Nalchik GP: Zhao Xue loses final game, wins event by 2½ points
10/22/2011 – It was her first and only loss in this tournament, and cost her an entry as the best performance of all time in chess. But GM Zhao Xue of China easily won the third Women's Grand Prix 2011-2012, gaining 42 rating points in the process! Second was compatriou WGM Ju Wenjun, who defeated Zhao in the final round and will soon bear the IM and GM titles. Closing report.
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The third stage of FIDE Women's Grand Prix cycle 2011-2012 is being staged from 8th to 23rd of October in Nalchik, the capital of Kabardino-Balkaria, in the Hotel Sindika. The playing days are October 9-12, 14-17, 19-21, the rounds start at 15.00h Moscow time (13:00h CEST, 7 a.m. New York)..
Round eleven report
Friday, October 21, 2011
| Ti. | Name | Rtng | Ti. | Name | Rtng | Res. |
| GM | Stefanova Antoaneta | 2528 | IM | Kovalevskaya Ekaterina | 2421 | ½-½ |
| GM | Kosintseva Tatiana | 2536 | GM | Kosintseva Nadezhda | 2560 | ½-½ |
| WGM | Ju Wenjun | 2536 | GM | Zhao Xue | 2497 | 1-0 |
| GM | Cmilyte Viktorija | 2525 | GM | Zhu Chen | 2490 | ½-½ |
| GM | Kosteniuk Alexandra | 2469 | GM | Lahno Kateryna | 2554 | 0-1 |
| IM | Galliamova Alisa | 2498 | IM | Munguntuul Batkhuyag | 2467 | 1-0 |
The third FIDE Women’s Grand Prix in Nalchik finished with a triumph of the Chinese players. Zhao Xue, above, lost her final game to compatriot Ju Wenjun, but easily took the overall tournament victory, leading the field by 2½ points and an incredible performance of 2828. Ju Wenjun finished second with plus three and a performance of 2601. Surely she will soon wear the IM and then GM titles. Zhao Xue will appear 42 points higher on the next rating list. Here is the key final game:
Crowned: the winner of Nalchik with a record score: Zhao Xue
The third and the fourth places were shared by Russian IM Ekaterina Kovalevskaya and GM Victoria Cmilyte from Lithuania. Both players drew in the final round: Kovalevskaya with black against Bulgarian GM Antoaneta Stefanova, Cmilyte with white against GM Zhu Chen from Qatar.
At the bottom of the table we find to our surprise former women's world champion GM Alexandra Kosteniuk, who definitely had one of the worst tournaments of her professional career. We know she will bounce back soon. Batkhuyag Munguntuul and Alisa Galliamova will also not be happy with their final results.
Final standings
The Kosentseeva sisters Tatiana and Nadezhda played a stock draw in the final round: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Bxc6 dxc6 5.O-O Bg4 6.h3 h5 7.c3 Qd3 8.hxg4 hxg4 9.Nxe5 Bd6 10.Nxd3 Bh2+ 11.Kh1 Bg3+ 12.Kg1 Bh2+ 13.Kh1 1/2-1/2. Both finished on 5.0/11, losing ten and fourteen rating points respectively.
Tatiana, the younger of the two Russian grandmasters
Rising star WGM Ju Wenjun, picked up ten rating points in Nalchik
Ekaterina Kovalevskaya finished joint 3rd-4th and picked up 19 rating points
Joint 3rd-4th: GM Viktorija Cmilyte gained two rating points
50% for GM Kateryna Lahno, who lost eight rating points
GM Antoaneta Stefanova with 5.0/11 lost nine rating points
Former women's world champion Zhu Chen, 5.0/11, lost two rating points
IM Alisa Galliamova scored minus two and lost nine rating points in Nalchik
Mongolian IM Batkhuyag Munguntuul at minus three and dropped eight rating points
At the bottom of the table: Sasha Kosteniuk, minus four, dropped 14 rating points
That was it, people: closing ceremony of the Women's Grand 2011-2012 in
Nalcjik
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