Goryachkina Makes It 4-In-A-Row; Lagno, Tan, Stavroula Also Win

GM Aleksandra Goryachkina took a one-point lead with three rounds of the 2024 Shymkent FIDE Women's Grand Prix to go after grinding out a win against the struggling GM Elisabeth Paehtz. GM Kateryna Lagno scored a first win, against second-placed IM Bibisara Assaubayeva, allowing GM Tan Zhongyi and IM Stavroula Tsolakidou to move up to second with wins over IM Batkhuyag Munguntuul and GM Koneru Humpy respectively. 

Round six will start on Wednesday, November 6, at 5 a.m. ET / 11:00 CET / 3:30 p.m. IST.

Round 6 Results

Those results saw Goryachkina increase her lead to a full point with just three rounds to go.

Standings After Round 6

There was an air of inevitability about the result of Goryachkina, unbeaten and on a run of three wins in a row, vs. Paehtz, three losses in five games, but an opposite-colored bishop endgame remained drawish until 48.e3?, a move that only cost a tempo and improved the position of the white bishop. There was no way back.

That fourth win in a row makes Goryachkina a big favorite to win the event, especially since she now faces the two lowest-rated players in her final three games. 

It's not just that Goryachkina maintained her sole lead, but that she increased it, since the only player within half a point, Assaubayeva, was put to the sword by Lagno, who picked up her first win after taking complete control in an offbeat Sicilian.

The maneuvering phase ended when Assaubayeva picked up a pawn on the queenside, only to find herself helpless on the other side of the board.

That allowed two players to leapfrog Assaubayeva into second place—Tan and Tsolakidou. Munguntuul had scored 2/2 with the black pieces, each time in the Caro-Kann, but Tan dodged that by choosing 1.d4 and went on to grind out a 66-move win.

Munguntuul could still have defended with 55...Re1, but down to just five minutes on her clock she went for 55...Ne3?, and allowed her opponent to win a crucial pawn. When a piece later fell it was game over.

While that game was messy, Tsolakidou's win over Humpy was beautiful, with the Greek star making light of a finish that will see her face four 2500-players in a row: "I’m very motivated as usual and I really like playing 2500s—I feel like it gives me an extra motivation to try to play even better. I’m excited for the next games."

Against the Indian women's number-one she correctly grabbed a pawn on e4, even though it entailed an exchange sacrifice. She explained:

"I had maybe easier moves and her pieces weren’t that coordinated, but it didn’t seem that clear to me. I just feel like she should have played a bit more energetically, somehow get her knight to e4."

The day's one draw was a well-played 52-move clash between IMs Divya Deshmukh and Nurgyul Salimova. 

In round seven, Munguntuul stands in the way of Goryachkina and a fifth win in a row, while Tsolakidou vs. Lagno will be a big test for Tsolakidou and her hopes of winning the event.

Round 7 Pairings

How to watch?

The 2024 Shymkent FIDE Women's Grand Prix is the second of six legs of the 2024-2025 FIDE Women's Grand Prix. The 10-player round-robin runs October 30-November 8 in Shymkent, Kazakhstan. Players have 90 minutes, plus 30 minutes from move 40, with a 30-second increment per move. The top prize is €18,000 (~$20,000), with players also earning Grand Prix points. Each of the 20 players competes in three events; the top two qualify for the 2026 FIDE Women's Candidates Tournament that decides the World Championship challenger.

Previous Coverage:

• Round 5: Goryachkina's Hat Trick Gives Her Sole Lead; Divya Scores 1st Win
• Round 4: Humpy, Goryachkina Win Again To Catch Tan Zhongyi In Lead
• Round 3: Tan Zhongyi Takes Sole Lead; Humpy, Goryachkina Also Grab Wins
• Round 2: 17-Move Disaster For Paehtz As Tan Survives Scare Vs. Humpy
• Round 1: Tan, Assaubayeva, Tsolakidou Win As 2nd Women's Grand Prix Begins
• Kashlinskaya Wins Tbilisi Grand Prix, Earns 2nd GM Norm
• FIDE Women's Grand Prix 2024-2025: All The Info