29 September 2022
Kateryna Lagno Wins WGP Leg in Astana
Aleksandra Goryachkina finished in second place.
Photo: Anna Shtourman
The first leg of the 2022-2023 FIDE Women’s Grand Prix Series has finished in Astana. FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich made the first symbolic move in the Kosteniuk - Lagno game. The encounter ended in a draw, which allowed Kateryna Lagno to become the winner of the tournament with 8 points scored. Aleksandra Goryachkina is in second place with 7.5 points: she managed to draw a tough and long game against Vaishali in the final round.
Polina Shuvalova lost to Dinara Wagner, Zhansaya Abdumalik defeated Alina Kashlinskaya, while the games Paehtz - Tan and Zhu - Assaubayeva were drawn.
Final standings:
1. Kateryna Lagno - 8 points out of 11
2. Aleksandra Goryachkina - 7.5
3. Zhu Jiner - 6.5
4. Alexandra Kosteniuk - 6
5. Zhansaya Abdumalik - 5.5
6-8. Tan Zhongyi, Vaishali Rameshbabu, Dinara Wagner - 5
9-11. Alina Kashlinskaya, Elisabeth Paehz, Bibisara Assaubayeva - 4.5
12. Polina Shuvalova - 4.
CFR President Andrey Filatov, "My congratulations to Kateryna Lagno on her confident victory in such a strong tournament. After a long break in the over-the-board practice, our chess player suffered no loss once again showing her high class and sporty character. I also congratulate the silver medallist Aleksandra Goryachkina, who was leading the race for the major part of the event and made us happy with her wins. Although Alexandra Kosteniuk had faced quite an uneasy start, she fully demonstrated her fighting qualities later on. This is the first WGP tournament for Polina Shuvalova, and I'm sure that she'll use her experience to draw necessary conclusions and come back stronger. I wish success to our chess players in their next competitions! Seizing the occasion, I would also like to congratulate your young players Artem Uskov, Roman Shogdzhiev, and Oksana Goriachkina, their parents and coaches on winning medals in the World Cadets Championship in Batumi".
The second stage of the WGP Series will take place in Munich on 1-14 February, 2023.
