One classical win in four rounds

Bibisara Assaubayeva extended her lead at Norway Chess Women after round four, going into the rest day 1½ points ahead of Anna Muzychuk, Divya Deshmukh and Zhu Jiner. For the third round in a row, all classical games were drawn, leaving Assaubayeva's first-round victory over Humpy Koneru as the only decisive classical result of the tournament so far.

The scoring system keeps the field relatively compact: a single classical win can still change the standings substantially, and there are six more rounds to go in Oslo.

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Round 4 results

Standings after round 4

Assaubayeva came close to adding a second classical win in the tournament in what was her first-ever game against women's world champion Ju Wenjun. Playing white, the Kazakh grandmaster gained the initiative following a few inaccurate moves by Ju. In a critical position, Assaubayeva failed to find the winning plan (which involved creating a queen and bishop battery on the light squares), but still kept some pressure. However, the winning chances had largely disappeared, and the game was eventually drawn.

In Armageddon, Ju changed course and chose the Queen's Indian Defence, while Assaubayeva steered away from the main theoretical lines. Ju unnecessarily weakened her dark squares with 11...g6?, and the consequences remained visible for the rest of the game.

20.f5 creates big practical problems for Black. Ju here went for 20...g5?!, which is not the best defensive try, and Black's position soon collapsed.

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Ju tried to create counterplay with 24...Qb6, but White simply replied by capturing on g5 with 25.Bxg5. After 25...Qxd6, Assaubayeva gained an exchange with the skewer 26.Bf4. Eight moves later, the world champion resigned.

The three-time women's world blitz champion Bibisara Assaubayeva facing women's world champion in classical chess Ju Wenjun | Photo: Norway Chess / Michal Walusza

Muzychuk joined the chasing group after beating Deshmukh in Armageddon. In the classical game, Muzychuk repeated a mistake made by Javokhir Sindarov in a predecessor game. Deshmukh found the best response, maintained pressure for a long time, but lost control of the advantage before the time control on move 40. Muzychuk later explained that, once time became a major factor, her priority was simply to keep making quick moves before the increment began.

The Armageddon game was much more one-sided. Deshmukh said the classical encounter had taken a great deal of energy from her, which affected her performance. Muzychuk gained a pawn and then benefited from a final queen blunder, though by that point a draw was already the most likely result - and, in Armageddon, that was enough for Black.

39.d6+?? Qxa2 0-1

Fritz 21

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Anna Muzychuk | Photo: Norway Chess / Michal Walusza

After leaving her queen hanging, Divya Deshmukh resigns the game with a smile | Photo: Norway Chess / Michal Walusza

Zhu also scored in Armageddon, defeating Koneru after a balanced classical game. In the rapid-chess encounter, Koneru adopted an ambitious plan with 8.Rg1 and 9.g4, while Zhu responded with natural moves and soon obtained a healthy position.

On move 22, Koneru mistakenly decided to castle queenside, when it would have been a better idea to keep her king in the centre.

Zhu immediately expanded on the queenside with 22...a5, and quickly created threats against White's weak monarch. By move 27, the Chinese grandmaster had already coordinated her attacking pieces with decisive effect.

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All four black pieces are pointing at White's king position. In a losing position, Koneru erred with 28.Qd6, allowing the straightforward 28...Rxc3. Capturing the rook leads to mate-in-three, so White resigned.

Zhu Jiner | Photo: Norway Chess / Michal Walusza

All games - Classical

All games - Armageddon

Links

• Official website
• Norway Chess announces move to Oslo for 2026 edition