Free day in Lopota

by Alejandro Ramirez
6/29/2014 – Traditionally in top-level tournaments one or even two days are given for the players to rest. How to use these rest days has been a question in grandmasters' minds for time immemorial. With two rest days in the Lopota Grand Prix the players had time to explore some of the local culture and enjoy some breathtaking sights. Follow Alina l'Ami's beautiful pictorial report.

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The fifth stage of the the FIDE Women’s Grand Prix series 2013-2014 is taking place in Lopota, Georgia from the 19th of June until the 1st of July 2014. It is a twelve-player round robin with time controls of 90 minutes for the first 40 moves, with 30 minutes plus an additional 30 seconds per move for the rest of the game. The total prize fund is 60,000, with the winner getting 10,000 Euro.

Free Day - Day One

As is traditional at the highest level of tournaments, the Grand Prix has two rest days during its eleven rounds of tournament. The players have a variety of ways to use these days; some sleep all day, some do extra preparation for their upcoming game, while many others use this day to relax and enjoy the local culture. We follow a beautiful pictorial report by Alina l'Ami, press officer in Lopota and certified globe trotter, in her adventures with the players around Georgia.

Nafisa ready for the free day to begin

In the Gremi-Kakheti region: the Gremi fortress. Built by Levan, King of Kakhetians, in the 16th century. Church of the Archangel and a royal tower. Not a bad place to start!

Georgia is known to be a cradle of Christianity and of wine

The group that went out on the first free day was quite large!

Every trip has its dangers...

The first stop was a visit to a cellar and some wine tasting

Harika inspecting how the wine is processed and preserved

Daniel Alsina seems to have fallen for the Magnus Carlsen "Raw-Star G" fashion

A professional explanation of different types of wines

International Arbiter Luxman Wijesuriya (Sri Lanka) enjoying the delicacies

Ju Wenjun and Nafisa Muminova also cheering

Wine cellars in the oldest of fashions

Afterwards the players tried their hand at cooking!
Harika is preparing a traditional sausage shaped candy called Churchkela

Success! The product has to rest to dry, though.

Anna with her creation

'

Making traditional Georgian bread. Harika and Anna gave it a try even though it was burning hot!

The players were given their finished Churchkela on round five! Everyone seems too focused to notice...

After such hard work, lunch was in order

A feast, no doubt about it

Emil Sutovsky entertaining everyone with his singing. His romantic chess style
might be linked to his hobby – Sutovsky is a profound bass-baritone singer!

Alexandra is not so impressed at Emil's guitar skills, however

Maia Lomeneishvili posing in front of...

Nekresi Monastery... built in the 4th century!

The holes in the ground are to keep wine in perfect shape

An astonishing view

Gia Gorgadze – a strong chess player, president of the Georgian Chess Federation and a wonderful host

Free Day - Day Two

With the tournament winding down and the players accumulating stress, lack of sleep and overall tiredness, it is common that the second rest day does not see such a large group of people.

The first stop was a wine museum

followed by a visit to an old Georgian Church which Nafisa is posing in front of

The full group that ventured out on the second free day

Some horseback riding - Alexandra Kosteniuk clearly being an expert

Though Anna Muzychuk had no problems either!

Alin l'Ami caught in action

The day winds down, and it is time to gaze at a beautiful sunset

Truly gorgeous scenery

Finally some billiards to wrap up the day. Elina claimed it was her first time playing, but it was hard to believe!

The tournament will resume tomorrow with round nine. The third rated player of the tournament, Anna Muzychuk, will try her luck against the leader Hou Yifan. Anna needs a win to put pressure not only on the World Champion but also on Ju Wenjun and Nana Dzagnidze who are in second place half a point ahead of Muzychuk.

Standings after eight rounds

Round eight games

Select from the dropdown menu to replay the games

Photos and information by Alina l'Ami, from the official website

Schedule and results

Round 01 – June 19 2014, 15:00h
Koneru Humpy 2613
1-0
Stefanova, Antoaneta 2488
Zhao Xue 2538
½-½
Khotenashvili, Bela 2518
Hou Yifan 2629
1-0
Muminova, Nafisa 2332
Ju Wenjun 2532
1-0
Danielian, Elina 2460
Dzagnidze, Nana 2541
½-½
Kosteniuk, Alexandra 2532
Dronavalli Harika 2503
½-½
Muzychuk, Anna 2561
Round 02 – June 20 2014, 15:00h
Stefanova, Antoaneta 2488
½-½
Muzychuk, Anna 2561
Kosteniuk, Alexandra 2532
0-1
Dronavalli Harika 2503
Danielian, Elina 2460
½-½
Dzagnidze, Nana 2541
Muminova, Nafisa 2332
½-½
Ju Wenjun 2532
Khotenashvili, Bela 2518
0-1
Hou Yifan 2629
Koneru Humpy 2613
½-½
Zhao Xue 2538
Round 03 – June 21 2014, 15:00h
Zhao Xue 2538
0-1
Stefanova, Antoaneta 2488
Hou Yifan 2629
½-½
Koneru Humpy 2613
Ju Wenjun 2532
1-0
Khotenashvili, Bela 2518
Dzagnidze, Nana 2541
1-0
Muminova, Nafisa 2332
Dronavalli Harika 2503
½-½
Danielian, Elina 2460
Muzychuk, Anna 2561
1-0
Kosteniuk, Alexandra 2532
Round 04 – June 22 2014, 15:00h
Stefanova, Antoaneta 2488
1-0
Kosteniuk, Alexandra 2532
Danielian, Elina 2460
1-0
Muzychuk, Anna 2561
Muminova, Nafisa 2332
0-1
Dronavalli Harika 2503
Khotenashvili, Bela 2518
0-1
Dzagnidze, Nana 2541
Koneru Humpy 2613
½-½
Ju Wenjun 2532
Zhao Xue 2538
0-1
Hou Yifan 2629
Round 05 – June 24 2014, 15:00h
Hou Yifan 2629
1-0
Stefanova, Antoaneta 2488
Ju Wenjun 2532
1-0
Zhao Xue 2538
Dzagnidze, Nana 2541
1-0
Koneru Humpy 2613
Dronavalli Harika 2503
½-½
Khotenashvili, Bela 2518
Muzychuk, Anna 2561
1-0
Muminova, Nafisa 2332
Kosteniuk, Alexandra 2532
½-½
Danielian, Elina 2460
Round 06 – June 25 2014, 15:00h
Stefanova, Antoaneta 2488
½-½
Danielian, Elina 2460
Muminova, Nafisa 2332
0-1
Kosteniuk, Alexandra 2532
Khotenashvili, Bela 2518
0-1
Muzychuk, Anna 2561
Koneru Humpy 2613
1-0
Dronavalli Harika 2503
Zhao Xue 2538
0-1
Dzagnidze, Nana 2541
Hou Yifan 2629
1-0
Ju Wenjun 2532
Round 07 – June 26 2014, 15:00h
Ju Wenjun 2532
1-0
Stefanova, Antoaneta 2488
Dzagnidze, Nana 2541
0-1
Hou Yifan 2629
Dronavalli Harika 2503
½-½
Zhao Xue 2538
Muzychuk, Anna 2561
½-½
Koneru Humpy 2613
Kosteniuk, Alexandra 2532
1-0
Khotenashvili, Bela 2518
Danielian, Elina 2460
1-0
Muminova, Nafisa 2332
Round 08 – June 27 2014, 15:00h
Stefanova, Antoaneta 2488
1-0
Muminova, Nafisa 2332
Khotenashvili, Bela 2518
½-½
Danielian, Elina 2460
Koneru Humpy 2613
½-½
Kosteniuk, Alexandra 2532
Zhao Xue 2538
½-½
Muzychuk, Anna 2561
Hou Yifan 2629
½-½
Dronavalli Harika 2503
Ju Wenjun 2532
½-½
Dzagnidze, Nana 2541
Round 09 – June 29 2014, 15:00h
Dzagnidze, Nana 2541   Stefanova, Antoaneta 2488
Dronavalli Harika 2503   Ju Wenjun 2532
Muzychuk, Anna 2561   Hou Yifan 2629
Kosteniuk, Alexandra 2532   Zhao Xue 2538
Danielian, Elina 2460   Koneru Humpy 2613
Muminova, Nafisa 2332   Khotenashvili, Bela 2518
Round 10 – June 30 2014, 15:00h
Stefanova, Antoaneta 2488   Khotenashvili, Bela 2518
Koneru Humpy 2613   Muminova, Nafisa 2332
Zhao Xue 2538   Danielian, Elina 2460
Hou Yifan 2629   Kosteniuk, Alexandra 2532
Ju Wenjun 2532   Muzychuk, Anna 2561
Dzagnidze, Nana 2541   Dronavalli Harika 2503
Round 11 – July 01 2014, 13:00h
Dronavalli Harika 2503   Stefanova, Antoaneta 2488
Muzychuk, Anna 2561   Dzagnidze, Nana 2541
Kosteniuk, Alexandra 2532   Ju Wenjun 2532
Danielian, Elina 2460   Hou Yifan 2629
Muminova, Nafisa 2332   Zhao Xue 2538
Khotenashvili, Bela 2518   Koneru Humpy 2613

Links

The games are being broadcast live on the official web site and on the chess server Playchess.com. If you are not a member you can download a free Playchess client there and get immediate access. You can also use ChessBase 12 or any of our Fritz compatible chess programs.

Grandmaster Alejandro Ramirez has been playing tournament chess since 1998. His accomplishments include qualifying for the 2004 and 2013 World Cups as well as playing for Costa Rica in the 2002, 2004 and 2008 Olympiads. He currently has a rating of 2583 and is author of a number of popular and critically acclaimed ChessBase-DVDs.

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