Assaubayeva and Tsolakidou triumph in first round of the Women’s Grand Prix

The first round of the first leg of the 2024/2025 Women’s Grand Prix in Tbilisi saw two victories and three draws. Two-time World Blitz Champion Bibisara Assaubayeva defeated Sara Khadem, while Stavroula Tsolakidou stunned Vaishali Rameshbabu after the Indian star misplayed in an even position

After the first round Assaubayeva and Tsolakidou lead with one point, followed by six players on half a point – Javakhishvili, Mariya and Anna Muzychuk, Kosteniuk, Kashlinskaya and Dzagnidze. Vaishali and Khadem start the Women’s Grand Prix with losses.

The games started at 3 PM sharp in the elegant ballroom of Tbilisi’s prestigious Biltmore Hotel. FIDE Secretary General Lukasz Turlej and Akaki Iashvili, Chair of the FIDE Events Commission and President of the Georgian Chess Association, made the ceremonial first move on the Georgian board.

To avoid any chances of foul play, players from the same country were paired against one another, as were the two sisters playing in the event, Anna and Mariya Muzychuk.

The game between the Muzycuk sisters was the first to finish. In a very solid line of the Berlin Defense where Anna played as White against Mariya, both sides were equal without much drama happening on the board. The game finished with a threefold repetition on move 21.

While the two sisters do play harder against one another if they meet at a later stage of the event, when paired in the first round they usually tend to draw. As they confirmed in the post-game interview, they trained and prepared together, and neither had an opening secret that she did not share with her sibling.

In another game, Alina Kashlinskaya and Alexandra Kosteniuk opted for a cautious approach. Kashlinskaya – one of the star members of the Polish Women’s Olympic team – led white pieces against former World Champion Kosteniuk. In the Semi-Slav, White was looking for her chances playing actively, but an early exchange of queens meant that the game entered calm waters.

In a rook and knight endgame, neither side wanted to gamble at the start of the event, so they decided to call it a day.

The 24-year-old player from Greece, Stavroula Tsolakidou was the first to make a break and score in Tbilisi. On the white side of the English Opening, Stavroula ended up with a pair of bishops and was making threats on the kingside, but the position was even. However, on move 25, Vaishali Rameshbabu completely misplayed.

White had more space which gave her some initiative which she was using. Instead of trying to slow White down, Vaishali helped her by exchanging her bishop for a knight on e5, after which she simply lost an exchange and was completely lost.

Even as the game progressed, Vaishali missed options to pose more trouble for White, giving Tsolakidou an easy finish.

The game between Bibisara Assaubayeva and Sarasadat Khademalsharieh (Sara Khadem) ended with White’s victory. In the Italian, both sides were not playing the most precise moves. Gradually, it was White who grabbed the initiative. Sara (playing as Black) also got into time trouble.

On move 19, Bibisara made a Greek offering to Khadem, placing her rook on f6 and creating a towering position for White with 19. Rf6!!

Despite this, Assaubayeva went on to drop the advantage in the very next move after 19…Ne7 20. a5? but not for long.

Pressure was mounting on Black’s kingside. As Khadem was short on time, Assaubayeva sensed her opportunity. Sara made a mistake giving space for Bibisara to effectively finish the game, after breaking through on the kingside.

Both 34. Nxg5 and 34. hxg5 are equally deadly for Black. Bibisara opted to capture with the knight and wrapped it up six moves later.

The longest game of the day was between the two home players, Nana Dzagnidze and Lela Javakhishvili. In the Benko Gambit, Dzagnidze got a better position as White. From the onset of the game, Nana seemed more confident – which she was showing on the board and on the clock. Gradually, Dzagnidze was building up a breakthrough in the center. However, at some point, confidence gave way to overconfidence: in a position where White was notably better, Dzagnidze made a hasty exchange which put Javakhisvili back into the game.

Dzagnidze just took on e6 with her rook, and Javakhisvili responded with 30…Bd4, hoping to ease the pressure by simplifying. White should have just proceeded by placing her rook to f1, preparing a kingside push. Instead, Nana played 31.Bxd4?! and after 31…cxd4 she made another mistake, 32.Qe4 (Rc6 was key here), after which Black managed to simplify and force a drawn rook endgame.

Clearly upset, Dzagnidze decided to push on in a slightly better position. Making such a gambit this early in the race is a big risk, but Dzagnidze felt her confidence was still there. Gradually, White inched her way ahead but missed her last chance to pose very serious problems for Black on move 53 (53. Rd5+ instead of 53. h5?). The game ended in a draw after just over five hours of play and 66 moves.

Nana Dzagnidze must be unhappy after dropping this chance. It remains to be seen if she will be able to recover in time for the second round.

Round two pairings and dates

The second round of the first tournament in the 2024/25 Women’s Grand Prix series starts on Friday, 3 PM local time in Tbilisi, Georgia.

Round 2 pairings:

Alexandra Kosteniuk – Vaishali, Rameshbabu
Sarasadat Khademalsharieh – Stavroula Tsolakidou
Lela Javakhishvili – Bibisara Assaubayeva
Mariya Muzychuk – Nana Dzagnidze Vaishali Rameshbabu
Alina Kashlinskaya – Anna Muzychuk

More information about the event, including the regulations and details of the pairings, as well as live game can be found on the official website: womengrandprix.fide.com/.

Written by Milan Dinic

Photos: Anna Shtourman