Gunina stops Khurtsidze, Hoang Trang joins her in the lead
Valentina Gunina, the current European Champion, outplayed Nino Khurtsidze with black, and made her way to the top. This is her 5th win in a row, and it seems she is fully recovered from the loss in the 2nd round.
Hoang Trang defeated Deimante Daulyte, in a game which was most likely to finish as a draw. But Hungarian squeezed the rook endgame and eventually scored.
Both Muzychuk sisters won, Anna defeated Sabrina Vega Gutierrez, and Mariya defeated Anastasia Savina.
Nana Dzagnidze outplayed former European Champion Ekatarina Atalik, who was indeed giving her best to defend the position, which was slowly falling apart. Eventually she couldn't save it and had to resign.
Serbian Woman International Master Marija Rakic continues with a good play. Today she defeated Irina Bulmaga and showed some nice endgame understanding.
Meri Arabidze is also showing some nice play. By winning against Olga Girya she scored 4 wins in a row, and will face Bela Khotenashvili in a Georgian clash after the rest day.
After 7 rounds, Valentina Gunina and Hoang Trang are in the lead with 6 points, and will face each other in the 8th round. Looking forward to seeing many exciting games, and until then, let the players catch their breath and relax before the final battles.
