Grosslobming GP R3: Anna Muzychuk and Vaishali emerge coleaders
GM R Vaishali drew with GM Nana Dzagnidze to maintain her lead at FIDE Grosslobming GP in Austria. GM Anna Muzychuk (UKR) joined Vaishali at the top, as she defeated IM Olga Badelka (AUT). Both Vaishali and Anna are at 2.5/3 each. In a battle of former Women's World Champions, GM Alexandra Kosteniuk (SUI) won an 84-move long battle against GM Zhongyi Tan (CHN). This was Zhongyi's first loss of the event. GM Mariya Muzychuk (UKR) misplayed against IM Lela Javakhishvili (GEO) and suffered a loss. GM Jiner ZHu (CHN) bounced back with a win over IM Nurgyul Salimova (BUL). Round 4 starts today at 3 p.m local time, 6:30 p.m. IST. Photo: FIDE/Przemysław Nikiel
Four decisive games
The third round witnessed four decisive games - both white and black pieces scored two wins each.
Vaishali - Dzagnidze: 0.5-0.5
GM R Vaishali (2475) played two Classical rated games against GM Nana Dzagnidze (GEO, 2509). Both of them occurred at a GP event where they traded wins. This time they had the result which they have not had before, a draw.
Mariya - Lela: 0-1
The last decisive Classical rated game between GM Mariya Muzychuk (UKR, 2494) and IM Lela Javakhishvili (GEO, 2430) occured over a decade ago. Lela prevailed in that and this time also she repeated the same outcome.
If White was planning to abandon the h5-pawn, the best way to do it was to trade first 19.Nxd6 cxd6 20.c4 or 19...Qxd6 20.d4. Instead, 19.g3?! Bf8 20.Qe2 Qd7 21.c4 Rad8 22.Rd1 Qg4 and White's position started going downhill.
Badelka - Anna
GM Anna Muzychuk (UKR, 2526) once again reminded everyone how strong she is in the endgame. 38...Kd7! so that the knight is free to move as e6-pawn gets protection by the king. 39.b6 Bg7 40.Bf1 Kc6 41.Bg2 Kd7 42.Nh3 Nc6 43.Ng5 Ne5+ 44.Kb5 h6 45.Nh3 Nd3 46.Bf1 Bd4 47.f3 Nxc5 48.Kc4 Be3 49.Bg2 Kc6 50.fxe4 fxe4 the knight remains stuck at h3 and Black won.
Replay live stream
GP Standings
GM Aleksandra Goryachkina is still at the top spot 308.34. She is guaranteed a spot at the next Candidates as only GM Jiner Zhu (CHN) can surpass her. She is at 235 points. After winning Pune GP, GM Koneru Humpy moved up to the second spot with 279.17 points. She needs to hope that Jiner does not surpass her in GP points at the Grosslobming GP.
Prizes
Total prize fund is €80000. The top three prizes are €18000, €13000 and €10500 each. The top three GP points are - 130, 105 and 85. For more details, check out the regulations below.
Schedule
Round 1 starts on 6th May at 3 p.m. local time, 6:30 p.m. IST. The tournament will go on till 15th May 2025. Sole rest day is on Monday 12th May.
Round 3 results
| Bo. | No. | Rtg | White | Result | Black | Rtg | No. | PGN | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 2475 | GM | Vaishali, Rameshbabu | ½ - ½ | GM | Dzagnidze, Nana | 2509 | 10 | PGN | ||
| 2 | 3 | 2494 | GM | Muzychuk, Mariya | 0 - 1 | IM | Javakhishvili, Lela | 2430 | 1 | PGN | ||
| 3 | 4 | 2541 | GM | Zhu, Jiner | 1 - 0 | IM | Salimova, Nurgyul | 2399 | 9 | PGN | ||
| 4 | 5 | 2426 | IM | Badelka, Olga | 0 - 1 | GM | Muzychuk, Anna | 2526 | 8 | PGN | ||
| 5 | 6 | 2479 | GM | Kosteniuk, Alexandra | 1 - 0 | GM | Tan, Zhongyi | 2536 | 7 | PGN |
Standings after Round 3
| Rk. | SNo | Name | FED | Rtg | Pts. | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | TB4 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 | GM | Muzychuk, Anna | UKR | 2526 | 2,5 | 2 | 2,50 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2 | 2 | GM | Vaishali, Rameshbabu | IND | 2475 | 2,5 | 1 | 2,75 | 2 | 0 | |
| 3 | 7 | GM | Tan, Zhongyi | CHN | 2536 | 2 | 2 | 2,00 | 2 | 0 | |
| 4 | 6 | GM | Kosteniuk, Alexandra | SUI | 2479 | 1,5 | 2 | 2,75 | 1 | 0 | |
| 5 | 10 | GM | Dzagnidze, Nana | GEO | 2509 | 1,5 | 2 | 2,75 | 0 | 0 | |
| 6 | 1 | IM | Javakhishvili, Lela | GEO | 2430 | 1,5 | 1 | 1,75 | 1 | 0 | |
| 7 | 5 | IM | Badelka, Olga | AUT | 2426 | 1 | 1 | 1,50 | 1 | 0 | |
| 8 | 3 | GM | Muzychuk, Mariya | UKR | 2494 | 1 | 1 | 1,50 | 0 | 0 | |
| 9 | 4 | GM | Zhu, Jiner | CHN | 2541 | 1 | 1 | 0,50 | 1 | 0 | |
| 10 | 9 | IM | Salimova, Nurgyul | BUL | 2399 | 0,5 | 2 | 0,50 | 0 | 0 |
Round 4 pairings
| Bo. | No. | Rtg | White | Result | Black | Rtg | No. | PGN | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 | 2509 | GM | Dzagnidze, Nana | GM | Tan, Zhongyi | 2536 | 7 | ||||
| 2 | 8 | 2526 | GM | Muzychuk, Anna | GM | Kosteniuk, Alexandra | 2479 | 6 | ||||
| 3 | 9 | 2399 | IM | Salimova, Nurgyul | IM | Badelka, Olga | 2426 | 5 | ||||
| 4 | 1 | 2430 | IM | Javakhishvili, Lela | GM | Zhu, Jiner | 2541 | 4 | ||||
| 5 | 2 | 2475 | GM | Vaishali, Rameshbabu | GM | Muzychuk, Mariya | 2494 | 3 |
