Nana Dzagnidze of Georgia won the ACP Women Cup in Tbilisi, Georgia on Tuesday after beating Pia Cramling of Sweden in a blitz playoff. Both ladies had finished on 8/11 in the rapid event, half a point ahead of Kateryna Lahno. 

Nana Dzagnidze receives the first prize - here together with (L-R) President of ACP, Emil Sutovky, Director General of SOCAR Energy, Georgia Mahi Mammedov and Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs, Lado Vardzelashvili | Photos © Anastasya Karlovich for the official website

We'll pick up the tournament where we left it: after five rounds, when Anna Muzychuk was leading the field with 4.5 points. In the sixth round, Muzychuk managed to keep her small lead. Nana Dzagnidze, who had started with 0.5/3 but then won two games, continued her rise to the top as she profited from a huge blunder by a former World Champion.

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When they have to play each other, the two Russian sisters Nadezhda and Natalia Kosintseva often agree to a draw before the game and this time they picked a well-known line in the Ruy Lopez Exchange to achieve the desired result.

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In the 7th round Muzychuk lost her first game. It can be included in a new collection of 'good knight versus bad bishop' examples.

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Tatiana Kosintseva vs Anna Muzychuk, 1-0

Kateryna Lahno grabbed sole lead in this round thanks to the following victory.

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Nana Dzagnidze won her fifth consecutive game in round 8.

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Daznidze was now in third position with 5.5/8, half a point behind Kateryna Lahno and Pia Cramling. The latter was having a very solid tournament thus far, with four wins and four draws. (She would finish with two more draws and another win.)

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Pia Cramling would only lose one game in Tbilisi: the Armageddon

Dzagnidze caught Cramling in first place in the final round.

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Zeinab Mamedyarova lost her first ten games (!) but could finish the event with a smile:

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ACP Women Cup 2012 | Round 11 standings

Playoff

According to the regulations, a blitz playoff between Cramling and Dzagnidze would decide who would win the US $10,000 first prize. The first two games (4 minutes + 2 seconds increment) ended in a draw (and were not saved for eternity, it seems - we cannot find them anywhere) and so the tournament ended with an Armageddon game. White got 5 minutes on the clock, Black only 4 but with draw odds. (The 2-second increment after move 61 was not relevant this time.)

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Local hero Nana Dzagnidze with the trophy

The ACP Women Cup was organized by the Association of Chess Professionals (ACP) and the Georgian Chess Federation. It was the final tournament of the ACP Women Series 2009/2010 and 2010/2011 and was held February 17-22 at the Sheraton Hotel, in Tbilisi, Georgia. The time control was 20 minutes and 5 seconds increment on the clock. The ACP Women Cup was one of the strongest rapid events for women ever held, with a prize fund of US $40,000.