Norway Chess Women 2024 R4: Vaishali prevails Pia Cramling, increases her sole lead
R Vaishali continues her great form at Norway Chess Women 2024. She scored her second Classical win of the event. In Round 4, she defeated the legend, Pia Cramling (SWE) after the latter blundered in an equal rook endgame. Anna Muzychuk (UKR) ended her win drought in Classical chess. She seized her opportunity when Koneru Humpy blundered in a balanced rook endgame. The rematch from Women's World Championship 2023 Match between Tingjie Lei (CHN) and Wenjun Ju (CHN) ended in a draw in the Classical. However, Wenjun won the Armageddon after her opponent could not manage to score a must-win game with the white pieces. Today is a rest day. Round 5 starts tomorrow 1st June from 5 p.m. CET, 8:30 p.m. IST. Photos: Norway Chess/Stev Bonhage
Anna Muzychuk ends her win drought
R Vaishali is now at 8.5/12. She is followed by Wenjun Ju and Anna Muzychuk at 6/12 each, Tingjie Lei 5/12, Koneru Humpy and Pia Cramling at 3/12 each.
Pia - Vaishali: 1-1.5
R Vaishali (2489) faced the legend, Pia Cramling (SWE, 2449) only twice in Classical rated events. Vaishali lost the first encounter in 2018 and drew the second in 2021. A lot has changed since then. Vaishali has become a GM and she is the strongest she has ever been. She opted for the Grunfeld with the black pieces.
48.Rg8 would have kept things in balance exf5 49.Ra8 a2 50.Kf4 and the game would have ended in a draw. 48.fxe6?? gave Black an opportunity to win the game. 48...Rxe6 49.Rg5 Re5 50.Rg6+ Kc5 51.Kf4 Rd5 52.Ra6 Kb4 53.Ke4 Ra5 54.Rb6+ Kc3 and it's over.
Humpy - Anna: 0-3
The last Classical rated game Anna Muzychuk (UKR, 2505) won was in November at FIDE Grand Swiss Women 2023. Six months later, she ended her win drought in Classical chess. Humpy made a questionable choice of castling on the queenside. However, she avoided the brunt of her opponent's attack towards her king.
Which pawn should White push - d or e-pawn? Only one of them is correct and the other one leads to a loss. Humpy chose the incorrect one and paid a heavy price for it.
Tingjie - Wenjun: 1-1.5
The Classical game between Tingjie Lei (CHN, 2548) and the reigning Women's World Champion, Wenjun Ju (CHN, 2559) ended in a draw. This was the first time they faced each other since their Women's World Championship Match back in June 2023. Tingjie being in a must-win situation as she had the white pieces, went for an all-out attack on the kingside. It did not pay off and she suffered a loss.
Replay live stream
Replay Round 4 games
Round 4 results
Standings after Round 4
Round 5 pairings
Format
6 players will take part in the Tournament.
The Tournament is a double-round event with Armageddon.
The Tournament consists of 10 rounds.
Time Control
Each player will have 120 minutes on the clock with an increment of 10 seconds starting from move 41. The time control for the Armageddon game: white has 10 minutes and black has 7 minutes with an increment for both players of 1 second per move, starting from move 41.
Draw by Mutual Agreement
Players are not allowed to agree to a draw until at least 30 moves have been made by each player. This rule does not apply to Armageddon games.
Armageddon
If the classical game is drawn, an Armageddon game will be played. It shall start within 20 minutes of the conclusion of the classical game. The player with White pieces will continue with White in Armageddon. If the Armageddon game is drawn, black will win.
Points
Players will get the following points per round:
Win in the classical game: 3 points
Loss in the classical game: 0 points
Draw in the classical game & win Armageddon: 1½ points
Draw in the classical game & loss Armageddon: 1 point
Schedule
From 27th May to 7th June, every day game starts at 5 p.m. local time and 8:30 p.m. IST. Rest days are on Friday 31st May and Wednesday 5th June.
Prize money
Prize Money The total prize fund of the Tournament is 1690000 NOK. Distribution of Prize money occurs as followed:
1st - NOK 700000
2nd - NOK 350000
3rd - NOK 200000
4th - NOK 170000
5th - NOK 150000
6th - NOK 120000
Watch the tournaments live at the venue:
SR-Bank in Stavanger City.
Address: Christen Tranes Gate 35, 4007 Stavanger
All tickets are purchased directly at the venue. No pre-sale.
It is possible to reserve tickets, however, this is normally not necessary due to good capacity at the venue. Reserve your ticket by e-mailing the desired dates and names to: bjorn@norwaychess.com.
Ticket prices per day:
Adults: 200 NOK
Children: 100 NOK
Family: 400 NOK
Links
Norway Chess: Official site, facebook, twitter, instagram, youtube, linkedin
