Chennai, May 30: India’s R Vaishali on Sunday won the women’s Speed chess online championship qualifier 2, beating Polina Shuvalova of Russia in the final.
The 20-year-old from Chennai, a woman Grandmaster, became the second Indian to qualify for the main event of the 2021 women’s Speed Chess Championship.
“I am very happy with my performance as it has come in a very strong field. I played some very good games,” Vaishali, sister of Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa, said.
The tournament was a nine-round Swiss tournament with the top eight finishers advancing to the knockout playoff stage.
In the semifinals, Vaishali defeated Bibisara Assaubayeva 2-0 and then edged out Shuvalova in the final.
She lost the first game on time despite outplaying her opponent. However, she bounced back and check-mated the Russian in the second to level the score.
The third and final game was a roller-coaster. The Indian obtained a promising position from the opening but a hasty queen sacrifice appeared to set her back. However, a blunder by Shuvalova cost her dear and allowed Vaishali to secure victory.
Indian WGM D Harika had won the first qualifier to book a spot in the main event.
A total of eight qualifiers will be played and the winners will be joined by eight invited players — GM Koneru Humpy (India), GM Alexandra Kosteniuk (Russia), GM Antoaneta Stefanova (Bulgaria), GM Anna Muzychuk (Ukraine), GM Irina Krush (USA), GM Kateryna Lagno (Russia) and GM Lei Tingjie (China) — in the main event to be played from June 10 to July 3. (PTI)
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