World Chess C’ship: Zhongyi shocks Harika

Playing black, Harika chose to be too defensive and Zhongyi seized the chance to launch a severe offensive on the castled king. Harika’s fortress was crushed and she gave up on the 44th move.

Published : Feb 23, 2017 23:35 IST

Fourth seed D. Harika faces a must-win situation with white pieces to stay alive in the competition.

Chinese underdog Tan Zhongyi upstaged a surprisingly passive D. Harika in the opening game of their semi-final clash in the Women world chess championship in Tehran on Thursday.

Playing black, Harika chose to be too defensive and Zhongyi seized the chance to launch a severe offensive on the castled king. Harika’s fortress was crushed and she gave up on the 44th move.

On Friday, fourth seed Harika faces a must-win situation with white pieces to stay alive in the competition.

In the other semi-final, second seed Anna Muzychuk played with black pieces and defeated third seeded former champion Alexandra Kosteniuk in 64 moves.