Drawing of lots of the Women’s Candidates Tournament took place in Moscow.
The draw for Women’s Candidates Tournament took place on 30th April 30th 2019. The venue was the historic Chess Museum of the Central Chess Club in Moscow. Arkady Dvorkovich, President of FIDE, and Judit Polgar, attended the ceremony. Judith Polgar is the strongest female player of all time and Honorary FIDE Vice President.
The event will take place in Kazan,Russia), from 29th May to 19th June 2019, at the Nogai Hotel. Ministry of Sports of the Republic of Tatarstan, FIDE, and the Russian Chess Federation are the organisers of the event. The Candidates Tournament has a record prize fund of Euro 200,000. The winner of this double round-robin tournament will become the challenger to play World Champion Ju Wenjun of China. The stakes for the finals will be Euro 500,000.
Participants
1- Kateryna Lagno RUS, 2559 (KO World Ch. 2018 finalist).
2- Mariya Muzychuk UKR, 2560 (KO World Ch. 2018 semi-finalist).
3- Alexandra Kosteniuk RUS, 2545 (KO World Ch. 2018 semi-finalist).
4- Anna Muzychuk UKR, 2555 (qualified by rating).
5- Valentina Gunina RUS, 2515 (qualified by rating).
6- Nana Dzagnidze GEO, 2513 (qualified by rating).
7- Tan Zhongyi CHN, 2513 (qualified by rating).
8- Alexandra Goryachkina RUS, 2505 (1st replacement).
The rules require that representatives
of the same country have to play each other in the first round of each half of the tournament. It means that the Muzychuk sisters must meet in Round 1 and Round 8. The four Russian players, on the other hand, will have to play each other in Rounds 1 to 3, and 8 to 10.
About Kazan
Kazan often regarded as ‘The Third Capital of Russia’, after Moscow and St Petersburg. It is 7th largest Russian city by population, with roughly 1.3 million inhabitants with a long and rich history.
Kazan lies at the confluence of the Volga and Kazanka rivers. It is the capital of the Tatarstan Republic which was founded in 1005. This makes Kazan at least 150 years older than Moscow.
Kazan is a famous sports centre in Russia, having hosted the 2013 Universiade and various national sporting championships. It was one of the hosting cities of 2018 FIFA Football World Cup. Kazan also hosted the 2011 Candidates tournament, won by Boris Gelfand.
