Navrotescu Achieves Extraordinary 9/9 Perfection In London
French WGM Andreaa Navrotescu achieved a feat that not even GM Magnus Carlsen could achieve before her. She won an event with a perfect 9/9 score.
Chess.com regularly covers impressive performances from the chess world, but there are times when a particular result stands out. What Navrotescu did in the Menchik Memorial Challengers in London from August 30 to September 3 is one of those.
Entering the tournament as only the fourth seed, the 27-year-old woman grandmaster from France outclassed her opponents and won every single game. Her 9/9 score was two full points ahead of her closest rival, FM Machteld van Foreest from the Netherlands. FM Liwia Jarocka finished third on 6 points.
| Rk. | Title | Player | Rtg | FED | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | Pts. |
| 1 | WGM | Andreea Navrotescu | 2271 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 9 | ||
| 2 | FM | Machteld Van Foreest | 2243 | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | ||
| 3 | FM | Liwia Jarocka | 2217 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 4 | WGM | Elmira Mirzoeva | 2282 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5,5 | ||
| 5 | WGM | Julia Antolak | 2307 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | ||
| 6 | WCM | Anusha Subramanian | 2033 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 4 | ||
| 7 | WIM | Aleksandra Lach | 2278 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3,5 | ||
| 8 | WFM | Kamila Hryshchenko | 2181 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 3 | ||
| 9 | WFM | Ruqayyah Rida | 2110 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 10 | WFM | Zoe Varney | 2067 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | ||
The 10-player closed women-only tournament didn't have the strongest field, but that doesn't diminish the brilliance of Navrotescu's achievement. A perfect score is very rare in top-level chess, as most are happy to give away a draw or two to secure a tournament victory. Even the world number one, Carlsen, never won a classical tournament with a perfect score.
Reflecting on her achievement, Navrotescu told Chess.com: "I think in general when a player completely dominates the field it is extremely ego-flattering and one should of course be thrilled with such a result. It is a rarity after all and not a lot of people can say that they have achieved a perfect score in an invitational round-robin."
It is a rarity after all and not a lot of people can say that they have achieved a perfect score in an invitational round-robin.
—WGM Andreaa Navrotescu.
She says she initially did not think her performance was a big deal until GMs Fabiano Caruana and Susan Polgar congratulated her on X/Twitter. "I'm now realizing a bit more that it's something remarkable."
Congrats!
— Fabiano Caruana (@FabianoCaruana) September 3, 2024
Navrotescu is a six-time French Youth Chess Champion who played for the French team in the 2016 Chess Olympiad in Baku, where she won a silver medal on board 5. She became a woman grandmaster in 2022 and peaked at 2373 that year. Last year, she dropped below 2200 after a series of bad events, but with her rating jumping 71 points in London, she is set to be well above 2300 again.
Navrotescu says this wasn't the first time she had a perfect score, as she also did that in her younger years at the French Youth Chess Championship. This time, she decided to go for it after her seventh win in a row. "It was just to see if I could do it again and to brag about it of course."
"Honestly, I did not have any expectations coming to this tournament. I had just finished the French Women's Championship, where I got knocked out after the first match. Despite this disappointing result, I knew my form was very good, but I was miles away from imagining this outcome."
I knew my form was very good, but I was miles away from imagining this outcome.
—WGM Andreaa Navrotescu.
Navrotescu says she is "extremely happy" with her play, as she didn't find herself in any big trouble throughout the tournament. "The Chess.com accuracy scores speak for themselves: It goes from 90,7%, to a whopping 99,7%," Navrotescu noted, adding:
"In terms of actual positive improvements that are to be remembered from this tournament, I would say that I am particularly enthusiastic about my opening preparation and my calculation skills."
One example of that can be seen when she, in her complicated round 2 game against the top seed WGM Julia Antolak, found a nice defensive resource.
And here's how she finished off van Foreest in the next round.
PERFECTION!!!! 🤯
— Women's Chess Coverage (@OnTheQueenside) September 3, 2024
Andreea Navrotescu goes full Kiołbasa on the Menchik Memorial Challengers with a perfect 9/9 (!!!!!!!!!).
Besides the +71 Elo (!!), she'll be back in London next year for the next Menchik Memorial too!https://t.co/uTSAj0RqgS
📷: FF Echecs#chess #womeninchess https://t.co/N9HYOYqYaF pic.twitter.com/b3SRNeQ3bb
The English Chess Federation (ECF) organized the Menchik Memorial Challengers tournament in memory of Vera Menchik, the first Women's World Chess Champion and the longest-reigning one, considered one of the greatest female players in history.
Navrotescu credits ECF Director of Women's Chess Aga Milewska and Tournament Director Lance Leslie-Smith for a well-organized tournament. "They are doing an amazing job at organizing tournaments, especially for women. I would like to thank them very much for the provided opportunity."
Tarjei Svensen is a Norwegian chess journalist who worked for some of the country's biggest media outlets and appeared on several national TV broadcasts. Between 2015 and 2019, he ran his chess website mattogpatt.no, covering chess news in Norwegian and partly in English.
In 2020, he was hired by Chess24 to cover chess news, eventually moving to Chess.com as a full-time chess journalist in 2023. He is also known for his extensive coverage of chess news on his X/Twitter account.
