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As the tournament headed into its rest day, all five games in round five of the Monaco Women's Grand Prix ended in draws. These results left Kateryna Lagno maintaining her lead, following her tactical victory in the previous round. With four rounds remaining, the competition remains open, as Humpy Koneru, Sara Khadem and Batkhuyag Munguntuul trail Lagno by just half a point.
Lagno secured a 41-move draw with the black pieces in a Caro-Kann Defence, while Humpy Koneru and Elisabeth Paehtz both obtained promising positions in their respective games against Tan Zhongyi and Bibisara Assaubayeva.
Paehtz, eager to bounce back from her loss to Lagno, entered a sharp variation of the Najdorf Sicilian. By move 16, she had developed her pieces harmoniously, preventing Assaubayeva from castling kingside.
However, the German grandmaster missed the strongest continuation, playing 17.Ba4 instead of the more testing 17.Qe2, preparing to plant her bishop on the dominant e6-outpost next. Assaubayeva responded accurately with defensive manoeuvres (i.e. 17...0-0-0, 18...Qc7, 19...Ne5, etc.), ensuring the position remained balanced once the queens were exchanged.
Bibisara Asaubayeva | Photo: Niki Riga
Humpy also obtained a clear positional edge while playing black against top seed Tan, who has been struggling in Monte Carlo. White's play in the opening left her both with the weaker king and two rather passive minor pieces on the queenside. At a critical moment, though, Humpy miscalculated, responding to 27.f6 with 27...Ng4 instead of the more effective 27...g6
Probably Humpy's mistake had to do with her being down on the clock, a factor which might have prompted her to agree to swap queens later on as well, leading to a balanced setup.
Despite the ultimately equal position, the experienced players continued testing each other deep into a pure knight endgame.
Humpy Koneru | Photo: Niki Riga
Still in the lead - Kateryna Lagno | Photo: Niki Riga
