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Lei Tingjie obtained back-to-back classical wins in rounds 8 and 9 to enter the final round of the Norway Chess Women tournament with chances to claim overall victory. Moreover, her final-round opponent was sole leader Ju Wenjun, which meant a win in classical chess would grant her first place. However, Lei mishandled a symmetrical position and ended up losing the game, allowing world champion Ju to claim outright victory.
Ju took home around US$ 65,000, the same amount of money that Magnus Carlsen was awarded for winning the 12th edition of the Norway Chess super-tournament. The organizers’ decision to put forth such conditions is a first in elite chess events. The idea is to motivate women chess players to improve their level to gain the right to participate in tournaments with attractive prize funds.
Before Friday’s tenth round, Lei was tied for second place with Anna Muzychuk. Since Lei lost her classical encounter against Ju, a draw for Muzychuk against Humpy Koneru was enough to finish in sole second place. What is more, Muzychuk won the rapid decider against Humpy.
In the last confrontation to finish in the last round of the event, Pia Cramling managed to defeat R Vaishali in Armageddon after having played a 144-move classical game in which Cramling tried for long to convert a rook and bishop versus rook endgame. Vaishali led the standings in Stavanger from round 2 to round 6.
Final standings
| Rk | Name | FED | Rtg | Pts |
| 1 | Ju Wenjun | CHN | 2559 | 19 |
| 2 | Anna Muzychuk | UKR | 2505 | 16 |
| 3 | Lei Tingjie | CHN | 2548 | 14.5 |
| 4 | R Vaishali | IND | 2489 | 12.5 |
| 5 | Humpy Koneru | IND | 2545 | 10 |
| 6 | Pia Cramling | SWE | 2449 | 8 |
Anna Muzychuk finished in sole second place | Photo: Stev Bonhage
Vaishali Rameshbabu and Pia Cramling | Photo: Stev Bonhage
Analysis by Klaus Besenthal
Lei Tingjie | Photo: Stev Bonhage
