Kazan FIDE Women's Grand Prix 2012
The FIDE Women's Grand Prix in Kazan takes place from 9-23 June 2012.
The Kazan Women's Grand Prix is the fourth in a series of six tournaments to determine the challenger for the 2013 Women's World Championship, against reigning champion Hou Yifan.
The tournament format is a 12-player single round-robin event. The opening round is on 10 June, and the final round is scheduled for the 22 June, with rest days on the 14th and 19th.
The winner of each of the six Grand Prix tournaments in the series will win €6,500 out of a prize fund of €40,000, and the overall winner will win a further €15,000.
The regulations for the 2011/12 Grand Prix can be found here.
The participants in the Kazan Grand Prix are:
| Name | Nat | Elo |
| Hou Yifan | CHN | 2623 |
| Anna Muzychuk | SLO | 2598 |
| Tatiana Kosintseva | RUS | 2532 |
| Nadezhda Kosintseva | RUS | 2528 |
| Antoaneta Stefanova | BUL | 2518 |
| Viktorija Cmilyte | LTU | 2508 |
| Alisa Galliamova | RUS | 2484 |
| Alexandra Kosteniuk | RUS | 2457 |
| Humpy Koneru | IND | 2589 |
| Kateryna Lahno | UKR | 2546 |
| Elina Danielian | ARM | 2484 |
| Betul Cemre Yildiz | TUR | 2333 |
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Hou Yifan won the first 2 Grand Prix events in Rostov and Shenzhen, while Zhao Xue took achieved a crushing victory in the third Grand Prix in Nalchik (Hou Yifan did not compete there).
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Hou Yifan receiving her prize in August 2011 at the Rostov Grand Prix from the FIDE president
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The current standings in the Grand Prix are:
| Player | Rostov | Shenzhen | Nalchik | Total |
| Hou Yifan | 160 | 160 | 320 | |
| Zhao Xue | 75 | 160 | 235 | |
| Ju Wenjun | 100 | 130 | 230 | |
| Anna Muzychuk | 100 | 130 | 230 | |
| Kateryna Lahno | 130 | 80 | 210 | |
| Tatiana Kosintseva | 100 | 55 | 155 | |
| Ekaterina Kovalevskaya | 20 | 20 | 100 | 140 |
| Viktorija Cmilyte | 35 | 100 | 135 | |
| Nadezhda Kosintseva | 80 | 55 | 135 | |
| Ruan Lufei | 30 | 75 | 105 | |
| Tan Zhongyi | 100 | 100 | ||
| Antoaneta Stefanova | 45 | 55 | 100 | |
| Alisa Galliamova | 65 | 30 | 95 | |
| Elina Danielian | 45 | 50 | 95 | |
| Zhu Chen | 35 | 55 | 90 | |
| Munguntuul Batkhuyag | 60 | 20 | 80 | |
| Koneru Humpy | 65 | 65 | ||
| Alexandra Kosteniuk | 10 | 10 | 20 | |
| Betul Cemre Yildiz | 10 | 10 |
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If Hou Yifan wins the overall Grand Prix, then the challenger for her world championship title will be the player who finishes second in the series.
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The Kazan Grand Prix schedule:
| Day | Date | Event |
| Day 1 | 09-Jun | Arrival & Opening Ceremony |
| Day 2 | 10-Jun | Round 1 |
| Day 3 | 11-Jun | Round 2 |
| Day 4 | 12-Jun | Round 3 |
| Day 5 | 13-Jun | Round 4 |
| Day 6 | 14-Jun | Rest Day |
| Day 7 | 15-Jun | Round 5 |
| Day 8 | 16-Jun | Round 6 |
| Day 9 | 17-Jun | Round 7 |
| Day 10 | 18-Jun | Round 8 |
| Day 11 | 19-Jun | Rest Day |
| Day 12 | 20-Jun | Round 9 |
| Day 13 | 21-Jun | Round 10 |
| Day 14 | 22-Jun | Round 11 & Closing Ceremony |
| Day 15 | 23-Jun | Departure |
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More information and coverage is available at the official website.
