Shymkent GP: Tan sole leader after three rounds

by Carlos Alberto Colodro
11/2/2024 – Top seed Tan Zhongyi has taken the lead at the Shymkent Women's Grand Prix after a second win in round 3, defeating Kateryna Lagno with the white pieces. Tan now holds 2½/3 points, followed by a quartet of players in close pursuit, including India's Humpy Koneru and Russia's Aleksandra Goryachkina, both with strong round-3 victories. Curiously, no player stands at fifty percent after three rounds. | Photo: Konstantin Chalabov

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Tan wins twice with white

In Friday's round 3 of the Shymkent Women's Grand Prix, top-seeded Tan Zhongyi claimed sole leadership by scoring her second win in the tournament. Playing with the white pieces, Tan defeated Kateryna Lagno in a determined effort, much like her first-round win over Elisabeth Paehtz. Having secured 2½/3 points, Tan sits in the lead, following a round-2 draw against Humpy Koneru, where she played with the black pieces.

Humpy is among four players trailing Tan with 2/3 points, holding a shared second place. The Indian star achieved her first victory of the event by defeating Bathkuyag Munguntuul with the black pieces. Aleksandra Goryachkina also joined the pursuing group after a win with black over Divya Deshmuk. Bibisara Assaubayeva and Stavroula Tsolakidou complete the second-place pack, both players having secured victories in the opening round.

Interestingly, no player holds a fifty-percent score after the third round. Four players currently stand at 1/3 points, while Paehtz, following her losses to Tan and Munguntuul in the first two rounds, finds herself at the bottom of the standings with ½/3 points, marking a challenging start for the German grandmaster.

Rounds 4 and 5 will take place over the weekend, leading up to the tournament's only rest day on Monday. Leader Tan Zhongyi is scheduled to face Divya Deshmuk and Aleksandra Goryachkina in these weekend rounds, key games that could further cement her lead or shake up the standings as the event nears its midway point.

Humpy Koneru

Humpy Koneru is sharing second place after winning in round 3 | Photo: Konstantin Chalabov

Aleksandra Goryachkina

Aleksandra Goryachkina also belongs to the chasing pack | Photo: Konstantin Chalabov

Paehtz 0 - 1 Munguntuul (round 2)

Analysis by André Schulz

Bathkuyag Munguntuul

Bathkuyag Munguntuul during round 3 | Photo: Konstantin Chalabov

Standings after round 3

All games

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Topics: Tan Zhongyi, Women's Grand Prix 2024/25
Carlos Colodro is a Hispanic Philologist from Bolivia. He works as a freelance translator and writer since 2012. A lot of his work is done in chess-related texts, as the game is one of his biggest interests, along with literature and music.
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