Hou Yifan Almost Home In Grand Prix
Hou Yifan maintained her one point lead with a draw in the penultimate round of the Rostov Grand Prix, for a score of 7½/10.
Hou's nearest rival Tatiana Kosintseva drew with Humpy Koneru, and she was joined in second place on 6½/10 by Kateryna Lahno who beat Anoaneta Stefanova with black.
Alexandra Kosteniuk's poor form continued as she lost to Elina Danielian, and Anna Muzychuk and Nadezhda Kosintseva split the points for a draw. Alisa Galliamova won her game with Ekaterina Kovalevskaya.
The standings after 10 rounds:
| Hou, Yifan | CHN | 2575 | 7½ |
| Lahno, Kateryna | UKR | 2536 | 6½ |
| Kosintseva, Tatiana | RUS | 2557 | 6½ |
| Muzychuk, Anna | SLO | 2538 | 6 |
| Kosintseva, Nadezhda | RUS | 2560 | 5½ |
| Koneru, Humpy | IND | 2614 | 5 |
| Stefanova, Antoaneta | BUL | 2524 | 4½ |
| Danielian, Elina | ARM | 2521 | 4½ |
| Galliamova, Alisa | RUS | 2492 | 4½ |
| Ruan, Lufei | CHN | 2479 | 4 |
| Kosteniuk, Alexandra | RUS | 2497 | 3 |
| Kovalevskaya, Ekaterina | RUS | 2427 | 2½ |
Hou Yifan either offers a prayer or spots a loose light fitting before her game
Tatiana Kosintseva (right) drew with Humpy Koneru to stay one point behind Hou
Wearing flowers in her hair didn't save Stefanova from defeat by Lahno
Kostenuik lost an exciting struggle with Danielian
A smiling Anna Muzychuk before her game with Nadezhda Kosintseva
Alisa Galliamova won her game with Ekaterina Kovalevskaya
The final round games start three hours earlier, at 12:00 local time. Live coverage is available at the official website at this link.
The winner of each of the six Grand Prix tournaments in the series will win 6,500 euros out of a prize fund of 40,000 euros, and the overall winner will win a further 15,000 euros.
The regulations for the 2011/12 Grand Prix can be found here.
Pictures from the official website.
