New Delhi: “In Sports, You Never Know What will Haappen,” Gm anna muzychuk had said during a chat with timesofindia.com last February. Back then, Ukraine’s No. 1 was looking ahead to 2025 with cautious optimism.Five months on, Muzychuk has three back-to-back classical chess titles under her belt: The Nicosia Grand Prix in March, Grosslobming Grand Prix in May, And Now the Crestigious Norway Chesses.Despite Her Consistent Form, The Current World No. 6 (Based on Live Rating) Entred the Stavanger Event Without Much Fanfare.Go beyond the boundary with our youtube channel. Subscribe now!The spotlight was instead on Reigning World Champion Ju Wenjun, Former Champion Lei Tingjie, India’s Koneru Humpy, and Rising Stars Like Vaishali Rameshbabu and Sara khadem.On social media and in chess circles, most conversations overlooked muzychuk’s quinuet momentum, whille global Attention was heavily skewed towards big names in the open section: Magnus CarlSen ‘ Classical Chess, His on-Board Rivalry Against World Champion D Gukesh, and Elite Players like Hikaru Nakamura, Arjun Erigaisi, and Fabiano Caruana.AMID This High-Profile Cast, Muzychuk styed Away from Public Scrutiny-Until Her Results Did the talking.“Yes, Last Year, I Finished Second Behind the Women’s World Champion… It would be wonderful if I could win it,” Ukraine’s top-rated grandmaster Had Said Before The Tournment.She did, and she did it effortlessly. The 35-year-old was the only player in the women’s field to remain unbeated in classical games this year.With Four Classical Wins and Steady Results in the Armageddon Rounds, She AMASSED 16.5 Points, Enough to edge the rest and secure the title.Along with the trophy, muzychuk also received Nok 700,000 (Approximately Rs 59 Lakh), The same Amount Awarded to Carlsen for winning the open section.This edition is marked the first time norway chess offered equal prize money across bot sections, a move haled as a significant step for women’s chess.“For us, as women, we are very excited about it. It’s very important and a big step forward,” Muzychuk had stated earlier. “As you know, in general, there are more open tournaments, which are mainly for men, and the prize funds in that time tournaments are usually higher. That would be a great motivation for us and for the next generation, showing them that Such Tournaments exist and what they can aspire to achieve.,
Anna Muzychuk (Norway Chess/Michal Walusza)
The Norway Chess Format Itself is unique.A win in the classical round earns 3 points. A draw leads to an armgeddon tiebreak, where a win grants 1.5 points and a loss, 1 point.Also Read: Rs 50,000 a month and country sacrifices: How India’s Chess Future Shapes Up in Chennai HutIn armgeddon, white gets 10 minutes and must win; Black Gets 7 Minutes (With a 1-Second Increment after Move 41) And Wins the Game If it Ends in A Draw.“Usually, in my case in armgeddon, I just play the game, but I Always Keep in Mind That A Draw Favours Black. So Prefer the Simpler option, “Muzychuk explained. “If i’m white, I might go for complexity. But if I get a chance to force a draw with a perpetual check, I might take take it instead of raining every.”With this title, Muzychuk has reinforced her status as one of the most consistent performances in women’s chess today, even if the spotlight hasn’t always is followed.
