Cairns Cup: Tan extends lead as Anna Muzychuk beats Kosteniuk

by Carlos Alberto Colodro
6/22/2024 – Tan Zhongyi has a 1-point lead going into the final round of the Cairns Cup in Saint Louis. Alexandra Kosteniuk, who stood in sole second place before Friday’s eighth round, was defeated by Anna Muzychuk. This crucial result left five players tied for second place a full point behind the leader: Anna and Mariya Muzychuk, Kosteniuk, Nana Dzagnidze and Harika Dronavalli. | Photo: Lennart Ootes

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Anna Muzychuk and Alice Lee score

Top seed Tan Zhongyi is the clear favourite to win the fourth edition of the Cairns Cup, as she now has a 1-point lead over five players with only one round to go in Saint Louis. Tan has scored 3 wins and 5 draws, and only needs a half point in her final-round game against Alexandra Kosteniuk (Tan will have the white pieces) to claim tournament victory.

Kosteniuk, who stood in sole second place before Friday’s round, was defeated by Anna Muzychuk after losing the thread in the early middlegame. Kosteniuk is now one of five players tied for second place with 4½ points — she is joined by Anna and Mariya Muzychuk, Nana Dzagnidze and Harika Dronavalli.

It should be noted that Kosteniuk has only agreed to one draw so far in the event, so she is likely to engage in a double-edged battle in her final-round encounter against Tan.

Standing a half point behind the chasing pack is 14-year-old Alice Lee, who defeated Anna Zatonskih in round 8 to return to a fifty-percent score. In the game, Lee showed good technique to convert her extra pawn in a queen endgame.

Results - Round 8

Alice Lee

Alice Lee | Photo: Lennart Ootes

Tan Zhongyi

Sole leader Tan Zhongyi | Photo: Lennart Ootes

Kosteniuk 0 - 1 A. Muzychuk

Analysis by Klaus Besenthal

Anna Muzychuk

Anna Muzychuk | Photo: Lennart Ootes

Standings after round 8

All games

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Topics: Alice Lee, Anna Muzychuk, Cairns Cup 2024
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.
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Cairns Cup: Fighting draws

6/18/2024 – All five games ended drawn in round 5 of the Cairns Cup, with Alice Lee (pictured) and Alexandra Kosteniuk escaping with half points from clearly inferior positions, against Nana Dzagnidze and Irina Krush, respectively. The results left Tan Zhongyi as the sole leader with four rounds to go. Mariya Muzychuk and Harika Dronavalli are tied for second place a half point back. | Photo: Lennart Ootes
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Cairns Cup: Tan beats Zatonskih to grab the sole lead

6/17/2024 – Tan Zhongyi, the top seed in Saint Louis, grabbed the sole lead at the Cairns Cup after beating Anna Zatonskih’s French Defence in round 4. Second place is shared between Mariya Muzychuk and Harika Dronavalli, who both drew on Sunday. The second decisive game of the day saw Alice Lee getting the better of Alexandra Kosteniuk. | Photo: Lennart Ootes
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