Jermuk R8: Hou Yifan catches Ju Wenjun in the lead

From July 16 to 29, 2012 the southern Armenian hamlet of Jermuk is playing host to the Fifth FIDE Women's Grand Prix, part of a series of elite events organised by FIDE and Global Chess. There will be six tournaments over two years in various countries around the world. The winner of each tournament takes home 6,500 Euros, the total prize fund is 40,000 Euros. The overall winner will get a further 15,000 Euros at the end of the series. Starting time of the games is 15:00h (check your local time here). A full shedule with all results is given at the bottom of the page. Monday, July 23 is a free day.

Summary commentary of the round

This analysis is being done by Aghasi Inants in Armenian and translated into English by and Aram Hajian.

In this game Black equalized out of the opening, and after White attempted a dubious idea, Koneru's advantage might have become significant. However, Black not only failed to take advantage of the opportunity but misplayed the continuation, missing a tactical sequence which led to her demise. Nadezhda won in 40 moves.

Our annotator Aghasi Inants discussing the game with Nadezhda and Humpy

The organizers, as well as the many fans of chess, were happy to see Nino Khurtsidze register her first victory, and that with the black pieces. She equalized out of the opening and then, with initiative in hand, began to dictate the play.

Chinese players Ju Wenjun, Zhao Xue and Hou Yifan who lead on the scoreboard

Summary commentary of the round

The tension is rising in Jermuk as the 8th round of the Women’s Grand Prix is complete. Not surprisingly, chess fans today witnessed the greatest number of blunders, as seemingly solid positions unraveled with a single misstep. With three rounds to go, Ju Wenjun was joined at the top of the leaderboard by world champion and compatriot Hou Yifan. The following analysis was provided by Aghasi Inants in Armenian and translated into English by Aram Hajian.

In this game Black equalized out of the opening, and after White attempted a dubious idea, Koneru's advantage might have become significant. However, Black not only failed to take advantage of the opportunity but misplayed the continuation, missing a tactical sequence which led to her demise.

To the chagrin of the hometown fans, Mkrtchian also blundered away a key central
pawn in an innocuous position in which White had a nominal advantage but not more.

In this game the women's world champion didn't get too much out of the opening, though it was probably a bit easier to play with White. However, in the middle game, White deployed active measures and forced Black to commit a mistake.

Early in the opening, Russian GM Kosintseva Nadezhda, right, simply blundered a central pawn, handing Nino Khurtsidze (left) a winning position. However the Georgian IM was unable to turn it into a full point.

Photos by Arman Karakhanyan

Standings after eight rounds

Remaining schedule

Schedule and results

Links Official tournament site All games in PGN 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 11 or any of our Fritz compatible chess programs.