Tan Zhongyi has managed to keep the sole lead between the very first round and the halfway mark (after round 7) in the Women’s Candidates Tournament. On Thursday, the Chinese GM faced top seed Aleksandra Goryachkina, who remains undefeated in sole second place, a half point behind the leader. Tan had the black pieces, and the game ended in a 40-move draw.
Standing a half point behind Goryachkina are Kateryna Lagno and now Lei Tingjie. Lei lost her first-round encounter against Tan, drew all her games between round 2 and round 5 and then scored back-to-back wins over Nurgyul Salimova and Vaishali R. In her victory over Vaishali, Lei out-calculated her Indian opponent out of a double-edged Italian Opening.
No player in the women’s tournament finished the first half with a fifty-percent score. Salimova stands in fifth place with 3/7 points, while Vaishali is sharing last place with Humpy Koneru and Anna Muzychuk, each with 2½/7 points.
In the first seven rounds, Tan played four games with the black pieces, while Goryachkina, her closest chaser, played four games with the white pieces.
Aleksandra Goryachkina | Photo: FIDE / Michal Walusza
Analysis by André Schulz
Lei Tingjie facing Vaishali Rameshbabu | Photo: FIDE / Michal Walusza
Sole leader Tan Zhongyi signing autographs | Photo: FIDE / Michal Walusza
Anna Muzychuk sharing a laugh with well-known commentator and photographer Anastasiya Karlovich | Photo: FIDE / Michal Walusza
Kateryna Lagno v. Nurgyul Salimova | Photo: FIDE / Michal Walusza
The playing hall in Toronto | Photo: FIDE / Michal Walusza
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