Chinese Yifan outwits Humpy in first semis

Losing her first game so far in the championship, the memories of 2008 have come back to haunt the Indian star as Yifan had ousted her in the previous edition of the championship also in the semis.

Humpy will now be under tremendous pressure to win the return game which will give her a chance to force the tie-break games of shorter duration in this USD 450,000 prize money championship.

The other game of the semifinals was an all Chinese affair, ending in a draw between Zhao Xue and Ruan Lufei, who had ousted Indian D Harika in the previous round.

It turned out to be a very tough day for Humpy, who went for the in vogue Berlin defense as black to handle Yifan’s King pawn opening.

Humpy’s plans to equalise with the Berlin did not quite materialise as it turned out she was not quite familiar with the intricacies of the endgame that is typical of the system.
Yifan, to her credit, exchanged pieces to exert pressure and it all boiled down to a Bishops and pawns endgame wherein Humpy’s dented pawn structure on the queen side had enormous impact.

Results (semifinals, Game I): Ruan Lufei (Chn) drew Zhao Xue (Chn); Yifan Hao (Chn) bt Koneru Humpy (Ind).