Alina Kahslinskaya scored her first win at the Munich Grand Prix in Monday’s fifth round. After surviving a losing position and making the most of Mariya Muzychuk’s mistakes, the Polish IM talked to press officer Michael Rahal. Referring to the fact that her husband, GM Radoslaw Wojktaszek, had joined the commentary team precisely during this round, Kashlinskaya noted:
I thought, ‘Come on, you misplayed everything, you prepared this’. We were discussing this line, and then I misplayed everything, I played slowly, so basically everything I shouldn’t do I did today.
There is a silver lining for the couple, though. Kashlinskaya added:
We have an agreement with my husband: when I win, I buy him dessert. [...] So today dessert is on me!
With this win, Kashlinskaya went into the one rest day of the event with a 2½/5 score, two points behind runaway leader Alexandra Kosteniuk. The latter was in real danger in round 5, but saw her opponent, Harika Dronavalli, misplaying the position soon after the time control. The game ended in a draw.
But Harika and Mariya Muzychuk were not the only players who missed big opportunities in the fifth round. Tan Zhongyi could not make the most of a massive advantage on the clock against Dinara Wagner, while Humpy Koneru could have collected a second consecutive win, but failed to convert her material advantage into a win in her game with black against Nana Dzagnidze. Humpy and Dzagnidze are sharing second place on 3/5 points.
Zhansaya Abdumalik and Elisabeth Paehtz before their round-5 encounter | Photo: David Llada
Mariya Muzychuk playing white against Alina Kashlinskaya | Photo: David Llada
Harika Dronavalli | Photo: David Llada
