FIDE Women Chess Grand Prix – four players share the lead
Four players are sharing the lead at the FIDE Women Chess Grand Prix before the rest day. Mariya Muzychuk, Nana Dzagnidze, Bibisara Assaubayeva, and Stavroula Tsolakidou lead with 3,0/5 each. Games from FIDE Tbilisi Women Grand Prix 2024 will resume on Tuesday and will be live on Chessdom.
Round 1: Bibisara Assaubayeva – Sarasadat Khademalsharieh / Nana Dzagnidze – Lela Javakhishvili / Anna Muzychuk – Mariya Muzychuk / Alina Kashlinskaya – Alexandra Kosteniuk / Stavroula Tsolakidou – R Vaishali
Round 2: Alexandra Kosteniuk – R Vaishali / Sarasadat Khademalsharieh – Stavroula Tsolakidou / Lela Javakhishvili – Bibisara Assaubayeva / Mariya Muzychuk – Nana Dzagnidze / Alina Kashlinskaya – Anna Muzychuk
Round 3: Anna Muzychuk – Alexandra Kosteniuk / Nana Dzagnidze – Alina Kashlinskaya / Bibisara Assaubayeva – Mariya Muzychuk / Stavroula Tsolakidou – Lela Javakhishvili / R Vaishali – Sarasadat Khademalsharieh
Round 4: Alexandra Kosteniuk – Sarasadat Khademalsharieh / Lela Javakhishvili – R Vaishali / Mariya Muzychuk – Stavroula Tsolakidou / Alina Kashlinskaya – Bibisara Assaubayeva / Anna Muzychuk – Nana Dzagnidze
Round 5: Nana Dzagnidze – Alexandra Kosteniuk / Bibisara Assaubayeva – Anna Muzychuk / Stavroula Tsolakidou – Alina Kashlinskaya / R Vaishali – Mariya Muzychuk / Sarasadat Khademalsharieh – Lela Javakhishvili
With five of nine rounds played, the players will have a rest day on Tuesday before the games resume on Wednesday, August 21.
Standings after Round 5
Round six pairings
Alexandra Kosteniuk – Lela Javakhishvili
Mariya Muzychuk – Sarasadat Khademalsharieh
Alina Kashlinskaya – Vaishali Rameshbabu
Anna Muzychuk – Stavroula Tsolakidou
Nana Dzagnidze – Bibisara Assaubayeva
Vaishali Rameshbabu is the only winner in Round 3 of WGP Tbilisi
Indian star Vaishali Rameshbabu defeated Sara Khadem with the white pieces in a game she dominated from the very start. With all other games ending in draws, Stavroula Tsolakidou and Bibisara Assaubayeva lead with 2/3, followed by seven players at 50%, and Sara Khadem in last place with half a point.
After blundering in round one and then letting a winning position slip away in round two against Alexandra Kosteniuk, Vaishali Rameshbabu secured a victory against Sara Khadem. In a well-executed performance in the Italian Game, Vaishali quickly gained the upper hand and gradually increased the pressure until Black had no choice but to resign. With this victory, Vaishali is on 1.5 points, back in the tournament in style.
The first game to finish was between Anna Muzychuk and Alexandra Kosteniuk. In the Morphy Defense of Ruy Lopez both players castled on opposite sides, setting the stage for a potential battle. Muzychuk seemed to have a slight initiative, with Black’s queen stuck on the a7 square and potentially at risk. However, at the critical stage of the game, Muzychuk opted to exchange queens, leading to an even rook endgame.
Playing the King’s Indian against Bibisara Assaubayeva, Mariya Muzychuk made a premature pawn advance on the queenside, weakening her position. Fortunately for her, Bibisara made a few inaccuracies, handing the advantage back to Black. After a tactical sequence, White ended up with a queen against two rooks, and the game was drawn. Bibisara is on 2/3, while Mariya Muzychuk has 1.5 points.
Stavroula Tsolakidou drew with Lela Javakhishvili in the English Opening. The Greek player shares the lead with Assaubayeva, both on 2/3.
The last game of the day to finish was between Nana Dzagnidze and Alina Kashlinskaya. In the English Defense, Kashlinskaya found herself in time trouble but managed to reach the time control and secure a draw. After failing to win significantly better positions in the first two rounds and playing another long game, the pressure is on for Nana Dzagnidze.
Anna Muzychuk – Alexandra Kosteniuk
This game was a clash between two experienced top-class players who have faced each other many times before. Heading into this match, the classical game score between them was 6:5 in favor of Anna Muzychuk, while they were even in Rapid, and Kosteniuk held the edge in the Blitz.
In the Morphy Defense of Ruy Lopez, both players castled on opposite sides of the board, setting the stage for a potential sharp showdown. Kosteniuk initiated her attack first, launching a g5-g4 pawn push on move 12, directly challenging the safety of the white king. Muzychuk responded by reinforcing the center and preparing her own counterplay on the queenside.
White just played 19.b4, exerting pressure on Black, whose queen was forced to a7. Then, something unusual happened: after 19…Bxe3, White recaptured with the queen on e3, allowing Black to exchange queens, which led to a more central position for Kosteniuk’s remaining pieces.
Kosteniuk seized the opportunity and after 20.Qxe3 Qxe3 21.fxe3 Nb6 22.Nxb6 cxb6, the game transitioned into an even rook endgame, effectively defusing the tension on the board.
Shortly afterward, the two players agreed to split the point.
In the post-game interview, Kosteniuk mentioned that she was unsure about the strength of her position and was relieved when White opted to exchange queens. She added, “I felt I could have played better in the rook endgame,” but overall, she seemed content with her performance.
Nana Dzagnidze – Alina Kashlinskaya
Kashlinskaya played the English Defense against Nana Dzagnidze. The position after the opening was relatively balanced, with both sides having clear plans. White had slightly more space on the queenside and a strong central pawn on d5, while Black maintained solid central control and active pieces. Eventually, White’s d5-pawn was exchanged for Black’s pawn. Despite Kashlinskaya having an extra pawn, White’s pieces were more active.
Black soon returned the extra pawn to activate her pieces. After several exchanges, the game transitioned into a queen and rook endgame. Dzagnidze, significantly better on time, sought to create threats against the Black king. Despite her time trouble, Kashlinskaya defended well and posed counter-threats, ultimately securing a draw.
Bibisara Assaubayeva – Mariya Muzychuk
Despite both being top players in women’s chess, this was their first classical game against each other, as noted by commentator Keti Tsatsalashvili during the coverage in Tbilisi.
Muzychuk opted for the Gruenfeld Defense. The position remained balanced until Bibisara’s premature a-pawn advance weakened her queenside.
17.a4? This was a mistake. 17.Nf3 or 17. dxc5 would have been better, according to the engines.
17…Bc6 18.dxc5 Nxc5 19.Bxg7 Bxg2! 20.Nxg2? Again, White missed the better move 20. Kxg2, which would have kept the game more balanced.
After 20…Kxg7, Black was clearly in a better position.
Black’s pawns were better protected, and the knights were well-centralized, while White had exposed pawns on the queenside and less piece activity. Additionally, Assaubayeva was under time pressure.
However, after 21. Qd4+, Black made a critical error by weakening her pawn structure and light squares with 21…f6.
Following 22.Ngf4 Nde4? the position began turning in White’s favor. 23.Qc4 e5 24. b4 exf4 25. bxc5 Nxc5 26. Nxf4 It was White now who had a slightly better position.
After move 33, the opponents reached the following position:
The best move, according to the engines, was 34.Qb2, maintaining the tension. Instead, Bibisara opted for a tactical sequence.
34.Rxc5 bxc5 35.Ne6! Qxe6 36.cxd4, resulting in Black having two rooks for a queen. Bibisara made these moves under severe time pressure.
After a few more moves, it became clear to both players that neither side could make progress, and they agreed to a draw.
Stavroula Tsolakidou – Lela Javakhishvili
In the English Opening, Tsolakidou, playing White, gained slightly more space on the queenside and established better control over the center, but Black countered effectively. In the middlegame, both players had one weakness each, and the position remained largely even.
However, Tsolakidou was under time pressure and had to play quickly and accurately to reach the first time control. Black eventually secured a passed pawn on the c-file, but White had sufficient resources to neutralize the threat, leading to a draw.
Vaishali Rameshbabu – Sarasadat Khademalsharieh
In the Italian Game, Vaishali, playing White, maintained a strong center, limiting the space for Black’s pieces to develop. Khadem responded with a bold pawn push on the kingside, which was a dicey venture.
Khadem just played 14…Nf4, preparing the f5 pawn advance and forcing White to respond.
After 15.Bxf4! both recaptures look almost equally unpleasant for Black but 15…gxf4 left her with no active play.
White steadily improved her position with each move, preventing Black from opening the center and applying significant pressure on the queenside.
Black has just played 28…b6?, violating one of the positional rules of chess: “Don’t advance pawns on the wing where you are weaker.”
Vaishali responded with clinical accuracy. After 29.b5! axb5 30. axb6 Rb8 31. dxc6 Bxc6 32. cxd5 Bb7 33. Bc4 d5 White broke through on the queenside.
30.Bxd5 Bxd5 35. exd5 Bb6 36. Rgc1 Rg5 37. Rc6 Nd8
Here, virtually “all roads lead to Rome”, but Vaishali found an effective exchange sacrifice to completely paralyze Black’s position: 38. Rxb6! Rxb6 39. Ra8 Rb7 40. Qc4 Rg8 41. d6 Qf7 42. Qe4 Qh7 43. Qd5 Qf7 44. Qf3 Qh7 45. Qh5 Rd7 46. Ne7 and Black resigned.
Save by Nana Dzagnidze in Round 4
Georgia’s Nana Dzagnidze made a spectacular comeback from a completely lost position against Anna Muzychuk in a game that lasted four and a half hours and 102 moves. Meanwhile, Alexandra Kosteniuk capitalized on Sara Khadem’s error in time trouble, finding a two-move combination that secured her victory. With 2.5 points out of four, Kosteniuk joined the leaders Assaubayeva and Tsolakidou, who drew their games
Round four of the Women’s Grand Prix in Georgia ended in dramatic fashion. In a tense encounter, Nana Dzagnidze managed to save a seemingly lost game against Anna Muzychuk in an unexpected twist of events. Muzychuk surprised Dzagnidze by playing a line in the French Defense she had not prepared for, and an early imprecision by Dzagnidze cost her a pawn. Although she had chances to maintain equality, a time-trouble decision to sacrifice a bishop appeared to seal her fate.
Despite this, Dzagnidze refused to give up without a fight. “I tried giving as many checks as I could and then planned to resign,” she said in an interview immediately after the game. Fortune favored her when Muzychuk, under pressure, made a critical error on move 78 by pushing her a-pawn to the seventh rank, turning what should have been a win into a dead draw. Now it was Muzychuk who found herself in desperate time trouble, but she could achieve nothing more than half a point.
“I feel relieved. After drawing three games where I was winning in two and better in one, this feels like payback,” Dzagnidze said. She is supported at the event by her brother, a tennis coach with little chess experience, who sat through the entire round, cheering her on.
Alexandra Kosteniuk also scored an important point today. Sporting earrings resembling a chessboard, the former Women’s World Champion defeated Sara Khadem in the Scotch Game. Khadem sacrificed a pawn but had enough compensation to keep the position balanced. However, a mistake on move 31 in time trouble led to a swift defeat in just two moves. With this victory, Kosteniuk joined the leaders with 2.5/4, while Khadem, with just half a point, finds herself alone at the bottom of the standings.
In a sharp Najdorf Sicilian, Mariya Muzychuk launched an aggressive kingside attack against Stavroula Tsolakidou. After Tsolakidou’s weakening move 21…g6, Muzychuk gained a strong position, with better control of the center and more active pieces. However, a misstep with 26.Na4? allowed Tsolakidou to equalize, leading to a series of exchanges that resulted in a rook endgame. Despite being a pawn up, Muzychuk was unable to convert her advantage, and the game ended in a draw. Tsolakidou now has 2.5 points out of four, while Mariya Muzychuk has two points.
Alina Kashlinskaya and Bibisara Assaubayeva drew their game after around two hours of play, concluding in just 21 moves. Both players chose a sharp line in the King’s Indian Defense. In the end, Kashlinskaya had a slight initiative and an extra pawn but opted not to press further, leading to a draw. After four rounds, Bibisara has 2.5 points, while Kashlinskaya is on two.
Lela Javakhishvili and Vaishali Rameshbabu drew their game in the Queen’s Gambit Declined. Despite lasting 46 moves and four and a half hours, the game remained balanced throughout, with neither side gaining a significant advantage. Both players are on two points.
Alexandra Kosteniuk – Sarasadat Khademalsharieh
Alexandra Kosteniuk faced Sara Khadem as White in the Schmidt Variation of the Scotch Game. Khadem held her ground well against Kosteniuk for most of the game.
Here, Khadem spent around thirty minutes contemplating her next move. She correctly decided to sacrifice the c7 pawn and launched a pawn advance with 15…h5, creating an escape route for her king. After 16.Qxc7 Bd5, the position remained even, with White a pawn up but Black having enough compensation to hold.
However, Khadem faced one significant challenge: she was running low on time. Sensing an opportunity, Kosteniuk continued to pile on the pressure, forcing Khadem into tough decisions. Khadem managed to hold until move 31.
The best defense for Black was 31…Qf6, or even moving the king to h7 with an equal position. Instead, Khadem played 31…f6??, after which Black’s position collapsed.
Kosteniuk quickly found the winning combination:
32.Qa7+ Bf7 33.Bxg6!! After 33…Qxg6, 34.Rg1 would follow, and the black queen would be lost. Even a counter-sacrifice on h2 wouldn’t save Black: 33…Rxh2+ 34.Kxh2 Qh6+ 35.Kg2 Qxg6+ 36.Kf1 Qh5 37.Qg1+ and White would remain safe.
With no way out, Sara Khadem resigned.
Lela Javakhishvili – Vaishali Rameshbabu
In the Queen’s Gambit Declined, the two players engaged in a long, steady game marked by positional maneuvering rather than drama. By move 22, they entered a rook and knight endgame. Javakhishvili offered a threefold repetition, but Vaishali declined. The knights were soon exchanged, leading to a lengthy rook endgame with considerable shuffling but little progress. The game ended in a draw.
Mariya Muzychuk – Stavroula Tsolakidou
In the Najdorf variation of the Sicilian, Mariya Muzychuk entered the game aggressively, leaving her king in the center while charging forward with her pawns against Black’s kingside castle.
The computer suggests that Black should have played 21…a5 or 21…Bb6, but Tsolakidou opted for 21…g6?, which weakened her kingside. By the middlegame, Muzychuk had a better position with better coordinated pieces, control if the center, and the potential to apply more pressure on the board.
The best way for White to proceed was to activate her king by Kf2 and reroute her knight to d4 via Ne2-d4.
However, Muzychuk played 26.Na4?, effectively losing the biggest part of her advantage.
After 26…Nb6, a series of exchanges followed, leading to a rook endgame where White was a pawn up but could not achieve more than a draw.
Alina Kashlinskaya – Bibisara Assaubayeva
In a trendy line of the King’s Indian Defense with an early h2-h4 both players aimed for a double-edged position. White made an early advance with her pawn to h6, penetrating Black’s kingside castle. Black sacrificed a pawn to gain some initiative a la Benko Gambit but did not get sufficient compensations it seems.
White’s pieces are well-coordinated. The queen on f3 is poised to shift to a kingside attack or support central activities. However, Black’s bishop on h8 is passive, restricted by the pawn structure and lacking active prospects. On the other hand, Black’s knight on b4 is active, but the bishop on h8 is still locked away, and there’s a potential pin on f6.
Despite the position seeming more demanding for Black, Kashlinskaya decided to repeat moves, and the game ended in a draw:
18.Bf4 Re8 19.Bg5 Re5 20.Bf4 Re8 21.Bg5 And the two agreed to split a point.
Anna Muzychuk – Nana Dzagnidze
In their game featuring the Exchange Variation of French Defense, everything proceeded smoothly until Black’s tenth move.
The position was sharp, requiring precise play from Black. According to the engine, the best move for Black was to castle: 10…O-O 11.Bxh7+ Kh8 12.g4 Kxh7 13.gxh5 Kg8 14.Ng5 Qd7 with a tense position which is slightly better for White. However, Nana opted to take on d4.
10…Nxd4 11.g4 Nxf3+ 12.Qxf3 Bg6 13.Bxg6 (better was 12.Nxd5 immediately).13…hxg6 14.Nxd5 0-0 Moving the king away from immediate danger. After 15.Nxe7+ Bxe7 16.Qxb7 White emerged a pawn up but after making an inaccuracy on move 19 let her advantage slip away.
16…Bf6 17.c3 a5 18.Qc6 Rb8 19.a4? Bh4 20.Rb1
Nana spent a lot of time contemplating her next move and then decided on a combination that led to further difficulties. The computer recommended activating the b8-rook with 20…Rb6, followed by transferring it to e6 with sufficient compensation for a pawn. Instead, Nana played:
20…Bxf2? 21.Kxf2 Qh4 22.Ke2! Once again, Rb8, followed by Re6+ with tempo, was the better choice. Instead, in desperate time trouble, Nana continued with 22…Qxh3+ 23.Qf3! but Anna consolidated her position and emerged with an extra bishop.
Nana continued to struggle in a lost endgame, hoping to find a perpetual check or advance her g-pawns. She pressed on, giving checks to the white king from all sides of the board, clinging to the hope of a miracle. Muzychuk had to be careful not to misstep. Eventually, she sacrificed the bishop but managed to position her king on b7 to support the promotion of her a-pawn.
Muzychuk was just a step away from victory when this happened:
After 73. a7! Qb3+ 74. Qb6 Qf3+ 75. Qc6 Qf7+ 76. Ka6 Black can’t stop the a-pawn promotion. Anna, however, opted for 73. Qd3+, which was also winning but allowed Nana to stay in the game a bit more. Just four moves later, Dzagnidze got her chance and jumped on the opportunity.
At this moment, Muzychuk had about a minute and a half on her clock, while Dzagnidze had more than 20 minutes. Although Anna’s leg was shaking beneath the table, her face remained calm. She had many winning options, namely 78. Qe2, 78. c5, 78. Qf7, to name a few.
Instead, Anna played ill-timed 78.a7??
The evaluation bar dropped from 4.8 to 0.0 — a shocking turn of events.
Anna tried to navigate her way out of the mess, moving her king around the board, but it wasn’t meant to be. The game ended in a draw after 102 moves.
The fifth round of the first tournament in the 2024/25 Women’s Grand Prix series starts on Monday, August 19, 3 PM local time in Tbilisi, Georgia.
Women’s Grand Prix Tbilisi R5: The day of surprising twists
Three of the five games saw wild twists and turns, with players trading advantages, sometimes move by move. Nana Dzagnidze emerged victorious against Alexandra Kosteniuk after catching a lucky break following a daring line she chose. Vaishali Rameshbabu suffered a defeat at the hands of Mariya Muzychuk despite having a significantly better position earlier in the game. Stavroula Tsolakidou and Alina Kashlinskaya traded advantages throughout their endgame, ultimately finishing in a draw. With five rounds completed and four remaining, four players lead with three points each
It was an unusual day at the Women’s Grand Prix in Georgia. Typically, players are less ambitious in their play before the rest day, as one experienced chess pundit noted before the round. This seemed to be the case initially, as most games saw rapid opening play, and the first game to finish, between Bibisara Assaubayeva and Anna Muzychuk, ended in a peaceful draw.
However, as the day progressed, unexpected storms erupted on the remaining boards.
The most anticipated matchup of the round was between Georgia’s Nana Dzagnidze and former Women’s World Champion Alexandra Kosteniuk. After spending considerable time in the opening, Dzagnidze opted for a risky line in the Nimzo-Indian Defense, sacrificing a bishop. Initially, this appeared to be a miscalculation: Kosteniuk, playing rapidly, seemed to be in preparation, while Dzagnidze was using up her time. However, a series of mistakes from Kosteniuk completely turned the game around, putting Dzagnidze in a winning position.
Kosteniuk tried to emulate Dzagnidze’s miraculous escape against Anna Muzychuk in round four but found no such salvation this time. After misplaying advantageous positions in the earlier rounds, fortune finally favored Dzagnidze, who won the game and secured a spot among the leaders with three points. Kosteniuk, missing her chance to take sole lead, finished the first half of the tournament at 50%.
A similar story unfolded in the game between Vaishali Rameshbabu and Mariya Muzychuk. In the Italian Game, both players ventured into a sharp position where Vaishali emerged with a significant advantage. However, in just a few moves, the game slipped away from her. She underestimated Black’s kingside threats and launched an attack that backfired, leading to a lost position. With this victory, Mariya Muzychuk joined the leading pack with three points, while Vaishali remains on two.
The game between Stavroula Tsolakidou and Alina Kashlinskaya saw the most dramatic shifts of the day. In the Ruy Lopez, Kashlinskaya found herself in trouble during a complex middlegame and ended up in a worse position. However, as the game transitioned to an ending, Tsolakidou lost her grip, and Kashlinskaya found herself with a winning chance. Unfortunately for Kashlinskaya, she missed several opportunities to secure the win, and the game eventually ended in a draw. This was enough to keep Tsolakidou among the leaders with three points, while Kashlinskaya sits at 2.5 out of five.
Round five also saw Sara Khadem win her first game of the tournament. Playing in the Exchange Variation of the Queen’s Gambit Declined, Khadem capitalized on a blunder by four-time Georgian Women’s Champion Lela Javakhishvili on move 19. Khadem played accurately thereafter, not allowing her opponent any chances to salvage a draw. This victory marks Khadem’s first in the event, though she still finds herself in last place with 1.5 points. Having been out of competitive play for more than six months, some rustiness is to be expected. Lela Javakhishvili remains on two points.
With five of nine rounds played, the players will have a rest day on Tuesday before the games resume on Wednesday, August 21.
Standings after Round 5
Here follows a closer look at the games of round five of the Women’s Grand Prix in Tbilisi:
Nana Dzagnidze – Alexandra Kosteniuk
This was the derby of the round. In the Nimzo-Indian, Nana spent a significant amount of time in the opening, deliberating whether to go for a line involving a piece sacrifice.
At first glance, the position looks like a typical opening setup without much excitement. However, the main line here for White involves taking on d5, leading to a sharp game: 8.cxd5 Bxf1 9.dxe6 Ba6 10.exf7+ Kxf7 11.e4. This results in a very sharp position where White has two pawns for a piece and an attack on the black king. Other options for White include 8.b3 and 8.Qf3.
After 20 minutes of contemplation, Nana decided on 8.cxd5, directly entering the piece sacrifice line.
8. cxd5 Bxf1 9.dxe6 Ba6 10.exf7+ Kxf7
Here, both 11.e4 and 11. Qb3+ continuations have been tested extensively, with the former option being considered slightly better for White. 11…Ke8 12.Ne6 According to engines, the position is now equal. Kosteniuk played very quickly, indicating this was likely part of her preparation. From here, things started to deteriorate for Nana.
12…Qd7 13.Ng7+ Kd8 White has three pawns for a piece, but the computer evaluates the position as significantly better for Black.
14.e4 Nc6 15.Be3 Na5 Here, 15…Ng4 was the engine’s first choice. 16.Qc2
At this point, Kosteniuk made two consecutive mistakes.
16…Bxa3? The first one. Alexandra should have played either 16…Kc8 or 16…Ng4 with a slightly better position.
17.Nf5 Bb4? The second mistake. Here, Kosteniuk should have played 17…Bxb2 18.Qxb2 Nxe4 19.Nxe4 Qxf5 20.Qc2 Qd5 21.f3, with the position being roughly equal.
Now, White got a chance to activate her pieces and turn the tables.
18.Bg5 Rf8 19.e5 Black needed to either move her king to safety or open the c6-vent for the king. Instead, Kosteniuk made a critical error.
19…Qe6?? Again, 19…Kc8 was a better choice, although Black’s position is no joy.
White is now completely winning.
20.Ne3! Be7 21.exf6 Bxf6 22.Bxf6+ Rxf6 23.b4 Nc4 24.Rxa6
Not only has White regained the bishop, but she is also a knight up. Kosteniuk continued to play, hoping to find a perpetual check. Unfortunately for her, Dzagnidze played accurately and recovered the time lost in the opening. Kosteniuk resigned on move 43.
Bibisara Assaubayeva – Anna Muzychuk
In the Queen’s Gambit Declined, Black started with an isolated pawn in the center. The game remained fairly balanced, with both players moving quickly, particularly Assaubayeva. By the middlegame, White won the isolated pawn on d5, while Black captured the pawn on b2. Shortly after, most of the heavy pieces were exchanged, resulting in an even position that led to a threefold repetition after 26 moves, ending the game in a draw.
Stavroula Tsolakidou – Alina Kashlinskaya
In the Ruy Lopez, Kashlinskaya opted for the Morphy Defense. A complicated position developed, and Stavroula spent a significant amount of time in the opening, indicating she might have been surprised by Kashlinskaya’s choice.
After clashes in the center and a series of calculated exchanges the opponents reached the following position.
Here, White could have played 24.Bc3 or 24. Rae1 emerging with an extra pawn in a drawish endgame with opposite-colored bishops, but Tsolakidou preferred an endings with a rook and a pawn against two Black’s minor pieces with 24. Rc5
White was slightly better, but ten moves later, Tsolakidouwent too far:
Instead of 35. Rg8 with a balanced position she ventured upon 35.g4, sacrificing her f3-pawn.
35…Be2 36. Rh8 Bxf3 37. Rxh7 Ke6! leading White into a trap.
38.Rh6+? Ke5 Now Black was completely winning, with White’s king exposed to a threat of mate and Black’s f-pawn ready to advance. However, precise play was required.
In the ensuing moves, both players made inaccuracies, trading advantages, but Alina was the last one to err.
49…Nd3? Alina should have played 49…Ng4!
50.Rxe4! Simplifying the position for a draw.
51…Kxe4 52.a6 f2 53.a7 a8=Q+ 54.Ke3 Qg2 55.Qxg2+ and after Kxg2, Black didn’t have enough material to checkmate White.
Vaishali Rameshbabu – Mariya Muzychuk
In the Italian Game with an early g7-g5 by Black, the players reached a complicated and sharp position, in which White grabbed the imitative.
Black is slightly worse but after 23…Rxa6 the position remains complicated. Mariya, however, played 23…c6? and after 24.axb7 (24.f5 was even stronger) Qxb7 25.Bxe6 fxe6 26.cxd4 Bxd4 27.Rab1 Qg7 28.Ndf3 Bc5 29.Ng5 e5 30.h4 Ng6 31.Ne6 Qe7 32.f5 Bxg1 33.Rxg1 Kd7 found herself on the brink of defeat.
Surprizingly, at this point, the game began to shift rapidly in Black’s favor. Struggling with time, Vaishali made several errors, culminating in four moves down the road.
36.Rb7+?? White should have played 36.Qd3 with still having an advantage. This exchange sacrifice for just a couple of checks led to a losing position.
36…Nxb7 37.Rxb7+ Ke8 38.Rb1 Kf7 With the black king safe, Vaishali realized her blunder. She briefly left the board for a breather before returning to make a few more moves and then resigned.
39.Rf1 Qg4 40.Rf2 Rab8 41.Qd3 Rb4 White resigned, giving Mariya Muzychuk a significant win.
Sarasadat Khademalsharieh – Lela Javakhishvili
The players opted for the Exchange Variation of the Queen’s Gambit Declined. The position remained even until move 19, when Black made a mistake.
Black was slightly behind in developed, and her king was more exposed. Javakhishvili should have played 19…Ne4 with a slightly inferior but defendable position. Instead, she blundered with 19…Ng4? Which failed to 20.Bxb8! Raxb8 21.Qg3! Nf6 22.Bxg6! fxg6 23.Qxg6+ Kf8 24.f4 andWhite was winning.
The rest was a smooth sail for Sarasadat, who confidently converted her advantage into a full point.
Tuesday is the rest day at the tournament. The sixth round starts on Wednesday, August 21, 3PM local time in Tbilisi, Georgia.
Written by Milan Dinic
Photos: Anna Shtourman