The major upset of the second round’s tiebreaks was the elimination of GM Aleksandra Goryachkina – the current holder of the Women’s World Cup trophy, which she won two years ago in Baku. She will not be returning to the playing venue tomorrow.
Although Goryachkina mounted a comeback in the second game of the classical section, her opponent, IM Meruert Kamalidenova from Kazakhstan, delivered a dominating tiebreak performance, giving her opponent absolutely no chance at all.
In the first of the two 15/10 rapid games, Goryachkina blundered a pawn in a minor piece ending, and Kamalidenova displayed excelled endgame technique to get the job done.
Forced to play for a win in the second game, Goryachkina overplayed her hand, eventually landing in a completely lost position. She was lucky to escape with a draw by perpetual check but that was not enough to prevent elimination.
Aleksandra has qualified for the Candidates Tournament already through the Women’s Grand Prix, so we shall be seeing her soon again at the highest level. Kamalidenova discussed her qualification with FIDE’s Charlize van Zyl in the media centre.
The second amazing result of the afternoon was the 2-0 score by WIM Umida Omonova, playing from Uzbekistan, against established Polish IM Alina Kashlinskaya.
In the first of two rapid games, Kashlinskaya blundered a pawn in the opening and Omonova demonstrated excellent endgame technique to convert the win, clocking in a 97% accuracy score.
The second game was going very well for Kashlinskaya, with a huge attack for a piece, but she couldn’t follow through and finally had to resign.
Once again, Omonova showcased her rapid and blitz skills – she will definitely be a force to be reckoned with in the following rounds, especially if she reaches the tiebreaks.
Former Women’s World Champion GM Anna Ushenina will also be travelling home very soon after losing an unbelievable eight-game tiebreak against IM Vantika Agrawal.
Right at the end, in the blitz games, she had a chance to take the lead.
In a winning position, with only a few seconds on her clock, Vantika played 40.Qd2-d1?? (instead of 40.Qe1) allowing her opponent to win with 40…Qxf2+ followed by 41…h3. Only nerves and game pressure can explain how Ushenina inexplicably missed this move and instead retreated her queen to b7, resigning a few moves later.
Most of the other favourites advanced to the third round, although not without suffering. 2021 winner GM Alexandra Kosteniuk was on the verge of elimination but found the way to come back and prevail in the final blitz matches against IM Padmini Rout, who proved a tough nut to crack.
Two other former Women’s World Champions will also be joining the rest of the qualifiers in the third round. GM Antoaneta Stefanova faced one of the toughest opponents of the field, GM Elina Danielian. After four very close draws in the classical and rapid, Stefanova pulled through in the second set of the rapid games, totaling a final score of 3.5-2.5.
Meanwhile, WGM Thalia Cervantes Landeiro, playing for the United States, won the first game against GM Mariya Muzychuk, forcing the former Women’s World Champion to win three consecutive games to qualify. One of the three wins was a miniature, beautifully analysed by Mariya for the spectators in the media centre.
Her sister Anna also has to defend her position as a top seed against her countrywoman from Ukraine, IM Inna Gaponenko.
After two solid draws in the classical games, Gaponenko forced a three-fold-repetition draw in the first rapid, in a position where if anyone was better it was her.
Karma struck in the second rapid, with Anna outplaying her opponent in the ending.
GM Kateryna Lagno, also had to dig deep to get through to the next round. Her opponent, FM Anastasia Avramidou, from Greece, played very well, continuously putting Lagno to the test. The final score, 4-2 for Lagno, is a testament to the strength of Avramidou.
Although very tired after the match, Lagno was kind enough to give Charlize van Zyl her thoughts in a postgame interview.
The match between China’s IM Lu Miaoyi and IM Gulrukhbegim Tokhirjonova (Uzbekistan), ended in a narrow 3.5-2.5 win for the Chinese youngster. Suffice it to say that anything could have happened in this match!
In other tiebreak interesting encounters, IM Klaudia Kulon got past WIM Priyanka K with a clear 2-0 score, the same result that China’s IM Song Yuxin inflicted on Estonia’s IM Mai Narva.
After winning the first game by means of a nice exchange sacrifice, Song took advantage of the fact that Narva couldn’t accept a draw in the second. She popped-in to the media center to analyse her game and give us her thoughts on the match-up.
Finally, playing for Poland, IM Aleksandra Maltsevskaya defeated Armenia’s IM Lilit Mkrtchian in the second game of the first rapid set, after the first game ended in a draw after a long and equal battle.
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 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 Women’s World Cup website.
