MonRoi International Women's Gran-Prix
The MonRoi International Women’s Grand-Prix Finale was held from July
22nd to July 29th, following seven months of qualifiers in Grand-Prix host countries
(Germany, USA, Italy, France, Liechtenstein, Croatia and Gibraltar). The event
was won by Swedish grandmaster Pia Cramling, who cleared the field by half a
point, with three wins and no losses. Pia is married to Spanish grandmaster
Juan Bellon and now lives in Spain.
The winner of the Women's Grand-Prix: GM Pia Cramling, Sweden/Spain
IM Lela Javakhishvili of Georgia, who won two and lost none
IM Jovanka Houska in 2nd-3rd, with three wins and a loss
US Women's Champion 2007, IM Irina Krush, with two losses and one win
Canadian junior Myriam Roy, all of twelve years old
Pictures provided by Zeljka Malobabic of MonRoi
Interview with Irina Krush, Ketevan Arakhamia, Pia Cramling (very short),
Iweta Rajlich
Interviews with Myriam Roy, IM Cristina Adela Foisor, IM Jovanka Houska
It is lovely to listen to the 12-year-old Myriam, who is of Chinese extraction,
speaking with the French-Canadian accent. Cristina Foisor talks about her chess
family – her husband is the trainer and her older daugher already a women
grandmaster. Jovanka Houska reveals that she was born of Argentinian partents
in the UK. The name Houska comes from her great-grandfather, who was Czech,
and Jovanka is a Serbian name. This girl is aiming to become the first female
to get a full grandmaster titel in Britain. Jovanka has written a book on the
Caro-Kann, her bread-and-butter defence against 1.e4.
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