Humpy Koneru Keeps Grand Prix Lead
All the games in the 2012 FIDE Women's Grand Prix in Ankara were drawn in round 8, leaving Humpy Koneru with a half point lead over her nearest rival Anna Muzychuk.
The Ankara Grand Prix is the final tournament of the 2011/12 Women's Grand Prix series to determine the challenger for the women's world chess championship in 2013, and appropriately Humpy Koneru and Anna Muzychuk are both vying for that prize.
If Humpy wins in Ankara, then she will be the challenger in 2013. If she doesn't then it will be Anna Muzychuk.
Tuesday is a rest day, but round eight on Wednesday will see the two rivals face each other in a crucial clash. Humpy Koneru will have the white pieces.
The standings after 8 rounds
| Name | Fed | Elo | Pts |
| Koneru, Humpy | IND | 2593 | 6½ |
| Muzychuk, Anna | SLO | 2606 | 6 |
| Zhao, Xue | CHN | 2549 | 5 |
| Ruan, Lufei | CHN | 2492 | 5 |
| Cmilyte, Viktorija | LTU | 2520 | 4½ |
| Ju, Wenjun | CHN | 2528 | 4½ |
| Munguntuul, Batkhuyag | MGL | 2434 | 4 |
| Kosintseva, Tatiana | RUS | 2524 | 4 |
| Yildiz, Betul Cemre | TUR | 2341 | 2½ |
| Stefanova, Antoaneta | BUL | 2502 | 2 |
| Ozturk, Kubra | TUR | 2294 | 2 |
| Socko, Monika | POL | 2463 | 2 |
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Humpy Koneru
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Anna Muzychuk and Antoaneta Stefanova
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Ju Wenjun and Viktorija Cmilyte
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Monika Socko and Betul Yildiz
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Ruan Lufei
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Zhao Xue
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The final round of the Ankara Grand Prix is on 28 September. Rounds start at 15:00 local time (12:00 UTC), with rest days on 20 and 25 September. Live games broadcast here.
Photos from the official website. Games via TWIC.
