The first round of the European Individual Women Chess Championship started at 4 p.m. in the Anatolian Hotel in Gaziantep. 105 players from 25 countries participate in the event. The first games appeared to be not easy ones for the favourites and the first round has already brought some surprising results. The first day became unfortunate for Georgian top women players as the second number of the starting list Nana Dzagnidze was defeated by WIM Gulnar Mammadova, as well as another top player Bela Khotenashvili who lost the game against Inna Ivakhinova.
The rating favorite Anna Muzychuk could have lost her game as well but was lucky to survive against Russian player Anastasia Savina, who got winning position but let her advantage slip away in the time trouble. Her sister Mariya Muzychuk, as well as another Ukrainian top-player Katerina Lahno, played against Mamedjarova's sisters from Azerbaijan but could not take more than 50% as well. The most of other rating favorites managed to win in the first round. |