GM Aleksandra Goryachkina brushed apart IM Batkhuyag Munguntuul to attain a fifth win in a row within the 2024 Shymkent FIDE Women’s Grand Prix, however her lead remained at one level as IM Nurgyul Salimova‘s assault backfired in opposition to GM Tan Zhongyi. The opposite video games had been drawn, with IM Bibisara Assaubayeva spoiling a successful place in opposition to IM Divya Deshmukh.
Spherical eight will begin on Thursday, November 7, at 5 a.m. ET / 11:00 CET / 3:30 p.m. IST.
Spherical 7 Outcomes
Goryachkina and Tan Zhongyi at the moment are successfully in a two-horse race to win the Shymkent FIDE Girls’s Grand Prix.
Standings After Spherical 7
Munguntuul is but to make a attract Shymkent and has misplaced all 4 video games she’s performed with the white items. Goryachkina went into their sport on a four-game successful streak and duly made it 5, as she lower by means of her opponent’s defenses in a Sveshnikov Sicilian like a scorching knife by means of butter.
Munguntuul’s 22.Qa1?, going after a queenside pawn, was the primary new transfer and a mistake, whereas 24.Qa4? misplaced on the spot.Â
Goryachkina, one in all simply six ladies ever to have been rated over 2600, has gained nearly 20 ranking factors and never simply overtaken however opened a gulf to GM Koneru Humpy, whereas she will be able to catch fourth-placed Lei TIngjie if she wins once more.
It isn’t all about Goryachkina, nevertheless, since former World Champion and present World Championship Challenger Tan can also be constructing on what’s already a career-high ranking and will overtake the present World Champion Ju Wenjun earlier than the Shymkent Grand Prix is over.Â
Tan additionally began quick with the black items, in opposition to Salimova, however simply when White appeared to have gotten proper again within the sport the 21-year-old Bulgarian determined to go all-out for the assault with 18.Nd6+?—it backfired badly, as Tan accepted all of the pawns supplied, consolidated her place, then trapped Salimova’s queen to clinch victory.
IM Stavroula Tsolakidou could not hold stress on the leaders however had no cause to complain a couple of well-played draw in opposition to GM Kateryna Lagno, whereas the 14-move attract GM Elisabeth Paehtz vs. Humpy spoke of each gamers wanting a disappointing occasion to be over.Â
The one draw that would have ended decisively noticed Divya get into bother in opposition to Assaubayeva. She admitted, “For me, I believe it was only a fortunate sport, as a result of the opening was a catastrophe from my facet and I used to be defending the whole sport, attempting to by some means maintain.” Assaubayeva cheerfully agreed of their post-game joint interview: “For me the opening was superb and I’ve a dream place from the opening!”
The decisive second got here when Divya was right down to 1.5 minutes to Assaubayeva’s seven and performed 33…Kf8. Assaubayeva had a successful benefit, however she squandered it with one careless transfer as the sport hurtled towards a draw.
Thursday’s penultimate spherical will probably be large for the general final result of the match, with Goryachkina dealing with Humpy with White, whereas Tan additionally has White, in opposition to Assaubayeva. Â
Spherical 8 Pairings
How you can watch?
The 2024 Shymkent FIDE Girls’s Grand Prix is the second of six legs of the 2024-2025 FIDE Girls’s Grand Prix. The ten-player round-robin runs October 30-November 8 in Shymkent, Kazakhstan. Gamers have 90 minutes, plus half-hour from transfer 40, with a 30-second increment per transfer. The highest prize is €18,000 (~$20,000), with gamers additionally incomes Grand Prix factors. Every of the 20 gamers competes in three occasions; the highest two qualify for the 2026 FIDE Girls’s Candidates Match that decides the World Championship challenger.
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