19-year-old wins six in a row as
Russian Women stake claim in Beth Harmon era
Over-the-board chess has returned in impressive style to Moscow’s historic Central Chess Club this week. The building and its elegant playing hall, once the hub of the Soviet chess empire which dominated the game for half a century, is hosting the Russian men’s and women’s championships and the emergence of a new teenage star.
Polina Shuvalova, aged 19, won her first six rounds in the women’s championship and is set to battle for the title in Tuesday’s penultimate round with the current world No 2, Aleksandra Goryachkina, 22, who is unbeaten but 1.5 points behind. So far Shuvalova’s best game has been her tactical slugfest with Alina Kashlinskaya, top woman at Isle of Man 2018.