FIDE Women’s Grand Prix Monaco – Round 4: Kateryna Lagno Takes the Lead
The Round 4 of FIDE WGP in Monaco brought high-level chess action. While four games ended in draws, Kateryna Lagno secured a brilliant victory against Elisabeth Paehtz, claiming the sole lead in the tournament.
A Special Start to the Day
The round started with a lighthearted moment when Michael Stoettinger, President of the Austrian Chess Federation, made the ceremonial first move for Lagno.
This might have brought her some luck! Tournament director Jean-Michel Rapaire also announced an exciting rest day excursion planned for February 23.
Round 4 Results:
- Aleksandra Goryachkina ½-½ Zhongyi Tan
- Humpy Koneru ½-½ Alexandra Kosteniuk
- Sarasadat Khademalsharieh ½-½ Batkhuyag Munguntuul
- Kateryna Lagno 1-0 Elisabeth Paehtz
- Bibisara Assaubayeva ½-½ Harika Dronavalli
Lagno’s Spectacular Victory
Lagno’s win was a true masterpiece. The game started slowly, with just eight moves played in the first 90 minutes. By move six, they entered an unexplored variation of the Queen’s Gambit Declined. Lagno took control early, sacrificing a pawn to disrupt Paehtz’s plans.
Paehtz made an inaccurate move (12…Nc5 instead of 12…Bxe6), which allowed Lagno to build a strong attack. A key moment came on move 19 when Paehtz missed an important defensive resource.
Instead of 19…Bg5, she played 19…e3, weakening her position. Lagno capitalized on this mistake and delivered a brilliant finish, forcing Paehtz to resign after 38 moves.
Here 27.Rd1 instead was important to insert before e4, setting up a discovery on the black queen where e4 becomes even stronger with the threat of Bxg5 (in all fairness, Black’s position was already beyond repair). 27…Qd4 was played in the game, to which White responded with 28.Rf1 and now 28…Ncd7?? was Black’s final major blunder as she incorrectly defended her f6-knight. There is a lot of tricky analysis here to look into, but instead I will leave you with the remainder of the beautiful game:
29.Bxg5 Rhf8 30.Be6 Rad8 31.Bxd7 Rxd7 32.e5 Kd8 33.Bxf6 Kc7 34.e6 Qd2 35.Kb1 Rd6 36.e7 Re8 37.Be5 Rxe7 38.Rd1 and Black resigned.
Other Game Highlights
Goryachkina vs. Tan Zhongyi
For the second day in a row, Goryachkina fought hard for nearly five hours. The game followed a Petroff Defense, leading to a slow, positional struggle. Despite time pressure, both players held firm, agreeing to a draw after 93 moves.
Humpy Koneru vs. Alexandra Kosteniuk
This Semi-Slav battle was a high-quality positional game, with both players performing at 98% accuracy. Humpy had chances to push for more but couldn’t break through, leading to a logical draw.
Khademalsharieh vs. Munguntuul
Khademalsharieh gained an early advantage in an Exchange Slav, dominating the queenside. However, she was unable to convert her strong position into a win.
Munguntuul defended well, holding on for a hard-fought draw.
Assaubayeva vs. Dronavalli
This game started with a Queen’s Gambit Declined, where Dronavalli entered a position with an isolated pawn.
A key moment came when she played 16…Kf8, a move praised by commentators. This setup secured a balanced position, and the game ended in a threefold repetition draw.
Standings After Round 4:
| Rank | Player | Rating | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GM Kateryna Lagno | 2515 | 3 |
| 2 | IM Batkhuyag Munguntuul | 2331 | 2.5 |
| 3 | GM Humpy Koneru | 2523 | 2.5 |
| 4 | IM Sarasadat Khademalsharieh | 2458 | 2.5 |
| 5 | GM Alexandra Kosteniuk | 2484 | 2 |
| 6 | GM Aleksandra Goryachkina | 2546 | 2 |
| 7 | GM Zhongyi Tan | 2561 | 1.5 |
| 8 | GM Elisabeth Paehtz | 2427 | 1 |
Round 5 pairings and dates
The fifth round of the third leg in the 2024/25 Women’s Grand Prix series starts on Friday, February 22, at 15:00 CET local time in Monte-Carlo, Monaco.
Round 5 pairings:
Harika Dronavalli – Aleksandra Goryachkina
Elisabeth Paehtz – Bibisara Assaubayeva
Batkhuyag Munguntuul – Kateryna Lagno
Alexandra Kosteniuk – Sarasadat Khademalsharieh
Zhongyi Tan – Humpy Koneru
With this victory in the Round 4 of FIDE WGP, Lagno is now the sole leader in the tournament. Stay tuned for more updates from the FIDE Women’s Grand Prix in Monaco!
Source: FIDE NEWS
Photos: Niki Riga / FIDE_chess
