Aleksandra Goryachkina and Nurgyul Salimova Go into Tiebreak of FIDE Women’s World Cup Final
Magnus Carlsen advanced to the FIDE World Cup Final.
The return games of the FIDE World Cup semi-final and the FIDE Women’s World Cup final finished in Baku.
In game two of the final match between Aleksandra Goryachkina and Nurgyul Salimova, the Bulgarian player got a big advantage in the middlegame as White, but could not convert it and ended up in a strong time pressure. A stubborn defence allowed the Russian to equalise and even seize the initiative. Salimova had to defend the rook vs. rook and knight ending, which she succeeded in achieving: a draw was agreed on move 118.
The opponents are to play the tiebreak on Monday, August 21.
Game two between Tan Zhongyi and Anna Muzychuk ended in a draw. Thus, the player of Ukraine won the 3rd place match with a score of 1.5-0.5.
Aleksandra Goryachkina, Nurgyul Salimova, and Anna Muzychuk have qualified for the FIDE Women’s Candidates Tournament. Since the Russian had already got a spot from the FIDE Women’s Grand Prix Series, the Regulations stipulate that her place goes to the chess player with the highest rating as of January 1, 2024.
In the Open tournament, Magnus Carlsen defeated Nijat Abasov 1.5-0.5 to advance into the World Cup final. His opponent will be determined in the duel between Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa and Fabiano Caruana, who drew both games with classical time control and will determine the stronger player over a tie-break.
Given the fact that Magnus Carlsen has voiced strong doubts about his participation in the FIDE Candidates Tournament, the other three semifinalists are very likely to participate in this event.
