Belt and Road Women Open Round 1-3: Four-way lead

by Shahid Ahmed - 11/07/2019

WGM Gulrukhbegim Tokhirjonova, GM Antoaneta Stefanova, IM Batkhuyag Munguntuul and WIM Zhu Jiner are in a four-way lead having 2.5/3 at the conclusion of round 3 in Belt and Road Women International Open held in Shaoxing, China. Among the Indians, IM Soumya held GM Harika to a draw in round 3, before that she drew with former Women's World Champion GM Stefanova to a draw in round 2. WIM Pratyusha Bodda defeated IM Sara Khadem in round 3 after the latter made a tactical blunder. Pratyusha also defeated GM Lei Tingjie in round 1. WIM Rucha Pujari made a brilliant start of the tournament by defeating former Women's World Champion GM Tan Zhongyi. Photos: Misty Pine/China Intelligence Sports Network

Soumya and Pratyusha make a good start

IM Soumya Swaminathan made a good start | Photo: Misty Pine/CISN

Soumya drew with former Women's World Champion GM Antoaneta Stefanova in round 2 and she held her compatriot GM Harika Dronavalli to a draw in round 3 after Soumya thwarted Harika's all attempts to stir up trouble for her.

Round 1

WIM Rucha Pujari played the game of her life and beat GM Tan Zhongyi | Photo: Misty Pine/CISN

In Two-Knight's Defence, Rucha decided to opt for a pawn sacrifice to gain initiative.

Tan Zhongyi - Rucha Pujari, Round 1

Black played 10...h5 announcing that Black is not going to shy away from attacking

White just played 13.c4 which is a mistake. Can you find out why it is so?

What should Black do here if Black wants to continue the attack?

How should Black continue the momentum of attack after 25.Kh1

It's make it or break it time for Black. White just played 29.Bd5. Find out the best continuation for Black

GM Lei Tingjie was shocked by WIM Pratyusha Bodda | Photo: Misty Pine/CISN

Pratyusha played a very simple and solid game against Tingjie in Nimzo-Indian Defence. She capitalized on the tiny but fatal mistake made by Tingjie in the endgame and the converted it into a win with ease.

Pratyusha - Tingjie, Round 1

Black just played 13...Rae8. What should White do here?

Black played a lot of inconsequential moves, the last one being 21...Nf6. How can White create her own opportunity here?

After 24...cxb6, find the best continuation for White

Round 2

Harika had an uneventful draw against Shiqun Ni in round 2 | Photo: Misty Pine/CISN

IM Soumya Swaminathan held former Women's World Champion GM Antoaneta Stefanova to a draw in round 2 | Photo: Misty Pine/CISN

Soumya opted for Scotch Game with white pieces and looked to create opportunities against the much experienced Stefanova, she did not budge and the game eventually ended up in a draw with both sides having a lone rook each.

Round 3

IM Sara Khadem made a tactical error and lost to WIM Pratyusha Bodda | Photo: Misty Pine/CISN

In Queen's Gambit Declined, Pratyusha kept pushing and Sara made sure no damage occur, until she made a tactical error.

Pratyusha - Sara, Round 3

Sara made the mistake of playing 30...Rfd8. Find out why it is a mistake

Sara made a blunder with 34...b6. Find out the winning continuation for White

The tournament is taking place at Shoaxing city in China from 8th July and it will get over on 17th July with 14th July being the rest day. Every day one round of game is played 2 p.m. local time (11:30 a.m. IST). Total Prize fund is $119000.

Round 3 results

Bo.	No.		Name	FED	Rtg	Pts.	Result	Pts.		Name	FED	Rtg	No.
1	9	WIM	Zhu Jiner	CHN	2454	2	½ - ½	2	WGM	Tokhirjonova Gulrukhbegim	UZB	2422	12
2	13	IM	Munguntuul Batkhuyag	MGL	2412	2	½ - ½	1½	GM	Dzagnidze Nana	GEO	2511	2
3	1	GM	Kosteniuk Alexandra	RUS	2517	1½	½ - ½	1½	GM	Ushenina Anna	UKR	2448	10
4	5	GM	Harika Dronavalli	IND	2492	1½	½ - ½	1½	WGM	Soumya Swaminathan	IND	2402	15
5	7	GM	Stefanova Antoaneta	BUL	2474	1½	1 - 0	1½	WGM	Ni Shiqun	CHN	2407	14
6	17	IM	Guo Qi	CHN	2375	1½	½ - ½	1½	WGM	Girya Olga	RUS	2457	8
7	3	GM	Tan Zhongyi	CHN	2511	1	1 - 0	1½		Li Xueyi	CHN	2330	18
8	24	WGM	Fominykh Maria	RUS	2243	1	0 - 1	1	GM	Lei Tingjie	CHN	2505	4
9	21	WIM	Pratyusha Bodda	IND	2265	1	1 - 0	1	IM	Khademalsharieh Sarasadat	IRI	2481	6
10	25	WIM	Gu Tianlu	CHN	2205	1	½ - ½	1	WFM	Munkhzul Turmunkh	MGL	2386	16
11	26		Zhang Lanlin	CHN	2195	1	1 - 0	1	WIM	Pujari Rucha	IND	2268	20
12	11	GM	Batsiashvili Nino	GEO	2433	½	1 - 0	½		Du Yuxin	CHN	2015	31
13	19	WIM	Song Yuxin	CHN	2277	½	1 - 0	½		Xu Yuze	CHN	2083	28
14	27		Hu Yu A.	CHN	2095	½	½ - ½	½		Zhang Xiao	CHN	2259	22
15	23	WFM	Li Yunshan	CHN	2254	½	1 - 0	½		Zhou Yafei	CHN	1720	34
16	32		Zhang Yuxuan	CHN	1987	0	0 - 1	0		Yan Tianqi	CHN	2034	29
17	33		Peng Tianlu	CHN	1901	0	0 - 1	0		Bai Xue	CHN	2029	30

Round 4 pairings

Bo.	No.		Name	FED	Rtg	Pts.	Result	Pts.		Name	FED	Rtg	No.
1	12	WGM	Tokhirjonova Gulrukhbegim	UZB	2422	2½		2½	GM	Stefanova Antoaneta	BUL	2474	7
2	13	IM	Munguntuul Batkhuyag	MGL	2412	2½		2½	WIM	Zhu Jiner	CHN	2454	9
3	8	WGM	Girya Olga	RUS	2457	2		2	GM	Kosteniuk Alexandra	RUS	2517	1
4	2	GM	Dzagnidze Nana	GEO	2511	2		2	WGM	Soumya Swaminathan	IND	2402	15
5	10	GM	Ushenina Anna	UKR	2448	2		2	GM	Tan Zhongyi	CHN	2511	3
6	4	GM	Lei Tingjie	CHN	2505	2		2	IM	Guo Qi	CHN	2375	17
7	21	WIM	Pratyusha Bodda	IND	2265	2		2	GM	Harika Dronavalli	IND	2492	5
8	11	GM	Batsiashvili Nino	GEO	2433	1½		2		Zhang Lanlin	CHN	2195	26
9	14	WGM	Ni Shiqun	CHN	2407	1½		1½	WIM	Song Yuxin	CHN	2277	19
10	16	WFM	Munkhzul Turmunkh	MGL	2386	1½		1½	WFM	Li Yunshan	CHN	2254	23
11	18		Li Xueyi	CHN	2330	1½		1½	WIM	Gu Tianlu	CHN	2205	25
12	6	IM	Khademalsharieh Sarasadat	IRI	2481	1		1	WGM	Fominykh Maria	RUS	2243	24
13	20	WIM	Pujari Rucha	IND	2268	1		1		Hu Yu A.	CHN	2095	27
14	29		Yan Tianqi	CHN	2034	1		1		Zhang Xiao	CHN	2259	22
15	30		Bai Xue	CHN	2029	1		½		Xu Yuze	CHN	2083	28
16	31		Du Yuxin	CHN	2015	½		½		Zhou Yafei	CHN	1720	34
17	32		Zhang Yuxuan	CHN	1987	0		0		Peng Tianlu	CHN	1901	33

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