FIDE Women’s World Cup Day 7: Vantika Agrawal surprises Kateryna Lagno
Seven players take the lead in the first game of the third round. Yesterday’s tiebreaks were very exciting but, more importantly, eye-opening. For the most part, the pre-tournament favourites pulled through, but one can already see that the new generation are very good at rapid and blitz. Vantika (born in 2002), Kamalidenova and Song Yuxin (both 2005), Omonova (2006) and specially Lu Miaoyi (2010), have honed their skills through practice and dedication, making them more effective and suitable for the intended purpose – rapid and blitz tiebreaks. Elnaz Kaliakhmet, also born in 2010, has yet to display her own rapid and blitz skills – she unexpectedly took down GM Nino Batsiashvili in the second-round classical games! It’s make or break time! This afternoon I could feel the tension in the room. With only 32 of the original 107 players left in the mix, qualifying to the fourth round of sixteen is already a huge success: a free day, a decent pay-jump and a chance for a shot at the title. But sometimes you have to play it safe. The first game to finish was IM Carissa Yip’s 13-move draw against GM Vaishali Rameshbabu. Playing with White, and visibly surprised by Vaishali’s opening choice, Yip decided to force a quick three-fold repetition in the Symmetrical variation of the English Opening. Checking with my database, this particular draw has already been played quite often at the highest level. Unfortunately, the local Netflix crew that came to the venue to record some footage of the American star will have to return tomorrow for the second game of the match! It didn’t take too long for another couple of games to end. GM Anna Muzychuk played solidly in the classical line of the Greco Gambit and forced a draw by perpetual check on move 22 against IM Song Yuxin, while IM’s Polina Shuvalova and Lela Javakhishvili clocked in a 98% accuracy score with no inaccuracies to draw just after the 30-move threshold. But from that point onwards the battle was ferocious and the wins started to roll in. Indian IM Vantika Agrawal scored the upset of the day by defeating GM Kateryna Lagno on the White side of the 5.Na4 Grunfeld side-line. Vantika already enjoyed a big positional advantage in the middlegame, but Lagno’s 21…Nxe5? just precipitated a winning sequence that left the player from Delhi with an extra piece. In her postgame interview and game analysis, a very happy Vantika explained her thought process. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2DbF-XUxko&pp=0gcJCb4JAYcqIYzv Shortly afterwards, with all the games approaching the time control, three games finished with a decisive result. IM Divya Deshmukh had already equalised comfortably with Black against IM Teodora Injac, but the position was still in the drawing zone around move thirty. However, with less than three minutes for the last ten moves, Injac started to play inaccurately and Divya was able to pick up a couple of pawns and eventually the full point. Meanwhile, GM Bella Khotenashvili was also under three minutes with sixteen moves to go against GM Mariya Muzychuk, in a complicated position. The correct move was 24.b3, protecting the c4 pawn. After the exchange of queen’s, White should be able to hold the position, according to the engine. However, after she played 24.Qc2? Muzychuk captured the c4-pawn with her knight and won an exchange shortly afterwards. In her postgame interview with Charlize van Zyl, Muzychuk said that she thought her opponent had missed 24.Qc2 Nxc4 25.Rd1 Qb6! with the double threat on the e5 rook and also 26…Na3+ winning the queen, because she started to shake her head. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5z3-xem3HzU GM Zhu Jiner also achieved a head start in her match against IM Alexandra Maltsevskaya, with a model game on how to increase the pressure against your opponent’s king in the advance variation of the Caro-Kann. Things slowed down a bit after the time control scramble until seed number one GM Lei Tingjie managed to convert the full point in a queen ending against former Women’s World Champion GM Antoaneta Stefanova. Ending of the day Playing with Black, Lei Tingjie has an extra passed pawn in a pure queen ending. With a few precise moves, she was able to force the exchange of queens and take home the full point. 43…Qf1+ 44.Kh4 Qe2! Threatening checkmate on g4 and the pawn on h2 45.Kh3 Qe6+! 46.Kg2 Qd5+ and Stefanova resigned. After the exchange of queen’s White’s king is too far away to stop the a-pawn. A few minutes later, GM Nana Dzagnidze finally forced her opponent to resign when there was no hope left in the position. GM Valentina Gunina blundered a tactic on move eighteen but kept fighting until the bitter end. More or less at the same time, IM Yuliia Osmak converted her two extra pawns against IM Lu Miaoyi, notching up a very important win in her hopes to qualify for the next round. Amazing endgame studies One of the most amazing positions of the tournament occurred in the game between IM Meri Arabidze and GM Alexandra Kosteniuk. The former 2021 World Cup winner missed an endgame study-like win and had to settle for a draw even though she had an extra rook. Check out the unbelievable move sequence she had to find to win the game! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QYIGKV3uto In the rest of the games of the round, GM Harika Dronavalli (vs IM Stavroula Tsolakidou), IM Klaudia Kulon (vs GM Humpy Koneru), IM Irina Bulmaga (vs GM Tan Zhongyi), IM Meruert Kamalidenova (vs WGM Anna Shukhman) and finally WFM Elnaz Kaliakhmet (vs WIM Umida Omonova) were pressing during the whole game and enjoyed good chances to win, but all five of their opponent’s defended tenaciously and achieved a draw. Written by IM Michael Rahal (Batumi, Georgia) Photos: Anna Shtourman About the tournament: Scheduled to take place from July 6th to July 28th, the 2025 FIDE Women’s World Cup will gather together in Batumi (Georgia) the world’s best female chess players. A total of 107 players from 46 different federations are set to participate
Join the Global Online Celebration for International Chess Day
FIDE, in partnership with Lichess.org, invites chess-lovers from around the world to take part in the largest-ever Social Chess Day tournament — a 24-hour blitz marathon celebrating International Chess Day on July 20! Event Details: * Format: 5+3 Blitz (5 minutes + 3 seconds increment)* Platform: Lichess.org* Start Time: 00:00 CEST (Zurich time) on July 20* End Time: 00:00 CEST on July 21* Entry: Open to players of any skill level, from all time zones — join anytime and play as many games as you want! Amazing Prizes Await! All participants will be automatically entered into random prize draws, with a chance to win: Exclusive experiences: 5 winners will get vouchers to attend the Opening Ceremony & Round 1 of the 2026 FIDE Chess Olympiad in Samarkand, including 2 nights of hotel stay. Merch & Collectibles: 10 winners: €100 FIDE Merchandise Vouchers 20 winners: Limited edition “Chess Players” photography books Train with the best: * 1-on-1 Online Blitz Training with GM Lei Tingjie* Group Talk (up to 50 people) with GM Nijat Abasov – motivational insights and chess prep advice Simuls & Q&A Events: Online simuls with top GMs * Humpy Koneru * Praggnanandhaa * Vaishali Rameshbabu * Tan Zhongyi * Arjun Erigaisi * Valentina Gunina (with lecture) * Anish Giri * Anna Shukhman (with lecture) Q&A & Game Analysis with GM Anna Muzychuk Be part of chess history This is more than just a tournament — it’s a global celebration of the game we all love. Whether you play one game or one hundred, you’re part of the movement. Let’s make July 20 a day to remember! Join here: lichess.org/tournament/fscday25 Regulations: fide.com/wp-content/uploads/FIDE-Social-Chess-Day-Tournament-Regulations-.pdf
European Individual Senior Championships 2025: Registration now open
The Croatian Chess Federation, under the auspices of the European Chess Union, invites all the member federation to participate in the European Individual Senior Chess Championships, taking place from September 26 to October 6, 2025, in Rabac, Croatia. Tournament Information The Championship will be played as a 9-round Swiss-system event. Time control: 90 minutes for the first 40 moves + 30 minutes for the rest of the game, with a 30-second increment per move starting from move one. The Championship will be played in four categories: age 50+ and 65+ (Open and Women) with women’s tournaments played separately. However, if fewer than nine women register in a given category, they will be merged with the corresponding open group but still awarded separate prizes. The total prize fund is € 8,000, and the top three places in each category will directly qualify for the 2026 World Individual Senior Championship (with free accommodation and full board). The playing venue is the restaurant Sunny Rabac by Valamar, located close to the official hotels. The official regulations can be found at the following link: EISCC2025_Rabac_regulations Accommodation Accommodation is available exclusively through the organizer at two 4-star Valamar hotels, with full-board and half-board options. Valamar Sanfior Hotel & Casa 4* Doubleroom (per person): €87 full board / €73 half board Single room: €119 fullboard / €105 half board Includes: welcome drink, use of fitness center and indoor pool, drinks during thedinner time (water, juice) 4-minute walkfrom the playing venue Valamar Sanfior Hotel & Casa Rabac, Hrvatska Valamar Bellevue Resort 4* Doubleroom (per person): €92 full board / €78 half board Single room: €125 fullboard / €111 half board Includes: welcome drink, drinks during thedinner time (water, juice, local wine and beer) 10-minute walkfrom the playing venue Family Bellevue Resort, Rabac, Hrvatska, Istra Reservations are confirmed upon payment of a €200 deposit per person. Registration Players are kindly asked to complete the official Registration Form carefully and submit it to the organizer no later than Friday, August 29, 2025, via e-mail: chessrabac2025@gmail.com. Entry fee: €120 (ECU fee included) For any questions, please feel free to contact the organizer: chessrabac2025@gmail.com Official website: hrvatski-sahovski-savez.hr/european-senior-individual-2025/