Ukraine Nearly Home At The Women's World Team Championships
Ukraine narrowly defeated the US team 2½-1½ in the penultimate round of the Women's World Team Championships to take them within touching distance of the gold medal.
Irina Krush of the US beat the women's world champion Anna Ushenina, but wins from Kateryna Lagno and Natalia Zhukova sealed the match victory for Ukraine.
Second placed China thrashed the lowest seeds Turkey 4-0 to keep alive their chances of pipping Ukraine to the gold medal in the final round tomorrow, while Russia scored a narrow 2½-1½ victory against India.
Ukraine face a tough final round match with Russia, while China have a slightly easier pairing against fifth placed India.
The standings after 8 (of 9) rounds
| # | Team | MP | BP | TB |
| 1 | UKRAINE | 15 | 22½ | 109.25 |
| 2 | CHINA | 13 | 23 | 87.00 |
| 3 | RUSSIA | 12 | 22 | 81.00 |
| 4 | GEORGIA | 10 | 19 | 62.25 |
| 5 | INDIA | 9 | 16½ | 53.50 |
| 6 | USA | 7 | 13½ | 50.00 |
| 7 | KAZAKHSTAN | 6 | 14 | 30.00 |
| 8 | ROMANIA | 5 | 12½ | 35.00 |
| 9 | FRANCE | 2 | 8½ | 13.00 |
| 10 | TURKEY | 1 | 8½ | 6.25 |
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Kateryna Lagno (left) defeated Anna Zatonskih on top board for Ukraine v USA
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Irina Krush of the US beat the women's world champion Anna Ushenina on board 2
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A win by Natalia Zhukova (left) on board 4 sealed a narrow match win 2½-1½ for Ukraine
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The complete results in round 8
| INDIA | 1½ - 2½ | RUSSIA | ||
| Karavade Eesha Sanjay | 2387 | 0 - 1 | Gunina Valentina | 2505 |
| Padmini Rout | 2316 | ½ - ½ | Pogonina Natalija | 2475 |
| Gomes Mary Ann | 2387 | 1 - 0 | Galliamova Alisa | 2459 |
| Swaminathan Soumya | 2283 | 0 - 1 | Girya Olga | 2440 |
| UKRAINE | 2½ - 1½ | USA | ||
| Lagno Kateryna | 2547 | 1 - 0 | Zatonskih Anna | 2474 |
| Ushenina Anna | 2477 | 0 - 1 | Krush Irina | 2448 |
| Muzychuk Mariya | 2479 | ½ - ½ | Foisor Sabina | 2323 |
| Zhukova Natalia | 2471 | 1 - 0 | Ni Viktorija | 2263 |
| ROMANIA | 1 - 3 | GEORGIA | ||
| Bulmaga Irina | 2354 | 1 - 0 | Dzagnidze Nana | 2554 |
| Cosma Elena Luminita | 2336 | 0 - 1 | Khotenashvili Bela | 2499 |
| Lami Alina | 2353 | 0 - 1 | Khurtsidze Nino | 2437 |
| Voicu-Jagodzinsky Carmen | 2281 | 0 - 1 | Melia Salome | 2419 |
| KAZAKHSTAN | 2½ - 1½ | FRANCE | ||
| Nakhbayeva Guliskhan | 2344 | 1 - 0 | Millet Sophie | 2401 |
| Dauletova Gulmira | 2265 | 1 - 0 | Maisuradze Nino | 2330 |
| Saduakassova Dinara | 2353 | ½ - ½ | Safranska Anda | 2328 |
| Davletbayeva Madina | 2272 | 0 - 1 | Benmesbah Natacha | 2266 |
| TURKEY | 0 - 4 | CHINA | ||
| Yildiz Betul Cemre | 2341 | 0 - 1 | Ju Wenjun | 2505 |
| Ozturk Kubra | 2252 | 0 - 1 | Huang Qian | 2476 |
| Sop Selen | 2028 | 0 - 1 | Tan Zhongyi | 2471 |
| Kaya Emel | 1995 | 0 - 1 | Guo Qi | 2435 |
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More games and information can be found at the official website.
The competition features 10 national teams, with 4 players plus a reserve for each team. The format is a single round-robin from 2-12 March at a time control of 40 moves in 90 minutes, then 30 minutes to finish with a 30 second increment from the start of the game. Games start at 15:00 local time (GMT+6) and live coverage is available at the official website.
Photos by Anastasia Karlovich at the official website. Games via TWIC.
