Humpy Koneru takes down WGP Pune after a nail-biting final round
It couldn’t have been scripted better. Three inconsequential games ended quite fast, leaving the two main actors battling it out on the top boards, right until the final moments of the round. After a very stressful afternoon for everyone, Indian number one Humpy Koneru claimed victory in the Pune Women’s Grand Prix, edging out Chinese prodigy Zhu Jiner in the tiebreak. Both of them won their final games, totalling seven points apiece. Third place goes to Divya Deshmukh, who drew with Alina Kashlinskaya in their last-round game. Humpy recognized that luck had played a big part in her victory: “I haven’t been doing very well lately in classical chess, but here I have recovered my rating points and with the exception of yesterday’s game against Kashlinskaya, I think I have played quite well”. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SC33FHD7VQ Both Zhu Jiner and Humpy will share the WGP points – they receive 117.5 each. For Humpy this will probably not be enough to contend for the second candidates spot, but Zhu Jiner will have another chance at qualifying for the Candidates in the final leg of the series, to be played in Großlobming, Austria, from the 5th to the 16th of May. With these results, Alexandra Goryachkina leads the WGP with 308.34 points (three events played), followed by Humpy Koneru with 279.17 points (three events played) and Zhu Jiner with 235 points (two events played). Anna Muzychuk is just behind with 189.17 points and has also only played two events. Let’s take a closer look at this afternoon’s games. Humpy Koneru 1 – 0 Nurgyul Salimova The ceremonial first moves were performed today on this board. Dr. ParinayFuke, Member of the Maharashtra Legislative Council as well as President of the Maharashtra Chess Association opened the game for Humpy, while Mr. Aravind Shah, an Indian Businessman and chess enthusiast played Salimova’s first move. Humpy opted for the Exchange variation in the Slav defence, a solid option that generally provides a risk-free approach with some pressure: ideal for the final round tournament situation. After a couple of small inaccuracies, especially the manoeuvre 15…Qa5 followed by 17…Qd8 two moves later, Salimova fell into a slightly uncomfortable position, unable to castle and facing intense pressure from Humpy’s minor pieces. The defining blunder, after which there was no way back for Salimova, occurred on move 18. Black should have played 18…Bf8 and try to exchange a few pieces, but after 18…Bd6? Humpy played the precise 19.e4!, opening up the e-file and creating direct threats against her opponent’s king. Salimova managed to defend, but at a big cost: a totally lost endgame, two pawns in the hole. Although she fought gallantly, resignation became forced after eight-four moves. Polina Shuvalova 0–1 Zhu Jiner Needing to win to overtake Divya, Shuvalova went for the classical Italian Giuoco Piano. The game progressed adequately for both players, positioning their pieces for the optimal squares. The first key moment was Shuvalova’s 19.h4, a risky move planning an attack but loosening the g4 square, which was immediately occupied by Zhu’s knight. A few moves later, already under certain pressure, Shuvalova blundered again with 30.Re3? (30…Qc3 was necessary) and faced a devastating change in her position after after 30….Bxf3 31.gxf3 d5!! blasting open the position for Black’s pieces. In the tactical scramble that followed, the Chinese GM emerged with an extra pawn and much more piece activity. And then this happened! With her rook on c8 under attack, Zhu Jiner found the unbelievable 42…Nd5!!, threatening mate on e3. Of course, the knight can’t be captured because after 43.Rxd5 Rc1 ends the game. But Shuvalova found the incredible counter 43.Re7! and all the pieces are under fire. After 43…Nxe7 44.Bxc8 Nxc8 45.Rd8+ Kh7 46.Rxc8 Rb2 Zhu Jiner had a pawn up in the ending and two passers, which she eventually converted after seventy-six moves. Vaishali Rameshbabu 0.5–0.5 Salome Melia Vaishali tried out the Colle-Zukertort opening, an interesting option to play for a win. However, Salome came to the game with excellent preparation and totally nullified Vaishali’s kingside attack. With the very astute exchange 18…dxc4 19.bxc4 and 19…b5! Salome began to prepare a light-square domination that led her to a fantastic position. But just when she was starting to get traction, and with more time on the clock, Melia acquiesced to a three-fold repetition. A lost opportunity? Vaishali ends the tournament with a -1 score and drops nearly ten rating points – for sure she won’t be at all happy with her performance in Pune. For Salome, the event has gone better than expected: a five rating points addition, for the theoretically lowest seed of the tournament. Harika Dronavalli 0.5–0.5 Munguntuul Batkhuyag With little to play for, motivation to fight is always slightly lower. Even so, Harika and Munguntuul played out forty moves to reach a completely equal double rook ending, eventually agreeing to a draw. Both clocked in a 97.9 accuracy score, with no mistakes and no blunders – another perfect game. Harika finished on 50%, performing slightly below expectation while Munguntuul has scored fewer points (3) but her performance related to her rating better. Divya Deshmukh 0.5–0.5 Alina Kashlinskaya Another perfect game with no mistakes at all. Kashlinskaya essayed the French defence and Divya played the Tarrasch variation. Although Divya applied a bit of pressure, Alina forced simplifications that led to an equal endgame. A draw was agreed on move forty-two. A very good tournament for the Indian prodigy, with a rating increase of nine points. For Kashlinskaya, it was a tournament to forget as soon as possible – she has lost 20 rating points and has been struggling to find her form here. The closing ceremony of the Pune WGP began at 8.30 PM with a minute of silence for the tragedy in Kashmir. The master of ceremonies thanked everyone for coming along, and highlighted the record in numbers following the event: more than 5 million views. He also put special attention on the high number of decisive games. The first guest, Siddharth Mayur, Wook the
“The quality of a champion” – Humpy and Zhu Jiner lead with one round to go
After being around for many years, I have come to realize that elite chess players possess two principal qualities: the capacity to fight till the end in lost positions and the capability to recover fast from a painful loss. This afternoon, without any doubt the most interesting round of all the WGP’s that I have attended, Humpy was on the verge of losing several times against Kashlinskaya, who hadn’t won a game so far. But she kept fighting, defending as best as possible, and she finally reaped the reward – a draw, keeping her options to win in Pune open. On the other board, Zhu Jiner played an impressive game against Divya, after losing yesterday to Humpy. Her recovery was uncanny – from losing the lead and even the chance to win, to a situation in which she is tied for first with one game to go. No less than three ceremonial first moves were performed today, on different boards and with the white pieces. Mr. Ajay Patel, Senior Vice President of the Indian Olympic Association opened the game for Salome Melia, Mr. Dev Patel, Secretary of the All Indian Chess Federation opened for Munguntuul and finally Dr. Ravindra Dange, Commisioner of the Pune IRS opened for Zhu Jiner. The final round will be played tomorrow afternoon. The key pairings are Humpy vs Salimova and Shuvalova vs Zhu Jiner. Anything can happen, and we will be here to report it! Let’s take a closer look at this afternoon’s games. Zhu Jiner 1 –0 Divya Deshmukh Zhu Jiner prepared the Four Knights Glek system with 4.g3. For many moves, they followed a recent 2024 game between Abdusattorov and Giri. After the opening, Black’s bishop was stranded out of the game on a6 and White also controlled the fantastic e4 square, but Divya was preparing a strong attack on the kingside. After a couple of inaccuracies, Zhu sacrificed a piece for three pawns with 26.Nxe5!, entering a totally winning ending. Divya was forced to give back the piece in order to avoid white pawn’s promotion, but to no avail: with a 96% accuracy score, took the game home. “I feel happy today, especially since I lost yesterday” were Zhu’s first words in her post-game interview. Check it out here! https://youtu.be/WHTGxB2oFZ8?si=C4xcdXbX5NRkAAwj Alina Kashlinskaya 0.5 – 0.5 HumpyKoneru The Polish number one player missed out on an opportunity to win her first game this afternoon, and at the same time take down the leader of the event. The opening was a classic 5.d3 Anderssen variation of the Ruy Lopez. Alina obtained a small edge in space going out of the opening, but Humpy very near equality. At a certain point, Humpy started to play hesitantly (first 16…c6? and then 19…Ra7?) and ended up in a passive position with very little space. Alina gradually took control, installing a huge knight on d6. She achieved a decisive advantage and also Humpy was very low on time. Kashlinskaya forced the exchange of queen’s, went into a totally winning endgame, and then this occurred. White’s position is won very easily with 49.Rd-d5, defending everything, and Alina was about to play this move but changed her mind and chose 49.Rb7? a blunder that cost her the win. Humpy exchanged rooks and played 50…Nc5, picking up the pawn on b7, and a draw was agreed a few moves later. Even though she was visibly frustrated, Kashlinskaya came to the media center to give us her thoughts on what had happened. A true professional. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TeG0Zt98B4 Nurgyul Salimova 0.5–0.5 Vaishali Rameshbabu The game began as a Triangle Slav opening. With 7.b3!? (essentially a novelty in the position), Salimova sacrificed a pawn for a lead in development and control over the center. She had excellent positional compensation in the middlegame: the bishop pair and optimal squares for her pieces. However, with 29.Qe1?? she missed a tactic and after 29…Nd3! Black was already better. A few moves later Vaishali sacrificed her rook for a decisive advantage, but in acute time trouble she couldn’t find the way to win and ended up forcing a perpetual check. Salome Melia 0.5 –0.5 Harika Dronavalli The first game to cross 100 moves in the Grand Prix – a testament to the fighting spirit of the players. The game saw the Duras variation of Ruy Lopez (5.d3 + 6.c4).They followed a 2018 Tiviakov vs Ernst game for many moves, although Harika spent more time in the opening, maybe slightly surprised. With her move 14.0-0, Salome sacrificed a pawn for the attack and better development, and rightly so: her opponent’s castled king was very weak. At the key moment, however, Salome went for 27.e6?, which looks good but is not the best move (27.Qh4 keeps up the attack), and suddenly it was Black playing for the win. However, in heavy time trouble, with both players under two minutes, the game evened out and a draw was agreed after 116 moves. Check out Salome Melia’s postgame interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plOWrj94SQk Munguntuul Batkhuyag 0.5 – 0.5 Polina Shuvalova Munguntuul went for the 6.Be3 + 7.Nf3 Najdorf English attack, following the game Naiditsch vs Moussard of 2022. The fight for the d5 square was the key idea in the opening, but Shuvalova played excellently and ended up with a very comfortable position going into the middlegame, with double time on the clock. Shuvalova steadily increased her positional advantage and won a pawn in a tactical skirmish just before move number forty, profiting from Munguntuul’s time trouble. But despite Polina’s best effort, she was unable to break down her opponent’s defences, and a draw was agreed on move ninety-one. Round nine dates and pairings The ninth and final round of the fifth leg of the 2024/25 Women’s Grand Prix series will take place on Wednesday, April 23, 14:00 CET local time in Pune, India, one full hour before the usual time. These are the pairings: Vaishali Rameshbabu – Salome Melia Humpy Koneru – NurgyulSalimova Divya Deshmukh – AlinaKashlinskaya Polina Shuvalova – Zhu JinerHarika Dronavalli –
Ju Wenjun sets the pace in FIDE Women’s Events 2024–25
Fresh off her fifth world title, Ju Wenjun tops the leaderboard in the 2024–25 women’s series, setting an intense pace for her rivals The highest-placed player of FIDE Women’s Events qualifies for the FIDE Women’s Candidates Tournament 2026, if she has not qualified by any other track. Three of the eight qualifying events of the series have already been completed, and the race for the top spots is heating up. Ju Wenjun, as the reigning champion, continues to assert her authority on the circuit. Ju has amassed an impressive 86.5 ranking points (RP), holding first place on the scoreboard. She collected 48 points after winning the 2024 Women’s World Blitz Championship and 38.5 points from the shared 2-7th place in the Women’s World Rapid. Right behind Ju, Humpy Koneru sits a close second on 84 points, all earned from her victory at the 2024 Women’s World Rapid in New York. More than 20 points behind, in third place, is Tan Zhongyi. Like Ju, Tan shared 2-7th place in last year’s World Rapid in New York, which netted her 38.5 RP. Tan, a former Women’s World Champion herself, added another 25 RP after the just finished Women’s World Championship match, which she lost to Ju (6.5 vs 2.5). Photo: Michal Walusza Kateryna Lagno (pictured above), a multiple-time rapid and blitz world champion and the 2018 World Championship finalist, is currently fifth with 54.4 points—16 from a third-place finish in the Blitz and 38.5 from a shared second in the 2024 World Rapid. Further behind – on 38.5 RP – is a trio featuring former World Champion Alexandra Kosteniuk, India’s Harika Dronavali and Uzbekistan’s rising star, 16-year-old Afruza Khamdamova (pictured below). All three gained points in the Women’s World Rapid in New York last December. Photo: Michal Walusza Seventeen players remain in contention, and the standings are set to shift again with the Grand Prix series nearing its finale in Austria this May. “Every event in this series carries serious weight. This isn’t just a race to the 2026 Candidates—it’s where careers are forged, history is made, and records fall. Look at the field: it’s a clash of generations and styles, and that’s driving innovation and pushing women’s chess to new heights. FIDE’s format rewards consistency over headline wins—and sustaining that kind of form across this cycle is difficult. But that’s exactly why only the best survive it,” said Dana Reizniece, a Woman GM and Deputy Chair of the FIDE Management Board. The cycle continues with the conclusion of the Women’s Grand Prix Series in May, followed by the Women’s World Cup, the Women’s Grand Swiss, and the 2025 editions of the Rapid and Blitz World Championships. With former world champions like Alexandra Kosteniuk and Lei Tingjie still in the mix, and experienced contenders such as Harika Dronavalli and Koneru Humpy battling rising stars like Bibisara Assaubayeva and Carissa Yip, the race for the final qualifying places remains wide open. The full leaderboard can be found – here. How the points are calculated Under the official regulations approved by the FIDE Council, the final score of each player is determined by the sum of their best five tournament results in the cycle. In the event of a tie in the final rankings, the lowest-scoring event is removed in a stepwise tiebreak process. The top player in the overall standings who has not otherwise qualified earns a coveted place in the 2026 FIDE Women’s Candidates Tournament. For more information about the regulations – see here. Which events make up the 2024–25 series The FIDE Women’s Events 2025–2026 is an official ranking series that brings together the most prestigious FIDE-organized women’s tournaments across a two-year cycle. It serves both to reward consistent top-level performance and to determine qualifiers for the FIDE Women’s Candidates Tournament 2026. There are eight major tournaments which are part of these series, offering Ranking Points to the players. These are: – Women’s World Rapid Championship 2024– Women’s World Blitz Championship 2024– Women’s World Championship Match 2025 (only runner-up earns RP)– Women’s Grand Prix Series 2024–25 (final standings used)– Women’s World Cup 2025– Women’s Grand Swiss 2025– Women’s World Rapid Championship 2025– Women’s World Blitz Championship 2025
Humpy Koneru defeats Zhu Jiner, leads WGP India with two rounds to go
What a round! Excitement until the end, two decisive outcomes which have completely turned around the tournament standings, and just to top it all off—a rook and bishop vs. queen positional fortress. In a fantastic positional game, Humpy Koneru, India’s best female player in history, defeated Zhu Jiner and now leads the WGP with only two rounds to go. With games still remaining against Kashlinskaya and Salimova, it’s too early to celebrate—but she couldn’t have asked for a better situation. Meanwhile, with her crushing win over Muntunguul, Divya closed in and will have a shot for the top spot if she can to defeat Zhu Jiner in tomorrow’s game. The other three games ended in draws but not without multiple ups-and-downs. Vaishali and Alina got involved in a tactical melee in time trouble, Salimova did her best to grind down a win against a weak d-pawn without success, while Polina and Harika played a perfect 98% accuracy game. Let’s take a closer look at this afternoon’s games. Humpy Koneru 1 – 0 Zhu Jiner The ceremonial first move was performed by Mr.Harnish Raja, a prominent businessman from Pune and father of GM Harshit Raja. He played 1.c4 after Humpy indicated the move in her key game against Zhu Jiner. However, Humpy subsequently took back the pawn and opened with 1.d4! This amazing clash of styles was definitely the game of the day, and possibly even of the tournament. Trailing Zhu Jiner by half a point and playing with the white pieces, Humpy’s game plan was quite clear: solid chess, aim for a small opening advantage, and try to grind her down. Humpy was surprised in the opening: “Today she completely surprised me with the Queen’s Indian and I think I misplayed the opening with 12.Bf4 – I should have probably played 12.Rc2 and get the bishop to c1 directly.” But she pushed forward, slowly increasing her positional advantage – a totally different game than the one she played yesterday with Black. By dominating the c-file, she eventually claimed control of the c6 square and landed her knight there. Under heavy pressure, Zhu Jiner crumbled and blundered a piece in a long tactical sequence. With regard to her tournament and Grand Prix situation, Humpy didn’t want to get ahead of herself: “I just play my game and whatever happens, happens,” she said after the game. Once again, Humpy joined us in the press centre to explain her thoughts during the game. A must-watch video! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOPs3Tbz8nE Divya Deshmukh 1 – 0 Munguntuul Batkhuyag Divya scored a crushing win over Munguntuul in the quiet 4.e3 variation against the Slav. She followed up with the trendy 6.Nh4 line, aiming to get an open position with opposite-side castled kings plus the bishop pair. According to my database, Munguntuul’s 13…Rc8 (played after seven minutes of thinking time) is too slow – 13…a6 is the preferred move by GMs, with many elite games played in this line. Divya immediately launched a pawn storm on the kingside, combined with a second pawn front in the centre, pouncing on Munguntuul’s king. Things were looking very bleak for the number one female player from Mongolia at that point. Moment of the day Despite her knight being under attack, Divya went for the amazing 20.h6! sacrificing a full piece. Engines already suggest that the position is completely winning for White. Additionally, Munguntuul was running low on time, in a very difficult position to defend. There was no escape for Black – Divya played the best moves in the position, notched up the win, and joined Press Officer Michael Rahal in the media center for an interesting post-game interview, in which she discussed the main ideas of the game and speculated on tomorrow’s decisive match-up. “My score with Zhu Jiner is not that good, the last two games I have lost, but there is always time to turn it around,” Divya finished her interview on a positive note. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DIBoKzaY3Ng Vaishali Rameshbabu 0.5 – 0.5 Alina Kashlinskaya While Divya played the aggressive 6.Nh4 line in the Slav defence, her Olympic team colleague Vaishali preferred something a bit slower, albeit very solid setup, based on a quick exchange of light-squared bishops. Going into the middlegame, Vaishali started pushing on the queenside and Kashlinskaya counterattacked in the centre. For more than fifteen moves they followed a 2009 game between GM’s Ilincic and Balogh, which ended in a draw. Around move twenty, although the position was symmetrical and with total equality, Vaishali started to get into serious time-trouble. Kashlinskaya sacrificed a pawn for great compensation and approaching the time control won in her opponent’s queen in exchange for a rook, a bishop and a pawn. Although the game went on for quite a few moves, the final result was very clear as White built an unbreakable fortress. Polina Shuvalova 0.5 – 0.5 Harika Dronavalli For this important game, Harika chose the ultra-solid Petroff defence. As usual, Shuvalova came to the game with excellent opening preparation, based on a couple of 2023 GM games. With a timely positional pawn sacrifice, Harika took control over the light squares, trade of major pieces and secured a comfortable draw in an opposite-side coloured bishop ending. Nurgyul Salimova 0.5 – 0.5 Salome Melia This was a high-quality game by both players, with both clocking an impressive 97.6% accuracy. Salimova had the upper hand most of the game, basically because of a constant pressure on her opponent’s isolated d-pawn. However, despite Nurgyul’s efforts, Salome’s accurate defense forced the Bulgarian to admit the equality on the position. The game was drawn on move fifty-seven. Round eight dates and pairings The eighth round of the fifth leg of the 2024/25 Women’s Grand Prix series will take place on Tuesday, April 22, at 15:00 CET local time in Pune, India. These are the pairings: Nurgyul Salimova – Salome Melia Vaishali Rameshbabu – Alina Kashlinskaya Humpy Koneru – Zhu JinerDivya Deshmukh – Munguntuul BatkhuyagPolina Shuvalova – Harika Dronavalli More information about the event, including the
2025 Danish Championship: Jesper Thybo claims maiden title
Jesper Thybo emerged victorious at the 2025 Danish Championship, securing the gold medal with a round to spare. For many years, the coveted national title had eluded the talented 26-year-old grandmaster—he was runner-up in 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024—but in 2025, Jesper finally got the monkey off his back. The 2025 Danish Championship (Masters), a 10-player round-robin tournament with classical time control, took place from April 9–17 in Svendborg, a small town that has hosted the event for nine consecutive years. This year, the Danish Chess Union placed extra emphasis on fair play. President Poul Jacobse stressed that no player should leave with a sense of injustice. There was heightened monitoring of player movement in and out of the playing hall. Jesper Thybo seized the lead in Round 4 and remained unstoppable thereafter. He finished with five consecutive victories, scoring an impressive 8 out of 9. IM Filip Boe Olsen (pictured below, right) finished 1.5 points behind Thybo, falling just half a point short of earning a GM norm. The 2022 champion, IM Martin Haubro, completed the podium with 6/9. Final standings: 1. GM Jesper Søndergaard Thybo – 8/92. IM Filip Boe Olsen – 6½3. IM Martin Haubro – 6 4. GM Sune Berg Hansen – 55. GM Bjørn Møller Ochsner – 4½6. IM Nicolai Kistrup – 47. IM Martin Percivaldi – 3½8–9. FM Viktor Haarmark Nielsen – 38–9. IM Kim Pilgaard – 310. FM Jeppe Hald Falkesgaard – 1½ Photos: Thomas Vestergård Official website: nyheder.skak.dk/
WGP India: Zhu Jiner and Humpy face-off for the tournament
Both Zhu Jiner and Humpy won their games this afternoon and have extended their lead over the rest of the players. They will face-off in tomorrow’s seventh round, with Humpy playing White and in need of the win to overtake the Chinese GM. After five days of intense battle and many decisive outcomes, the players, arbiters and organization staff of the Women’s Grand Prix enjoyed the hospitality of Pune on their free day. The organizers chartered a bus to visit the centre of the city to visit the Dagadusheth Halwai Ganapati Temple, dedicated to the God Ganesha and the Shaniwarwada Fort Pune, with its majestic portal. The afternoon continued with a trip to one of the largest malls in Pune for souvenir hunting and refreshments. Today’s ceremonial first moves were performed on the Harika vs Divya board by Justice Mrs. Neela Gokhale, member of the Mumbai High Court, and Pankaj Patil, Deputy Commissioner of the PCMC. Adv. Shivaraj Kadam also participated in the opening game ceremony. Let’s take a closer look at this afternoon’s games. Harika Dronavalli 0.5 – 0.5 Divya Deshmukh The first game to finish between Olympic team colleagues Harika and Divya ended in relatively quick draw. In a symmetrical variation of the English opening, they followed a 2020 game between top GM’s Vladislav Artemiev and Mircea Parligras. In both of the games, White had a very slight edge due to a backward d-pawn but in exchange Black did have excellent piece coordination. After lengthy manoeuvres, and some inaccuracies by his opponent, Artemiev scored the win, but this afternoon Harika preferred to repeat the position three times and secure the draw just before move thirty. Munguntuul Batkhuyag 0-1 Humpy Koneru The number one Indian female player, Humpy Koneru, took a major step towards tournament victory by defeating Mongolia’s top women player Munguntuul Batkhuyag in a complicated variation of the Two Knights defence. “I noticed that she never plays 4.Ng5 against the Two Knights so I decided to try out this line,” explained Humpy in her post-game interview. The tricky Ulvestad variation caught Munguntuul by surprise, and she spent a lot of time in the opening. The Mongolian quickly ended up in a very bad position, with opposite-side castled kings and a massive attack for Humpy. “I knew it was a very important game for me with the black pieces, and I just wanted to try whatever I could. The position just gave to a complex opening and I was happy when I saw it over the board,” Koneru shared. Although it was a tough game, Humpy was kind enough to come to the media centre and explain her thoughts. A must-watch interview! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lU4B1_Kx9YA Zhu Jiner 1 – 0 Vaishali Rameshbabu Only a few minutes after Humpy had secured the full point, Zhu Jiner scored her own fourth win of the event, retaining the lead before tomorrow’s decisive match-up against the Indian. Zhu opened with a Sicilian Rossolimo Attack, a line that she had already tried out against Salome Melia earlier in the tournament. Well prepared with Black, Vaishali sacrificed some of her weak pawns in order to transfer all of her pieces towards her opponent’s kingside. And it definitely seemed to be working! Moment of the day With fourteen moves to go to the time control, and Black under her last minute, Vaishali blundered here with 26…Nxc2?? allowing Zhu Jiner to take back control of the board with 27.Nxd5! and eventually win decisive material, as she explained to us in her post-game interview. The correct move was 26…Rh6!, threatening mate on h2 and after 27.Nf1 Nxg2! 28.Rxg2 Bxf3 leads to a complex material imbalance which is not worse for Black. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0NOzP0IDWc&pp=0gcJCX4JAYcqIYzv Salome Melia 0 – 1 Polina Shuvalova The third decisive result of the round was Shuvalova’s second win in the tournament, this time against tailender Salome Melia. The Georgian IM opened with the Delayed Alapin variation against Shuvalova’s Sicilian defence and got quite a decent position from the opening. After installing a bishop on d6, her position seemed promising but she soon lost the advantage by playing 19.Nd4? instead of 19.c4, opening up the position for her other bishop. The rest of the game is a textbook example by Shuvalova of how to exploit a misplaced minor piece. If you want to enjoy her move by move explanations, join us in her postgame interview and improve your play! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHKgQVpuT4I Alina Kashlinskaya 0.5 – 0.5 Nurgyul Salimova Who said a draw was boring? Possibly one of the most exciting games of the tournament, it started out as a solid Petroff Defence, but immediately spiced up when Kashlinskaya opted for the 5.Nc3 variation, which generally leads to opposite-side castled king’s positions. After the opening phase, Kashlinskaya ventured upon12.Ng5 at one point and then had to drop back immediately. Not a good sign. A few moves later she launched an attack with 14.g4 but it was met with 14…g5! a not at all obvious defence by Salimova. Nonetheless, the key mistake was 21.Rg1? dropping a pawn, and leaving Kashlinskaya with a very bad ending. But the game isn’t over until it’s over. Approaching time trouble both players started to trade mistakes: at one point, Salimova’s advantage was +35.7!! But the position was a mess, king’s and queen’s all over the place – and indeed even Kashlinskaya enjoyed one specific moment in which she had a decisive advantage. In the end, the game was drawn by perpetual check on move sixty-seven, a result that probably doesn’t leave any of the two players satisfied. Round 7 dates and pairings The seventh round of the fifth leg in the 2024/25 Women’s Grand Prix series will take place on Monday, April 21, at 15:00 CET local time in Pune, India. These are the pairings: Nurgyul Salimova – Salome Melia Vaishali Rameshbabu – Alina Kashlinskaya Humpy Koneru – Zhu JinerDivya Deshmukh – Munguntuul BatkhuyagPolina Shuvalova – Harika Dronavalli More information about the event, including the regulations and details of the pairings, as well
FIDE EDU “Preparation of Teachers” online courses in French announced
The FIDE Chess in Education Commission and AIDEF are announcing an online Preparation of Teachers course in French. FIDE EDU has offered many English and Spanish courses since 2023, with help from the Confederation of Chess for America. The first French course runs online from May 16-18, 2025. Participants who pass the final exam with at least 65% will earn the FIDE School Instructor title. The implementation of French courses aimed at training teachers in schools addresses a fundamental need: ensuring equitable access to quality pedagogy in a language mastered by both trainers and learners. Chess, as a recognized educational tool, fosters the development of essential skills in children, such as concentration, logic, critical thinking, memory, autonomy, and decision-making abilities. It integrates perfectly into school curricula, complementing traditional learning and contributing to strengthening basic education. In this context, the growing interest in the French language is clear. French is the language of instruction, administration, and inter-community communication in many countries, particularly in Africa. Offering training in French thus ensures better access to educational content, a quicker assimilation of training tools, and sustainable skill development for teachers. Moreover, the French language carries values of cooperation, solidarity, and knowledge transfer that align fully with the educational goals pursued by organizations engaged in the development of chess. The International Association of Francophone Chess (AIDEF), recognized by FIDE as the representative body for Francophone chess, has set itself the mission of organizing and promoting chess in the Francophone world. This mission is particularly important in countries where chess structures are still in their infancy or in the process of being established, especially in many African nations where the youth population is large, motivated, but often faces a lack of resources and institutional frameworks. Members of AIDEF at their General Assembly during 45th Chess Olympiad in Budapest While Northern countries already benefit from established educational systems and available teaching resources, Southern countries have specific needs, both in terms of training, equipment, and logistical support. This is why the development of a structured training offer in French is a crucial lever to support the professionalization of local actors and promote the sustainable integration of chess in schools. Therefore, AIDEF aims to intensify its efforts in these regions, working closely with FIDE and national federations, so that chess becomes a true educational, empowering, and social cohesion tool for the younger generations of the Francophone world. Written by Patrick Van Hoolandt
WGP Pune: Zhu Jiner dodges a bullet and keeps the lead
Going into the rest day, one would think that the players would keep it to the vest and play cautiously – no one wants to lose a game and ponder over it too much. But almost the opposite was true! With the sole exception of the duel between friends and rivals Humpy and Harika, the other four games were heavily contested, to the point where we witnessed a fantastic positional queen sacrifice along with Vaishali’s first win. https://youtu.be/vtzRcfo5BkU For tomorrow’s free day, the organizers have planned a trip to the center of Pune for some sightseeing and souvenir hunting. Players, arbiters and media will get a chance to bond, at the same time recharging their batteries for the four final rounds, which will decide the winner of the Pune WGP. Today’s ceremonial first moves were performed on the Humpy vs Harika board. Mr. Shri Sridhar, Superintendent CID Pune opened the game for Humpy while GM Abhijit Kunte, gold winning captain of the 2024 Women’s Olympiad Team and the WGP Tournament Organizer, defended Harika’s black pieces. Let’s take a closer look at this afternoon’s games. Humpy Koneru 0.5 – 0.5 Harika Dronavalli The first game to finish this afternoon was the match between the two best Indian female players of all time, Humpy Koneru and Harika Dronavalli. According to my database, their rivalry goes way back, to 2003. Since then they have played thirty games against each other, with a very close record – 3 wins a piece and 24 draws. Humpy opened with a very solid Neo-Catalan declined, but failed to achieve any advantage in the opening. Both players completed their development comfortably and a draw was agreed on move nineteen after a threefold move repetition. It could be argued that Humpy could have played on in the final position with 19.Bxf6, weakening Harika’s castled king, but maybe going into the rest day she preferred to play it safe. Alina Kashlinskaya 0.5 – 0.5 Salome Melia Soon afterwards, Kashlinskaya and Melia, currently occupying the bottom two spots in the standings, also agreed to a draw, albeit after many more moves. The Polish number one decided to try out the solid Alapin variation against her opponent’s Sicilian Defence. However, after a few moves it already seemed that she was out of the book, spending ten minutes for 7.dxc5 and then a further thirteen minutes for 9.h3. With the queen’s off the board, it all fell down to Kashlinskaya’s endgame technique – would she be able to squeeze water from a stone in an opposite-coloured bishop with two rooks? She continued to push, and even sacrificed a pawn to get an outside passer, but Salome was able to hold the balance at all time and the engine confirmed equality. A draw was eventually agreed on move forty-one, with both players clocking-in a 98% accuracy score. Divya Deshmukh 0.5 – 0.5 Polina Shuvalova A very equal game all along. Divya prepared a twist in the exchange variation of the Queen’s Gambit that definitely caught Shuvalova off-guard. The move 8.Ng-e2, instead of the more common 8.Qf3, forced Shuvalova into the tank for more than seventeen minutes. Polina eventually found the correct defence but Divya pressed on for most of the game, working her way towards the only weakness in Shuvalova’s position – the pawn on b7. But Polina was on point today and defended accurately, simplifying into a totally drawn theoretical rook and pawn endgame. The game indeed ended in a draw, with both players performing above 98% accuracy! Vaishali Rameshbabu 1 – 0 Munguntuul Batkhuyag An important win for Vaishali, that leaves her on 50% going into the rest day. She opened the game with the Reti 1. Nf3 + 2. g3 followed by an early exchange of queens. Very solid but with hardly any aggression – Munguntuul equalised comfortably and one could even argue that Black had the upper hand. Additionally, on move twenty-five Munguntuul had twenty-five minutes left while Vaishali was already under her final ten minutes. Up to this point both players were being very accurate (around 98%), and according to the engine the position remained in balance but at the same time extremely dynamic. Vaishali finally decided to go for an attack, and the risk reaped the reward. After several inaccuracies, the Indian IM took advantage of her opponent’s final mistakes and won the game. She was also kind enough to join us in the media center to go over her game on the screen, and talk about her performance in the tournament. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSVFbtM2C00&pp=0gcJCX4JAYcqIYzv Nurgyul Salimova 0.5 – 0.5 Zhu Jiner If Zhu Jiner ends up winning this tournament, it will be largely because she saved her game today by the skin of the teeth. In a fashionable London opening, Zhu was obtained the bishop pair in exchange for a slight kingside pawn weakness. Both players made some small positional inaccuracies in the early middlegame, but eventually the position evened out, and a draw was looking to be the most likely outcome. After some more exchanges and manoeuvres, Salimova was even proposing some move repetitions, while Zhu Jiner was avoiding them at all costs: she wanted the game to carry on, probably counting on some mistakes in Salimova’s time trouble. And then this happened! Moment of the day Zhu Jiner could have just exchanged rooks and the game would have headed to a draw. But instead she played 44…Nd5? And got hit by a fabulous queen sacrifice. Salimova played 45.Qxd5! exd5 46.Rxc7 with a massive positional advantage for the material. The game eventually ended in a draw when Salimova missed a couple of wins. We were lucky to catch her leaving the playing hall and convinced her to pop into the media center and see where she had missed the win. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xx-AKwfNLH4 Round 6 dates and pairings The players will enjoy a rest day tomorrow. The sixth round of the fifth leg in the 2024/25 Women’s Grand Prix series will take place on Sunday, April 20 at
Grand finale in Chongqing: FIDE Women’s World Championship Match 2025 comes to a close
The 2025 FIDE Women’s World Championship Match concluded on April 18 with a vibrant closing ceremony held at the Multi-Function Hall of the Jinke Grand Hotel in Chongqing’s Fuling District. The event marked the end of an exciting championship between Ju Wenjun and Tan Zhongyi, and celebrated the power of chess to bring people, cities, and cultures together. The national anthem of the People’s Republic of China and the FIDE anthem were played, followed by a highlights video recapping key moments from the match. For a few minutes, attendees experienced the emotions of the match – from the first stable draw to the final one that sealed Ju’s title, and all the wins and losses in-between. It ended with a shot of the beautiful Phoenix Coronet trophy, the final highlight that showcased the prestige of the event. Attending leaders and guests included Deputy Chair of the FIDE Management Board Dana Reizniece, FIDE Treasurer Zhu Chen, Mr. Zhao Aiguo Deputy general director of China QIYUAN and Vice Chair of the CCA, Mr. Du Xueyong Deputy Director of Chongqing Administration of Sports, Mr. Liu Shizhen President of the Shanghai Board and Card Games Center, Ms Wang Yaping, Deputy Mayor of Fuling District, and Mr. Dong Yifeng, Mayor of Fuling District. The national anthem of the People’s Republic of China and the FIDE anthem were played, followed by a highlights video recapping key moments from the match. For a few minutes, attendees experienced the emotions of the match – from the first stable draw to the final one that sealed Ju’s title, and all the wins and losses in-between. It ended with a shot of the beautiful Phoenix Coronet trophy, the final highlight that showcased the prestige of the event. In speeches that followed, officials praised the organizational excellence and the level of competition. Mr Dong Yifeng, Deputy Secretary of the CPC Fuling District Committee and Mayor of the People’s Government of Fuling District, took to the stage first, noting how the event had showcased both the intellectual beauty of chess and the cooperative spirit between Shanghai and Chongqing, ending with the sentiment, “May the sport of chess flourish across continents!”. Mr Zhao Aiguo, Deputy Director of the Board and Card Games Administrative Center of the General Administration of Sports of China, took to the stage next, emphasizing the achievements of chess in China, particularly women’s chess. Chief Arbiter Sabrina de San Vicente and Deputy Chief Arbiter Zhu Jiaqi then made their way to the stage and formally announced the results: the Winner of the 2025 FIDE Women’s World Championship Match: Ju Wenjun, clinching her fifth consecutive world title. The awards presentation followed, with Dana Reizniece and Wang Yeping presenting the runner-up award to Tan Zhongyi, and Zhu Chen, Zhao Aiguo, and Du Xueyong awarding Ju Wenjun the championship Phoenix Coronet trophy, medal, and laurel crown. Remaining on stage adorned in her laurel crown, the champion herself made a speech. In her brief remarks, Ju Wenjun expressed gratitude and pride, calling this fifth title “deeply meaningful” and thanking everyone who supported the event, and specially thanked her team GM Ni Hua, Gm Maxim Matlakov, and WGM Wang Pin. To recognize outstanding contributions to the event, FIDE presented the “Outstanding Organization Award” to both the Shanghai and Chongqing organizing teams, and the “Outstanding Venue Award” to Fuling District. In a symbolic exchange, the Fuling District presented a replica of the championship trophy to FIDE. Ms Dana Reizniece then took to the stage for the final closing speech of the ceremony. The speech started off with congratulations to both the World Champion and Runner-up, thanking them for their strength and fighting spirit, and spectacular match: “Chess is usually played in silence, but the moves spoke volumes – about the strength of the players, their character and determination to show their best, to be the best. Anyone who looked at the games – and I was among them, closely following every single one – has not been disappointed. From the first move to the final handshake, Ju and Tan have captivated us all. While the title goes only to one person, both Ju and Tan have earned the world’s respect. From start to finish, this has been a championship to remember – full of surprising twists and turns, it brought us excitement, intensity and brilliance which has become part of the great history of chess. This match has been a gift to the chess world – and we are all the richer for it. Tan, Ju, thank you – for everything that you have shown in this match; for everything that you have given to chess over the years; and for the hopes and anticipation you have created about your future and the future of our beloved game!” Before officially closing the match, the speech concluded with an important message about women’s chess: “Although the match is over, it marks the beginning of a new chapter for women’s chess. My team and I have made it one of our key goals to improve women’s chess – create more events, increase prize funds and provide more support at every level, to increase the number of women players. We have been successful, but we are not done yet! Events such as this one give us the stimulus to carry on. As we do, given China’s prominent place in the chess world, we hope there will be more events and more support for this game, which, in an ever more uncertain world, enriches us all, builds bridges and opens opportunities for deeper ties and growth.” The ceremony concluded with all dignitaries jointly pressing the “closing button,” signaling the official end of the match. A powerful cultural performance, the Emei Sword Dance, brought the evening to a close, followed by a group photo session and celebratory banquet. As the curtain fell on the 2025 Women’s World Championship, what remained was not just the name of the winner, but the collective memory of a fighting match held across two great
Winners crowned at FIDE World Cadets & Youth Rapid & Blitz Chess Championship 2025 in Rhodes, Greece
The final moves have been made, bringing the FIDE World Cadets & Youth Rapid & Blitz Chess Championship 2025 in Rhodes, Greece, to a close. More than 430 boys and girls from 48 countries competed across Open and Girls categories in the U18, U16, U14, U12, U10, and U8 age groups, in both rapid and blitz formats. After five intense days and a total of 22 rounds—11 each in rapid and blitz—the winners emerged in all 24 tournaments. Medals were awarded to some of the most talented young players in the world. The closing ceremony, held at the Palace Hotel Rhodes, was attended by distinguished guests including Akis Delaportas, Vice Governor of the South Aegean Region; Ozgur Solakoglu, FIDE Technical Delegate; Maria-Anna Stefanini, member of the Greek Chess Federation; and Stamos Karabas, President of the Ippotis Chess Club, along with over 400 participants and their parents. Ksenia Norman (pictured above), the winner of both Rapid and Blitz Under 18 Girls category, shared: “The tournament is at the highest level. The hotel is nice, the judges are professional. Very high result for me, I am very proud of it. I always expect the best from myself and I strive for it… For my next tournaments, I have India Open and Uzbekistan Open… My next goal is to achieve the WIM title. My main goal is to reach 2200 – 2300, and never forget to enjoy the game.” Ergali Suleimen (pictured below), the winner of both Rapid and Blitz Under 18 Open said: “The tournament was great, organization was excellent, and a little break between rounds was great. The emotions are high-sky. The next tournament for me is the Final of Kazakhstan Championship, I will try to continue my great performance. I am now a Fide Master, so my next goal is to try to achieve IM.” Arya Aydogan, the winner of the Blitz Under 14 Girls added: “I would like to thank the organizers for a great tournament. I started the tournament with a loss, but then I pulled myself together and came out on top. My next goal is to achieve the Women’s FIDE Master title and work toward higher titles step by step. When I play chess I am really happy – if you want to play chess, enjoy it and go for success.” Final standings Blitz Under 8 Open: Netrebka, Myron (UKR) Yunker, German (FIDE) Jevglevski, Lev (EST) Under 8 Girls: Bissaliyeva, Alisha (KAZ) Trzcinska, Wiktoria (POL) Volkova, Varvara (FID) Under 10 Open: Anetov, Amirzhan (KAZ) Hoang, Tan Vinh (VIE) Nguyen, Xuan Phuong (VIE) Under 10 Girls: AFM Tran, Hoang Bao An (VIE) WCM Divi, Bijesh (IND) Kiyanna, Parihaar (IND) Under 12 Open: CM Guo, Ethan (USA) Sason, Noam (ISR) Nurakyn, Suleiman (KAZ) Under 12 Girls: WCM Yunker, Alisa Genrietta (FIDE) Gruszecka, Alicja (POL) WCM Sholpanbek, Zhansaya (KAZ) Under 14 Open: IM Dau, Khuong Duy (VIE) CM Duong, Vu Anh (VIE) Singh, Siddharth (USA) Under 14 Girls: WCM Aydogan, Arya (TUR) Tong, Thai Hoang An (VIE) WCM Ejsymont, Blanka (POL) Under 16 Open: IM Uskov, Artem (FIDE) Skembris, Simon Max (GER) Rumyantsev, Semen (FIDE) Under 16 Girls: WFM Kaliakhmet, Elnaz (KAZ) FM Lyutsinger, Iren (FIDE) WFM Khafizova, Diana (FIDE) Under 18 Open: FM Suleimen, Ergali (KAZ) FM Khripachenko, Alexander (FIDE) FM Sapenov, Daniyal (KAZ) Under 18 Girls: WFM Norman, Kseniya (FIDE) WIM Karmanova, Olga (FIDE) Nguyen, Binh Vy (VIE) Complete results: Chess-Results.com Photos: Ippotis Chess Club Rhodes Official website: wcyrb2025.com/