Harika, Vaishali through to pre-quarterfinals; Vantika goes down fighting

Batumi (Georgia), Jul 14 (PTI) Indian Grandmasters D Harika and R Vaishali made it to the pre-quarterfinals after getting the better of Tsolakidou Stavroula of Greece and American Carissa Yip respectively in the tie-breaker of the FIDE World Women’s Chess Cup here on Monday.

Harika crashed through the defenses of Stavroula in the second set of tie break games that have 10 minutes for both players while Vaishali was at her best, handing out Yip a defeat in the first set.

With Koneru Humpy and Divya Deshmukh already in the last 16, India can now claim a 25% share of the booty.

However, Grandmaster Vantika Garewal made an exit after losing to Kateryna Lagno of Russia. She showed a lot of grit and determination but in the end the experience of Lagno came in handy.

The last 16 players look like a familiar rivals but the battle is only going to get more intense with three places up for grabs for the next women’s Candidates' tournament that will decide the challenger for reigning champion Wenjun Ju of China.

Harika was at her usual best not giving away much and she capitalized on some unforced errors to get the better of Stavroula. Vaishali was the favourite in her contest against the American Yip and she did not disappoint her fans either.

The next round will be crucial for all four remaining Indian players as it can bring them closer to the semifinals of this USD 691250 prize money event.

Vantika unfortunately has to come back home but her victory over former world champion Anna Ushenina of Ukraine will be cherished for a long time. She went out after making an impression in the tournament.

Complete results after round: Antoaneta Stefanova (Bul) lost to Lei Tingjie (Chn) 0-2; Zhu Jiner (Chn) beat Aleksandra Maltsveskaya (Pol) 2-0; Irina Bulmaga (Rou) lost to Tan Zhongyi (Chn) 0.5-2.5; Koneru Humpy (Ind) beat Kulon Klaudia (Pol) 1.5-0.5; Anna Muzychuk (Ukr) lost to Yuxing Song (Chn) 1-1 .1-1, 0.5-1,5goes to tiebreak; Vantika Agrawal lost to Kateryna Lagno (Fid) 1-1, 1-1, 0.5-1,5;; Nana Dzagnidze (Geo) beat Valentina Gunina (Fid) 1-1 . 1-1. 2-0; Bella Khotenashvili (Geo) lost to Mariya Muzychuk (Ukr) 0-2; Dronavalli Harika (Ind) beat Tsolakidou Stavroula (Gre) 1-1, 1-1, 2-0; Carissa Yip (Usa) lost to R Vaishali (Ind) 1-1, 1-1, 0.5-1.5; Polina Shuvalova (Fid) lost to Lela Javakhashvili (Geo) 0.5-1.5; Teodora Injac (Srb) lost to Divya Deshmukh (Ind) 0.5-1,5; Kaliakhmet Elnaz (Kaz) lost to Umida Polonova (Uzb) 0.5-1.5-0.5; Meri Arabidze (Geo) lost to Alexandra Kosteniuk (Sui) 1-1, 0.5-1.5; Osmak Yuliia (Ukr) beat Lu Miaoyi (Chn) 1.5-0,5; Kamalidenova Meruert (Kaz) beat Anna Shukhman (FID) 1.5-0.5. PTI Corr PDS PDS PDS