Women's Grand Prix in Tashkent begins

The Tashkent Women's Grand Prix is currently being held in Uzbekistan from September 17th - October 1st. The tournament is part of the Women's World Championship cycle that will determine the next challenger for the world title. The twelve player round robin will feature the standard FIDE time control of 90 minutes for the first 40 moves, with 30 minutes being added at that point and an additional 30 seconds per move through the entire game.

The Women's Grand Prix Series is currently being led by Anna Muzychuk, followed by Nana Dzagnidze and Tatiana Kosintseva. None of these players will be present at Tashkent, so it will be possible for some of these players to attempt to overtake the leaders. Koneru could easily take a commanding lead (although with only two Grand Prix tournaments played by any player) by winning the event and gaining a whopping 180 points.

Current Grand Prix Standings

Tashkent Players

• International Master and grandmaster-elect Bela Khotenashvili and the highest rated player at the event, India's GM Humpy Koneru, are the only two participants who have managed to score 160 points in the GP series by winning Geneva and Dilijan stages accordingly.

• Two former World Champions are among the participants of the event: grandmasters Antoaneta Stefanova and Alexandra Kosteniuk. They both have reached the highest title in the knockout FIDE World Championships (2004 and 2008 accordingly). And even more: they both were in the final twice!

• GM Zhao Xue and WGM Ju Wenjun are the second and third highest-rated female players in China, members of the national team which won the World Team Championship in 2009 and 2011.

• GM Kateryna Lagno is a former European Women's Champion, World Blitz Champion and she won the gold medal at the Olympiad in 2012 with the Ukrainian team.

• The second board of India, GM Harika Dronavalli, has reached the quarter-final and semi-final of the World Women’s Championship (in 2010 and 2012, respectively) and has proven that she is not going to be a mere shadow of her top-rated compatriot.

• Grandmaster Elina Danielian successfully completed the first Grand Prix Series by scoring 358,5 points with impressive achievements in the GP series such as second in Istanbul 2009, third in Jermuk 2010 and shared first in Doha 2011.

• WGM Olga Girya has established herself as a top player in Russia, which is never an easy task. Olga keeps showing improving results in Russian and international events and is expected to take one of the leading positions in female chess.

• The first board of Kazakh women's team, WGM Gulishkan Nakhbayeva, became the third woman in Kazakhstan to earn the title of woman grandmaster after an impressive performance at the Istanbul Olympiad. With Guliskhan's leadership and her draw against former world champion Hou Yifan, the Kazakh team surprised the chess world by drawing the Chinese powerhouse.

• The nominee of the local organization, WGM Nafisa Muminova, is probably the least familiar name on the list.  However a solid performance in the 2012 Olympiad, including a draw with Stefanova in that tournament, means that she is not someone that will be easily overlooked.

Opening Ceremony

Hotel Uzbekistan, a stone's throw away from Hotel Miran, which is the playing hall

GM Alexandra Kosteniuk posing in front of the surroundings to her battleground for the next couple of weeks

The local media did not miss a beat of the opening ceremony

The very first move of the tournament: Kosteniuk vs. Lagno in a friendly match

FIDE President Kirsan Ilyuzhimov and Minister of Culture and Sports of Uzbekistan Minhozhiddin Hozhimatov open the event

A beautiful traditional dance was performed at the opening ceremony

Absolutely mesmerizing dresses. The girls are holding the traditional Uzbek hats with the pairing numbers hidden inside of them. Each player had her pick.

Antoaneta Stefanova is no stranger to top level women's chess, having been the World Champion in 2004. She's looking to break her dry spell by winning the Grand Prix series.

Olga Girya has had some impressive results lately

Chinese GM Zhao Xue

The local player, Nafisa Muminova, also gets her traditional hat. Nafisa currently studies sports psychology in the Uzbekistan State Institue of Physical Culture. Number six means she will finish with one more black than white

Just because there are two choices doesn't mean it is an easy decision

FIDE CEO Geoffrey Borg is in excellent company in Tashkent

The local aspiring players swarmed ex-Women's World Champion Alexandra Kosteniuk for her autograph

The playing area is extremely spacious with a fair amount of distance between the tables

The girls ready for the event to start

Information and pictures by Maria Emelianova

Schedule

The games start at 11:00h European time, 13:00h Moscow, 5 a.m. New York. You can find your regional starting time here.