Pune Grand Prix Chess: Vaishali Sole Winner of The Day

The FIDE Women's Grand Prix in Pune witnessed a quiet fifth round yesterday, but India's Grandmaster R Vaishali registered her first win of the tournament, defeating Mongolia's Batkhuyag Munguntuul.

Vaishali, who had drawn her  previous games, moved to 2.5 points out of 5, placing her in the top five on the leaderboard. She was the sole winner of the day as the games saw a plethora of draws.

Meanwhile, the all-Indian clash between Koneru Humpy and Dronavalli Harika ended in a quick draw after just 19 moves. Both players opted for a cautious approach, preserving their positions in the standings. Humpy, with 3.5 points, remains tied for second place alongside Divya Deshmukh, who also drew her game against Polina Shuvalova. Harika, with 3 points, is still in contention as the tournament enters its final stages.

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China's Zhu Jiner continues to lead the tournament with 4 points out of 5, maintaining a narrow half-point lead over Humpy and Divya. Jiner survived a scare against Bulgaria's Nurgyul Salimova, managing to secure a draw in a tense encounter. Salimova, who has shown flashes of brilliance, remains in the middle of the pack with 2.5 points.

The Indian players, buoyed by home support, currently occupy spots in the top five. As the tournament takes a rest day today, the focus will shift to the final four rounds from Sunday. Zhu will have White against Vaishali, while the two closest pursuers, Divya and Humpy, both have the black pieces. The advantage clearly rests with the Chinese at least tomorrow.

The Pune Grand Prix is crucial for the Women's Candidates Tournament that will decide the World Championship challenger. This is the fifth of six legs of the 2024-2025 FIDE Women's Grand Prix. The 10-player round-robin carries a top prize of €18,000 with players also earning Grand Prix points.

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