Zhu Jiner Takes Sole Lead On 2/2
GM Zhu Jiner has taken the sole lead in the 2025 Nicosia FIDE Women's Grand Prix on 2/2 after GM Elisabeth Paehtz made a fatal move in an endgame she seemed to be holding. Only IM Stavroula Tsolakidou is within half a point after surviving a tricky position against GM Harika Dronavalli, who could still have played on at the end. The closest we came to decisive action elsewhere was when GM Nana Dzagnidze achieved a seemingly overwhelming advantage against IM Olga Badelka but then failed to find a knockout blow.
Round three starts on Monday, March 17, at 9 a.m. ET / 15:00 CET / 6:30 p.m. IST.
Nicosia FIDE Women's Grand Prix Round 2 Results
Zhu's win made her the sole leader.
Nicosia FIDE Women's Grand Prix Standings After Round 2
GM sisters Mariya Muzychuk and Anna Muzychuk had drawn against each other in round one, and in round two they also achieved the same result, each playing quiet games that ended in same-colored bishop positions with seven pawns on each side.
The remaining two draws promised more, with Badelka looking in serious danger of going 0/2 on her Grand Prix debut when Dzagnidze won the strategic battle in a Queen's Gambit Accepted.
The computer was giving a winning advantage for White, but it was one of those cases where the edge fizzled out without any particularly clear blunders or chances missed.
Harika correctly shunned a draw by repetition on move 22 but could perhaps have dodged the draw by repetition that occurred 20 moves later. In between, Tsolakidou boldly gave up her queen for a rook and knight. If the fortress didn't look entirely convincing, it certainly wasn't easy to break down!
It seemed for all the world that we were headed for a day of five draws, but there was a late twist in the final game to finish.
Elisabeth Paehtz 0-1 Zhu Jiner
This clash between two players who had experienced different fates in round one was lively from the start. Zhu refused to defend her b7-pawn early in the middlegame and Paehtz grabbed it, but then the German star decided not to defend her b2-pawn.
It felt like Zhu was taking over when she created an outside passed pawn, but Paehtz then sacrificed a bishop to reach what should have been a drawn endgame. Everything was under control until one rash pawn push, with 49.g5?? costing the game.
From there on Zhu was ruthless.
That win takes 22-year-old Zhu up to a career-high 2521.6 rating and sees her top the standings early on. In round three she'll have the white pieces against Harika.
Round 3 Pairings
How to watch?
You can watch the broadcast on FIDE's YouTube channel. The games can also be checked out on our dedicated 2025 Nicosia FIDE Women's Grand Prix events page.
The live broadcast was hosted by WGM Anastasiya Karlovich and GM Alik Gershon.
The 2025 Nicosia FIDE Women's Grand Prix is the fourth of six legs of the 2024-2025 FIDE Women's Grand Prix. The 10-player round-robin runs March 15-24 in Nicosia, Cyprus. Players have 90 minutes, plus 30 minutes from move 40, with a 30-second increment per move. The top prize is €18,000 (~$20,000), with players also earning Grand Prix points. Each of the 20+ players competes in three events; the top two qualify for the 2026 FIDE Women's Candidates Tournament that decides the World Championship challenger.
Previous Coverage:
Colin McGourty led news at Chess24 from its launch until it merged with Chess.com a decade later. An amateur player, he got into chess writing when he set up the website Chess in Translation after previously studying Slavic languages and literature in St. Andrews, Odesa, Oxford, and Krakow.
