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Humpy Koneru won the Cairns Cup, which is billed as the strongest ever women’s tournament. She scored 6 points from 9 games to take home $45,000. Reigning world champion, Ju Wenjun, came second with 5.5 to win $35,000. Koneru managed a 2627 Elo performance with four wins and one loss (to Mariya Muzychuk) to overtake Ju in the rating list. If she maintains form, she should qualify easily for the Candidates, where she would be one of the favourites.
In the Open Candidates, which start in Yekaterinburg on March 15, the two Chinese representatives will have to arrive early. While both
