FIDE Grand Prix tournament in Nicosia ended in victory for Anna Muzychuk (pics & video)

On the evening of 24 March, the fourth stage of the International Chess Federation (FIDE) Women's Grand Prix ended at the Hilton Hotel in the capital of Cyprus.

Former world champion in Rapid and Blitz Anna Muzychuk (Ukraine) took first place in the tournament with a prize fund of €80,000. FIDE Director General Emil Sutovsky expressed confidence that Cyprus will continue to host world-class chess competitions.

Andrey Avsitidiysky spke to Muzychuk after the win:

It wasn't clear until the last move

Anna, when did you feel you could win in Nicosia?

Such thoughts appeared after three consecutive victories in the third, fourth and fifth rounds. However, everything was completely unclear until the last move of the final round. Zhu Jiner could have been ahead of me if she had beaten Nana Dzagnidze. In addition, the outcome of the game Olga Badelka - Stavroula Tsolakidou influenced the additional indicators. In the end, everything turned out in the best way for me.

Which of your games in this tournament would you call key?

In terms of quality I would single out the game with Stavroula Tsolakidou - it was a difficult game starting from the opening with the sacrifice of a pawn for initiative. And the most important was the game with Elisabeth Paehtz in the penultimate round. After losing to Olga Badelka I had to win. It was the only way to continue the fight for first place. At first I was doing well, then I lost the thread of the game and wasted a lot of time. It seemed that it was going to a draw, but my opponent underestimated one idea, after which she got a difficult position, which she could not defend.

How do you assess your chances of getting one of the two tickets to the candidates tournament at the end of all six Grand Prix tournaments?

There are still two more stages ahead. I have already taken part in two events of the cycle, so I can only play in one of the two remaining tournaments. After the victory in Nicosia, my chances have certainly increased. Everything will depend on how my opponents perform in India and how I play in Austria.

Anna Muzychuk

“I have been to Greece many times, but this was my first time in Cyprus. I like Greek food: Greek salad and sweets”

Cyprus may host the World Team Championships

FIDE CEO Emil Sutovsky recalled that until 2023, when the final round of the Women's Grand Prix was held in Nicosia, Cyprus was not at the forefront of world chess. The limited budget of the local chess federation did not allow world-class tournaments to be held in the country.

“What's changed? Probably Freedom and I have found each other. When Timur Turlov [CEO of Freedom Holding Corp. and head of the Kazakhstan Chess Federation] and I started discussing options for cooperation, it turned out that we liked the idea of holding competitions in Cyprus,” Emil said.

FIDE is interested in seeing new places appear on the world chess map. In addition, there is a programme of assistance for small countries, including tournaments, seminars and lectures. The 15th world champion Vishy Anand has already travelled to Cyprus twice. The chess legend gave simultaneous play sessions for children and teenagers.

“It seems to me that this cooperation will continue. The most difficult thing is the first and second time: the first time there is something new, the second has to consolidate the tradition. At the end of the year we will be discussing the 2026 chess calendar. Perhaps Cyprus will host the World Team Championship,” said the FIDE CEO.

Tournament highlight

In the seventh round in the game between Olga Badelka and Anna Muzychuk, the tournament leader made a move 14...Ne4, intending to exchange knights after 15. cd Nxd2. However, the 22-year-old native of Mogilev, who has been playing under the Austrian flag since January 2025, stunned her opponent with 16. de!!, not only not taking the knight, but also leaving her rook in the fight.

“By that time I was no longer fighting for first place, so there was no pressure on me. I saw this move at once, it is objectively good. After the answer 16... Ne4 Black got under attack, as a result of which his kingside simply collapsed. I was lucky”, said Olga.

You can view the match here

Closing ceremony

Second place in Nicosia went to Zhu Jiner of China and third place to Harika Dronavalli of India. The closing ceremony of the tournament was attended by the Chinese ambassador and High Commissioner of India to the Republic of Cyprus: Liu Yantao and Manish Manish.

Stavroula Tsolakidou turned 25 on March 24th. She was warmly congratulated on her birthday by the chief judge of the competition Takis Nikolopoulos and 6-time Cypriot champion Paris Klerides, who took the stage with his 11-year-old daughter.

Olga Milko, Director of Business Development at Freedom24, said the company was honoured to support an event of this calibre in Cyprus. According to her, investing in chess supports healthy competition

Tickets for the candidates tournament

After four stages of the Grand Prix, Aleksandra Goryachkina (FIDE) is in first place and Bibisara Assaubayeva (Kazakhstan) is in second place. Both of them will not be able to improve their results because they have played in three tournaments. Most likely, Goryachkina's reserve of strength will be enough to get into the Candidates' Tournament. The fight for the second ticket continues.

(Photos by Hellen Smith)