Lopota GP: a fond farewell

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.

A group shot with all the players, guests and organizers responsible for such a great event

From left to right: Sopiko Nikoladze (Press Officer of the Georgian chess federation), Natia
(TV presenter and mother of Nona Gaprindashvili's grandson), Maia Lomineishvili (IM and
commentator during the tournament).

On the left is Leri, the grandson of Nona Gaprindashvili,
followed by Nona herself, Hou Yifan, and Leri's mother, Natia

A true friend, he saved Alina when one of her lenses stopped working
during the closing ceremony and lent her a backup. The name of the
knight in shining t-shirt? Lasha Kuprashvili.

Hou Yifan with her proud mother Wang Qian

The closing ceremony dinner

Tarkhuna is a Georgian carbonated soft drink that is flavoured with tarragon or woodruff and
traditionally dyed green. It was invented in 1887 by a Georgian pharmacist Mitrofan Lagidze,
and Alexandra has been a big fan of it since her childhood.

"Is that wine or juice?"

The queens of Indian chess: Humpy and Harika

Nobody can have enough of Bela Khotenashvili's generous and contagious smiles

Everybody got a bottle of Kakheti's region famous red wine

The football World Cup was on but nobody was watching

Hou Yifan receives her deserved first place. It is worth noting that not
only did she gain 18 Elo to take her to 2647, but she is just six Elo
away from entering the absolute Top 100.

Here is a chart illustrating how things stand in women's chess today.
The gap between Hou Yifan (2647)and Judit Polgar (2676) has been cut down to a mere 29 Elo.

The ladies were in good cheer and much of the credit goes to the gracious hosts

And more food...the hardships of chess players are not over yet

FIDE Chief Executive Officer Geoffrey Borg making sure everyone is happy

Ju Wenjun and Zhao Xue

Chess players never get tired of playing...chess! Irakli Shiolashvili, the Governor of Kakheti,
has some opening issues to solve.

No real celebration can be complete without a gorgeous chess cake!

A sight worth seeing

Hou Yifan is assisted by Irakli Shiolashvili, the Governor of Kakheti

This picture just begs a good caption, and the readers are invited to send in their best ideas

Pictures by Alina L'Ami and official site

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 12 or any of our Fritz compatible chess programs.