Lausanne GP: All draws on day one

A quiet start

When FIDE decided that the women's world championship cycle would have a similar format to the open cycle, instead of granting a place in the match for the title, the Grand Prix series turned into a qualifier to the Candidates Tournament. Two players will get a ticket to the eight-player round robin that will decide Ju Wenjun's next challenger for the world crown. Ju is nonetheless participating in the series, as the last World Championship match was played after the two first legs had already been completed.

Events in Skolkovo and Monaco kicked off the series last year, with Humpy Koneru winning outright in Russia and sharing first place with Alexandra Kosteniuk and Aleksandra Goryachkina in Monaco. The Indian star thus took the lead. With second-placed Goryachkina already qualified to the Candidates as the last challenger for the crown, Kateryna Lagno and Kosteniuk are the players in contention for the qualifying spots with the best scores behind Humpy. Kosteniuk is playing in Switzerland, while Lagno is resting (like Humpy) and will make her third appearance in Sardinia, where the last leg will start on May 2^nd.

The overall standings of the GP series after two legs:

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Antoaneta Stefanova and Anna Muzychuk sharing a laugh | Photo: Official website

The first result in Lausanne was a 16-move draw between sisters Anna and Mariya Muzychuk, who usually end their classical encounters quickly and peacefully. By then, world champion Ju Wenjun had already set up a Berlin Defence against Zhansaya Abdumalik. 20-year-old Abdumalik had been called as a late replacement when it was confirmed that Zhao Xue would not be able to make it due to complications related to the Coronavirus outbreak in China. The young Kazakhstani did not shy away from compromising her pawn structure in order to get the initiative:

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White eliminated her rival's bishop pair with 15...♝b6 16.♘a4 ♞f6 17.♘xb6 and was the one calling the shots. However, her awkwardly-placed rook on f4 was enough of a target for the world champion to equalize, and when Abdumalik decided to give up her dark-squared bishop the players decided to call it a day.

Zhansaya Abdumalik | Photo: Official website

While Ju played it safe with Black, Alina Kashlinskaya employed the fighting King's Indian Defence against Goryachkina. The focus of the battle was located on the queenside, where White had more piece play at her disposal. However, it was enough for Goryachkina to play one imprecise move for her edge to evaporate:

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White went for 21.♗b7 here, when 21.♗b5 would have posed more problems to her opponent. After the text, Kashlinskaya got to simplify the position with 21...♜b8 22.c6 ♞xc6 23.♗xg7 ♚xg7 24.♗xc6 ♜xb1+ 25.♕xb1 ♛xb6, and White's passer on the queenside is not enough to get a big enough advantage.

Aleksandra Goryachkina | Photo: Official website

Coming from an eventful Cairns Cup, Alexandra Kosteniuk started the event with the white pieces against Nana Dzagnidze. Kosteniuk had defeated Dzagnidze with Black last month in Saint Louis, but found herself on the back foot this time around:

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At this critical point, Dzagnidze thought for seven minutes before capturing the bishop with 21...♞xe3, and after 22.fxe3 ♝h6 23.♘g5 ♝xg5 24.hxg5 Black has a slightly better rook endgame, albeit there are plenty of defensive resources for White to keep the balance. In hindsight, keeping the tension in the diagrammed position might have given Dzagnidze some chances in the long run.

Alexandra Kosteniuk v Nana Dzagnidze | Photo: Official website

Round 2 pairings

All games

Links

• Official site