4th Cairns Cup R7-8: Anna Muzychuk's win over Kosteniuk helps Zhongyi Tan extend her sole lead
GM Zhongyi Tan (CHN) extended her sole lead to 5.5/8 at 4th Cairns Cup 2024. GM Anna Muzychuk's (UKR) first and crucial win over GM Alexandra Kosteniuk (SUI) in the penultimate round, assisted Zhongyi to gain a full point gap. It means Zhongyi just needs a draw against Kosteniuk in the final round to become the champion. It goes without saying that the tournament is far from over as Kosteniuk has played seven decisive games out of eight. GM Harika Dronavalli survived a scare against Anna in the seventh round. She managed to salvage a half point by going for a perpetual check. In the penultimate round, Harika had a solid draw with the tournament leader, Zhongyi. Five women - GM Mariya Muzychuk (UKR), GM Nana Dzagnidze (GEO), Anna Muzychuk, Kosteniuk and Harika are at 4.5/8 each. Round 9 starts today at 1 p.m. local time, 11:30 p.m. IST. Photo: Saint Louis Chess Club/Lennart Ootes
Poised for an exciting finish
If the former Women's World Champion - GM Alexandra Kosteniuk (SUI) continues what she has done for the rest of the tournament, she can topple Zhongyi and force Playoffs. Since five women are trailing the sole leader by a full point, more than two can end up having the same score.
Round 7: Zhongyi -Elisabeth: 1-0
GM Zhongyi Tan (CHN, 2540) outplayed GM Elisabeth Paehtz (GER, 2457) after the latter went wrong in the middlegame.
Zatonskih - Kosteniuk
IM Anna Zatonskih (USA,2437) needed to find a difficult continuation against GM Alexandra Kosteniuk (SUI, 2501) after 27...e3. White played 28.Rf3 and Black managed to not only escape via Kg6 but also use it to win the endgame. Find out the winning continuation for White in the above position.
Anna Muzychuk - Harika
White could have pushed for a win 37.Re2 to prevent perpetual checks Rd1+ 38.Kg2 Rxa2 39.h7 Raa1 40.Rb8 Rg1+ 41.Kf2 Raf1+ 42.Ke3 Rf3+ 43.Kd2 Nxh7 44.Bxh7 Rxg4 45.Rxb5 was a difficult line. The game continued 37.Rd8 Kc7 38.Rg8 Rd2 39.h7 Nf3+ 40.Kf1 Nh2+ and the game ended in a draw via perpetual check.
Round 8: Zhongyi Tan extends her sole lead
GM Anna Muzychuk (UKR) defeated GM Alexandra Kosteniuk (SUI). That helped GM Zhongyi Tan (CHN) to extend her sole lead.
Kosteniuk - Anna Muzychuk
25.Re4? tiny inaccuracy is all it took for GM Anna Muzychuk (UKR, 2505) to gain the upper hand c4! 26.Rae1 cxd3 and Black went on to win the game capitalizing on the new passed pawn at d3. What White needed to do is play 25.c4 herself.
Replay live stream
Replay Round 7-8 games
Round 8 results
| Table | White | Score | Fed. | Rating | Black | Score | Fed. | Rating | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GM Dzagnidze, Nana | 4.0 | GEO | 2506 | GM Paehtz, Elisabeth | 2.5 | GER | 2457 | ½-½ |
| 2 | GM Dronavalli, Harika | 4.0 | IND | 2489 | GM Tan, Zhongyi | 5.0 | CHN | 2540 | ½-½ |
| 3 | GM Kosteniuk, Alexandra | 4.5 | SUI | 2501 | GM Muzychuk, Anna | 3.5 | UKR | 2505 | 0-1 |
| 4 | IM Lee, Alice | 3.0 | USA | 2368 | IM Zatonskih, Anna | 1.5 | USA | 2327 | 1-0 |
| 5 | GM Krush, Irina | 3.0 | USA | 2415 | GM Muzychuk, Mariya | 4.0 | UKR | 2510 | ½-½ |
Standings after Round 8
Round 9 pairings
| Table | White | Score | Fed. | Rating | Black | Score | Fed. | Rating | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GM Muzychuk, Mariya | 4.5 | UKR | 2510 | GM Dzagnidze, Nana | 4.5 | GEO | 2506 | |
| 2 | IM Zatonskih, Anna | 1.5 | USA | 2327 | GM Krush, Irina | 3.5 | USA | 2415 | |
| 3 | GM Muzychuk, Anna | 4.5 | UKR | 2505 | IM Lee, Alice | 4.0 | USA | 2368 | |
| 4 | GM Tan, Zhongyi | 5.5 | CHN | 2540 | GM Kosteniuk, Alexandra | 4.5 | SUI | 2501 | |
| 5 | GM Paehtz, Elisabeth | 3.0 | GER | 2457 | GM Dronavalli, Harika | 4.5 | IND | 2489 |
Schedule
Every day Round starts at 1 p.m. local time, 11:30 p.m. IST. Only rest day is on Tuesday 18th June 2024.
| Thursday | 6/13/24 | 13:00:00 | Round 1 |
| Friday | 6/14/24 | 13:00:00 | Round 2 |
| Saturday | 6/15/24 | 13:00:00 | Round 3 |
| Sunday | 6/16/24 | 13:00:00 | Round 4 |
| Monday | 6/17/24 | 13:00:00 | Round 5 |
| Tuesday | 6/18/24 | All Day | Rest Day |
| Wednesday | 6/19/24 | 13:00:00 | Round 6 |
| Thursday | 6/20/24 | 13:00:00 | Round 7 |
| Friday | 6/21/24 | 13:00:00 | Round 8 |
| Saturday | 6/22/24 | 13:00:00 | Round 9 |
| Sunday | 6/23/24 | 13:00:00 | Playoff (if necessary) |
Total prize fund
The total prize fund is US$ 200000.
| Place | Prize |
| 1st | $50,000 |
| 2nd | $40,000 |
| 3rd | $30,000 |
| 4th | $20,000 |
| 5th | $15,000 |
| 6th | $11,000 |
| 7th | $10,000 |
| 8th | $9,000 |
| 9th | $8,000 |
| 10th | $7,000 |
Format
It is a round-robin event with a Classical time control.
Links
Saint Louis Chess Club: Official site, facebook, twitter, instagram, youtube
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