The top duels in the fifth round of the Women's European Championship ended in draws. This allowed 15-year-old Ukrainian WCM Bozhena Piddubna (pictured) to catch the leaders with a win. Piddubna is now sharing the lead with Ulviyya Fataliyeva (Azerbaijan) and Marta Garcia (Spain). Piddubna will play black against Fataliyeva in Thursday’s sixth round. | Photos: European Chess Union
The last round of the pool stage was full of unexpected twits and turns at the World Women’s Team Championship. In the end, France and Ukraine advanced from Pool A, leaving India out of contention; in Pool B, Germany beat Bulgaria in a nerve-racking match to advance despite having started the event with three losses in a row. | Photo: Michal Walusza
Day 1 of the World Women’s Team Championship saw two rounds played in each pool. Three teams scored back-to-back wins Kazakhstan is the only squad in pool A with 4/4 match points before round 3, while the United States and China are sharing first place with perfect scores in pool B. The pool stage will run until Friday, when four teams per group will move on to the knockout stage. | Photo: Michal Walusza
Tuesday is the official start of the Women's World Cup in Bydgoszcz. The first two rounds will be played on Wednesday. 12 teams are taking part and the tournament will be played with a preliminary round in two groups, followed by a knockout system. FIDE has announced the line-ups and the draw for the groups.
FIDE World Cup first round absentees avoid punishment insidethegames.biz - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from insidethegames.biz Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.