Grosslobming GP R1: Vaishali starts with a win
GM R Vaishali started her campaign with a win over IM Nurgyul Salimova (BUL) at FIDE Grosslobming GP in Austria. Vaishali has never lost a Classical rated game against Nurgyul. She maintained that streak when the Bulgarian went wrong in an already difficult double rook and minor piece endgame. GM Zhongyi Tan (CHN) defeated her compatriot GM Jiner Zhu (CHN). The former Women's World Champion's conversion of her advantage was not smooth. Thus, the game got prolonged to 96 moves. IM Olga Badelka (AUT) was worse for the better part of the game. However, her opponent, GM Alexandra Kosteniuk (SUI) went wrong in the final moments. Round 2 starts today at 3 p.m local time, 6:30 p.m. IST. Photo: FIDE/Przemysław Nikiel
Badelka swindles Kosteniuk
Vaishali - Nurgyul: 1-0
Last month, GM R Vaishali (2475) missed a winning opportunity against IM Nurgyul Salimova (BUL, 2399). She has never lost a Classical rated game against the IM. This time also Vaishali maintained her unbeaten streak against Nurgyul by making the most out of her chance in the endgame.
23...Rb5? Black needed to put her bishop on that square. 24.Nd3 Rbb8 realizing her mistake 25.Rc3 Ra7 26.f4 White keeps making progress Kd8 27.Kf2 Rc7 28.Rxc7 Kxc7 29.Ke3 Rb6 30.Rb4 f6 31.Kd4 Rc6 32.Nc5 Bc8 33.Rxb3 Ba6 34.Rc3 Kd8 35.Ra4 White won as Black cannot avoid the rook exchange and White's connected passed pawns on a and b-files are too strong.
Replay live stream
Replay Round 1 games
GP Standings
GM Aleksandra Goryachkina is still at the top spot 308.34. She is guaranteed a spot at the next Candidates as only GM Jiner Zhu (CHN) can surpass her. She is at 235 points. After winning Pune GP, GM Koneru Humpy moved up to the second spot with 279.17 points. She needs to hope that Jiner does not surpass her in GP points at the Grosslobming GP.
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 6th May at 3 p.m. local time, 6:30 p.m. IST. The tournament will go on till 15th May 2025. Sole rest day is on Monday 12th May.
Round 1 results
| Bo. | No. | Rtg | White | Result | Black | Rtg | No. | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 2430 | IM | Javakhishvili, Lela | ½ - ½ | GM | Dzagnidze, Nana | 2509 | 10 | |||
| 2 | 2 | 2475 | GM | Vaishali, Rameshbabu | 1 - 0 | IM | Salimova, Nurgyul | 2399 | 9 | |||
| 3 | 3 | 2494 | GM | Muzychuk, Mariya | ½ - ½ | GM | Muzychuk, Anna | 2526 | 8 | |||
| 4 | 4 | 2541 | GM | Zhu, Jiner | 0 - 1 | GM | Tan, Zhongyi | 2536 | 7 | |||
| 5 | 5 | 2426 | IM | Badelka, Olga | 1 - 0 | GM | Kosteniuk, Alexandra | 2479 | 6 |
Standings after Round 1
| Rk. | SNo | Name | FED | Rtg | Pts. | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | TB4 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | GM | Tan, Zhongyi | CHN | 2536 | 1 | 1 | 0,00 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2 | 2 | GM | Vaishali, Rameshbabu | IND | 2475 | 1 | 0 | 0,00 | 1 | 0 | |
| 5 | IM | Badelka, Olga | AUT | 2426 | 1 | 0 | 0,00 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 4 | 8 | GM | Muzychuk, Anna | UKR | 2526 | 0,5 | 1 | 0,25 | 0 | 0 | |
| 10 | GM | Dzagnidze, Nana | GEO | 2509 | 0,5 | 1 | 0,25 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 6 | 1 | IM | Javakhishvili, Lela | GEO | 2430 | 0,5 | 0 | 0,25 | 0 | 0 | |
| 3 | GM | Muzychuk, Mariya | UKR | 2494 | 0,5 | 0 | 0,25 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 8 | 6 | GM | Kosteniuk, Alexandra | SUI | 2479 | 0 | 1 | 0,00 | 0 | 0 | |
| 9 | IM | Salimova, Nurgyul | BUL | 2399 | 0 | 1 | 0,00 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 10 | 4 | GM | Zhu, Jiner | CHN | 2541 | 0 | 0 | 0,00 | 0 | 0 |
Round 2 pairings
| Bo. | No. | Rtg | White | Result | Black | Rtg | No. | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 | 2509 | GM | Dzagnidze, Nana | GM | Kosteniuk, Alexandra | 2479 | 6 | ||||
| 2 | 7 | 2536 | GM | Tan, Zhongyi | IM | Badelka, Olga | 2426 | 5 | ||||
| 3 | 8 | 2526 | GM | Muzychuk, Anna | GM | Zhu, Jiner | 2541 | 4 | ||||
| 4 | 9 | 2399 | IM | Salimova, Nurgyul | GM | Muzychuk, Mariya | 2494 | 3 | ||||
| 5 | 1 | 2430 | IM | Javakhishvili, Lela | GM | Vaishali, Rameshbabu | 2475 | 2 |
