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In another long-fought chess duel under time pressure yesterday, Anna Zatonskih beat Abby Marshall to retain sole possession of the lead at the US Women's Championship by half a point.
Ironically, this was probably Marshall's best game of the tournament. But Zatonskih again showed her ability to secure endgame victories, maintaining her cool under extreme time pressure. During the final moves both women were surviving strictly on the 30-second increment. Here's the game:
Both Irina Krush and Tatev Abrahamyan won their games as well, keeping the two in a tie for second. Abrahamyan has shown herself to be a real powerhouse, recently earning her first IM norm and ending in the money at the Chicago Open. So Sunday's round-8 pairing of Abrahamyan and Zatonskih (with Anna playing black) could well become the tournament decider.
Today is a rest day for the women, with bus painting (!?) and some kind of chess-tennis game in the offing. (I wonder if it's like the ping-pong-chess I used to play in the student union?)