Tan Zhongyi Stuns Zhu Jiner To Boost Candidates Chances

GM Tan Zhongyi bounced back from her world championship disappointment to start the 2025 Grosslobming FIDE Women's Grand Prix with a 96-move win that hurt GM Zhu Jiner's chances of winning the series. There were also wins for GM Vaishali Rameshbabu, who smoothly outplayed IM Nurgyul Salimova in time trouble, and IM Olga Badelka, who turned the tables to win a difficult position against GM Alexandra Kosteniuk.

Round two starts on Wednesday, May 7, at 9 a.m. ET / 15:00 CEST / 6:30 p.m. IST.

The FIDE Women's Grand Prix, being played in the G'Schlössl Murtal spa hotel in south-east Austria, is the sixth and final leg of the 2024-5 series.

FIDE Women's Grand Prix 2024-5 Schedule

Each player competes in three legs, where they battle for a maximum 130 points and €18,000 ($18,900). The points are combined, with the top two players at the end of the series qualifying for the 2026 FIDE Women's Candidates Tournament that will select the next player to challenge World Champion Ju Wenjun.    

FIDE Women's Grand Prix 2024-5 Standings Before Grosslobming

Only two players competing in Grosslobming, Zhu (maximum possible score 365) and GM Anna Muzychuk (319.17) can still finish above leader GM Aleksandra Goryachkina to win the Grand Prix, but GM Tan Zhongyi (300) is in the hunt for the second Candidates spot, since she'll finish above GM Koneru Humpy if she at least shares first place.

The only way that Goryachkina, who doesn't play the final grand prix, can miss out on the Candidates is if Anna Muzychuk wins sole first place in Austria, in which case it would be enough for Zhu to take third to wrap up the second spot—and in fact win the whole series. 

It's not just about the Candidates, however, since there's also €120,000 (~$136k) in overall Grand Prix prizes on the line, with €30,000 for first down to €4,000 for tenth. 

Now let's get to the action from round one.

Grosslobming FIDE Women's Grand Prix Round 1 Results

The round one results saw Tan and Zhu swap places on the live rating list, and they also find themselves top and bottom of the very early standings.

Grosslobming FIDE Women's Grand Prix Standings After Round 1

As always in the Grand Prix events, players from the same country were paired against each other in round one, which in the case of GM sisters Anna and Mariya Muzychuk from Ukraine led to an inevitable quick draw.

A quick draw with Black was a good start for Anna, who said of her approach to the event:

It’s the last leg, the most important one, where everything will be decided, but still I think the best is just to focus on the tournament and only closer to the last round change your strategy if it’s needed, but otherwise better just to play game-by-game. 

It's the last leg, the most important one, where everything will be decided.

—Anna Muzychuk

The all-Georgian clash between IM Lela Javakhishvili and GM Nana Dzagnidze, meanwhile, never left the bounds of equality but still stretched to 76 moves and almost five hours. The game of the round, however, was the all-Chinese clash that developed into a 96-move thriller.

Zhu Jiner 0-1 Tan Zhongyi 

22-year-old Zhu has been a revelation in the Grand Prix series. Playing as a late replacement for GM Lei Tingjie, she tied for first place in both Nicosia and Pune, while Tan took second place in Shymkent and shared forth in Monaco. Tan's thoughts then switched to the world championship match, where she took the early lead only to lose five of the next six games.

So the momentum was with Zhu, but in Austria it was Tan who snatched victory in round one.

In a difficult Ruy Lopez position, with both players low on time, Zhu suddenly opted for 38.Nd6?! Bxd6 39.Rxb5!?, a drastic plan of giving up the exchange in return for a pawn.

Computers frown on the decision, though it should be noted that it almost worked! Although Tan gained a clear advantage, it was tricky to convert into a win, with multiple promising options missed until Zhu finally managed to equalize.

There would be a last twist, however, with Zhu's 87.Bf3? suddenly giving Tan a last chance to claim victory—this time she made no mistake!

That meant Tan had got off to a great start in her battle to return to the Candidates—and a potential third world championship match against Ju, while Zhu has work to do.

The remaining two games were also decisive.

Vaishali Rameshbabu 1-0 Nurgyul Salimova

Vaishali has struggled in the Grand Prix series, but got off to the perfect start in Austria. By move five of a Caro-Kann she sent Salimova into a deep think, and time trouble would ultimately play a big role. A difficult-to-defend black b-pawn was crucial, with Vaishali stating, "I don’t really know where Black went wrong."

She nevertheless pinpointed the moment 23...Rb5?!, with the rook then returning to b8, after which things escalated fast.

The other win came in the day's most chaotic game.

Olga Badelka 1-0 Alexandra Kosteniuk

How was Badelka feeling after this win? "Exhausted, stressed, and happy, of course!"

Exhausted, stressed, and happy, of course!

—Olga Badelka on beating Alexandra Kosteniuk 

 Badelka, playing as a representative of hosts Austria, confessed, "I misplayed it immediately out of the opening," and that her only plan for what followed was "keep fighting, keep fighting!"

It should be noted, however, that Badelka was almost winning on move 10, if she'd found 10.Qd2! instead of the similar 10.Qd6. What followed was Kosteniuk escaping from danger and taking over, but in time trouble the former world champion allowed a dangerous h-pawn to break free and slipped to defeat.

So it was a dramatic first day in Austria, but the action has just begun.

Round 2 Pairings

Zhu has a habit of bouncing straight back from losses, but if she's going to do it in this event she needs to take down one of her big rivals, Anna Muzychuk, with the black pieces. Tan takes on another round-one winner, Badelka.

How to watch?

The 2025 Grosslobming FIDE Women's Grand Prix is the sixth and final leg of the 2024-2025 FIDE Women's Grand Prix. The 10-player round-robin runs May 6-15 in Grosslobming, Austria. Players have 90 minutes, plus 30 minutes from move 40, with a 30-second increment per move. The top prize is €18,000 (~$20,000), with players also earning Grand Prix points. Each of the 20+ players competes in three events; the top two qualify for the 2026 FIDE Women's Candidates Tournament that decides the World Championship challenger.

Previous Coverage:

• Humpy Wins Pune Women's Grand Prix, Zhu Closes On Candidates
• Anna Muzychuk Wins Cyprus Grand Prix On Tiebreaks
• Goryachkina Wins In Monaco, Takes FIDE Women's Grand Prix Lead
• Goryachkina Wins Shymkent FIDE Women's Grand Prix
• Kashlinskaya Wins Tbilisi Grand Prix, Earns 2nd GM Norm
• FIDE Women's Grand Prix 2024-2025: All The Info