World Chess Championship: Harika enters prequarters, Humpy out

Grandmaster Dronavalli Harika advanced to the prequarterfinals crushing Bela Khotenashvili of Georgia in the second game of the rapid tiebreaker in round two of the world womens chess championship hereAfter the shocking ouster of Grandmaster Koneru Humpy Harika emerged as the last remaining hope for the Indian fans and the lady from Andhra did not disappoint winning with black in the second rapid game played with 25 minutes for each player Having drawn the second game of the match as white without achieving much Harika knew her chances were bright in the tiebreaker as she is known to be a good rapid playerA bronze medallist in the last two edition in the knockout format Harika was at her best when playing black It was the second rapid game and by transposition Harika reached a Pirc defense an opening that does not enjoy wide following in elite chess circles but at the same time something that promises a complex an uneven gameHarika got her chance in the middle game itself when Khotenashvili overestimated her position and did not follow one of the basic rules divided forces often yield defeatsWith her pieces serving on the queenside the Georgian grandmaster decided to break the center and that proved crucial as Harika was ready to punish this audacityHarika soon exchanged the queens at the right juncture and piled pressure along the center to win a piece by force The remaining technicalities were of little importance and it was all over for Khotenashvili after 50 movesIn the first game of rapid Harika was close to winning as well but could not convert a nearly winning advantage out of a Caro Kann defense as white In other big matches Mariya Muzychuk of Ukraine came back from the jaws of defeat to oust Ekaterina Atalik of Turkey while Natalija Pogonina struck form at the right moment to beat unheralded Zhu Jiner from ChinaFor Harika the chance to get in to the last eight are bright as she takes on Alexandra Kosteniuk of Russia in the next round The Russian is a former world champion but Harika had beaten her handsomely in the previous editionEarlier Humpys campaign came to an end after she lost to Jolanta Zawadzka of Poland in the second game of the second round here Having drawn the first game as black rather easily Humpy did not get the desired complications as white and her hunt for an elusive advantage ended on a disappointing note Back in chess just before the Olympiad after a nearly twoyear hiatus Humpy who has been among the top women players for a long time will now have to wait for another two years to have a go at the next world championship cycleBeing ousted here in the second round might also mean that Humpy will need a direct seed in the proposed candidates tournament for women It was a Queens gambit accepted by Zawadzka through transposition from the opening and Humpy kept the position balanced for a long time Slow manoeuvring in the middle game saw the rooks pair getting traded and the queen and minor piece endgame looked like headed for a drawWhile the draw would have kept her in contention in the tiebreaker Humpy decided to go for the breakthrough on the king side that compromised her own kings positionZawadzka was quick to pounce on the opportunity and some finely crafted manoeuvres saw her winning a pawn in the minor piece endgame that ensued The technicalities were not complex enough and the Polish won after 78 movesPairings round 3 Zhai Mo Chn vs Ju Wenjun Chn Jolanta Zawadzka Pol vs Abdumalik Zhansaya Kaz Natalija Pogonina Rus Kateryna Lagno RUs Anna Muzychuk Ukr vs Antoaneta Stefanova Bul D Harika Ind Alexandra Kosteniuk Rus Alisa Galliamova Rus vs Lei Tingjie Chn Alinasab Mobina Iri vs Mariya Muzychuk Ukr Gulrukhbegim Tokhirjonova Uzb vs Valentina Gunina RusCatch up on all the latest sports news and updates here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updatesThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever