10 February 2019

Alexandra Kosteniuk Maintains Leadership at Cairns Cup

Four rounds played in Saint Louis.

Photo: Austin Fuller
Photo: Austin Fuller

In the fourth round of the 2019 Cairns Cup in Saint Louis, Alexandra Kosteniuk (Russia) defeated Marie Sebag (France) with Black. Alexandra's teammate Valentina Gunina (Russia) outplayed Nana Dzagnidze (Georgia) also with the black pieces. 

Irina Krush (USA) bested her compatriot Anna Zatonskikh, Zhansaya Abdumalik (Kazakhstan) beat Bela Khotenashvili (Georgia), while Dronavalli Harika (India) made a draw with Elizabeth Paehtz (Germany).

Standings after Round 4:

1. Alexandra Kosteniuk - 3.5
2-3. Valentina Gunina, Irina Krush - 3
4. Zhansaya Abdumalik - 2.5
5. Dronavalli Harika - 2
6-7. Nana Dzagnidze, Anna Zatonskikh - 1.5 
8-10. Marie Sebag, Bela Khotenashvili, Elisabeth Paehtz - 1.

Round 5 pairings: 

Kosteniuk - Khotenashvili, Gunina - Sebag, Abdumalik - Krush, Zatonskikh - Dronavalli, Paehtz - Dzagnidze.   

Official website