Nicosia FIDE Women’s Grand Prix: Anna Muzychuk Wins On Tiebreaks

GM Anna Muzychuk has won the 2025 Nicosia FIDE Women’s Grand Prix on tiebreaks ahead of GM Zhu Jiner, though both players take 117.5 Grand Prix points and €15,500 (~$16,750) each. The last round ended in five draws, but only after IM Olga Badelka missed mate-in-seven and GM Elisabeth Paehtz took a draw by repetition in a winning position. GM Aleksandra Goryachkina tied for third, but has likely clinched a spot in the 2026 FIDE Women’s Candidates Tournament. 

Nicosia FIDE Women’s Grand Prix Round 9 Results

5 draws was no reflection on what actually happened in Round 9! Image: FIDE.

Prize money and Grand Prix points are shared among players on the same score, though the number of games with the black pieces and then the Sonnenborn-Berger tiebreaker (based not only on your results but on the results of your opponents) were used to separate the players.

Nicosia FIDE Women’s Grand Prix Final Standings

Zhu Jiner (second), Anna Muzychuk (first), Harika Dronavalli (third). Photo: FIDE.

For the first time in the event all five games were drawn, but it was an action-packed round with only a couple of exceptions. One of those saw Goryachkina play the Berlin Defense against GM Mariya Muzychuk and, for the eighth time in the tournament, steer toward a draw.

It’s likely job done for Goryachkina, who will be a spectator for the remaining two Grand Prix events. Photo: FIDE.

Her modest +1 score, which gave her a tie for third (fifth after tiebreaks), followed sole and shared first places in her first two Grand Prix events, so that she now has a commanding lead.

FIDE Women’s Grand Prix Standings After Nicosia

Goryachkina has played all three of her events, with only Anna Muzychuk, Zhu, and potentially GM Alina Kashlinskaya (if she gets to play two more events, though she’s currently only scheduled to play in India after her wildcard appearance in Tbilisi) still able to surpass her score. It’s unlikely more than one player will manage to outscore Goryachkina, however, and there are two spots in the Candidates. 

Divya Deshmukh had Elisabeth Paehtz to thank for a quick draw in the final round. Photo: FIDE.

The day’s fastest draw, meanwhile, saw Paehtz take a draw by repetition in a position she was in fact winning against IM Divya Deshmukh. A win would still have left her in last place, however, so that the motivation to fight on, potentially for hours, was likely lacking.

Tournament winner Anna Muzychuk clinched her title with a hard-fought draw with the black pieces against GM Harika Dronavalli. It capped a fine performance, featuring a hat-trick of wins and, perhaps more impressively, a bounce-back win after a single defeat.

The final game looked uncomfortable for a while, but Anna’s 22…c6! successfully liquidated to a drawn rook endgame.

Muzychuk’s final-round draw proved enough for first place. Photo: FIDE.

That draw meant a great result for Anna, but whether it would be first or second place was dependent on both of the remaining games. Zhu could have taken sole first with a win, and with some brilliantly resourceful play deep in the endgame she almost managed. GM Nana Dzagnidze was up to the defensive task, however, and matched the brilliance to hold a draw.

Zhu Jiner was extremely impressive throughout the Nicosia Grand Prix. Photo: FIDE.

An intense game looked to be winding down to a draw until Zhu unleashed 46.b5!, with the idea of going two pawns down to try and win. 

Zhu missed out on a win that would have given the 22-year-old sole first and sixth place on the live rating list, but it’s still striking that five of the world’s top-eight players are from China, including GMs Ju Wenjun and Tan Zhongyi, who start their world championship match in just over a week’s time.

China’s dominance of the women’s game is greater than ever. Image: 2700chess.

Zhu was still only the thinnest of margins away from winning the tournament on tiebreaks, since all that would have required was for Badelka (who had beaten Anna Muzychuk and lost to Zhu) to win her game against IM Stavroula Tsolakidou. Tsolakidou is no pushover, but after some brilliant attacking play Badelka had mate-in-seven on the board. She missed it, and later her winning advantage slipped away in a tricky endgame.

It was as if Olga Badelka and Stavroula Tsolakidou knew what was going to follow! Photo: FIDE.

So a fantastic round of chess ended with five draws, and Anna Muzychuk claiming first place. She commented, “The last time I shared first place was 13 years ago, so this win is indeed very special for me!” 

That’s all for the Nicosia Grand Prix, but once again there’s not long to wait until the action starts again. The penultimate event in the series, the Indian FIDE Women’s Grand Prix, starts in three weeks’ time on April 16.

How to rewatch?

The 2025 Nicosia FIDE Women’s Grand Prix was the fourth of six legs of the 2024-2025 FIDE Women’s Grand Prix. The 10-player round-robin ran March 15-24 in Nicosia, Cyprus. Players had 90 minutes, plus 30 minutes from move 40, with a 30-second increment per move. The top prize was €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.

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