Kazakh two-time women’s world blitz chess champion Bibisara Assaubayeva, 19, won the second place after tiebreaks at the FIDE Women’s Grand Prix (WGP) in New Delhi, reported the International Chess Federation’s (FIDE) press service on April 5.
The final 11th round of the third leg of the Women’s Grand Prix cycle ended with three tournament leaders drawing their games and finishing on six points. Russia’s Aleksandra Goryachkina was awarded first place for having better tiebreaks. Zhu Jiner from China took third place.
According to the tournament regulations, all prize money and WGP points were divided equally among the players with an equal final score, meaning that Goryachkina, Assaubayeva and Zhu all got 12,333 euros (US$13,434) and 133 points each.
Commenting on the tournament results, Assaubayeva said this was one of the hardest tournaments in her life. Besides, the tournament was held during Muslim holy month of Ramadan, when healthy Muslims fast from dawn to sunset.
“Due to problems before the start of the tournament, I had to play eight games in a row without days off. This year I am fasting for the first time and, unfortunately, I got sick in the middle. However, I am happy with the results,” Assaubayeva wrote on her Instagram account.
The FIDE Women’s Grand Prix consists of four tournaments played between September 2022 and May 2023 and includes 16 women players who take part in three of the four tournaments. The fourth and decisive leg of the FIDE Women’s Grand Prix will take place in Cyprus from May 15 to May 28.
Also, Astana will host the FIDE World Chess Championship 2023 on April 7 – May 1, which is expected to reveal a new champion, as Russia’s Ian Nepomniachtchi and China’s Ding Liren will battle to seize the throne left vacant by Magnus Carlsen’s withdrawal.