Goryachkina and Harika join Humpy in the lead

Indian Grandmaster Humpy Koneru drew her fourth consecutive game to see her outright lead in the standings of the Fide Women’s Grand Prix in Monaco, shared with two others.

Teammate Harika Dronavalli and Russian Aleksandra Goryachkina are now level with Humpy aboard the standings after six rounds of the competition.

Humpy, had to defend a slightly worse position with the black pieces against one of her direct pursuers, Alexandra Kosteniuk. The former World Champion reached a good version of the typical isolated pawn structure, where Koneru was deprived of the usual counter-play. Yet, the Indian managed to keep everything under control and hold the draw.

This result proved beneficial to two other rivals. Goryachkina showed once again what a tough competitor she is. Playing with the black pieces against Swedish veteran Pia Cramling, she displayed great technical abilities. The Russian reached a position with a pawn majority on the queenside, and skilfully steered to the favourable exchange of queens. She methodically increased her advantage and secured the full point.

Nothing led to predict that the symmetrical opening between Harika and Mariya Muzychuk would lead to a fascinating game. The Indian found a very active plan in the centre and achieved greater piece activity. She later managed to weaken Muzychuk’s King and get a winning attack. But there is nothing more complicated at chess than winning a winning position. Harika played inaccurately and let her opponent escape in a drawish Rook ending. But in her turn, Muzychuk misplayed the defence and lost.

The victories allowed both Goryachkina and Harika catch up with Humpy in the lead. Nana Dzagnidze could have joined them in the lead with a victory of her own. She did get a space advantage from her opening against Kateryna Lagno, but in this version of the King’s Indian, Black actually obtains sufficient counter-play. The Ukrainian pushed her a-pawn to destroy the structure on the queenside, after which Dzagnidze panicked and collapsed.

The encounter between both out-of-form players Elisabeth Paehtz and Valentina Gunina  turned into a one-sided affair. The German showed very good preparation in the Caro-Kann, sacrificing a pawn for strong pressure. In a practical game, defending such difficult positions is almost impossible. Gunina failed to find the most resilient moves and lost material decisively.

In the last game to finish, Anna Muzychuk outplayed Zhao Xue on the black side of a Grunfeld. She found an ingenious way to transpose into a favourable position with Rook vs Knight and Bishop. The finale featured some nice artistic patterns, which Muzychuk skilfully combined to get the full point.

Results of round 6:
Nana Dzagnidze (Geo) – Kateryna Lagno (Rus): 0-1
Alexandra Kosteniuk (Rus) – Humpy Koneru (Ind): ½ – ½
Zhao Xue (China) – Anna Muzychuk (Ukr): 0-1
Harika Dronavalli (Ind) – Mariya Muzychuk (Ukr): 1-0
Elisabeth Paehtz (Ger) – Valentina Gunina (Rus): 1-0
Pia Cramling (Swe) – Aleksandra Goryachkina (Rus): 0-1

Standings after round 6:
1. Harika Dronavalli, Aleksandra Goryachkina and Humpy Koneru 4 points
4. Anna Muzychuk and Alexandra Kosteniuk 3,5
6. Kateryna Lagno, Nana Dzagnidze and Pia Cramling 3
10. Zhao Xue and Mariya Muzychuk 2,5
11. Elisabeth Paehtz 2
12. Valentina Gunina 1

9 December: free day
Round 7, 10 December:
Aleksandra Goryachkina (Rus) – Nana Dzagnidze (Geo)
Kateryna Lagno (Rus) – Alexandra Kosteniuk (Rus)
Humpy Koneru (Ind) – Zhao Xue (China)
Anna Muzychuk (Ukr) – Harika Dronavalli (Ind)
Mariya Muzychuk (Ukr) – Elisabeth Paehtz (Ger)
Valentina Gunina (Rus) – Pia Cramling (Swe)

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