Alina Kashlinskaya victorious in Tbilisi after scoring back-to-back wins

by Carlos Alberto Colodro
8/25/2024 – Alina Kashlinskaya became the outright winner at the inaugural event of the 2024/25 Women's Grand Prix after beating Mariya Muzychuk with the black pieces in Saturday's final round. Bibisara Assaubayeva, who was tied for first place going into the ninth round, drew R. Vaishali with black - thus, she finished in sole second place. Anna Muzychuk, Nana Dzagnidze and Stavroula Tsolakidou tied for third place. | Pictured: FIDE Vice President Akaki Iashvili next to Kashlinskaya | Photo: FIDE / Anna Shtourman

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"My 10-month-old baby helped a lot"

Alina Kashlinskaya started the Tbilisi Women's Grand Prix - the inaugural event of the series - with 5 draws in a row. After the rest day, however, she collected 3 wins in 4 games (she drew the remaining encounter) to claim outright victory in Georgia's capital. She beat R. Vaishali, Lela Javakhishvili and Mariya Muzychuk in rounds 6, 8 and 9 to claim the title. Her victory granted her 130 GP points and a 20,000 Euros prize.

Aged 30, Kashlinskaya is married to Polish GM Radoslaw Wojtaszek. Last year, the couple had a son, who now joined his mother at the tournament in Tbilisi. After securing tournament victory, Kashlinskaya confessed, referring to her 10-month-old son:

He helped a lot. I will definitely bring him with me to the next tournament. [...] For motherhood, it is important to be with the baby as much as possible.

Kashlinskaya's 6/9 undefeated performance earned her a second GM norm and 16.4 rating points. She is now ranked 13th in the women's live ratings list.

Sole second place went to 20-year-old Bibisara Assaubayeva from Kazakhstan. The youngster had grabbed the sole lead after round 7, but her final 2 draws allowed the eventual champion to leapfrog her in the standings. Still, Assaubayeva collected 105 GP points in the event - the top 2 finishers in the series will get spots in the next edition of the Women's Candidates.

A 3-player pack tied for third place, with Nana Dzagnidze joining Anna Muzychuk and Stavroula Tsolakidou in this group thanks to her final-round win over Sara Khadem.

As per the FIDE calendar, the next event of the series should start on 29 October in Shymkent, a city in Kazakhstan located near the border with Uzbekistan.

Bibisara Assaubayeva, Alina Kashlinskaya, Stavroula Tsolakidou

The podium: Bibisara Assaubayeva (2nd), Alina Kashlinskaya (1st) and Stavroula Tsolakidou (3rd on tiebreaks) | Photo: FIDE / Anna Shtourman

M. Muzychuk 0 - 1 Kashlinskaya

Alina Kashlinskaya

Alina Kashlinskaya during round 9 | Photo: FIDE / Anna Shtourman

Nana Dzagnidze

Local favourite Nana Dzagnidze scored a win on Saturday | Photo: FIDE / Anna Shtourman

Stavroula Tsolakidou, Alexandra Kosteniuk

Stavroula Tsolakidou and Alexandra Kosteniuk in good spirits | Photo: FIDE / Anna Shtourman

Final standings

All games

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Topics: Alina Kashlinskaya, 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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WGP Tbilisi: Kashlinskaya scores, catches Assaubayeva in the lead

8/24/2024 – After an eventful day of chess at the Tbilisi Women's Grand Prix, 2 players emerged tied for first place going into Saturday's deciding round. Alina Kahslinskaya beat Lela Javakhishvili to join Bibisara Assaubayeva atop the standings. Importantly, both Assaubayeva and Mariya Muzychuk (who remains in the fight for first place) missed big chances to score full points in the penultimate round. | Photo: FIDE / Anna Shtourman
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WGP Tbilisi: Kashlinskaya beats Vaishali to join the leading pack

8/22/2024 – Returning from the rest day, round 6 of the Tbilisi Women's Grand Prix saw one game ending decisively, with Alina Kashlinskaya beating R Vaishali to join the leading pack, now consisting of five players. Kashlinskaya is tied for first place with Nana Dzagnidze, Mariya Muzychuk, Bibisara Assaubayeva and Stavroula Tsolakidou. | Photo: FIDE / Anna Shtourman
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