Despite securing the first place in the Nalchik FIDE Grand Prix with three rounds to go, GM Zhao Xue continued with powerful display and brutally outplayed the former world champion Antoaneta Stefanova. Zhao moves to 8.5 points from nine games, while Eti suffers third loss in a row after previously connecting three straight wins.
Ekaterina Kovalevskaya beats Nadezhda Kosintseva and joins Ju Wenjun on the shared second place. Alexandra Kosteniuk celebrates second consecutive victory and escapes from the bottom of the crosstable.
Live games with computer analysis
Zhao Xue
Round 9 results:
GM Kosintseva Nadezhda 2560 0 – 1 IM Kovalevskaya Ekaterina 2421
GM Stefanova Antoaneta 2528 0 – 1 GM Zhao Xue 2497
GM Kosintseva Tatiana 2536 ½ – ½ GM Zhu Chen 2490
WGM Ju Wenjun 2536 ½ – ½ GM Lahno Kateryna 2554
GM Cmilyte Viktorija 2525 ½ – ½ IM Munguntuul Batkhuyag 2467
GM Kosteniuk Alexandra 2469 1 – 0 IM Galliamova Alisa 2498
Round 9 standings:
1. GM Zhao Xue 2497 CHN – 8½
2-3. IM Kovalevskaya Ekaterina 2421 RUS and WGM Ju Wenjun 2536 CHN – 5.0
4-7. GM Lahno Kateryna 2554 UKR, GM Kosintseva Tatiana 2536 RUS, GM Zhu Chen 2490 QAT and GM Cmilyte Viktorija 2525 LTU – 4½
8-9. GM Kosintseva Nadezhda 2560 RUS and GM Stefanova Antoaneta 2528 BUL – 4.0
10. GM Kosteniuk Alexandra 2469 RUS – 3½
11-12. IM Munguntuul Batkhuyag 2467 MGL and IM Galliamova Alisa 2498 RUS – 3.0
Round 10 pairings:
IM Kovalevskaya Ekaterina 2421 – IM Galliamova Alisa 2498
IM Munguntuul Batkhuyag 2467 – GM Kosteniuk Alexandra 2469
GM Lahno Kateryna 2554 – GM Cmilyte Viktorija 2525
GM Zhu Chen 2490 – WGM Ju Wenjun 2536
GM Zhao Xue 2497 – GM Kosintseva Tatiana 2536
GM Kosintseva Nadezhda 2560 – GM Stefanova Antoaneta 2528
Ekaterina Kovalevskaya
Ju Wenjun
Alexandra Kosteniuk
