Chinese Grandmasters Ju Wenjun and Hou Yifan are the joint winners of the 6th and final stage of the FIDE Women’s Grand Prix that was held in Sharjah, UAE.
In the 11th round World Champion Hou Yifan defeated Alina L’Ami to catch her compatriot Ju Wenjun, who in turn escaped with an important draw against Tatiana Kosintseva.
Batchimeg Tuvshintugs, who earlier held clear third place, lost to Harika Dronavalli and opened a way for a group of players to joint her on 6,5 points each.
Earlier in the tournament, after 9 rounds of play Hou Yifan secured an overall victory in the FIDE Women’s Grand Prix Series 2013-2014 and earned the right to play in a ten-game World Championship Match in the third quarter of 2015.
Yifan’s main rival Humpy Koneru finished on the second place overall, while Anna Muzychuk is third.
The Classic Jewelry House Lobortas awarded the winner of the Grand Prix Series with the special cup, consisting of precious elements and stones of varying size, including silver, gold and diamonds.
Round 11 results:
WGM Muminova Nafisa 2315 0 – 1 GM Zhao Xue 2508
GM Hou Yifan 2661 1 – 0 WGM L’ami Alina 2446
GM Harika Dronavalli 2521 1 – 0 WGM Batchimeg Tuvshintugs 2346
GM Koneru Humpy 2598 1 – 0 GM Danielian Elina 2490
GM Kosintseva Tatiana 2494 ½ – ½ WGM Ju Wenjun 2559
GM Ushenina Anna 2487 ½ – ½ GM Zhu Chen 2461
Final standings:
1-2. WGM Ju Wenjun 2559 CHN and GM Hou Yifan 2661 CHN – 8½
3-6. GM Harika Dronavalli 2521 IND, GM Zhao Xue 2508 CHN, GM Ushenina Anna 2487 UKR and WGM Batchimeg Tuvshintugs 2346 MGL – 6½
7. GM Koneru Humpy 2598 IND – 5½
8. GM Danielian Elina 2490 ARM – 5
9. GM Kosintseva Tatiana 2494 RUS – 4½
10. GM Zhu Chen 2461 QAT – 3½
11. WGM Muminova Nafisa 2315 UZB – 3
12. WGM L’ami Alina 2446 ROU – 1½
Photos by Maria Emelianova, courtesy of the official website
