Women's Chess Grand Prix: Another player pulls out from the tournament in Delhi

The first-ever Women's Chess Grand Prix in India finally kicked off on Sunday - a day after it was actually supposed to, but it was not bereft of any drama.

A day after the news broke that Kazakh GM Zhansaya Abdumalik has pulled out from the tournament following an organisational mess, yet another player - Elisabeth Paethz, has pulled out of the event.

The 38-year-old Grandmaster pulled out in the eleventh hour, forcing the tournament to go ahead with 10 players instead of the originally planned twelve.

Paetz had, on Saturday, penned a long social media post in favour of Abdumalik after another player Bibisara Assaubayev accused the Kazakh of sabotaging the tournament.

"I did not intend to post anything private from the current emotional rollercoaster happening during the Fide Grand Prix in Delhi, however some things are too unexpectable for me to stay silent about. Zhansaya Abdumalik left the tournament after day 1. She left because she faced serious troubles at the airport, and later on at the hotel in a very unfortunate way," Paethz wrote.

"The biggest core of these problem was an insufficient organisation by Fide officials. She didn’t leave because she decided to destroy the tournament as her compatriot Bibisara Assaubayeva here claims," the German added.

Elisabeth Paethz's withdrawal was not the only drama in the tournament on Sunday. Russian GM Aleksandra Goryachkina refused to shake hands with the All India Chess Federation (AICF) secretary Bharat Singh Chauhan ahead of the start of the first round.

India's R Vaishali, who was slated to face Elisabeth Paethz's in the first round, was handed one point following the latter's withdrawal.