Russia’s Aleksandra Goryachkina claims top spot in New Delhi leg of FIDE Women’s Grand Prix

Russia’s Aleksandra Goryachkina claimed the top spot in the controversial New Delhi leg of the FIDE Women’s Grand Prix 2022-2023 that concluded on Thursday.

The top three players were tied at six points each, but after the tie-break, the 24-year-old Aleksandra was awarded first place. Kazakhstan teenager Bibisara Assaubayeva walked away with the second spot, while China’s 20-year-old Zhu Jiner was third. The tournament was played in a round-robin format.

While Sanjay Kapoor, president of the All India Chess Federation (AICF), said it was a great honor for India to host a Women’s Grand Prix event, the organizers were shown in poor light as Kazakhstan’s GM Zhansaya Abdumalik pulled out of the tournament on arrival, citing poor arrangements for the players.

Zhansaya arrived in New Delhi on March 24 but there was no information to reach the official hotel. However, when she reached the hotel she found that the room was not ready. Upset by the situation, she pulled out of the tournament.

The New Delhi leg also saw the late withdrawal of Muzychuk sisters -- Anna and Mariya from Ukraine. It allowed India’s Vaishali and Georgia’s Nino Batsiashvili to compete in the New Delhi leg.

The Women’s Grand Prix series 2022-2023 comprises 16 players. However, the New Delhi leg saw only 11 players. The next and final leg of the Women’s Grand Prix is scheduled to be held in Cyprus from May 15-28.

The New Delhi leg was the third of the four Grand Prix events. The first was held in Astana, Kazakhstan last September, while the second was held in Munich, Germany.

Players can compete in three of the four tournaments in the series. Players with the most cumulative points in all the three Women’s Grand Prix tournaments will be declared winner at the end of the fourth leg. Two players who score the maximum points in the series will qualify for the FIDE women’s Candidates Tournament 2023-2024.

The total prize money for each of the four events is Euro 80,000. FIDE has an additional Euro 80,000 for the top eight players.