CHAOS IN NEW DELHI! WHAT IS HAPPENING AT THE WOMEN’S GRAND PRIX?
It all started with GM Zhansaya Abdumalik pulling out of the tournament on Saturday and continued with GM Elisabeth Paehtz pulling out on Sunday. What is the story behind their withdrawal?
The FIDE Women´s Grand Prix 2023 is the first-ever Grand Prix tournament played on Indian soil in New Delhi. You can read more information about the system of the Women´s Grand Prix series in our article from the 2nd WGP.
The start of 3rd Women’s Grand Prix tournament was postponed and started one day later on Sunday because of the sudden withdrawal of Zhansaya Abdumalik.
The 23 years old Kazakhstan representative decided not to compete because of problems with the organization. She claims the officials forgot to pick her up from the airport at 1:30 AM and while she tried to contact them, nobody answered. She waited one and a half hours. Abdumalik also complains about poor air quality, typical of India: “FIDE knew that, unfortunately, Delhi has some problems with the air because of pollution. I could see a big landfill from my window where they were putting on fire or something of that sort. Leaving the hotel is difficult because of its location. The hotel staff told me not to go out because it could be dangerous,” she said to ChessBase India.
Abdumalik also added that if a top male player was arriving for the tournament, she can’t imagine a situation where nobody is there to pick him up. She also pointed out that she wants FIDE to give more attention to women’s chess. “We deserve to play in good conditions. Everyone knows that I am a fighter and I would never withdraw from such a tournament without reason,” Zhansaya added.
Not only Zhansaya but also other 5 players requested FIDE to postpone or cancel the tournament because of the “unfortunate way” in which women’s tournaments are being organized.
The drama did not stop there. Zhansaya Abdumalik’s compatriot Bibisara Assaubayeva in an Instagram post accused Zhansaya of lacking sportsmanship and was not happy that there are now 11 players, so the tournament remains uneven. But Zhansaya Abdumalik responded by talking about lies and the hypocrisy of Bibisara.
Both exchanged some ugly comments, but another shock came the next day when Elizabeth Paehtz was not satisfied that some players would get 6 whites and 4 blacks or 4 whites and 6 blacks. Elizabeth withdrew from the tournament posting on Instagram and defending Zhansaya: “She didn’t leave because she decided to destroy the tournament as her compatriot Bibisara Assaubayeva here claims. When Bibisara learned about her withdrawal and a potentially new Indian opponent, she was the first one to disagree and even wanted to quit the tournament before anyone else.”
Women’s Grand Prix in New Delhi is now a tournament with 10 players competing and after 4 rounds, Aleksandra Goryachkina is the leader.
Stay tuned for more news about the chaos and check the games on Kingwatcher!
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