Keys to victory |
advantage |
Why |
big match/tournament experience |
Chen |
Chen, having won 2002 women's world champion in Moscow, has the more experienced chess resume. Chen also can draw from her victory over former FIDE KO Champion Ruslan Ponomariov in 2002. |
Home field advantage |
Krush |
Irina lives in New York. Chen is a long way from home. Irina will be surrounded by the local chess pros to help root her on. |
head to head match up |
Chen |
Zhu Chen leads in the current head to head match with 3 wins and 1 loss. All of these games came in the 2002 2nd US -China summit |
better chess knowledge |
Chen |
Chen, being a former women's world champion and having earned the GM title, gets the nod here. |
player psychology (the wild card) |
Krush |
This is a rapid match so anything is possible. Irina being the home town girl and having won the France-American championship last September should feel confident of victory. Chen could have problems dealing with the time change and the many distractions of being in New York City. |
current playing trends |
Even |
Both coming off of medal winning team performances at the 36th Olympiad at Calvia. The US women's team won the silver, finishing behind the women's team from China. |
who's going to win |
Krush |
The home field advantage will be too great to overcome in the time scramble of a rapid match. Krush cruises to victory by a 1.5 - 1 score |