Dzagnidze played a draw in her final match against Russia’s Natalija Pogonina today, concluding the tournament with 8.5 points.

Russia’s Aleksandra Goryachkina finished in overall second place with eight points, as she also played a draw in her final match against Elisabeth Paehtz.

The third place finisher in the competition was also from Russia, Alisa Galliamova, who finished with eight points.

The leaders were followed by another 12 chess players which concluded the tournament with 7.5 points. The top eleven of them have also qualified for the Chess World Cup.

They are (in order): Kateryna Lagno (Russia), Mariya Muzychuk (Ukraine), Monika Socko (Poland), Elina Danielian (Armenia), Elisabeth Paehtz (Germany), Marina Nechaeva (Russia), Bela Khotenashvili (Georgia), Natalia Zhukova (Ukraine), Natalija Pogonina (Russia), Hoang Thanh Trang (Hungary) and Anita Gara (Hungary).

Since only the top 14 finishers in the competition qualify for the Chess World Cup, 15th place finisher Inna Gaponenko (Ukraine) failed to qualify for the tournament, even though she too finished with 7.5 points.

Meanwhile, Latvia’s top chess player Ilze Berzina played a draw in her final match against Greece’s Ioulia Makka today, finishing with 5.5points and in 69th place.

Georgian chess player Nana Dzagnidze currently leads the field with eight points going into the final round, followed by Russia’s Aleksandra Goryachkina with 7.5 points.

In her final pairing today, Dzagnidze will play Russia’s Natalija Pogonina, who is currently in 14th place in the standings with seven points.

Goryachkina, on the other hand, will meet in a match today with Germany’s Elisabeth Paehtz who is in the sixth position right now, also with seven points.

There are currently 12 players with seven points in the standings, and following them another nine players with 6.5 points, meaning a string of decisive pairings will be played today for one of the top 14 spots up for grabs in the tournament.

Latvia’s top chess player Ilze Berzina, who is currently in 66th place in the competition with five points, will conclude the tournament today against Greece’s Ioulia Makka, who also has five points.

As reported, the European Women’s Chess Championship is taking place at Radisson Blu Hotel Latvija in Riga through April 22. The players finishing in the first 14 places at the European tournament in Riga will qualify for the Chess World Cup.

Dzagnidze won a match with Poland’s Monika Socko, which ensured eight points in her score. Meanwhile, her biggest rival, Russia’s Aleksandra Goryachkina ended her game with Vietnam-born Hungary’s representative Hoang Thanh Trang with a draw and is half a point behind the leader.

During the 11th and last round on Saturday Dzagnidze will play with Russia’s Natalija Pogonina who currently ranks 14th, while Goryachkina will meet in a match with Germany’s Elisabeth Paehtz who is in the sixth position right now.

At the same time, Latvia’s leader Ilze Berzina on Friday ended a game with Azerbaijan’s player Khanim Balajayeva with a draw, scoring five points and raising her to the 66th position. On Saturday Berzina will play with Greece’s representative Ioulia Makka who also has scored five points but has a lower position in the rating.

As reported, the European Women’s Chess Championship is taking place at Radisson Blu Hotel Latvija in Riga through April 22. The players finishing in the first 14 places at the European tournament in Riga will qualify for the Chess World Cup.

The memorandum was signed by ECU president Zurab Azmaiparashvili and EFPM head Christian Hinterberger. “Fair play is becoming more and more important in this kind of sports,” said Azmaiparashvili.

Meanwhile, Hinterberger said in an interview with LETA that Fair Play movement values are important for every sports organization. “Our cooperation with ECU will help to develop ethical code for chess, and will urge chess players to follow fair play principles,” he said.

As reported, the European Women’s Chess Championship is taking place at Radisson Blu Hotel Latvija in Riga through April 22. The players finishing in the first 14 places at the European tournament in Riga will qualify for the Chess World Cup.

All the participants would like to thank ECU and lecturer A. Vardapetyan for this opportunity and very interesting 3 days. Many things were cleared for the arbiters to help them in their upcoming tournaments. We hope that something similar will be repeated during the European Youth Chess Championship happening in Riga in August 2018.

Before today’s matches, which will begin at 3:00 p.m., a fair play memorandum will also be signed in a special ceremony. Participating in the signing ceremony will be the European Fair Play Movement president Christian Hinterberger, executive committee member Baiba Veisa, European Chess Union president Zurab Azmaiparashvili, as well as the president of the Latvian Chess Federation Aris Ozolins.

Topping the overall standings at the moment are Nana Dzagnidze (Georgia) and Aleksandra Goryachkina with 7 points each after nine matches, with Dzagnidze having a slight lead. They are closely followed by six runners-up with 6.5 points each.

The main pairings for the tenth round are as follows: Dzagnidze will play Poland’s Monika Socko, Goryachkina will take on Hoang Thanh Trang representing Hungary, second-seeded Ukrainian Mariya Muzychuk will play against Russia’s Alina Kashlinskaya and Elina Danielian of Armenia will take on Elisabeth Paehtz of Germany.

Meanwhile, Latvia’s top chess player in the competition Ilze Berzina, who is currently in 70th place in the standings with 4.5 points, will play Khanim Balajayeva today.

The round today will begin at 3 p.m. at the Omega hall of the Radisson Blu Hotel Latvija, as usual, but on the last day of the tournament, tomorrow, the games will begin at 11 a.m. with the award ceremony scheduled to start at 8 p.m.

As reported, the European Women’s Chess Championship is taking place at Radisson Blu Hotel Latvija in Riga through April 22. The players finishing in the first 14 places at the European tournament in Riga will qualify for the Chess World Cup.