2013 FIDE Women's Grand Prix: Tashkent

GM Koneru Humpy (IND 2607) took clear first place with 8.0/11 -- and I'm very happy for her (I've been following her career since 2001, seems forever!)  Her compatriot, GM Harika Dronavalli (IND 2475) finished in 4th place with 7.5/11.  IM Bela Khotenashvili continues to impress, and I've been a fan of GM Kateryna Lahno (now they're spelling it Lagno) for a long time.  Here are the final standings:

FIDE WGP Tashkent Tashkent UZB (UZB), 18-30 ix 2013															cat. X (2479)
					1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0	1	2
1.	Koneru, Humpy	g	IND	2607	*	0	½	½	1	1	1	½	1	½	1	1	8	2641
2.	Khotenashvili, Bela	m	GEO	2514	1	*	½	0	1	0	0	1	½	1	1	1	7	2577
3.	Lagno, Kateryna	g	UKR	2532	½	½	*	½	0	½	1	½	1	1	½	1	7	2575
4.	Harika, Dronavalli	g	IND	2475	½	1	½	*	0	½	0	1	1	½	1	½	6½	2543
5.	Zhao, Xue	g	CHN	2579	0	0	1	1	*	0	1	1	0	1	1	½	6½	2534
6.	Ju, Wenjun	wg	CHN	2535	0	1	½	½	1	*	½	½	½	1	0	½	6	2509
7.	Kosteniuk, Alexandra	g	RUS	2495	0	1	0	1	0	½	*	0	½	½	1	1	5½	2477
8.	Girya, Olga	wg	RUS	2439	½	0	½	0	0	½	1	*	½	½	1	1	5½	2482
9.	Danielian, Elina	g	ARM	2470	0	½	0	0	1	½	½	½	*	½	½	1	5	2443
10.	Stefanova, Antoaneta	g	BUL	2496	½	0	0	½	0	0	½	½	½	*	1	1	4½	2411
11.	Muminova, Nafisa	wg	UZB	2293	0	0	½	0	0	1	0	0	½	0	*	1	3	2320
12.	Nakhbayeva, Guliskhan	wg	KAZ	2307	0	0	0	½	½	½	0	0	0	0	0	*	1½	2185

I got the information, above, from The Week in Chess. For round by round action, results, interviews, and lots of photographs, please visit the official website.

The 12th women's world chess champion, GM Alexandra Kosteniuk, finished at 50%. Here she is looking splendiferous at the closing ceremonies:

 

GM Kosteniuk is now playing in the 63rd Russian Women's Championship in Nizhny Novgorod (Russia) (October 5 - 14, 2013), with little time to travel from place to place and rest up in between events.

I really like the photo below -- two players, including the winner GM Koneru Humpy, showed up in jeans -- she looks good in jeans.  The chess femmes, as always, range from very attractive to stunningly beautiful.  Check out GM Kateryna Lahno's red heels!  GM Antoaneta Stefanova showed a lot of leg in a dress vaguely resembling a Greek toga.  (Stefanova is scheduled to play in the 3rd Indonesia Open Chess Championship October 9 - 18, 2013 in Jakarta). I was most impressed, though, by GM Elina Danielian in her perfectly fitted and styled "little black dress."  She is looking trimmer and toned and fabulous.

So, what's next on the Women's Grand Prix agenda?

2013 play is finished.  There are three scheduled events in 2014, and in Grand Prix tournaments 3 and 4, GM Koneru Humpy and GM Hou Yifan will once again compete against each other.  Check out the events table below:

Women's Grand Prix Series 2013-2014

Monday, 01 July 2013

Each invitee selects 4 events, and her best three scores are totaled to determine the final rankings for the cycle.  The next event is Khanty Masiysk (I never spell it correctly, I think of it as Kamsky Mansky). 

FIDE Women's Grand Prix: Tashkent

Tashkent!  Brings to mind exotic open markets, the scent of spices, mysterious beauties and gorgeous fabrics.  I've never been there, but that is what the name conjures up.

This Women's Grand Prix began on September 17 and runs through October 5, 2013.  This event hosts some of the top female chessplayers in the world.  You can find lots of information and photographs at the official website. 

Here are the current standings:

Rank after round 8
Rank	SNo.		Name	Rtg	FED	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Pts	vict	SB.
1	2	GM	Koneru Humpy	2607	IND	*	0.5	0.5		1		1	0.5	1	1	1		6.5	5	24,25
2	5	GM	Dronavalli Harika	2475	IND	0.5	*	0.5	1	0.5	1		0.5			1	0.5	5.5	3	22,25
3	3	GM	Lagno Kateryna	2532	UKR	0.5	0.5	*		0.5	0.5		1	0.5	1	1		5.5	3	21,25
4	8	IM	Khotenashvili Bela	2514	GEO		0		*	0	1	1		1	0	0.5	1	4.5	4	13,50
5	11	WGM	Ju Wenjun	2535	CHN	0	0.5	0.5	1	*		1	1	0			0.5	4.5	3	17,75
6	10	WGM	Girya Olga	2439	RUS		0	0.5	0		*	0	0.5	1	1		1	4	3	12,00
7	7	GM	Zhao Xue	2579	CHN	0			0	0	1	*		1	1	0	0.5	3.5	3	10,75
8	4	GM	Stefanova Antoaneta	2496	BUL	0.5	0.5	0		0	Ѕ		*		0.5	0.5	1	3.5	1	12,50
9	6	WGM	Muminova Nafisa	2293	UZB	0		0.5	0	1	0	0		*		0.5	1	3	2	10,25
10	12	GM	Kosteniuk Alexandra	2495	RUS	0		0	1		0	0	0.5		*	0.5	1	3	2	9,25
11	1	GM	Danielian Elina	2470	ARM	0	0	0	0.5			1	0.5	0.5	0.5	*		3	1	10,50
12	9	WGM	Nakhbayeva Guliskhan	2307	KAZ		0.5		0	0.5	0	0.5	0	0	0		*	1.5	0	6,75

The Indian players are holding tight right now to the top two spots.  With three games to go, will Koneru and Dronavalli be able to hold off the competition?  They each have some tough games still to play. Dronavalli, a veteran at Women's Grand Prix events at her young age, will put up a strong fight to hold her position. It is my impression that she seems to play better when she feels her back is against the wall. Koneru is more of a puzzle.  She sometimes appears prone to nerves.  I'll be following toward the conclusion as time permits.

So, how did the women get to their current standings?  Here are round-by-round results:

Round 1 on 2013/09/18
SNo.		Name	Rtg	Res.		Name	Rtg	SNo.
1	GM	Danielian Elina	2470	½ - ½	GM	Kosteniuk Alexandra	2495	12
2	GM	Koneru Humpy	2607	1 - 0	WGM	Ju Wenjun	2535	11
3	GM	Lagno Kateryna	2532	½ - ½	WGM	Girya Olga	2439	10
4	GM	Stefanova Antoaneta	2496	1 - 0	WGM	Nakhbayeva Guliskhan	2307	9
5	GM	Dronavalli Harika	2475	1 - 0	IM	Khotenashvili Bela	2514	8
6	WGM	Muminova Nafisa	2293	0 - 1	GM	Zhao Xue	2579	7
Round 2 on 2013/09/19
SNo.		Name	Rtg	Res.		Name	Rtg	SNo.
12	GM	Kosteniuk Alexandra	2495	0 - 1	GM	Zhao Xue	2579	7
8	IM	Khotenashvili Bela	2514	1 - 0	WGM	Muminova Nafisa	2293	6
9	WGM	Nakhbayeva Guliskhan	2307	½ - ½	GM	Dronavalli Harika	2475	5
10	WGM	Girya Olga	2439	½ - ½	GM	Stefanova Antoaneta	2496	4
11	WGM	Ju Wenjun	2535	½ - ½	GM	Lagno Kateryna	2532	3
1	GM	Danielian Elina	2470	0 - 1	GM	Koneru Humpy	2607	2
Round 3 on 2013/09/20
SNo.		Name	Rtg	Res.		Name	Rtg	SNo.
2	GM	Koneru Humpy	2607	1 - 0	GM	Kosteniuk Alexandra	2495	12
3	GM	Lagno Kateryna	2532	1 - 0	GM	Danielian Elina	2470	1
4	GM	Stefanova Antoaneta	2496	0 - 1	WGM	Ju Wenjun	2535	11
5	GM	Dronavalli Harika	2475	1 - 0	WGM	Girya Olga	2439	10
6	WGM	Muminova Nafisa	2293	1 - 0	WGM	Nakhbayeva Guliskhan	2307	9
7	GM	Zhao Xue	2579	0 - 1	IM	Khotenashvili Bela	2514	8
Round 4 on 2013/09/21
SNo.		Name	Rtg	Res.		Name	Rtg	SNo.
12	GM	Kosteniuk Alexandra	2495	1 - 0	IM	Khotenashvili Bela	2514	8
9	WGM	Nakhbayeva Guliskhan	2307	½ - ½	GM	Zhao Xue	2579	7
10	WGM	Girya Olga	2439	1 - 0	WGM	Muminova Nafisa	2293	6
11	WGM	Ju Wenjun	2535	½ - ½	GM	Dronavalli Harika	2475	5
1	GM	Danielian Elina	2470	½ - ½	GM	Stefanova Antoaneta	2496	4
2	GM	Koneru Humpy	2607	½ - ½	GM	Lagno Kateryna	2532	3
Round 5 on 2013/09/23
SNo.		Name	Rtg	Res.		Name	Rtg	SNo.
3	GM	Lagno Kateryna	2532	1 - 0	GM	Kosteniuk Alexandra	2495	12
4	GM	Stefanova Antoaneta	2496	½ - ½	GM	Koneru Humpy	2607	2
5	GM	Dronavalli Harika	2475	1 - 0	GM	Danielian Elina	2470	1
6	WGM	Muminova Nafisa	2293	1 - 0	WGM	Ju Wenjun	2535	11
7	GM	Zhao Xue	2579	1 - 0	WGM	Girya Olga	2439	10
8	IM	Khotenashvili Bela	2514	1 - 0	WGM	Nakhbayeva Guliskhan	2307	9
Round 6 on 2013/09/24
SNo.		Name	Rtg	Res.		Name	Rtg	SNo.
12	GM	Kosteniuk Alexandra	2495	1 - 0	WGM	Nakhbayeva Guliskhan	2307	9
10	WGM	Girya Olga	2439	0 - 1	IM	Khotenashvili Bela	2514	8
11	WGM	Ju Wenjun	2535	1 - 0	GM	Zhao Xue	2579	7
1	GM	Danielian Elina	2470	½ - ½	WGM	Muminova Nafisa	2293	6
2	GM	Koneru Humpy	2607	½ - ½	GM	Dronavalli Harika	2475	5
3	GM	Lagno Kateryna	2532	1 - 0	GM	Stefanova Antoaneta	2496	4
Round 7 on 2013/09/25
SNo.		Name	Rtg	Res.		Name	Rtg	SNo.
4	GM	Stefanova Antoaneta	2496	½ - ½	GM	Kosteniuk Alexandra	2495	12
5	GM	Dronavalli Harika	2475	½ - ½	GM	Lagno Kateryna	2532	3
6	WGM	Muminova Nafisa	2293	0 - 1	GM	Koneru Humpy	2607	2
7	GM	Zhao Xue	2579	0 - 1	GM	Danielian Elina	2470	1
8	IM	Khotenashvili Bela	2514	0 - 1	WGM	Ju Wenjun	2535	11
9	WGM	Nakhbayeva Guliskhan	2307	0 - 1	WGM	Girya Olga	2439	10
Round 8 on 2013/09/26
SNo.		Name	Rtg	Res.		Name	Rtg	SNo.
12	GM	Kosteniuk Alexandra	2495	0 - 1	WGM	Girya Olga	2439	10
11	WGM	Ju Wenjun	2535	½ - ½	WGM	Nakhbayeva Guliskhan	2307	9
1	GM	Danielian Elina	2470	½ - ½	IM	Khotenashvili Bela	2514	8
2	GM	Koneru Humpy	2607	1 - 0	GM	Zhao Xue	2579	7
3	GM	Lagno Kateryna	2532	½ - ½	WGM	Muminova Nafisa	2293	6
4	GM	Stefanova Antoaneta	2496	½ - ½	GM	Dronavalli Harika	2475	5

Tomorrow is a rest day, play resumes on September 28th with these match-ups:

Round 9 on 2013/09/28
SNo.		Name	Rtg	Res.		Name	Rtg	SNo.
5	GM	Dronavalli Harika	2475	-	GM	Kosteniuk Alexandra	2495	12
6	WGM	Muminova Nafisa	2293	-	GM	Stefanova Antoaneta	2496	4
7	GM	Zhao Xue	2579	-	GM	Lagno Kateryna	2532	3
8	IM	Khotenashvili Bela	2514	-	GM	Koneru Humpy	2607	2
9	WGM	Nakhbayeva Guliskhan	2307	-	GM	Danielian Elina	2470	1
10	WGM	Girya Olga	2439	-	WGM	Ju Wenjun	2535	11