WGP Cyprus: Anna Muzychuk and Zhu Jiner jointly lead after four rounds
After three more or less quiet rounds, with high accuracy scores and very solid play, the participants unleashed their inner power this afternoon at the Hilton Nicosia. None less than four games ended with a decisive result in the fourth round of the Cyprus Women’s Grand Prix. Nana Dzagnidze, Harika Dronavalli, Aleksandra Goryachkina, and Anna Muzychuk all secured victories, while Zhu Jiner and Mariya Muzychuk settled for a draw, leaving Anna Muzychuk and Zhu Jiner co-leading the tournament with three points. The ceremonial first move was performed by the President of the Cyprus Chess Federation, Mr. Criton Tornaritis, who opened for Alexandra Goryachkina in her game against Greece’s top female player, Stavroula Tsolakidou. Let’s take a closer look at all five games. Nana Dzagnidze 1 – Elisabeth Paehtz 0 Nana and Elisabeth have played dozens of games together, the first one going back to the U-10 Girls European Championship in 1995. The opening was a fun one, as you rarely see a reversed Blumenfeld Gambit at this level nowadays. “Their fortunes changed slightly yesterday: Nana suffered her first loss, while Elisabeth stopped her losing streak. After the round, she said that she was feeling better and that hopefully her play will improve,” explained commentator GM Alik Gershon. Black grabbed the extra pawn and decided to hold onto it. Of course, White did have a good pawn center and excellent attacking chances with the pair of bishops in exchange. In her postgame interview, Dzagnidze explained that, playing with White, she wanted a fighting game, and that her choice of opening served this objective very well. Paehtz’s key blunder occurred on move twenty-one when she chose 21…Ra-c8 which just loses material after 22.Rb1! and all the tactics favor White. From then on, Dzagnidze wrapped up the game in style. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y61yq3mJnrM Mariya Muzychuk 0.5 – Zhu Jiner 0.5 The most important game of the round was the only one to end in a draw. Playing with White, former Women’s World Champion Mariya Muzychuk wanted to pile up the pressure on the leader of the event. The opponents tested a very long theoretical line of the Mikenas-Carls variation of the English Opening, which is regularly played at the highest level by the likes of Ian Nepomniachtchi and other elite GMs. Both players were very clearly booked-up, blitzing out the opening at total ease. The middlegame turned out to be slightly better for Muzychuk enjoing a bit more space and active piece play. By invading the b-file with her rook, she managed to pick up the weak a7-pawn, converting her positional advantage into something more tangible. But Zhu Jiner remained solid and maintained the balance with precise play. At some point, she was even enjoying some attacking chances against Mariya’s king. All in all, it was a very correct game, with both players registering 98% on the accuracy score. Aleksandra Goryachkina 1 – Stavroula Tsolakidou 0 Goryachkina alternates her opening choice based on her opponents. Having a +3 score against Stavroula, she definitely wanted to go for a win. This afternoon she went for 1.e4 and Tsolakidou immediately replied with 1….c5. “The Sicilian Defence! It shows her fighting spirit today,” said WGM Anastasiya Karlovich in the commentary booth. “We always welcome the Sicilian here, the more fighting and interesting the games are, the better it is for the players, the spectators and the commentators of course,” added GM Alik Gershon. The opponents went down one of the main paths of the Rossolimo Attack, which has appeared in Cyprus several times already, including one game by Tsolakidou. Playing extremely fast, Goryachkina exchanged her two bishops for knights in order to reach a position with a strong knight on d5. Based on her speed, it became apparent that Aleksandra was playing according to her home preparation. Feeling pressure both on the board and on the clock, Tsolakidou traded-off the d5-knight and soon after sacrificed an exchange to get just a pawn in return. According to the engine, she was still worse but holding. However, low on time she lost control over the position, allowing Goryachkina to convert her extra material and score her first win of the tournament. Anna Muzychuk 1 – Divya Deshmukh 0 Anna Muzychuk chose the advance variation of the Caro-Kahn, and after including 4.h4 she exchanged bishops on d3 – a very trendy line nowadays. Divya, in her turn, exchanged quees and transisioned into an endgame which the engine assessed as quite reasonable for her. Nevertheless, it was still quite tricky and Divya spent half of her remaining time on just one move, which turned out to be a mistake (24…Nb6? instead of the superior 24…Nd-b4). Muzychuk sensed her opportunity and pushed forward, attacking her opponent’s weaknesses and putting a lot of pressure on the clock, ultimately scoring her second win in a row. In her postgame interview, Anna mentioned that she was surprised by her opponent’s opening choice. She also added that maybe Divya didn’t figure out how to react to White’s activity in the endgame. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2ywqjmmjP8 Harika Dronavalli 1 – Olga Badelka 0 No doubt willing to take her opponent out of her opening book, Harika opted for one of the most creative opening ideas I have seen in the past months. In an English Opening with 1.c4 e5, she first played 2.a3!?, startling Badelka, who took four minutes to react, and then 4.h4!? with a completely new position emerging on the board according to my database. “My opponent had only played 1…e5 against the English three or four times, so I decided to play something different,” Harika explained. MOMENT OF THE DAY Harika was kind enough to show us this moment on the board in her postgame interview. The key position occurred on move eight. Badelka blundered an exchange with the 8…Qd7? allowing 9.Bh6! Now the bishop can’t be captured because of 10.Nxf6+ winning the queen, and therefore the only move is to castle, after which White exchanges knights and wins the rook on f8. “These things can
FIDE World Youth U16 Chess Olympiad 2025 in Barranquilla, Colombia: Registration open!
FIDE and the Colombian Chess Federation (FECODAZ) are pleased to invite all national chess federations to participate in the World Youth U16 Chess Olympiad, set to take place in Barranquilla, Colombia, from August 16 to August 23, 2025. This vibrant Caribbean city will become the world’s chess capital, welcoming young talents from across the globe. With its stunning coastal scenery, rich cultural heritage, and warm hospitality, Barranquilla promises an unforgettable experience. Don’t miss this prestigious event—the countdown has begun! All FIDE member federations have the right to send one team as the invited team. Each team shall consist of 4 players, with boys and girls represented and also the captain. The registration deadline is on June 15, 2025. The 9-round Swiss tournament is scheduled, but if less than 40 teams are registered only 7 rounds will be played. Each match between teams will be played across four boards. The pairings, scoring and tiebreak regulations are in accordance with the Pairing Rules for the Chess Olympiad. The time control is 45 minutes with an increment of 10 seconds per move starting from move one. Regulations for World Youth U16 Olympiad (PDF) FIDE World Youth U16 Chess Olympiad official website coming soon: youtholympiad2025.fide.com E-mail: youtholympiad@fide.com
Al Ain Chess and Mind Games Club Wins UAE Cup Rapid Chess Team Championship
From left to right: ACMG CEO Hisham Al Taher, GM Volodar Murzin, UAE Chess Federation President Taryam Matar Taryam and GM Vladislav Artemiev. The Al Ain Chess and Mind Games Club (ACMG1) team of GMs Vladislav Artemiev and Volodar Murzin emerged victorious at the UAE Cup Rapid Chess Team Championship held over the weekend from March 15-16, 2025 at the Dubai Chess and Culture Club in Dubai, UAE. A record 116 teams with players representing 33 countries participated in the 9-round Swiss tournament with rapid time control of ten minutes plus two second increments per move. Each team was composed of two players with fourteen top ranked GMs and ten IM battling for the title. Prizes were sponsored by National Paint and Sidrat Alsalwa Beauty Centre. A large number of fans were in the venue from 9:30pm to midnight following the action live. The champions, Al Ain team, won seven matches and drew two, scoring 16 points. Artemiev, 27, achieved a perfect score of 9 out of 9 while the reigning World Rapid Chess Champion, Murzin, 19, won seven and lost two games. ACMG1 team won the top prize of AED 12,000 out of a total AED 40,000 prize pool. Al Ain Chess and Mind Games Club, the reigning FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Team champions, are set to defend their title at the third edition of this event in London, scheduled for June 10-16, 2025. Visit chess-results.com for round by round results and standings. The runner-up Shams team receiving their prize. From left are Hisham Al Taher, GM Viorel Iordachescu of Moldova, UAE Chess Federation president Taryam Matar Taryam and IM Mokhliss El Adnani of Morocco. The Shams team of GM Viorel Iordachescu of Moldova and IM Mokhliss El Adnani of Morocco finished second place with 15 match points and took a prize of AED 8,000. Iordachescu registered a 7-2-1 win-draw-loss score while El Adnani won five, drew two and lost two games. The third place finishers Sharjah team receiving their prize. From left are Hisham Al Taher, GM Bassem Amin of Egypt, UAE Chess Federation president Taryam Matar Taryam and GM Saleh A.R. Salem of the UAE. The Sharjah team of GM Saleh A.R. Salem of the UAE and GM Bassem Amiin of Egypt finished third netting 14 match-points and received AED 6,000 for their efforts. Salem scored six wins and suffered three losses while Amin notched 7 wins, one draw and one loss. The Sharjah team prevailed in the tie break over Al Ain Chess and Mind Games ACMG2 and Signature Club Master with similar 14 match points apiece. ACMG2 was composed of GMs Danil Dubov (second from right) and Parham Maghsoodloo (second from left). Dubov, known for his bold attacking style, won seven games but lost to Salem and Artemiev. At left is Tournament Director IA Abdulrahim Mahdi. Playing for Signature Club Master were GM Farrukh Amonatov of Tajikistan and GM Asghar Golizadeh of Iran. Rounding up the top ten teams are We Chess, Sharjah Coaches, Al Ain ACMG3, EKCC1 and Signature Club Nexus finishing with 13 match points each. Fourth to tenth places received AED 2,500, AED 2,000, AED 1,700, AED 1,300, AED 1,100, AED 1,000 and AED 900, respectively. Special awards were also presented at the event. Gold medal for the greatest number of teams went to Chess Lab Academy as Participating Chess Club/Academy, silver to Chess Signature Academy, and bronze to Master Move Academy. Ajman Twins won Best Family Team, Tatar Ladies became Best Women’s Team, UAE Ladies won best Emirati Women’s Team, AlQasimia University 1 won Best Emirati Men’s Team, Night Riders won Best Boys’ Team Under 14, The Twins won Best Girls’ Team Under 14 and DCPD won Best Special Needs Team. UAE Chess Federation president Taryam Matar Taryam graced the closing ceremonies to award prizes together with Al Ain Chess and Mind Games Club CEO Hisham Al Taher. IA Abdulrahim Mahdi (UAE) served as a tournament director. CA Majed Al Abduli (UAE) with a team of eight arbiters officiated the event, while Mohamed Abdull Chief Arbier was a technical director. Photos: Rayjan Solano Official website: https://asianchess.com/