Tbilisi kicks off 2024/25 FIDE Women’s Grand Prix season
From 14 to 25 of August, the Georgian capital will be host to the first of six tournaments where 20 top women players from around the world will compete, shaping the future of female chess There is no better place than Georgia to launch the new season of the Women’s Grand Prix. As the birthplace of chess legends like former Women’s World Champions Nona Gaprindashvili (the first woman to be awarded the title of Grandmaster) and Maia Chiburdanidze, as well as three-time Soviet Women’s Champion Nana Alexandria, Georgia holds a revered place in chess history. The country continues to produce world-class talent, including Nana Dzagnidze, Nino Batsiashvili, Lela Javakhishvili, and Bella Khotenashvili, making it a fitting host for this landmark event. “We are delighted that this event will start in Georgia, given the country’s rich chess legacy,” said FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich. “FIDE has made women’s chess one of its priorities, and the updated Women’s Grand Prix series is an opportunity to further raise awareness of women’s chess, hopefully getting more female players and more sponsors involved”. The 2024/25 WGP series introduces several key changes, including an increase in participants from 16 to 20, an expansion from four to six tournaments, and a larger prize fund of 120,000 euros. Each player will compete in three of the six tournaments, earning points based on their standings in each event. The top two players in the series will secure spots in the 2026 FIDE Women’s Candidates Tournament. The Tbilisi tournament The tournament in Tbilisi will take place at the Biltmore Tbilisi Hotel – the first glass skyscraper in Georgia and the highest hotel in the Caucasus Region. This inaugural event features a strong lineup, including two former Women’s World Champions—Alexandra Kosteniuk, winner of the Munich leg in the 2022/23 series, and Mariya Muzychuk—alongside some of the most promising players in the chess world today. First round and time control The first round starts on Thursday, 3 PM local time in Tbilisi. The time control will be 90 minutes for the first 40 moves, followed by 30 minutes for the rest of the game, with an increment of 30 seconds per move starting from move one. The regulations of the event can be found here. For more information, including live games and broadcast, visit the event website: https://womengrandprix.fide.com/
2024 Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz: Vachier-Lagrave takes early lead
Closing out the 2024 Grand Chess Tour season are the final two events held in the Chess Capital of America, Saint Louis, Missouri. The Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz kicked off on August 12. The third and final speed chess event of the 2024 GCT (and the fourth overall) features seven tour players and three American wildcards – Hikaru Nakamura, Levon Aronian and Leinier Dominguez – fighting for a prize fund of $175. The format is nine rounds of rapid action followed by eighteen rounds of blitz for a total of 135 games spread across five days. After the first three rapid games, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave took an early lead with two wins over Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa and Nodirbek Abdusattorov, and a draw against Hikaru Nakamura, scoring a total of 5/6 (with a victory counting for two points in rapid). Tied for second are Levon Aronian, Leinier Dominguez and Ian Nepomniachtchi, each with 4/6. Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Hikaru Nakamura and Alireza Firouzja are sitting on 3/6, sharing third place. There are some exciting matchups in Round 4, including Fabiano Caruana as White against the leader, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. Day 2 of the Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz continues Tuesday, August 13, with live commentary from GM’s Yasser Seirawan, Peter Svidler, Cristian Chirila and IM Nazi Paikidze starting at 1:00 pm CDT. Tune in to the Saint Louis Chess Club’s Twitch & YouTube channels. Official website: grandchesstour.org/ Photos: Saint Louis Chess Club, Lennart Ootes and Crystal Fuller