Zhu and Vaishali share the lead, Assaubayeva and Muzychuk a half point back
Three decisive games marked round twelve of the Women's Candidates Tournament, bringing a significant tightening at the top of the standings.
Zhu Jiner defeated Vaishali Rameshbabu to draw level in first place on 7 points, while Bibisara Assaubayeva moved to within half a point of the leaders after overcoming Kateryna Lagno. Tan Zhongyi also scored her first win of the event, beating Divya Deshmukh. The only draw of the round came in the game between Anna Muzychuk and Aleksandra Goryachkina, where a winning position slipped away late in a rook endgame.
Round 12 results
The game between Vaishali Rameshbabu and Zhu Jiner carried major tournament implications. Vaishali steered the opening into less common territory, accepting doubled pawns in return for dynamic chances. However, Zhu responded with a clear plan, emerging from the opening with a comfortable and easy-to-handle position.
As the middlegame unfolded, Black's position appeared more straightforward to play, and this was compounded by a growing advantage on the clock as the players approached move 40. Under increasing pressure, Vaishali's position began to deteriorate, and Zhu converted her advantage convincingly.
This video course provides a comprehensive and practical White repertoire in the Ruy Lopez! Through instructive model games and in-depth theoretical explanations, you will learn how to confidently handle both main lines and sidelines.
This video course provides a comprehensive and practical White repertoire in the Ruy Lopez! Through instructive model games and in-depth theoretical explanations, you will learn how to confidently handle both main lines and sidelines.
Free video sample: Introduction
Free video sample: Overview
Free video sample: Chigorin: 9...Na5 10.Bc2 c5 11.d4 Nd7/cxd4
The result lifted Zhu into a share of the lead, underlining her resilience after earlier missed opportunities. The Chinese star, who entered the event as top seed, has now drawn only four games in the event and has re-established herself as one of the main contenders.
The all-important clash between Vaishali Rameshbabu and Tan Zhongyi, the co-leaders going into the final two rounds | Photo: FIDE / Michal Walusza
Anna Muzychuk came close to joining the leaders but was held to a draw by Aleksandra Goryachkina in a game that saw a dramatic reversal at the late stage. The position had long appeared to be heading towards a decisive result in Muzychuk's favour.
In a rook endgame where Muzychuk was a pawn up, she capitalised on earlier inaccuracies by Goryachkina and found a series of precise moves to maintain her advantage. After the time control, she consistently kept control and progressed towards what seemed a technically winning position.
In the final phase, her task was reduced to eliminating the remaining black pawns, with the only practical difficulty being severe time pressure. With just seconds remaining on the clock, however, she made a single inaccurate move that allowed Goryachkina to force a stalemate.
In this course, Grandmaster Elisabeth Pähtz presents the London System, a structured and ambitious approach based on the immediate Bf4, leading to rich and dynamic positions.
The London System is one of the most popular openings at every level of chess but not all Londons are the same. In this course, Grandmaster Elisabeth Pähtz presents the London System, a structured and ambitious approach based on the immediate Bf4, leading to rich and dynamic positions.
Free sample video: Introduction
Free sample video: 5...cxd4 6.exd4 Qb6 sidelines
Instead of joining the leaders, Muzychuk remains half a point behind, still very much in contention.
Aleksandra Goryachkina escaped with a draw | Photo: FIDE / Niki Riga
Bibisara Assaubayeva's win over Kateryna Lagno came in a highly complex game with multiple turning points. Assaubayeva chose an ambitious setup in the Italian Opening, involving an early pawn sacrifice, although Lagno declined to accept it. Later, White gave up a pawn in order to gain space on the kingside, while her own king was exposed.
The position became double-edged, and at one stage Lagno appeared to have a winning advantage. However, under time pressure, she failed to find the most accurate continuation. Twice she overlooked the same decisive resource for White, allowing Assaubayeva to turn the game around. When the opportunity arose for a second time, Assaubayeva found the key breakthrough with e6-e7, after which the position quickly collapsed for Black.
This DVD focuses on several types of material imbalances, such as Rook vs 2 Pieces, Queen vs 2 Rooks, and Queen vs Pieces.The victory marked Assaubayeva's first classical win against Lagno and brought her back firmly into the race after a difficult stretch earlier in the tournament.
Still in contention - Bibisara Assaubayeva | Photo: FIDE / Michal Walusza
Tan Zhongyi's victory over Divya Deshmukh was more controlled in nature and marked her first win of the event. The game developed around a favourable transformation of the central pawn structure, after which Tan focused on applying sustained pressure against backward pawns on the e and g-files.
Tan gradually improved her position, coordinating her pieces and even bringing her king across the board to maximise pressure. Deshmukh, who had been among the leaders earlier in the tournament, struggled to cope with the accumulating pressure.
The decisive moment came with a well-timed pawn advance that opened lines on the kingside, leaving Desmukh's position beyond repair.
In a total of 6 chapters, we look at the following aspects: the right decision based on tactical factors, decisions in exchanges and moves, complex and psychological decisions in longer games and in defence.The result leaves both players on five points, with Tan no longer without a win, while Deshmukh continues to endure a difficult second half.
Tan Zhongyi | Photo: FIDE / Niki Riga
Standings after round 12
All games
In this video course, experts (Pelletier, Marin, Müller and Reeh) examine the games of Judit Polgar. Let them show you which openings Polgar chose to play, where her strength in middlegames were, or how she outplayed her opponents in the endgame.
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