Women's World Rapid Chess Championship 2014: Kateryna Lagno, Alexandra Kosteniuk Tie for First

Hello everyone,

The Women's World Rapid Chess Championship 2014 has concluded in Khanty Mansiysk with three days of most exciting chess. It all came down to the last round and ironically, the world title was decided by a one-move checkmate-in-one blunder in the last round on the top board!!!

Five players went into the last round - 15th - with 9.5 points each: Kateryna Lahno, Alexandra Kosteniuk, Tatiana Kosintseva, Anna Muzychuk and Antoaneta Stefanova. 

Kateryna Lagno (centre) at the press conference after winning the Women's World Rapid Chess Championship 2014 with a tiebreak over Alexandra Kosteniuk. Both scored 10.5 points over 15 rounds.

Only two players could conclude the tournament with 10.5 points each. Kosteniuk beat Pia Cramling round and square. Gunina actually blundered away a mate-in-one to Lagno from an almost-winning position. Stefanova could only draw with Khotenashvili. Muzychuk also drew with Gaponenko. Kosintseva, however, lost to Dzagnidze! Meanwhile, Olga Girya did well to come in third.

Lagno has just played Kh6. Here Valentina Gunina played Kh3... can you spot the checkmate in one?

Of drama, destiny and tiebreak rules

With only Lagno and Kosteniuk completing the event on 10.5, the tiebreak rules came into play. Even though Kosteniuk had a whopping 10 wins earned over 15 rounds as compared to Lagno's 9 wins, the gold goes to Lagno as she had won the direct encounter between the two.

There's plenty of high-exciting chess from the world's top women players still to come in Khanty Mansiysk: |The Women's World Blitz Chess Championship 2014 begins in Khanty Mansiysk from tomorrow. 

Speaking at the press conference, Lagno did mention that lesser rounds with more players could suit the Women's Rapid World Chess Championship better. She said even though men play over 15 rounds (the open blitz world chess championship),  women have lesser stamina and that showed in the drop in quality of games towards the last few rounds... particularly in the last round where her opponent squandered the game with a mate-in-one blunder.

Kateryna said she had been Women's World Blitz Champion in 2010, but she remembers her own blunder to Stefanova in Batumi at the Women's World Rapid Championship where she had been leading and lost. So, title this year is special in that sense to her.

 

Pia Cramling just resigned her game to Alexandra Kosteniuk in Round 15 when White played Rc6. Can you see the nice tactical trick there...?

For more updates, stay tuned to Chess Blog and the official website. Soon you will have an update post on her personal blog by 12th Women's World Chess Champion Chess Queen™ Alexandra Kosteniuk at www.chessqueen.com.

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