Eleven matches will be decided tomorrow in the tie-breaks
The second round in a two-game match is a nerve-racking affair for any player. A draw might involve returning tomorrow for a tie-beak but, on the other hand, one small mistake is all you need, and you’re on your way home.
The seriousness of the situation was evident in the room: although most of the players were smiling and small taking before the start of the game, I couldn’t help but sense the tension and the nerves in the background.
Meanwhile, top seeds continue to arrive. Although they don’t enter into the competition until July 9th, many of them prefer to travel early and fully recover from their long journeys.
The top two Indians Humpy and Harika, both of the Muzychuk sisters, Chinese superstars Zhu Jiner and Lu Miaoyi, Polina Shuvalova, Alina Kaslinskaya, just to name a few, have been sighted in the venue.
But let’s dive in on the chess action, which has been fast and furious. While most of the favourites scored their second win or went for a comfortable draw to secure their qualification, others who drew or even lost yesterday had to step it up to make a come-back on the scoreboard and try to force the rapid games tie-break.
Qualifiers to the second round
As expected, most of the rating favourites advanced to the second round where they will be paired against the top twenty-one seeds.
IM Carissa Yip (pictured above, left), GM Bella Khotenashvili, WGM Anna Shukhman, IM Deimante Daulyte-Cornette, IM Aleksandra Maltsevskaya, GMs Elina Danielian, Antoaneta Stefanova, IMs Nurgyul Salimova and Gulrukhbegim Tokhirjonova were some of the few contenders to win both of their games.
Other top players such as IM Stavroula Tsolakidou, GM Anna Ushenina (pictured below, right), IM Song Xuxin, IM Lilit Mkrtchian, GM Irina Krush, IM Mai Narva, IM Alice Lee and IM Oliwia Kiolbasa side-stepped the tiebreaks, but dropped a draw on the way.
Both Alice and Irina are two of the four players from the United States of America who have travelled to Georgia in an attempt to take back the trophy.
FIDE’s own top interviewer Charlize van Zyl had the chance to talk to them briefly this afternoon and get their thoughts on the event.
Move of the day
On the lower boards, India’s IM Padmini Rout knocked out Zhang Lanlin from China by a clear 2-0 score, with what I thought was anexcellent candidate for “Move of the Day”.
The tournament of Sarajevo (2000) will always be remembered for the so-called “Tourist Trap” – Garry Kasparov crushed Sergei Movsesian with the classic 13…Rxc3! Sicilian exchange sacrifice.
A classic, which all titled players know by heart. By coincidence, also on move thirteen, Padmini took just under six minutes to bid farewell to her rook.
After 13…Rxc3! 14.bxc3 Qc7 15.Kb2 d5! followed by …0-0 and …Rc8 all of Black’s pieces came down on White’s castled king, ultimately forcing her opponent to resign on move 34.
Finally, GM Valentina Gunina also advanced to the second round with a fine win over young CM Isabelle Ning from New Zealand. After the game, Valentina revealed how her recent health problems have had an impact on her chess.
Unexpected eliminations
Only two – definitely a low rate for this type of event.
The 15-year-old Batumi WFM Kesaria Mgeladze (pictured below) defeated Vietnam’s IM Pham Le Thao Nguyen by 1.5-0.5, mainly due to her win in game one.
The other unexpected elimination was IM Deysi Cori by WIM Wang Chuqiao by 0.5-1.5. Cori has been representing Peru in Women’s Chess Olympiads since 2004 and has an outstanding career achievement list.
Tomorrow afternoon’s tiebreaks
With 43 tough matches, quite a few 1-1 tiebreaks were to be expected. The final result were eleven matches, which will be decided tomorrow.
Possibly the most unexpected result was the encounter between Hungarian WGM Zsoka Gaal and Indian WIM Priyanka K – the rating gap between them exceeds 300 ELO points.
However, Priyanka dominated her opponent today on the white side of a French Winawer, making a comeback from yesterday’s loss.
The other clearly unexpected result was Mexico’s WIM Tania Miranda Rodriguez (pictured above) defeating one of Poland’s top Olympic players, IM Klaudia Kulon, with the black pieces.
Other slightly unexpected tiebreaks will be the matchups between WGM Govhar Beydullayeva and WIM Anahita Zahedifar (two draws) and IM Sophie Milliet against WIM Umida Omonova (two draws).
On the lower boards, where the level of play is very similar, quite a few matches ended in a tie and will also be decided tomorrow.
I would highlight special attention to the matches between IM Ann Matnadze Bujiashvili and young Georgian talent WFM Anastasia Kirtadze (pictured below) (1-1) along with the encounter between WGM Alinasab Mobina and WIM Amina Kairbekova (also 1-1).
For those who wish to follow the tiebreaks live, these are the basic rules – two 15/10 tie-break games will be played to decide the winner.
However, if the score remains level after these two games, another set of two games will be played at 10/10, followed by two more games 5/3.
If the match still remains tied after these six games, successive games of 3/2 shall be played until a result proves decisive.
The full list of tiebreak matches can be found on the official website.
Written by IM Michael Rahal (Batumi, Georgia)
Photos: Anna Shtourman
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 in the event, including seventeen of the current top twenty!
Chess legends, seasoned professionals and emerging talents will play for the $50.000 first prize, in addition to three qualifying spots for the Candidates.
The full pairings tree and day-by-day results can be found on the World Cup website.
