Women's Speed Chess Championship: Lagno 1st Semifinalist

GM Kateryna Lagno is the first player to reach the semifinals of the FIDE Chess.com Women's Speed Chess Championship. The reigning women's world blitz champion from Russia defeated Georgia's number-one female, GM Nana Dzagnidze, 14-8 on Thursday.

Lagno will now play the winner of GM Harika Dronavalli vs GM Anna Muzychuk, a match played on Friday at 7 a.m. Pacific / 16:00 CEST. We will see GM Hou Yifan vs IM Bibisara Assaubayeva at 4 a.m. Pacific / 13:00 CEST.

The live broadcast of the match.

Lagno took a big lead from the very start as she won the 5|1 segment 5.5-1.5, not losing a single game. The score was not really reflective of the play, though; Dzagnidze missed some big chances early on. For instance, she was completely winning for many moves in game five and ended up losing it:

However, in most cases, Lagno was tactically outwitting her opponent, even from a passive position like the following:

The first 3|1 game was the first win for Dzagnidze, who finally had a bit of fortune on her side. Lagno dropped a full queen in a winning position:

As if stung by a bee, Lagno furiously won four games in a row to increase her lead to seven points: 9.5-2.5. The match was still not decided, however, as Dzagnidze finished that 3|1 segment with two wins of her own, the last one very quickly:

"Already at the end of the match I was quite tired, I think Nana also, and the last 3|1 game showed it very clearly," Lagno would later say: "I missed ...Nf2+ and ...Qb6+. But it happens, I just try to stay focused till the end, and it worked out."

Lagno ended up winning all three segments as she scored 4.5-3.5 in the bullet. She will now play either Harika or (Anna) Muzychuk. Dzagnidze earned $2,000 for finishing in fifth-eighth place.

Dzagnidze said that after losing several games at the beginning, she spoiled some winning positions. However, she felt the winner was the right one: "Katya plays stronger online blitz than me, so the result speaks for itself."

Although she prefers over-the-board play, Dzagnidze has been more active online lately, like everyone: "Overall, online chess is not my cup of tea, but I am trying to improve. Recently I started to play regularly bullet and blitz games. I think I am improving, but this time it wasn't enough, I guess."

Lagno: "It was a tough match, and Nana was right; she was winning in several games. After I started to win game after game, it gave me some confidence."

All games

The FIDE Chess.com 2021 Women's Speed Chess Championship is an online competition for titled female players. The qualifiers for the event were held May 28-June 6, while the main event runs June 10-July 3. Players battle for their shares of a total prize fund of $66,000.

Previous reports:

• Women's Speed Chess Championship: Hou Yifan Joins Quarterfinalists
• Women's Speed Chess Championship: Lei Tingjie, Anna Muzychuk Advance
• Women's Speed Chess Championship: Dzagnidze Beats Krush In Tiebreak
• Women's Speed Chess Championship: Stefanova Too Strong For Cori
• Women's Speed Chess Championship: Harika Eliminates Kosteniuk In Tiebreak
• Women's Speed Chess Championship: Lagno Beats Gunina
• Women's Speed Chess Championship: Assaubayeva Stuns Koneru