VietNamNet Bridge – Pham Le Thao Nguyen of Viet Nam won her first round match at the FIDE Women’s World Chess Championships 2017 yesterday in Tehran, Iran.

Pham Le Thao Nguyen of Viet Nam wins first games at the FIDE Women’s World Chess Championships. — VNS Photo

International Master (IM) Nguyen beat IM Lela Javakhishvill of Georgia 1.5-0.5 after two games.

She will next play Women’s Grandmaster (WGM) Aleksandra Goryachkina of Russia who won 1.5-0.5 over Chinese WGM Zhai Mo.

The 64-player knock-out tournament, to decide the women’s world chess champion, was originally slated for last October. However, it was postponed to this year due to a lack of an organiser.

The tournament features some of the world’s top players, including former Women’s World Champions Alexandra Kosteniuk (Russia), Anna Ushenina (Ukraine), Antoaneta Stefanova (Bulgaria), the current Women’s World Rapid and Blitz Champion Anna Muzychuk (Ukraine), and three-time Russian champion and two-time European Champion Valentina Gunina (Russia).

The first five rounds consist of mini-matches of two games in 90 minutes. The final match consists of four games.

It will close on March 5 with total prize funds of US$450,000, with the winner claiming $60,000.

VNS