Spectacular Win Gives Lagno Sole Lead

GM Kateryna Lagno said, "It’s been a long time since I played such a beautiful game" after defeating GM Elisabeth Paehtz to take the sole lead in the 2025 Monaco FIDE Women's Grand Prix on 3/4. The remaining games were drawn, with GM Aleksandra Goryachkina's 93-move squeeze against GM Tan Zhongyi coming to nothing. The nearest miss was IM Sara Khadem spoiling a +3 advantage against IM Batkhuyag Munguntuul.  

Round five starts on Saturday, February 22, at 3 a.m. ET / 15:00 CET / 1:30 p.m. IST.

Monaco FIDE Women's Grand Prix Round 4 Results

Monaco FIDE Women's Grand Prix Standings After Round 4

There were four draws in round four, with IM Bibisara Assaubayeva vs. GM Harika Dronavalli the first to finish in a 27-move draw by repetition. The Queen's Gambit Declined never threatened to spark into life, with both players perhaps in the mood for a quiet day—Assaubayeva was recovering from her marathon loss in round three, while Harika had lost her first two games.

GMs Koneru Humpy and Alexandra Kosteniuk also played out an uneventful draw by repetition, in the Semi-Slav, with the clash ending on move 36. You could also say that the Petroff in Goryachkina vs. Tan was uneventful, but Goryachkina, who had played for 94 moves the day before, kept pressing for 93 moves in round four. Tan was careful, however, and defended her fourth place on the live rating list.

The one draw that could, and perhaps should, have been a win was Khadem's clash with Munguntuul.

The Iranian-born star, now representing Spain, outplayed her opponent, won a pawn, and looked to be cruising to victory. For the second time in Monaco this year, however, she let an advantage the computer assessed as above three pawns slip away. Munguntuul jumped at the chance to become active and invade the white position.

This leaves the game of the day, and indeed the game of the tournament so far.

Lagno 1-0 Paehtz

That something out-of-the-ordinary might happen here became clear when Lagno played the novelty 5.c5!? in a Queen's Gambit Declined position where only 5.e3 or 5.Nf3 had been tried.

"I’m not sure about this move, but at least I surprised her!" said Lagno, and from here on both players burned up time to navigate the wild position that soon arose. Lagno would ultimately be helped by Paehtz needing to make huge decisions with almost no time left on her clock.

Lagno was rightfully proud afterward: 

"Just a beautiful game, and it’s been a long time since I played such a beautiful game because I have a more or less solid style, so it’s kind of a good feeling!"

Just a beautiful game!

—Kateryna Lagno

There's one more round before the rest day, with Lagno playing Black against Munguntuul in Saturday's round five.

Round 5 Pairings

How to watch?

The 2025 Monaco FIDE Women's Grand Prix is the third of six legs of the 2024-2025 FIDE Women's Grand Prix. The 10-player round-robin runs February 18-27 in Monaco. 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:

• Round 3: Kosteniuk Beats Top Seed Tan Zhongyi
• Round 2: Khadem Pounces On Blunder To Beat Harika
• Round 1: Humpy, Lagno Beat Compatriots As Monaco Grand Prix Begins
• 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