Muzychuk leads, Tan, Zhu in Sharp Contrast at FIDE Women’s Grand Prix
The third and fourth rounds of the FIDE Women’s Grand Prix in Austria have seen some huge results. Anna Muzychuk has won her second and third games in a row, giving her the lead at 3.5/4; Tan Zhongyi has lost two straight after starting 2/2; and Zhu Jiner has done the opposite, winning two games after starting 0/2. Vaishali Rameshbabu’s nice tournament won’t be overlooked either, as she sits in solo second place at 3/4.
It’s the Grand Prix undertones that are the most interesting, as Muzychuk, Tan, and Zhu seek to overtake Humpy Koneru and Aleksandra Goryachkina for places in the next Candidates tournament. Muzychuk can guarantee her spot with a solo first place finish if she holds her lead, after which the big question is whether Zhu can sneak in with a lower-table finish. Tan’s chances have taken a sharp drop, as she needs at least a share of first to have any chance. Season standings are available on the Grand Prix website.
This is the game Javakhishvili-Zhu in round four. White blundered with 46. Bd5??, when it turns out there is no satisfactory defence to 46. …Bb4! and a threat of …Be1#. White had planned 47. Bg2, but Black was able to make pretty quick progress on the kingside and won on move 60, getting her back to an even score.
The clever way to draw was something like 46. Rd7, because the same 46. …Bb4 is met with 47. Rd1, and the white bishop prevents …Re2, from c4, leaving no way for Black to poke. Also, 46. …Bxe3 47. Rd6+ forces a draw by giving checks on the d-file, because if the king ever tries to move towards the centre, Black risks a fork of the king and either the f-pawn, or the bishop that is now on e3. Notably, any …Kh5 would allow a mirroring mate pattern with Bf7!
Muzychuk continued her pattern of getting good positions, and playing out lengthy conversions. Her round four win over Kosteniuk was her shortest of the three wins, at 46 moves. Tan played what she will consider a poor game, losing in 31 moves.
Round five’s feature game is the critical matchup Tan-A. Muzychuk: one player is falling, and the other is running hot. Zhu-Vaishali also has big consequences, for both the tournament and the Grand Prix. You can follow the event on Lichess. There’s one rest day after round six, and the ninth and final round is on May 15th.
Photo via FIDE
