In a nail biting finish to the tiebreakers of the semi-final match-ups at the Women’s World Chess Championship at Sochi, Ukranian Mariya Muzychuk was able to fend off the Indian challenge from Dronavalli Harika. In the other clash between Russian Natalia Pogonina and Swedish legend Pia Cramling, the Russian star was able to out-run her older opponent.
Russian GM Pogonina played a marathon game with the white pieces in the second rapid tiebreak game after drawing the first duel to win and qualify for the finals. Thus, she maintains her amazing series of comebacks and had to wait to see who her opponent for the finals would be.
The clash between Indian GM Dronavalli Harika and Ukranian GM Mariya Muzychuk proved to be a dramatic showdown. They played the tiebreak rapid games after drawing both their classical encounters. In the first game with the white pieces, Harika had an assured advantage against Muzychuk’s Dutch defence to which she replied with a double-fianchetto set-up. Unfortunately, she let her advantage slip and ended up losing. Requiring a win with the black pieces in the second tiebreak rapid game, Harika came back strongly in the late middlegame and won, drawing level with her Ukranian opponent.
In the second tiebreak, with a time control of ten minutes each plus ten seconds per move, Muzychuk was able to hold Harika to a draw with black pieces and managed to beat her with white in the second game, thus winning the match-up and moving to the finals.
This sets up an exciting Russia vs. Ukraine duel in the Finals of the Women’s World Chess Championship with GM Natalia Pogonina taking on GM Mariya Muzychuk.
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