Gibraltar GP R5: Abdumalik shocks Stefanova
The fifth round of FIDE Gibraltar Women's GP also had 50% decisive results. Both Abdumalik and Mariya Muzychuk scored convincing victories against Stefanova and Bulmaga respectively to maintain their lead with 4.0/5. Paehtz was the only other victor in the round as she managed to turn things in her favor from a tumultuous position against Kashlinskaya. Lagno had a good opportunity which she did not capitalize and eventually made a draw with Anna Muzychuk. Both Paehtz and Lagno are now at 3.5/5. Round 6 starts today at 6:30 p.m. IST. Photo: John Saunders/FIDE
Abdumalik and Mariya maintain their lead
Both Zhansaya Abdumalik and Mariya Muzychuk scored emphatic victories against their opponents Antoaneta Stefanova and Irina Bulmaga to maintain their lead with 4.0/5. Elisabeth Paehtz turned things around from a difficult position against Alina Kashlinskaya and managed to score a victory to move to shared third place with Kateryna Lagno at 3.5/5
Abdumalik - Stefanova: 1-0
Stefanova loses her second consecutive game in Scotch 4...Qf6 line.
12...a4 is a blunder which traps the black queen. Find out how. Abdumalik converted her advantage with ease and won the game.
M Muzychuk - Bulmaga: 1-0
Mariya got an advantage early in the opening, later she gained and eventually converted it into a full point.
Black needed to play 19...c5 as moving the king to d7 makes it vulnerable after 20.Red1+. Now black is either forced to give up a pawn or put the king in an uncomfortable position.
Dzagnidze - Mammadzada: 0.5-0.5
Mammadzada held Dzagnidze to a solid draw. However she had a decent chance to damage her opponent's kingside.
White needed to keep everything locked on the kingside with 25.h4. Instead 25.b3 gave black the opportunity to break the kingside wide open with 25...gxh3. The game continued with 25...h4 which is also good but it did not yield the desired result for black. Black's advantage evaporated and Dzagnidze managed to escape with a draw.
Kashlinskaya - Paehtz: 0-1
Paehtz went wrong early in the opening and Kashlinskaya managed to gain the upper hand.
9...Nfd7 allows white to do some tactics and weaken black's center. Black should have played 9...Nbd7 instead.
White needed to defend the f2-pawn and prevent black from regrouping all her pieces. 30.Rf5 was played in the game which did not add anything in the position for white and allowed black to slowly make a comeback starting with 30...Rxf2. Eventually black won the game.
Gunina - Saduakassova: 1-0
Gunina exploited her opponent's IQP (Isolated queen's pawn) weakness in the endgame to convert it into a victory.
Black needed to play a bit more actively like 40...Rc2 as 40...Rd8 drops the d5-pawn immediately after 41.Qd2. Rest was just a matter of technique.
Lagno - A Muzychuk: 0.5-0.5
Lagno could have landed Anna Muzychuk in a serious trouble in the middlegame but much to her chagrin, she did not play it.
Which is the best way for white to recapture on e4?
Replay all Round 5 games
Replay the live stream
Round 5 Results
Abdumalik - Stefanova: 1-0
Mariya Muzychuk - Bulmaga: 1-0
Dzagnidze - Mammadzada: 0.5-0.5
Kashlinskaya - Paehtz: 0-1
Gunina - Saduakassova: 1-0
Lagno - Anna Muzychuk: 0.5-0.5
Schedule
Everyday game starts at 6:30 p.m. IST except the last round which will be notified later.
