Shymkent GP R1: Divya Deshmukh makes a solid start against Koneru Humpy
The first round of FIDE Shymkent GP witnessed three decisive games. In a battle between India no.2 and India no.1 woman, IM Divya Deshmukh had a well contested draw against GM Koneru Humpy. The 45th Olympiad Gold medalist opted for the Scotch Game and kept looking for ways to create chances. However, the legend ensured that she did not make any mistake and the game eventually ended in a draw. GM Kateryna Lagno missed a win against GM Aleksandra Goryachkina. GM Zhongyi Tan (CHN), IM Stavroula Tsolakidou (GRE) and IM Bibisara Assaubayeva (KAZ) won their respective games. Divya will face Lagno and Humpy will be up against Zhongyi in Round 2 which starts today at 3 p.m. local time, 3:30 p.m. IST. Photo: FIDE/Konstantin Chalabov
Three decisive games
FIDE Shymkent GP had an exciting start as three out of five games had decisive results. GM Elisabeth Paehtz (GER) and IM Batkhuyag Munguntuul (MGL) faltered in the endgame. The Germany no.1 woman needed to navigate better with her rooks against her opponents bishop pair and knight. The Mongolian did not prevent her opponent's rook from invading in a rook and opposite color bishop endgame. IM Nurgyul Salimova (BUL) could not recover after losing a pawn on the queenside against IM Bibisara Assaubayeva (KAZ).
Divya - Humpy: 0.5-0.5
This was the first Classical encounter between IM Divya Deshmukh (2501) and GM Koneru Humpy (2530). Last year, they played one rapid and two blitz rated games at Tata Steel India. Divya won the Rapid battle, Humpy won both Blitz games. The India no.2 woman, opted for Scotch Game with the white pieces. She kept finding ways to create chances for herself. However, the legend ensured she doesn't falter and the game eventually ended in a draw.
Lagno - Goryachkina
White needed to capture the pawn 31.Qxd6 Rxg2 32.Qd8+ Kh7 33.Bxg2 Rxg2 34.Nf3 Rxe2 35.Rxe7. Instead, the game continued 31.Qh4+ Rh6 32.Rxe7 Rxh4 33.Rxg7 Bxg2+ 34.Bxg2 Rxg7 the game ended in a draw after few moves.
Zhongyi - Paehtz: 1-0
GM Zhongyi Tan (CHN) defeated GM Elisabeth Paehtz (GER) after a 107-move long battle. The Women's World Championship Challenger showed correct technique to deliver checkmate with bishop and knight. The game ended few moves before the actual checkmate.
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Replay Round 1 games
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 today at 3 p.m. local time, 3:30 p.m. IST. The tournament will go on till 8th November 2024. Sole rest day is on Monday 4th November.
Round 1 results
| Bo. | No. | FED | Rtg | White | Result | Black | FED | Rtg | No. | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | FID | 2527 | GM | Lagno, Kateryna | ½ - ½ | GM | Goryachkina, Aleksandra | FID | 2533 | 10 | |||
| 2 | 2 | IND | 2501 | IM | Divya, Deshmukh | ½ - ½ | GM | Koneru, Humpy | IND | 2530 | 9 | |||
| 3 | 3 | CHN | 2551 | GM | Tan, Zhongyi | 1 - 0 | GM | Paehtz, Elisabeth | GER | 2458 | 8 | |||
| 4 | 4 | MGL | 2344 | IM | Munguntuul, Batkhuyag | 0 - 1 | IM | Tsolakidou, Stavroula | GRE | 2439 | 7 | |||
| 5 | 5 | BUL | 2405 | IM | Salimova, Nurgyul | 0 - 1 | IM | Assaubayeva, Bibisara | KAZ | 2487 | 6 |
Standings after Round 1
| Rk. | SNo | Name | FED | Rtg | Pts. | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | TB4 | TB5 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | IM | Assaubayeva, Bibisara | KAZ | 2487 | 1 | 1 | 0,00 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| 7 | IM | Tsolakidou, Stavroula | GRE | 2439 | 1 | 1 | 0,00 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 3 | 3 | GM | Tan, Zhongyi | CHN | 2551 | 1 | 0 | 0,00 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| 4 | 9 | GM | Koneru, Humpy | IND | 2530 | 0,5 | 1 | 0,25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 10 | GM | Goryachkina, Aleksandra | FID | 2533 | 0,5 | 1 | 0,25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 6 | 1 | GM | Lagno, Kateryna | FID | 2527 | 0,5 | 0 | 0,25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2 | IM | Divya, Deshmukh | IND | 2501 | 0,5 | 0 | 0,25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 8 | 8 | GM | Paehtz, Elisabeth | GER | 2458 | 0 | 1 | 0,00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 9 | 4 | IM | Munguntuul, Batkhuyag | MGL | 2344 | 0 | 0 | 0,00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 5 | IM | Salimova, Nurgyul | BUL | 2405 | 0 | 0 | 0,00 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Round 2 pairings
| Bo. | No. | FED | Rtg | White | Result | Black | FED | Rtg | No. | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 | FID | 2533 | GM | Goryachkina, Aleksandra | IM | Assaubayeva, Bibisara | KAZ | 2487 | 6 | ||||
| 2 | 7 | GRE | 2439 | IM | Tsolakidou, Stavroula | IM | Salimova, Nurgyul | BUL | 2405 | 5 | ||||
| 3 | 8 | GER | 2458 | GM | Paehtz, Elisabeth | IM | Munguntuul, Batkhuyag | MGL | 2344 | 4 | ||||
| 4 | 9 | IND | 2530 | GM | Koneru, Humpy | GM | Tan, Zhongyi | CHN | 2551 | 3 | ||||
| 5 | 1 | FID | 2527 | GM | Lagno, Kateryna | IM | Divya, Deshmukh | IND | 2501 | 2 |
