Dortmund: Lu beats Paehtz in tactical struggle, keeps perfect score

Lu keeps her cool

Round three of the Women Masters tournament at the Dortmund Chess Festival saw Lu Miaoyi continue her remarkable run, as the 15-year-old scored her third consecutive win to maintain a perfect score and extend her lead at the top of the standings. Facing Germany’s top-rated female player, Elisabeth Paehtz, Lu prevailed in a sharp 51-move battle that arose from an Italian Opening.

Paehtz, playing black, chose a bold and aggressive strategy by launching a kingside pawn storm with g- and h-pawn advances. In doing so, she gave up a couple of central pawns and allowed Lu to consolidate a clear long-term advantage in the centre.

Despite this, Black’s attacking chances looked dangerous at several points in the middlegame, and the game developed into a tense tactical struggle, with both players running low on time. Lu kept her composure, consistently finding precise defensive and tactical responses.

Lu’s cold-blooded play paid off, as she trusted that her material and positional advantage would eventually prevail once the attack had been neutralised.

With this win, Lu not only moved to 3/3 in Dortmund but also gained 13.5 rating points, climbing to 22^nd place in the women’s live ratings. Among under-20 girls, she now ranks second in the world, only behind India’s 19-year-old Divya Deshmukh, the recent Women’s World Cup winner.

Elisabeth Paehtz | Photo: Dariusz Gorzinski

On the other board, Dinara Wagner bounced back from her back-to-back losses in the first rounds with a convincing victory over Deimante Daulyte-Cornette.

Wagner, playing with the black pieces, chose a sharp line in the Sicilian Najdorf and soon obtained strong attacking prospects. Daulyte-Cornette failed to assess the danger accurately, and her 25.a4 turned out to be a critical error, overlooking 25…Rxd4, which removed the knight defending the vulnerable c2-square.

After 26.Rexd4 Qxc2+, White’s position quickly disintegrated. The game ended on move 32, with White’s king fully exposed and lacking adequate defensive resources.

By opting for a fianchetto setup, you embrace unbalanced and strategically rich positions, steering away from predictable theory battles.
The Modern Defence (1…g6) is more than just a move – it’s a statement. By opting for a fianchetto setup, you embrace unbalanced and strategically rich positions, steering away from predictable theory battles. This approach allows Black to develop along the long diagonal, patiently targeting White’s strong centre instead of directly challenging it. If you‘re looking to play for a full point with Black, this opening is the perfect addition to your repertoire.
Free video sample: Introduction
Free video sample: King’s Indian Links 4.c4 e5 Firouzja vs Carlsen

With three rounds played, Lu Miaoyi leads the field with 3/3, followed by Paehtz on 1½ points. The fourth round will take place on Thursday ahead of the second and final rest day.

Dinara Wagner | Photo: Dariusz Gorzinski

Standings after round 3

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A-Open: No more perfect scores, five co-leaders

Round five of the A-Open at the Dortmund Chess Festival saw the number of co-leaders increase from three to five, as two International Masters joined the group after the three overnight leaders were held to draws.

Top seed Matthias Bluebaum and sixth seed Rinat Jumabayev entered their board-one encounter with perfect 4/4 scores. Playing white, Jumabayev opted for a cautious approach against Bluebaum, and the game remained balanced throughout. The players agreed to a draw after 32 moves, with no major complications arising on the board.

This video course provides a comprehensive and practical White repertoire in the Ruy Lopez! Through instructive model games and in-depth theoretical explanations, you will learn how to confidently handle both main lines and sidelines.

This video course provides a comprehensive and practical White repertoire in the Ruy Lopez! Through instructive model games and in-depth theoretical explanations, you will learn how to confidently handle both main lines and sidelines.
Free video sample: Introduction
Free video sample: Overview
Free video sample: Chigorin: 9…Na5 10.Bc2 c5 11.d4 Nd7/cxd4

On board two, Luis Engel, the fifth seed, held second seed Dmitrij Kollars to a 35-move draw with the black pieces. Like the top-board encounter, this game featured balanced play and careful manoeuvring, resulting in a peaceful outcome.

These results allowed IM Nitish Belurkar (India, 19^th seed) and IM Ashot Parvanyan (Germany, 25^th seed) to join the leading pack on 4½/5. Both players scored wins with white: Belurkar defeated Poland’s GM Jan Klimkowski on board four, while Parvanyan got the better of German IM Marius Deuer on board five.

Co-leader Nitish Belurkar | Photo: Dariusz Gorzinski

A large group of sixteen players now sits a half point behind the leaders on 4/5, including several of the top-rated contenders. Among them are second seed Kollars, third seed Dennis Wagner and fourth seed Surya Ganguly. Ganguly’s victory over his compatriot Soumya Swaminathan was one of the most technically impressive games of the day.

Playing white, Ganguly opted for an English Opening. Swaminathan sought activity by pushing her f-pawn to f4, while leaving a knight somewhat awkwardly placed on d3.

Ganguly responded with 16…Ba7, calmly saving his bishop and avoiding unnecessary complications. With his opponent down to just 25 minutes on the clock (compared to Ganguly’s hour-plus), the experienced Indian grandmaster gradually took over.

After a queen exchange initiated by Ganguly, the game transitioned into an endgame.

Although the engines still saw the position as roughly equal after 28.fxg3 (diagram above), from a human perspective, White’s central control and piece activity were clearly preferable.

The key breakthrough came after 31…Rxb4 32.Nxd6, trading pawns to obtain a strong central passer (which ended up winning the game for White).

After 32…b6, Ganguly played the accurate 33.h4, activating the h3–c8 diagonal for his light-squared bishop. Black’s position soon crumbled: 33…Be3 34.Ne8 Bc5 35.d6 Rd4 36.Nf6 Kh8 37.d7 prompted Black’s resignation.

The continuation with 37…Be7 38.Nd5 Bd8 39.Rc8 Nd6 allows 40.Bh3, and White’s final piece joins the attack decisively.

With four rounds to go, the fight for the top spot remains wide open in Dortmund. The leaders will face increasingly stiff opposition as they look to pull ahead in Thursday’s round six.

Standings after round 5

…196 players

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