Alexandra Kosteniuk Wins Monaco Women's Grand Prix

Alexandra Kosteniuk (Russia) won the Monaco Women's Grand Prix after a thriller of a final round. Humpy Koneru (India) is still leading the GP standings, followed by Aleksandra Goryachkina (Russia).

After six rounds, the tournament had a trio at the top: Goryachkina, Koneru and Harika Dronavalli (also from India). All three were on 4/6.

See our report on the first six rounds here.

After the rest day, which ended with a gala dinner at the Casino de Monte Carlo, Dronavalli dropped out of the lead when she drew her game with Anna Muzychuk in round seven.

Goryachkina and Koneru both won tense fights. The Russian GM, at 21 years already a world championship contender, played aggressively but faced stiff resistance from Nana Dzagnidze. However, the 32-year-old Georgian blundered her main trump on the queenside:

Koneru was actually worse in the opening, but she was OK again when China's Zhao Xue gave back her extra pawn for no good reason. Just before and after the time control both players missed several not-so-easy tactics, and eventually the Indian GM ended with an extra piece.

As Koneru drew the next day against her compatriot Harika, Goryachkina took her chances and grabbed the sole lead. She also played a compatriot but one who was lacking form in Monaco. Valentina Gunina eventually ended in last place and lost this game early in the opening:

Round nine saw five draws and one huge upset. Paehtz, who had already lost four games, managed to beat Koneru in an excellent game as the Indian GM seemed uncomfortable in the Maroczy Bind structure:

This result meant that Goryachkina, on 6.5, with her draw had increased her lead to a full point. Koneru and Harika were joint second on 5.5.

The penultimate round saw again five draws and this time Kosteniuk as the only winner. The former world champion from Russia defeated Harika and took her opponent's place in the standings, joining Koneru in second place, a point behind Goryachkina.

Harika failed to cope with Kosteniuk's excellent 21...c5 and 22...a5 moves, or perhaps the Indian played for a win herself?

Still leading by a point, Goryachkina hadn't secured victory yet as she had to play black against Koneru in the final round.

Taken by surprise in the opening, the Russian player sacrificed a pawn but didn't get enough compensation. She probably should have avoided the queen trade, as Koneru converted with excellent play in the endgame:

Koneru would have won her second straight Women's Grand Prix if not for Kosteniuk's win against Paehtz that enabled the Russian GM to catch the leaders and win on a better tiebreak—direct encounter, followed by the number of wins.

Kosteniuk, Koneru and Goryachkina shared the top three prizes, and each took home 12,333 euros.

It was a convincing victory, although Kosteniuk's fierce attacking play did contain one inaccuracy. However, the tactic that could have saved Paehtz was hard to find:

In Monaco, Kosteniuk took her third title in two weeks as she has also won both the European rapid and blitz championships right before the Grand Prix. At the closing ceremony she said: "After my ups and downs in the first half of the tournament, I had never expected to even be able to fight for first place. Only before the last round did I realize that I still had a small chance."

Monaco Women Grand Prix | Finals Standings

The tournament in Monaco was second leg in the four-tournament Grand Prix series for women, part of the 2019-2021 women's world championship cycle. It took place Dec. 2-15 at the Yacht Club de Monaco under the patronage of H.S.H. Prince Albert II. Chess has an important status in the principality, and local TV also showed its interest.

The first Grand Prix, in September in Skolkovo, was won by Koneru. Two more Grand Prix will be played:

• Mar. 1-14: Lausanne, Switzerland
• May 20-June 10: Sardinia, Italy

A total of 16 players compete in these four tournaments, but each participant plays in just three. Unlike the general FIDE Grand Prix, the women's tournaments do not transform into knockouts but are instead 12-player round-robins. The prize fund in each Grand Prix is 80,000 euros with 15,000 euros and 160 Grand Prix points for the winner.

Eventually the winner (based on the cumulative points earned in all three tournaments she plays) and the runner-up qualify to the Women's Candidates' Tournament to be held in the first half of 2021.

Grand Prix Standings

Games rounds 7-11 for replay/download:

An interview with Kosteniuk after the tournament.

Previous report:

• 3-Way Tie At Monaco Women's Grand Prix