Women's event at the 45th Chess Olympiad

The women's event at the 45th Chess Olympiad is being held from 11 to 22 September 2024. It is contested by a record number of 183 teams, representing 181 nations. Hungary, as host nation, fields three teams. A total of 909 players participate in the open event.

General information
Dates run	11–22 September 2024
Competitors	909
Teams	183
Nations	181
Venue	SYMA Sports and Conference Centre
Location	Budapest, Hungary

Competition format and calendar

The tournament is being played in a Swiss system format. The time control for all games is 90 minutes for the first 40 moves, after which an additional 30 minutes are granted and increment of 30 seconds per move is applied from the first move. Players are permitted to offer a draw at any time. A total of 11 rounds will be played, and all teams are paired in every round.

In each round, four players from each team face four players from another team; teams are permitted one reserve player who could be substituted between rounds. The four games are played simultaneously on four boards with alternating colours, scoring 1 game point for a win and ½ game point for a draw. The scores from each game are summed together to determine which team will win the round. Winning a round is worth two match points, regardless of the game point margin, while drawing a round is worth one match point. Teams will be ranked in a table based on match points. Tie-breakers for the table are i) the Sonneborn–Berger system; ii) total game points scored; iii) the sum of the match points of the opponents, excluding the lowest one.

The event takes place from 10 to 23 September 2024. Tournament rounds will start on 11 September and will end with the final round on 22 September. All rounds begin at 15:00 CEST (UTC+2:00), except for the final round which will begin at 11:00 CEST (UTC+2:00). There will be one rest day on 17 September, after the sixth round.

All dates are CEST (UTC+2:00)

1

Round

RD

Rest day

September		11th Wed	12th Thu	13st Fri	14th Sat	15th Sun	16th Mon	17th Tue	18th Wed	19th Thu	20th Fri	21st Sat	22nd Sun
Tournament round		1	2	3	4	5	6	RD	7	8	9	10	11

Teams and players

The Women's event is being contested by a total of 909 players from 183 teams. It features only Nana Dzagnidze from the top ten players according to the FIDE rating list published in September 2024. India have the highest pre-tournament average rating of 2467, but the team is weakened due to the absence of Koneru Humpy who played in 2022. The team is lead by Harika Dronavalli and also includes Vaishali R, Divya Deshmukh, Vantika Agrawal and Tania Sachdev. Georgia, whose team won a silver medal at the previous Olympiad, are the second seeds with an average rating of 2462. The squad consists of Nana Dzagnidze, Lela Javakhishvili, Nino Batsiashvili, Bella Khotenashvili and Salome Melia. Poland is the third-seeded team with an average rating of 2422. The team is lead by Alina Kashlinskaya, who won the first leg of the FIDE Women's Grand Prix 2024–25 in Tbilisi, and also includes Monika Soćko, Aleksandra Maltsevskaya, who changed federation, Oliwia Kiołbasa, who scored the best individual performance at the previous Olympiad, and Alicja Śliwicka.

Ukraine as defending champions are severely weakened due to the absence of Anna and Mariya Muzychuk, who are both among the top-ten rated players in the world. In their absence, the team will be led by Yuliia Osmak on board one followed by former World Women's Champion Anna Ushenina, Nataliya Buksa, Inna Gaponenko and Evgeniya Doluhanova. Despite the fact that China is missing all four top players—Hou Yifan, Ju Wenjun, Tan Zhongyi and Lei Tingjie—the young team is still competitive and has the fourth highest average rating of 2416.

• 
  World no. 9 Nada Dzagnidze plays on board one for Georgia
• 
  World no. 11 Harika Dronavalli plays on board one for India
• 
  World no. 13 Alina Kashlinskaya plays on board one for Poland
• 
  World no. 12 Vaishali Rameshbabu plays on board two for India
• 
  Former Women's World Champion Alexandra Kosteniuk plays on board one for Switzerland

Rounds

Round 1

Javikhashvili vs. Rouda Essa

	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h
8									8
7									7
6									6
5									5
4									4
3									3
2									2
1									1
	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h

This is the position after 14... Bd7?? in which Javikhashvili played 15. Bxh7+!. The game continued with 15... Nxh7 16. Ng5 Nf8 17. Qxf7 Kh8 18. h5 Bb5 19. h6 g6 20. Qg7#.

The favourites were in full command in the first round, and a total of 72 teams scored 4–0 victories. Amongst the favourites, Georgia, Poland and China whitewashed their opponents. Defending champions Ukraine and the top seeds India conceded a half point after former Women's World Champion Anna Ushenina was held to a draw by Kyrzgyzstan's Alexandra Samaganova on the top board and India's Vantika Agrawal split the point with Jamaica's Raehanna Brown in a queen endgame on board three. The highest-rated player in the tournament Nana Dzagnidze did not play in this round, but her team was one of the first to finish the day with four convincing wins. Lela Javakhishvili played a 20-move miniature in the London System that ended with a checkmate (see diagram).

Round 2

Osmak vs. Martynkova

	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h
8									8
7									7
6									6
5									5
4									4
3									3
2									2
1									1
	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h

In this position, Black tactically sacrificed a piece with 22. Bxh2+!, after which the game continued with 23. Kxh2 Qe5+ 24. g3 Nxd2 and White played the losing move 25. Rb4? (25. Re1! was the only move). Osmak resigned after 34 moves in a position with two exchanges down.

There were no major upsets in the second round and a total of 41 teams scored victories in the opening two matches. Poland, China, Spain and Armenia scored their second 4–0 victories, while India, Hungary, United States, Bulgaria and France dropped a half point against Czech Republic, Ecuador, Philippines, Egypt and Luxembourg, respectively. Georgia defeated Montenegro 3–1 thanks to wins by Nana Dzagnidze, Nino Batsiashvili and Bella Khotenashvili on the first three boards, but Nikolina Koljević scored an upset win with the Black pieces over Salome Melia on the lowest board after the Georgian misplayed the position with a space-gaining pawn push.

Ukraine were one of the top-seeded teams that struggled the most in this round, but finally they managed to edge out Lithuania with a 2½–1½ scoreline. On the top board, Yuliia Osmak lost her game as White to Olena Martynkova, and Evgeniya Doluhanova drew against Gabija Šimkūnaitė on the lowest board. Martynkova fought back from a worse position to implement tactics by sacrificing a piece that led her to a winning position (see diagram). However, the Ukrainian team snatched the match victory with wins scored by Nataliya Buksa and Inna Gaponenko on the middle boards. Another close match was Kazakhstan's minimal victory over Finland in which Finnish player Lauri Bederdin beat Alua Nurman and Anastasia Nazarova drew against Bibisara Assaubayeva on board one. The biggest surprise in this round was perhaps Singapore's 2½–1½ victory over Latvia thanks to wins scored by Kay Yan Eden Pang and Kun Fang both with the Black pieces.

Round 3

Ciolacu vs. Khotenashvili

	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h
8									8
7									7
6									6
5									5
4									4
3									3
2									2
1									1
	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h

This is the position in which Black blundered with 35... Qxe2?? and subsequently resigned after 36. Qxh7+ because of the inevitable checkmate (36... Kxh7 37. Rh3+ Qh5 38. Rxh5#).

The third round saw the first upsets involving top-seeded teams. Georgia were held to a draw by Romania in a match wherein Nana Dzagnidze and Nino Batsiashvili defeated Irina Bulmaga and Carmen Voicu-Jagodzinsky on the first and third boards, respectively, to score full points for the Georgian team, but the Romanian players were victorious on the other boards. Mihaela Sandu caught Lela Javakhishvili in a mating net in the endgame, while Bella Khotenashvili blundered a mate in two against Alessia-Mihaela Ciolacu (see diagram). Poland and Greece tied with one per side. Ekaterini Pavlidou won a roller-coaster game against Aleksandra Maltsevskaya with the three queens on the board and the black king on d3, whereas the best player at the previous Olympiad Oliwia Kiołbasa beat Marina Makropoulou to score a full point for the Polish team. Neverhteless, the biggest upset in this round was perhaps Uzbekistan's victory over the host country Hungary with a 2½–1½ scoreline. Afruza Khamdamova benefited from Zsóka Gaál's blunder in a pure rook endgame to win a full point on the top board, while Umida Omonova also triumphed as Black on the third board.

Of the top-seeded teams, India, China and Ukraine did not have problems in this round. India defeated Switzerland 3–1. Alexandra Kosteniuk scored for the Swiss team against Harika Dronavalli on board one, but all other games finished in favour of the Indian players. On the second board, Vaishali Rameshbabu entered into a same-colour bishop endgame that she managed to convert due to the king's superior activity despite the material parity. Divya Deshmukh scored her third victory in the tournament by checkmating Sofiia Hryzlova with a pawn on board three.

Round 4

Krush vs. Bensdorp-De Labaca

	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h
8									8
7									7
6									6
5									5
4									4
3									3
2									2
1									1
	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h

This is the position after Black blundered with 35... Nc5?? (blocking the d-file with 35... Nd2 was equal). Krush played 36. Rd5! and won after 41 moves.

Seven teams—China, India, United States, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Mongolia—scored their fourth consecutive match victories in this round. China showed a dominant performance to sweep England 4–0 and move to a cumulative score of 15½ out of 16 from the individual boards after four rounds. Zhu Jiner, Guo Qi, Ni Shiqun and 14-year-old Lu Miaoyi all kept their perfect scores. The top-seeded Indian team cruised to a 3½–½ victory over France, while the United States defeated the Netherlands with the same scoreline. On board three, American player Irina Krush found the winning 36th move after her opponent committed a blunder in an equal position (see diagram).

Ukraine split the match points with Turkey. The games on the top boards ended peacefully, while both teams exchanged wins on the lower boards. Nataliya Buksa scored a full point with the White pieces against Kübra Öztürk on board three, but Evgeniya Doluhanova lost to 18-year-old Gulenay Aydin on board four. Uzbekistan and Mongolia edged out Bulgaria 2½–1½ in a match wherein Afruza Khamdamova scored the only win by beating former Women's World Champion Antoaneta Stefanova. Mongolia upset Spain with the same scoreline due to the victories from Batkhuyagiin Möngöntuul and Bat-Erdene Mungunzul with the White pieces. Mungunzul trapped Ana Matnadze's queen on board four, while Möngöntuul launched a crushing attack with opposite-colour bishops to beat Marta García Martín on board two. The game on the top board between Sarasadat Khademalsharieh and Törmönkhiin Mönkhzul ended in a draw, while the most entertaining game was Sabrina Vega's victory in which she repeated Nigel Short's famous king walk.

Round 5

Ilze vs. Salimova

	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h
8									8
7									7
6									6
5									5
4									4
3									3
2									2
1									1
	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h

In this position, after Salimova played 29... Kf8, White's queen is out of squares. The game continued with 30. f3 g3! 31. Bxg3 Qf7 32. Re1 Bh6 and Ilze resigned as the queen is trapped.

India, Armenia and Mongolia won their fifth consecutive matches in the fifth round. Armenia surprised China with a minimal 2½–1½ victory. Anna Sargsyan scored a full point for Armenia by beating Lu Miaoyi, Elina Danielian drew her game with Ni Shiqun, and Song Yuxin won for China against Mariam Mkrtchyan. Sargsyan sacrificed two queenside pawns and launched a decisive attack with a queen and two knights while the Black pieces were uncoordinated. The decisive game was played on the top board where Lilit Mkrtchian played precisely to pull off a win over Zhu Jiner, who pushed too hard for a win and ended up in a worse position. Mongolia narrowly defeated the United States 2½–1½ thanks to Turmunkh Munkhzul's victory over Gulrukhbegim Tokhirjonova in a rook endgame on board one.

The top-seeded Indian team triumphed over Kazakhstan with a 2½–1½ scoreline, but their win was more convincing than the result suggests. Harika Dronavalli built up a winning advantage in her game with Bibisara Assaubayeva, but gradually went down to a lost rook endgame. However, Vaishali Rameshbabu and Vantika Agrawal were already winning on their boards to turn the match result in India's favour. Spain and Bulgaria recovered from the losses in the previous round with minimal wins over Norway and Latvia, respectively. On the first board in the match between Latvia and Bulgaria, Nurgyul Salimova found a tactical opportunity to convert her advantage by trapping the opponent's queen (see diagram). In the other matches involving strong teams, Georgia edged out Uzbekistan 2½–1½, Poland beat Turkey 3–1, and Azerbaijan played a 2–2 tie with Ukraine.

Round 6

Deshmukh vs. Danielian

	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h
8									8
7									7
6									6
5									5
4									4
3									3
2									2
1									1
	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h

This is the position after Black played 15... Na5?, after which 16. Qh5! was already winning. Deshmukh, however, played 16. Rb1?! and got a winning position after 16... Bc6 (16... h5! was the only move to save the game). White won after 40 moves.

India became the sole leader after they had kept the perfect score with the minimal win over Armenia. Divya Deshmukh won the only decisive game against Elina Danielian as a result of the advantage gained in the opening (see diagram). On the other boards, Harika Dronavalli had some chances in a bishop versus knight endgame on board one and Tania Sachdev was winning on board four, but their games ended in a draw. China suffered a second consecutive loss in their match with Poland. Oliwia Kiołbasa won the only full point by defeating Guo Qi on board three. After winning nine consecutive games at the previous Olympiad, Kiołbasa moved to 4½ out of 5 games with this win. Alina Kashlinskaya also had an opening advantage against Zhu Jiner, but the Chinese neutralised it later in the game. Georgia scored a similar victory over Mongolia thanks to Salome Melia's strong endgame technique in her win against Erdenebayar Khuslen on the fourth board.

Ukraine scored a 3–1 victory against Serbia thanks to wins by Yuliia Osmak, Anna Ushenina and Inna Gaponenko on the first three boards, whereas Jovana Erić was the only one to score a full point for the Serbian team. Azerbaijan narrowly defeated Vietnam 2½–1½, and the United States triumphed over Switzerland with the same scoreline. The Americans were in trouble following Mariya Manko's one-sided victory over Anna Zatonskih on the fourth board, but Carissa Yip and Alice Lee won on boards two and three to secure the match victory. Gulrukhbegim Tokhirjonova as White held Alexandra Kosteniuk to a draw. Peru surprisingly tied with Hungary, and Australia upset Israel with a minimal victory.

See also

• Open event at the 45th Chess Olympiad

External links

• Official website
• Women's event at Chess-Results