WGP Tbilisi: Exciting round leaves four players tied for first place

by Carlos Alberto Colodro
8/20/2024 – Three games ended decisively in the exciting fifth round of the Tbilisi Women's Grand Prix. Nana Dzagnidze and Mariya Muzychuk grabbed full points to join the lead, while Sara Khadem (pictured) obtained an uplifting victory after having struggled in the previous 4 rounds. Dzagnidze and M. Muzychuk are sharing the lead with Stavroula Tsolakidou and Bibisara Assaubayeva. | Photo: FIDE / Anna Shtourman
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Maiden wins

Round 5 of the Tbilisi Women's Grand Prix saw three players grabbing their maiden wins in the single round-robin. Nana Dzagnidze (who beat Alexandra Kosteniuk), Mariya Muzychuk (R Vaishali) and Sara Khadem (Lela Javakhishvili) collected a full point for the first time in the event - in the last round before the rest day.

Khadem, who had only collected ½ point in the previous 4 rounds, reflected:

I was clearly a bit out of shape, so it means a lot that I could win today, and I go to the free day with positive energy.

With their wins on Monday, Dzagnidze and M. Muzychuk joined the leading pack, which also includes Stavroula Tsolakidou and Bibisara Assaubayeva. The co-leaders have 3 points each, while Khadem standing in last place has 1½ points to her name - i.e. it is anybody's tournament with 4 rounds to go.

Only one game in round 5 lacked excitement, as the three decisive encounters featured kings escaping direct attacks (not always successfully), while the draw in Tsolakidou v. Kashlinskaya saw the Polish player first defending a strategically inferior position and then missing a big chance to score a win.

Following the rest day, co-leaders Dzagnidze and Assaubayeva will face each other in round 6.

Mariya Muzychuk

Mariya Muzychuk beat R Vaishali with the black pieces | Photo: FIDE / Anna Shtourman

Dzagnidze 1 - 0 Kosteniuk

Nana Dzagnidze

Nana Dzagnidze | Photo: FIDE / Anna Shtourman

FIDE Women's Grand Prix

The sumptuous playing hall in Tbilisi | Photo: FIDE / Anna Shtourman

Standings after round 5

All games

Links

Carlos Colodro is a Hispanic Philologist from Bolivia. He works as a freelance translator and writer since 2012. A lot of his work is done in chess-related texts, as the game is one of his biggest interests, along with literature and music.