doubt the whole variation works or not But anyway I have to go for it This G4 G1 makes no sense Of course I was also considering the move like C take D5 And to play D4 How much? You couldn't play 9 takes D5 then if you did C takes D5 And 9 takes D5 But then I was not sure about this setup Because now it's kind of similar to the Sicilian But I mean diverse version And sometimes this G4 H4 could be worked out Like 9 D4 Because I was thinking this pawn structure on the center Should be powerful enough for Black to hold at least a counter play But even better Because D4 for example, the simple move like Rc8 Because it's very hard to suggest something good for White to continue Is 9 B5 possible? Wow, there are always some Some problems down there, yes Yeah, like C2 Bishop C2 looks nasty Yeah, that's not good And also I was considering the move D4 Why I always mentioned this D4 move Because during the game H4 The main concern was Black's D4 here So that's why I was considering Whether I should push D4 first But here also after Rc8 I mean compared to the normal setup It's like a White-waste tempo on D3, D4 And also this A3, H3 And Black doing all the normal things To push E5 counter play So it cannot be good for White Yeah, so that's why I decided to go for this way And Dxc4 actually Surprised me a little bit And I remember she played that quite quickly Because I was thinking about this move D4 seems like even more Like natural Because here we have to take this sacrifice Yeah Okay, so I want to assure here At first I was considering some move like 9 E5 With the idea Bxc5 And maybe White can try 9.5 here And after exchanger Some Rc8 And maybe 9.4 I mean with this Rg5 Which upon B2 I could pressure On g7 In the meantime these two knights Cannot be too active But this position definitely Black will have enough compensation By various ways They really calculate until the last moment But I feel like it could be a real game And White is taking risks But already have no better options But it could also be interesting Some move like So the idea of D4 sacrificing a pawn Is just to open the E-file Not only the E-file, actually The weakness is also this knight and this repound I believe this will be the main point Because the E-file sometimes White can escape with queen moves And long castle But the moment is I believe White can do something For example maybe this move And to play 9.5 Now it's very unpleasant How to defend with this knight And this D3 pawn Of course it's a bit risky I'm not really sure But at least Bxc5 will have this At 4 square and D3 will be unpleasant Interesting Not only enough compensation Probably it will Just reject the White's whole play With this G4 or G1 probably That's too dangerous Yeah But of course I understand during the real game To make this decision with sacrifice You need to think a little bit And of course this Dxc5 The first doesn't look bad for Black So she played that quite fast, is she? Yeah I'm strong here like less than 3 minutes I just noticed here OK, Dxc4 Maybe some push-punks first But anyway, Dxc4 looks normal And 9c5 Actually I was considering for some queen moves Because 9c5 Always swore at me with this weakness Of e5-pump Maybe to play something solid Like queen is 7 Or moves the bishop to c7 But I believe White Already could be slightly better in this position Because suddenly Without D4, White's position is quite solid The Qe1 is temporarily safe And we could push g5 H5 sometimes preparing long cast So if White could achieve this It would be a pleasant position And 9c5 Not much danger really anymore After Dxc4 It's a bit relaxed for the position OK, 9c5 here I play g5 I thought this g5 move After her e4 I realized it's not so precise I thought I should do better with b4 first Because in this case Then White goes to e6 Then play g5 Now Black doesn't have e4 at all So the position will go More or less with this 9h7 9h4 The original idea was g5 And to play this The position like this With the bishop c4, queen b3 Or even change the queen This case is quite exposed Now original intention But unfortunately I did with remove order This g5 to allow the chance to play e4 But of course first I was also considering Move like h5 And to open the g file Also looks promising But after bishop f5 I wasn't so sure what White could do Because before White faced 9h4 Maybe It's not clear But this just seems to me not as promising As the previous line where White can achieve The position like this So if we can get both And then we need to make a decision Of course we will go for the line with b4 So that's why I didn't really calculate So much with h5 move But this g5 She did a very good move here e4 Suddenly all my flame broke out Because If she plays a move like this What happens if she plays something else Shares what happens I believe the other option is to take And here 9h7 It's the same with b4 Yeah, why I played g5 first Because probably White has some more options With earlier 9h4 Without playing b4 Because in the previous lines Probably Black can take with the other knight Or things like this But here maybe she has to take with this knight Okay, rook g5 doesn't work Because of Queen g1 check And if take on g6 first Also knight takes b3 So I have no Cannot win the material here But probably with simple play Like again b4 And c5 And maybe queen b3 Looks great It's clearly much better for White So that was my idea And also 9h4 doesn't work here Because of b4 If I pawn well Well If I pawn well Well Yeah But she knew quite good move e4 Which I didn't really consider when I'm playing g5 So here I need to start Thinking again Because now before it never works The knight can jump to d3 And if exchange with the bishop Suddenly this g6 bishop Becomes strong And also when she play e4 first And later on change on g5 Or take on g6 That's the main point Because if you take first Then White could try knight h4 Exactly So e4 is a very precise move The most accurate one And here OK, knight e2 seems like The only way to keep the position unclear I was even thinking something interesting Like b4 Well, I don't believe it really works out Like I was hoping I'd take e2, queen d6 It would be slightly better But even some move like bishop h2 I mean To exaggerate for white Too many pieces attacked at the same time And also I'm considering Had you completely missed e4 It was a complete surprise when she played this No, not really actually I had this idea even before playing g5 Like earlier moves But somehow I didn't really calculate quite deep And she reacted e4 So I kind of Not blown there but simply I ignored it Yeah And e4 here I was also considering some move like take on f6 Take on f3 And take on the rook e8 To sacrifice here But Yeah It's just simply better for a back Because although white has 2 pounds up now But with knight d3 So this key is quite safe and All the white pieces remain there Coordinated You have to take on g6 with the rook Well because you cannot take on f3 Because knight d3 And also this pawn g7 Suddenly black keys safe There's no weakness on the king side So Okay so g take f6 It doesn't work so I play knight d2 Here I think it's the most critical moment Where I thought she missed the knight d4 I wasn't so sure about that But of course Black can try something better Like knight e8 or knight d7 Okay for example Knight e8 could be the most natural move Now there's no knight take e4 And white can try to move like b4 Knight d3 That was my idea Because maybe she's a little bit scary With this h file When knight on e8 But I don't believe it really works out For double the h file She always has to move like f5 I can see why she was scared I mean it looks scary I would be scared if I was black Yeah but Let's say for example Queen g4 a5 Black needs to make some counter play As soon as possible And let's say That's the easiest one This doesn't work Because g7 protected by e8 knight You know But of course White can do something better Like maybe c5 And to play f4 This was my dream position I like your pawn structure Like this different color bishop And sometimes I have queen a5 And this knight looks a bit Unactive at this moment And c5 is important Because otherwise If allowed knight d6 Or what? Relatively fine But here With this qf3 e4 f5 And black is not easy to push f1 So maybe 97 could be a better option But here white can't take on e4 But of course If we compare the knight on d7 Or h7 definitely this square is better And So maybe Maybe take Bxh2 Right I should have some compensation here And after rook h1 We should b5 Maybe b5 Or even Can you take on e4 and play c5 Well that looks a bit With a 93 check And just be a pawn down for black It's okay you think If black Managed to change to a different color We should probably take back g5 Or maybe Could do something better here Like maybe Maybe b5 I don't know Because although there is a pawn down But without the attack on the king side This k1 e1 Black is supposed to have some compensation Or at least With this threat Could take the g5 pawn back And play an equalizing position And this knight h7 Because after this move clearly why it's better Could you tell from her body language Or you think that she missed it No not really Because of the body language Because if she saw this There is no sense that she played knight h7 Instead of knight e8 Even though we don't know whether this 97 Works out or not Because even that position is more playable Than knight on h7 Because after this Knight e4 I think Probably continuing the game is bishop h2 The same idea like you said And about rook g4 here Because Well you cannot clearly You cannot take the g5 pawn back And probably you should Because if take on e4 Taking e4, knight g5 Probably simply Rook g4 Because it was the idea of f4 And this g7 could be dangerous And also this bishop on h2 could be I mean locked here Yeah So white has so many threats Coincidentally This bishop f5 Bishop h5 doesn't work always And you cannot avoid changing the queen For example Always has queen d4 So it's not Black cannot change first Because in this case White's rook will go to d7 At any moment So that's why maybe she decides To play this bishop e7 This is the game, yeah? Yeah, this is the game, yeah Just show for people watching at home Because if bishop takes e4, queen d4 This is the tactic Which of course is the reason That you can play knight takes e4 If you wanted to take on e4 Probably you should try to take bishop first Because this variation might be A bit more than Because you have this check Kf1, knight d2 I wasn't sure Of course you can play b4 And then take on b4 Take Kf1 So luckily I have the square g2 So that's why the whole variation was out Lucky you moved your chip on Yeah To open the door Ten moves in advance Okay, so You take on e4 Take on e4, bishop e7 Here this rook g4 doesn't work out Because you can take g5 with the bishop And the black pieces now are more coordinated Compared to the bishop on h2 But it also has a disadvantage Because you don't have this tempo up To force my rook to move the tempo So bishop d3 Another interesting move was queen c2 I wasn't so sure which move was better So I decided to play a more solid move Because this queen on c2 looks a bit Fishy, a bit fishy In my g5, we'll face queen c3 And Actually first I was thinking bishop g5 The queen c3 Bishop f6 But then I realized if I won I can simply play bishop d3 And it transposed to the game And I named it to the black's possibility So maybe queen c2 is a better option Because why not bishop d3 Okay, she took on g5 But There's a chance to play the endgame Did you have the chance to exchange queens Or not You stopped it, but you played bishop d3 Yeah, I played bishop d3, no But actually bishop d3 allowed to exchange queens Like bishop take e4 Take on e4 Yes, take on d1 Take on g5 But luckily I have this rook d7 move So I believe it will be Yeah, the position looks hopeless for black And also she might try Ng5 here And then we'll face Qh5 I believe Yeah Too dangerous And also considering something interesting Like f4 I was trying to play something even more forced But I'm not sure whether it works out Or not Yes, but Because the rook f7 We'll face bishop f6 So of course the move couldn't be like Cooking e2, right But then bishop f6 Good for white at all Because You will have this simply rook g8 Then to defend But of course I can do like Qh5 But just to show because This looks quite tempting over the board They're trying to play something Very beautiful in the first week Okay, so She played bishop g5 If she ignores his g pawn She just has a lost game this year I mean the Nh7 is doing nothing You know my play is quite clear Like Qc2, Qc3 Always attack g7 So it will be hopeless for black And Ng5 doesn't work out for sure Yeah, bishop g5 I thought Qc2 was Was good Because if we take here first Then Ng5 And bishop g6 And fxg6 It's a really important check here And the Qf1, rook d8 Rook g6 Maybe rook f7 I mean oh no white has the pawn up But it's not clear Because of this f3 knight And your rook is Not really going into the game And there's rook d2 And rook d3 and things like this So of course I would hope for some attacks Instead of getting a pawn to enter And shift like Qc7 It's actually very hard to suggest anything good for black Because my next move Will be Qc3 A very direct strut The bishop can go to h6 can't he Yeah exactly, I'm going to show this And the long castle That's the first move I guessed So maybe this is more Like More stubborn to keep the game More stubborn Because Qc7 here Maybe white has 96 Important move I mean Later on the knight f5 So I believe it will be quite difficult for black To hold that position I should take with a queen that's more precise Because it will face rook d8, knight f5 So she played Qe7 It also makes sense Because if I play long castle here So she has this important tempo to play Rook d8 Or will face rook d3 That's the idea And if I play 9g5 Probably take on d3, take on d3, take on g5 So if we exchange like 3 or 2 pieces in a row Then white's attack has been I mean decreased But you have Qc3 here don't you Yes, but Qc3 I wasn't so sure maybe there's some Okay not enough But maybe some compensation Like Qc1 is square It's such a powerful position It doesn't really need to get The material advantage And trying to go for a long game When your king is a little bit weak So I was trying to find something else Here and the knight g5 Supposed to work out for sure Because bishop d3 cannot work here It will face knight h7 Yeah that's the important idea Because if queen takes d3 Probably 9g5 Qc8 With 9e6 f6 It's still playable So with an important 9h3 The game will just finish And just show us the checkmate No but I mean take g7 f7 e7 Yeah So she has to take 9g5 And here bishop g6 It's just force the winning marriage Of course something like long castle Could also work out To make the whole idea works Because if Kf1 Then 9g5 is unclear I mean probably why could the Because this doesn't work The simplest one will face f5 Yeah the bishop is trapped here And of course you can try something Like a bishop I wouldn't say sure Maybe e4 But then 9h3 I mean it's not clear Whether you can win this knight or not Qf5 will face the move like Qh4 Okay it's dangerous You need to get this rook into the game The rook on a1 Yes exactly So that's why I play Qe2 Because this little girl goes to g1 directly Although I'm temporarily losing the material But yeah This seems unclear to me Especially my king goes to the king side It's not as safe as the king on e2 Yeah So this Qe2 Yeah with the rook h1 I'm currently winning by force Because an important move Is Qh4 with the idea of Qh8 Qh4 I like that expression Coincidentally winning by force It's like It feels like it ought to be winning Because without Qh1 Or give black a tempo to play Qd8 Or even let's say the Qd7 Is different because then you will have Qf2, Qd2, take on b2 With all these rooks you have to check You need to be quick So of course Qh8 Yeah it's different to suggest something But as I said I was speaking to someone before dinner And they had a quick look at the game I suppose with an engine or something And they said near the end there was a chance That she had to maybe escape Or put up a better difference But I'm not quite sure I think it was a black queen move near the end Maybe you're out here But it seriously looks to me Completely winning Because let's say there are only a few possible moves You have to move with the queen And Qd7 because I wasn't so sure to take on rook here But at least I can try to move like Bd4 to get an important tempo To cut the d-file The idea was to Qh7, Bc5 And if some move like b6 Then you could take the rook safely So of course to cut this d-file And also some move like Qd3 there won't be any prepared Right Bd4 is a nice move Yeah Because if you take the rook immediately Then what happens, Qg4 check is Maybe it also works out actually Maybe just Qd3 But Qf5 With Qf6 It also works out Perhaps Yeah, so Qe8 With the last trick they go f2 So I cannot play the rook immediately I might have missed that for a while to see It takes f2 check So Qf8 I believe there are many other ways to activate the bishop I think actually this person I think Queenie at this moment maybe Will have a look later But I agree it looks really dangerous for her You were completely sure you were winning You felt very confident here Well, at least like 99% I mean it shouldn't be completely winning Because it's Qh8, Qe4 It's all coming by force So Qh8, Qe4 Because if Qe6 We could simply take on a8 That's why my rook didn't play on h5 Before then there will be Qg4 check And also just not to play Still a bit more like this We will face Qh6 That's the only thing And Qc8 And White could play this She's playing without this rook on a8 At some point Yeah, so it's like most of the game White is working through the game And finally because of this sacrifice White's rook goes to the battle And it determines the game Yeah It's a beautiful diagonal The way you played this b3 on the third move And look at that bishop It works out Yeah So that could be a dream position Actually White could achieve like this But of course there are many I've been danced during the middle game And what she reacted This e4 is pretty good But for the move like e5 And then nice e5 Dx4 I wasn't so sure Even the later knight h7 It seemed to me like the seriously Kind of a mistake That allowed White's clear advantage Instead of Dx4 Did she resign here? Yes, Qc8, Qe4 Because there will be checkmate Oh, h8 So If you had been lucked You would have played that pawn sacrifice with d4 If it had been different colors At that moment At least when I was thinking during the game d4 worries me more than dxc4 Because you're such a dynamic, aggressive Player yourself I think anyway you have that Reputation Yeah, also dxc4 seems like Gives White a comfortable position White could slowly, slowly improve Yes But the seriously one Is still going to be the knight h7 Do you think it's difficult for Maria That's a great game you found You must feel proud of that Nice to win in 30 moves Is it difficult for Maria Do you think psychologically it's difficult for her to face you Having played the match And lost that match to you It's not easy for her to play you What was the score on that match? Maybe this is a question for her Not for me I know But I also actually Played three matches in the World Championship So I go and play three different opponents And I don't really believe That it matters a lot Between our results For example, Humbie we played a lot After our match in 2011 And still the games are quite interesting Brilliant game Anyone from our audience here In the Archie Suite like to ask If you find a question about that game Or indeed about Any other chess business Who's going to ask our first question I'm in the World Championship This happens We don't get this opportunity very often You know to ask I was wondering About the chess analysis Do you remember the variation Where you went with the king One checkmate And then you said Yes What about Rook G2 there Isn't that just Should we go back Yes, Rook G2 It's still my question That's Peter Sviddler in the audience By the way That's to show exactly Where is he Peter, great to have you in the audience 9G5 At 4 So it's like already made in here King E2 Yeah But here maybe Qh5 even here I take Sorry Rook D7 Yeah Bx5 also Yeah, so maybe f4 is more precise than Qh5 Is something crazy like f5 possible here Wow Wow Brilliant Brilliant, is it? Maybe I believe Of course if I want to try Something simple you can return Then I have to go 96 Yes I can't move like Qc2 here Or even I'm not sure with this c5 Whether it works out Probably it works out I see your idea Yes, I noticed that c5 It looks terrifying Yeah It's just bad isn't it Very, very, very bad So both f4 and Qh5 will work out Mm-hmm This is nice on h7 Can not take on g5 Any questions from Other questions from audience Mike Not really, actually So that's why I came to Gibraltar Already my third time A nice event here I believe that's also the reason To attract so many good female players Because actually It reminds me in 2012 I'm not only win double but the triple one Because I also won the prize for the junior She won the junior prize as well Incredible Aren't you old for that now? No And that's actually a great biddy That finally I lost The playoff with Nigel Yes I mean the first playoff game I still remember clearly that I had a very simple Winning chance to win a piece And I completely missed it When I was playing the black in the first round But still I had to admit That the tournament in 2012 Was so far my best I mean My best chess tournaments In my career until this moment Until today, still your best probably It was a fantastic result So considering the game's quality And my result at the rating performance Is much better than the other tournaments I won like even the World Championship Or things like that And you had that historic game with Judith Really? Well, yeah, people think like that But for me it's not that historic But of course, I cherish it Since it's our only game As she already retired Yes And this will be in my chess.com You might find this interesting, both of you Right now you're a country woman Ju and Jun is winning Should you or Ju and Jun win the overall prize You'd win 38,000 British pounds Just 48,000 US dollars Which is the same amount You would win at the Women's World Championship But now you're not playing But Ju and Jun, so that's pretty cool To be able to win the exact same As the Women's World Championship is offering They're offering 60,000 But of course you give 20% to Fide Over with that stat to a member of our audience Well, thank you for the class That was very good The same as the previous one You played a Chinese player And I was surprised Of your confidence That Sicilian said Oh, I can defend, I can defend That was two years ago, right? Two years ago, yeah I checked the game with the computer Of course, like I said And there were some scary moments But here, to me, it's about the same So maybe your biggest asset is your confidence Because you're attacking And I saw some strategic risks But you were like, okay, I play this And then I attack here, and I see four And okay, I win the game That's your biggest asset That you have confidence in yourself Well, of course, I mean A player should have confidence to play Before to play each of their own games But actually it's a coincidence For example, in this tournament, I play four games And only this game there I mean, it's quite aggressive And there's some up and downs My previous two wins are actually quite solid And the position are slowly improving So maybe because I know that today We will do this master class So I wanted to try something different To make the sense more interesting Because I believe it will be more How to say, for spectators To watch it then It's a traditional winning game Like by very, very careful technics And then last time Yeah, I was showing a game with my Team mate, Yuan Yi He was actually also playing here This time, and that Sicilian I was black and I was trying to defend Because he's the one who Trying to push pressure And attack on the king side Same like this, but that was Sicilian Where I have counterplay on the queen side So luckily I remember I sacrificed The pass a moment and Finally solved it in the end Game where the position are more or less blocked Good memory, so you remember that master class Clearly Thanks Another question for Yifan from our studio audience Here in Gibraltar Hi Yifan I've been living and playing chess in China For about 10 years now And I'm often quite disappointed That there's really no culture of amateur chess Or really any fide opens In any city in China Do you have any insight into why this is Or can you see this changing in the future Yeah Interesting Actually that was a serious question I mean Of course China now The chess atmosphere is not as good As especially the European countries Or maybe also the states Where you have a lot of Like interesting tournaments For chess fans, that's quite important Also the thing I wanted to improve I mean promoting China Because now the situation is like We have many chess clubs But that was only for the young kids For the young people who wanted to Become a professional chess player So they provide the training So I said we don't have enough Like the chess cafe or things like that Could provide an adult chess fans To enjoy chess, to communicate chess So maybe also because of the culture Because although the chess was Originated from Asian countries But actually it became the modern chess In Spain So that's why I believe in European countries They have more traditional cultures for chess And in China previous years was Chinese chess and also Go Only recent years chess became More popular than before Yeah So But you don't have so many tournaments International like anything Not like Gibraltar But like open tournaments In the world we don't have the second Gibraltar Alright But in China yet Indeed that's true We must have chess sponsors There must be Oh wow Sponsors It's not easy to get in China Only this big Even Yeah Especially for the chess tournaments And also for the players as well So we have like Few Or maybe one or two Strong imitational tournaments Okay back to ten years ago There was a tournament in Taiyuan That was the first Or maybe not first About from my career I mean my chess period It could be the first Strong imitational tournament And later on there was a tournament in Nanjing Where we invited many top players And now we have another tournament In Nanjing But that's all for the professional Chess players This year we also had like One or two open But Didn't attract so many Foreign players So I believe One thing because of the location Because China is like Far away from the chess center From Europe So when the players Wanted to play there They need to consider The troubles Adjust the jet lag So it's not so easy to play there Just like for us to play In Europe actually Yeah And also maybe because of the How to say Like Public How to say Just like There are not so many people Knows about the open tournament So far Yeah So I believe that could also be The area that's If you want to try To promote chess in China Alright And yeah So Last year's World Championship match Had a few innovations A few new ideas It was held in a major city They charged money For extended access Yeah They had virtual reality Did you watch the match And would you like to see Any of those features brought To the women's world championship Yeah of course I thought That would be good I heard about this virtual reality Of course Although I didn't really Try that And to Purchase for the tickets I thought that makes sense Because If we're considering All the major sports Not like football Whatever They really purchased For the spectators Although for chess Is something different But I believe When it goes to Some sudden moment It also makes sense And also it will Make spectators To feel that They're coming Not to only Watch chess Game It's like watching a show And to see How Players brain works In a very quiet atmosphere I think that's That could be like the first step To make chess in a commercial way Yifan I'll just ask you I'm sure there's other questions To come About some I think I believe you recently competed Your university studies Or was that already A while ago now In China Have you Finished all your studies And everything Like last year Last summer Right okay I was going to ask you What the future holds for you I know you put a lot of chess Last year Lots of tournaments And now you're here But we know you're not Moving in Tehran And that sort of cycle of things Looks like you're not Being a part of anymore No Right okay But what about your Chess career from here on Are you Or are you thinking Of moving into Something non-chess No I mean For recent years For the foresee future Of course I will Also focus on chess Like what I did In the past 10 years But now the sense Is a little bit different As I dropped out from Grand Prix I'm not drawing the Women's World Championship cycle If they keep the format like this So in this case I'm kind of pushing myself A bit harder Since I need to play better In the open section In case to have more tournaments Because if we're not considering The women's tournaments Oh they're only like Open tournaments And strong imitational tournaments So where I really need to Be a bit more stronger In case to adjust for that So you're full of ambition? Of course I would try my best To try to improve And I thought It could be the right moment As if you see from my rating It's like There are always a few years I'm kind of Around in what kind of level Like 2600 Then 2650 Now it's at this moment So I hope there will be Real progress in the near future And considering 2017 At least for The first half of the year I will focus on chess Probably at some moment I will continue my master's study as well What is your master's going to be in? What is it in? Not fully decided yet So my major in Bachelor Was the international relations But now I'm kind of Changed my mind To a more practical way It could be like Public policy Or business administration Or sports management Some area that's more practical And might Have to say Might adjust my future career I mean, now chess career Right, you're sort of building a second career Or possibility, let's say Well, I cannot say exactly The second career Actually my plan was also Coordinated I mean Connected with chess Even though At some moment I won't be the professional chess player anymore Because I've been in this world More than 15 years So There's like You know, connections But you're still so young How old are you now? Almost 23 Almost 23 And you've achieved so much It's incredible Almost 23 Yeah, my first day in February In February, alright You told me in November of 2015 You wanted to go to Harvard Is that still a goal? Yeah Kind of It's not easy to get there I mean, not because of something Just because of my English proficiency I mean, we need to pass Both tests for GRE and TOEFL In case to reach the minimum level And that could be My main war is now Since I'm playing a lot of chess tournaments So I don't really have time to prepare for that So that's why For the near future Probably I won't be able to study there And also, I'm also considering If I really study there It takes so much time and energy Probably I can't balance chess As well as what I did now Interesting Any questions? Any questions online? Perhaps, Pete Anyone watching the show at home Have any questions? Good point Judith made it to the top 10 Yeah Do you see yourself Achieving that Or not at all Or really something you've seen Yeah, that would be wonderful If one day I could achieve like that But honestly speaking at this moment I have to admit there's still a long way to go Because my rating, the highest place My rating could be something 60 around And we all know the difference From 60, 50 to 20 or 10 So that would be difficult And also considering The different period Because when Judith enters Of course she's extremely strong At that moment the engine is not as powerful As nowadays Which means If a player working very hard Has intuition Could be very strong But at this moment really You need to be very hard working To know To know a bit more deeper on chess So at this moment I'm just trying I mean trying my best To move a little bit I mean A little bit more How to say More faster I mean to be better To improve the previous years That would already be good And who do you train with? Can you tell us Do you have any special training program Or people you train with in China? In China not really Yeah because In China it's like We have the national teams coach And chief coach Who was also doing some political work So nowadays The top players in China Normally train by themselves Or have small groups Or just by themselves Right That's the same for you, is it? Yeah Yeah same for me Like already for at least Four or five years Or six or seven years Of course I benefited a lot When I was young Like when I'm growing up I could have went to the national training place At a very young age To learn and play with my teammates Who was already very strong at that moment But sooner or later For example like I won the first time More champion Or a bit later Or it's like We don't really get so much Training helps The professional helps from I mean the national team Right I'm remembering you Fran Just talking to you now And listening to your answers about Maybe I'm getting this completely wrong About a master class Might be someone else About how they started playing chess About finding a children's book In a library With a cartoon book Or something with chess Am I completely wrong? Is that you or not? Well It's not me who started chess in that way But that's me That when I was in the national training place At maybe nine years old Already kind of semi-professional player And I got attracted by the cartoon book Instead of training And to watch all the professional books And at that moment I remember the staff who were working At the library told me You should be working hard on chess itself Not get fascinated by all the books About that could be a kind of relaxed way Right, okay We have a question from Andrew In our audience You say it's hard working When you play chess How many sort of hours a day Would you put in? And how would you How do you split it up? Is it mainly openings Or how much do you split Between openings, little game And end games? Good question, actually Now it's a moment That probably I need to think more About my training Because the last four years I was playing tournaments And also studying as regular students In one of the top universities in China So in that case We really need to balance both things So I cannot guarantee any of the training time It's mainly like this, for example If I'm facing some important tournaments Probably like five or ten days in advance I might train more on chess But if I'm facing like The midterm or the final exam Of the university Probably I cannot find Any single time for chess So it really depends I mean it's like a different period And talking about training When I was young Like before entering to university Not very hard Probably like four or five hours a day Except at the weekends And at that moment Not only the opening But also the middle game Sometimes the end games as well But nowadays I believe it's different Because in reason for five years The engine really develops so faster So probably we need to spend more time Trying to adjust on this new atmosphere Are you very, very famous in China? I assume you must be not You're on TV sometimes Or on the radio and newspapers Everyone knows who you are Well, in sports field More or less, yes But for the people who doesn't I mean follow the sports at all So I'm just a normal person Really? Yeah If we stop a hundred people in the street In Shanghai or Beijing And ask them who are you from They don't know who you are I found it coincidentally actually Maybe because of the chess Is the kind of sport That people are difficult to follow In life So many of the people They know my names But when they met me They said, ah, this is the first time I, you know, match yourself With your name with your face So I met so many situations Like this When they heard my names So often But they didn't know For example, like what I'm looking at Yeah, for example, like we met in the street They even didn't know Who they met, yeah Okay So of course I have been In case to do this matter Chess could be promoting a more How to say general way Let's say probably some more Interesting format In case to attract the people To watch the live To know the chess players Not only because of their games I mean I'm thinking now For TV I mean, I tell you for a while Because I'm friends with Judith as well And I know she has a TV series In Hungary on Hungarian TV And she sent me some sort of links And I've seen some episodes In fact, some of the Gibraltar Chess Festival last year Was showing on Hungarian TV Which we're very happy about On her show With other people It was really her And I think that you'd be great To do a TV show in China as well With sort of Sharing kids how to play And talking about your career And things like that Yeah, of course We would have a chance To do that if it was suggested If you could Yeah, of course Why not Maybe not only the program Like this Because like this Of course The people who Interested in chess They would watch But I'm also talking about The more general way To attract the people Maybe who doesn't know How to move the pieces For example You could let the chess players To talk the culture Of chess Something like this Or even to play Some like a bullet Like for example A one minute chess game In this case Even the people Doesn't know By how fast the chess player Could play the whole game So like 60 moves Because I remember When I published A very small video In a social app Just like when I'm playing Bullet one minute With my friend And they just amazed To see that probably Under 8 or 10 seconds We play like 20 or 30 moves So I believe That could also be Another way to promote chess Nice Yeah So you'd be very happy If that kind of thing Yeah, of course That's also part of my Mission besides The professional chess player We also We manipulate from chess Of course we want to To get more people Know about chess To see how chess could Make us down You're such a superstar You should have an Asian You should have someone Doing this for you You're doing this TV show This year And in the spring You need to be You know Don't you think Yeah, of course I hope we could get more Chances more Look at Magnus Look at all the things Magnus does And his sponsors And the movies Why not for Yvonne Why not for you? Maybe we should try To promote women's chess I could be your agent I might be your agent Thank you I can do that Yeah Can I? Maybe we'll try To do it in Gibraldo We can start it here Yeah, sure Idea Any final questions To wrap up This fantastic master class Anyone Anyone in the room? Yvonne There's two categories Of players I think Some players They don't want to know About the next day In an open tournament They want to check in the morning Others want to know Already right now What about you? No Doesn't matter Actually it makes no difference Whatever I know it today Or tomorrow morning Anyway I will just Start to prepare A little bit tomorrow Can I tell you You're about it? Of course That's the point Not only me I believe They all are expecting this Is she playing another woman? You're playing You're not playing Another woman No, I thought There's no Other players You're playing black Against Mickey Adam Wow Please comment on that Comment How are you going to prepare Black against Mickey Actually We played in Aufmann Last October So you played Black The same Against Mickey Yes On the Isle of Man Yes And also we played Here in 2012 Where I got a white So is that a good pairing Or you don't mind Do you play do you Yeah I don't mind I'm just trying to play Every single game As best as I can Alright Anyone else? Mike Anyone else Otherwise We're going to wrap up I think I'll just ask one final one Your Olympiad Gold medalist team Make congratulations Ju Wenzhen is playing Next month And I do not know How the Chinese team works Will you help Prepare her Before or during The match Since you are not Playing Excuse me You are not playing yourself But knockout starts Like just a few days After this event Correct Will you help her During the match Match No But it's not a match It's a knockout I mean knockout We played I mean Myself I played Like a few times And also This time In the head And there will be Like the other Chinese players as well Actually There will be Like a small group I don't really know About that Since I already Have a circle And So you have no official role As far as helping Any of the Chinese Knockout Yeah Yifan you would have been Well of course If someone wanted to Hire me And to do some work I'm pleased to do But probably They thought That I'm not That experienced enough And could be like a coach Because I'm also Playing my own tournaments Probably I will think About that in the future But Yifan If the women's world Championship cycle Were organized along The same lines You would still be Defending your title And you would Yeah of course If the format Could be changed So I'm Definitely wanted to Stay in this circle Because I thought that While The top rated player Is keeping To play the World championship cycle Will generally Will be good For chess As a sport Because For example Okay Adriana is quite strong But since she Didn't play The World championship cycle Although I understand Hard Probably We could try to do Something different At this moment Let's say for example The men's cycle With Magnus Is definitely more Protractive More interesting So I hope The women's cycle Could be The same as me I spoke to many people And they all sympathize And they all think That you should Be able to defend Your title As Magnus Defenses In a match With a challenger Because You have to qualify Through some knockout system Or win a Grand Prix In order to get back To where you are now Yeah, knockout makes sense Because it allows More players A chance to play a enlightened event Especially For the player Like from Africa African countries Or from The undeveloped regions Where the chess Is not so popular So it could Encourage them Quite a lot So I Really support This cycle But this cannot Be the one To determine The World champion It could be Something else Yeah That all that makes more sense Of course, yeah Yeah, so that's why I really wanted to stay there Unfortunately, I cannot Right, yeah That's a great PD, yeah Yeah It is Well, I think We better wrap up that Yufan That's been a fantastic game That you showed us Thank you Thank you very much for your time And for all the wonderful things You've shared with us this evening Thank you And best of luck And rest of the tournament Thank you