Anna Muzychuk or Jiner Zhu - Who will win Nicosia GP?
GM Anna Muzychuk (UKR) won a virtually must-win game against GM Elisabeth Paehtz (GER) in the penultimate round of FIDE Nicosia GP 2025. Anna thought she surprised her opponent with 1.d4 but it was the German who surprised her by playing the Queen's Gambit Accepted variation. Later she defended a pawn incorrectly and paid a heavy price. GM Jiner Zhu (CHN) drew against IM Stavroula Tsolakidou (GRE). Now both Jiner and Anna are at 5.5/8 each. They are followed by GM Harika Dronavalli, GM Mariya Muzychuk (UKR) and GM Aleksandra Goryachkina at 4.5/8 each. Round 9 starts today from 2 p.m. local time, 5:30 p.m. IST. Photo: FIDE
Harika can spoil Anna's chances
GM Harika Dronavalli will face GM Anna Muzychuk in the final round, while GM Jiner Zhu will be up against GM Nana Dzagnidze (GEO). There is a mathematical possibility of four players ending with the same score 5.5/9, or both coleaders Jiner and Anna finishing with the same score and then tie-breaks will decide the winner.
Anna - Elisabeth: 1-0
GM Anna Muzychuk (UKR, 2516) has not lost a Classical rated game against GM Elisabeth Paehtz (GER, 2424) in over 17 years. That statistic remained unchanged yesterday. Anna mentioned in a post-game interview that she thought she surprised her opponent with 1.d4 because generally she plays 1.e4. However, it was the Germany no.1 woman who surprised by opting for the Queen's Gambit Accepted line.
Find out the winning continuation for White after 26...Rd5? A move ago Black had to go 24...Rxd4 25.axb5 Rxg4 26.hxg4 f6
Replay live stream
GP Standings
GM Aleksandra Goryachkina is the new sole leader of the GP with 236.67 points, followed by IM Bibisara Assaubayeva (KAZ) 197.5 and GM Zhongyi Tan (CHN) 170 points. Bibisara has played all three of her GP events of the season. So, she has none left.
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 15th March at 3 p.m. local time, 6:30 p.m. IST. The tournament will go on till 24th March 2025. Sole rest day is on Thursday 20th March.
Replay Round 8 games
Round 8 results
| Bo. | No. | Rtg | White | Result | Black | Rtg | No. | PGN | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 | 2513 | GM | DZAGNIDZE, NANA | ½ - ½ | GM | MUZYCHUK, MARIYA | 2490 | 9 | PGN |
| 2 | 1 | 2548 | GM | GORYACHKINA, ALEKSANDRA | ½ - ½ | GM | DRONAVALLI, HARIKA | 2483 | 8 | PGN |
| 3 | 2 | 2516 | GM | MUZYCHUK, ANNA | 1 - 0 | GM | PAEHTZ, ELISABETH | 2424 | 7 | PGN |
| 4 | 3 | 2470 | IM | DIVYA, DESHMUKH | 1 - 0 | IM | BADELKA, OLGA | 2429 | 6 | PGN |
| 5 | 4 | 2445 | IM | TSOLAKIDOU, STAVROULA | ½ - ½ | GM | ZHU, JINER | 2514 | 5 | PGN |
Standings after Round 8
| Rk. | SNo | Name | FED | Rtg | Pts. | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | GM | ZHU, JINER | CHN | 2514 | 5,5 | 4 | 19,50 | 3 |
| 2 | 2 | GM | MUZYCHUK, ANNA | UKR | 2516 | 5,5 | 3 | 19,75 | 4 |
| 3 | 8 | GM | DRONAVALLI, HARIKA | IND | 2483 | 4,5 | 5 | 17,50 | 2 |
| 4 | 9 | GM | MUZYCHUK, MARIYA | UKR | 2490 | 4,5 | 5 | 16,50 | 1 |
| 5 | 1 | GM | GORYACHKINA, ALEKSANDRA | FID | 2548 | 4,5 | 3 | 17,00 | 1 |
| 6 | 10 | GM | DZAGNIDZE, NANA | GEO | 2513 | 4 | 4 | 12,75 | 2 |
| 7 | 3 | IM | DIVYA, DESHMUKH | IND | 2470 | 3,5 | 3 | 13,25 | 1 |
| 8 | 6 | IM | BADELKA, OLGA | AUT | 2429 | 3 | 5 | 13,00 | 1 |
| 9 | 4 | IM | TSOLAKIDOU, STAVROULA | GRE | 2445 | 3 | 3 | 11,00 | 1 |
| 10 | 7 | GM | PAEHTZ, ELISABETH | GER | 2424 | 2 | 5 | 8,25 | 1 |
Round 9 pairings
| Bo. | No. | Rtg | White | Result | Black | Rtg | No. | PGN | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | 2514 | GM | ZHU, JINER | GM | DZAGNIDZE, NANA | 2513 | 10 | ||
| 2 | 6 | 2429 | IM | BADELKA, OLGA | IM | TSOLAKIDOU, STAVROULA | 2445 | 4 | ||
| 3 | 7 | 2424 | GM | PAEHTZ, ELISABETH | IM | DIVYA, DESHMUKH | 2470 | 3 | ||
| 4 | 8 | 2483 | GM | DRONAVALLI, HARIKA | GM | MUZYCHUK, ANNA | 2516 | 2 | ||
| 5 | 9 | 2490 | GM | MUZYCHUK, MARIYA | GM | GORYACHKINA, ALEKSANDRA | 2548 | 1 |
