In the third round at the FIDE Women’s Grand Prix in Austria, India’s Vaishali Rameshbabu continued her excellent run with a solid draw against experienced Georgian GM Nana Dzagnidze. With this result, Vaishali remains unbeaten and shares the lead with Anna Muzychuk of Ukraine, who defeated Olga Badelka in her game.

Vaishali, playing with black, surprised Dzagnidze early in the Sicilian Defence by capturing the queen on d4. Despite the complex middlegame, the Indian held her ground with calm precision. The game soon simplified into a balanced endgame, and a draw was agreed on move 40 via threefold repetition.

This result sees the 22-year-old Indian GM maintain her strong start at the final leg of the 2024–25 FIDE Women’s Grand Prix, with 2.5 points from 3 games — firmly in contention for the top spot and a potential Candidates berth.

Meanwhile, Anna Muzychuk joined Vaishali at the top after a dominant win over Olga Badelka. The Ukrainian played black and converted her middlegame advantage into a clinical endgame victory. Muzychuk, who is chasing a Grand Prix series title to qualify for the Candidates, now also sits on 2.5/3.

The day saw four decisive results out of five games, with drama unfolding across the board. Former world champion Alexandra Kosteniuk scored a fine win over top seed Tan Zhongyi, bouncing back in style after a slow start. Zhu Jiner also made a strong comeback by defeating Nurgyul Salimova in a sharp Petroff battle that featured a long castle and intense tactical exchanges.

Lela Javakhishvili opened the day’s account by stunning Mariya Muzychuk in a Giuoco Piano, extending her unbeaten classical record against the former world champion.

After three rounds, Vaishali’s steady performance — including a win over Javakhishvili in Round 2 and draws against Badelka and Dzagnidze — stands out as one of the highlights of the tournament from an Indian perspective. She now faces Mariya Muzychuk in Round 4 with the white pieces.

Round 4 Pairings (May 9):

Nana Grink VS Tan Zhongi

Anna Muzychuk vs Alexandra Kosteniuk

Nurgyul Salimova vs Olga Badelka

Lela javakhishvili vs zhu jiner

Vaishali rameshbabu vs mariya muzychuk