“In order to be irreplaceable, one must always be different”, is one of Coco Chanel’s principles of success. If she reached the stars thanks to her innovative yet ‘simple’ concepts, the famous quote could also be the key to unlock the chess queendom’s doors, soon to be found in a unique and beautiful location: Tehran.
Iran distinguished itself throughout its long chess history with many successful events organized, and is about to enrich its CV with currently one of the most prestigious chess tournaments in the World: the FIDE Women Grand Prix.
The media, the players and the entire chess scene is well aware of the high profile, which the FIDE Women Grand Prix circuit has, Tehran being the honored host to warmly welcome the ladies for the 2nd leg of the 2015/2016 series. The playing venue is located in the headquarters of the Iranian Chess Federation (Chess Palace, Hejab Str., Keshavarz Blvd, Tehran, P.O.Box 14145-463, Iran) and for two weeks, between 11-23 February, the tournament hall will witness and delight us with top class chess.
Kindly visit the Players & Schedule tabs for more details.
Tournament official website.
As a sign of respect to the country’s culture, rituals and beliefs, the participants will follow the guidelines of the Iranian women attire, emphasizing once again that chess reunites people in a tournament which will not be only different and special but also irreplaceable!
The line-up is very impressive in terms of chess strength, with 9 GMs out of the twelve participants, and a good mix of:
1. youth ambition and experience (Pia Cramling, born in 1963 and the local star – Sarasadat Khademalsharieh, born in 1997),
2. experts in the Grand Prix series (former women world champions: Antoaneta Stefanova and Humpy Koneru) and newcomers (Nino Batsiashvili and Valentina Gunina)
3. warmed up players vs well rested ones…
Most of the participants of the upcoming Tehran GP just finished playing in Gibraltar or Wijk aan Zee and will continue their chess quests with the IMSA Elite Mind Games in China, while the World Championship Match will also be held soon in Ukraine… Women chess is flourishing thanks to the tireless organizers, generous sponsors and tough ladies that have long ago erased words like “too tired” or “too busy” from their vocabulary.
If some players will have three (!) strong events in a row, keeping the brain’s tabs open and ready, some others prefer the more quiet times, to give it all in the event that matters.
FIDE Women Grand Prix prizes:
| PLACE | PRIZE (Euros) | GP POINTS |
| 1st | 10,000 | 120 points + 40 bonus |
| 2nd | 8,250 | 110 points + 20 bonus |
| 3rd | 6,750 | 100 points + 10 bonus |
| 4th | 5,750 | 90 points |
| 5th | 5,000 | 80 points |
| 6th | 4,500 | 70 points |
| 7th | 4,250 | 60 points |
| 8th | 4,000 | 50 points |
| 9th | 3,250 | 40 points |
| 10th | 3,000 | 30 points |
| 11th | 2,750 | 20 points |
| 12th | 2,500 | 10 points |
| Total | 60,000 | 850 points |
FIDE Women Grand Prix Standings 2015-2016 after the 1st stage:
It is great that they are respecting the cultural and religious norms. Shows that chess can be a uniting force in the world. Should be a great tournament.