Women's World Championship Q-Finals Completed
The quarter-finals of the 2012 Women's World Championship were completed today, with three of the matches needing tie-breaks to decide the result.
The only match which ended in the standard time-control games was Anna Ushenina of Ukraine defeating Nadezhda Kosintseva, thereby eliminating the last Russian player in the competition.
Anna Ushenina (left) beat Nadezhda Kosintseva to reach the semi-finals
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Antoaneta Stefanova won both her tie-break games against Marie Sebag to book her place in the semi-finals. The first game was full of errors on both sides, but the second was well-played by Stefanova to seal the match victory. The Bulgarian is aiming to regain the championship which she previously held from 2004-06.
Antoaneta Stefanova
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The tie-break between Harika Dronavalli and Zhao Xue ended in victory for the Indian player. Harika Dronavalli turned the tables on her opponent in the first game and secured a safe draw to see her through to the semi-finals.
If Harika can take the title, then India will hold the World Champion (Vishy Anand) and Women's World Champion titles at the same time!
Harika Dronavalli
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The closest tie-break match was the all-Chinese pairing of Ju Wenjun and Huang Qian. After drawing the first two tie-break games, Ju Wenjun missed wining chances in the third game to allow another draw, but took advantage of a collapse from Huang Qian in the next game to take the match 3½-2½.
Ju Wenjun
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The results in the quarter-finals
| Q-Final Match 01 | Pts | ||||||
| Sebag, Marie (FRA) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| Stefanova, Antoaneta (BUL) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | ||
| Q-Final Match 02 | |||||||
| Ju, Wenjun (CHN) | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 3½ |
| Huang, Qian (CHN) | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 2½ |
| Q-Final Match 03 | |||||||
| Kosintseva, Nadezhda (RUS) | ½ | 0 | ½ | ||||
| Ushenina, Anna (UKR) | ½ | 1 | 1½ | ||||
| Q-Final Match 04 | |||||||
| Zhao, Xue (CHN) | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1½ | ||
| Harika, Dronavalli (IND) | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 2½ |
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The Semi-final pairings
Antoaneta Stefanova (Bulgaria, 16th seed) – Harika Dronavalli (India, 12th seed)
Anna Ushenina (Ukraine, 30th seed) – Ju Wenjun (China, 15th seed)
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The remaining schedule is below. Games start at 15:00 local time (09:00 UTC).
| Date | Day | Event |
| 23.11.2012 | Friday | Semi-finals - game 1 |
| 24.11.2012 | Saturday | Semi-finals - game 2 |
| 25.11.2012 | Sunday | Tiebreaks |
| 26.11.2012 | Monday | Free Day |
| 27.11.2012 | Tuesday | Final - Game1 |
| 28.11.2012 | Wednesday | Final - Game2 |
| 29.11.2012 | Thursday | Final - Game3 |
| 30.11.2012 | Friday | Final - Game4 |
| 01.12.2012 | Saturday | Tiebreaks |
| 02.12.2012 | Sunday | Closing Ceremony |
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The 2012 championship runs from 11 November - 2 December, with each round consisting of 2-game matches (4 in the final) between the players drawn against one another. Tied matches are decided by rapid and blitz tie-break deciders.
Pictures via the official website. Games via TWIC.
