GM Tan Zhongyi defeated GM Aleksandra Goryachkina on Saturday within the fourth recreation of their Ladies’s Candidates semifinal in Khiva, Uzbekistan. In doing so, Tan certified for an all-Chinese language remaining vs. GM Lei Tingjie, which is scheduled for the primary quarter of 2023.

Pool B’s semifinal of the Ladies’s Candidates Event noticed an similar situation because the one in Pool A a month in the past, the place the primary three video games had been drawn after which the participant with the white items determined issues, simply earlier than a tiebreak would kick in. And once more, it was the Chinese language participant who prevailed.

It got here considerably surprising, as each gamers had been exhibiting extraordinarily stable chess as much as that time. The day earlier than, that they had drawn a really quiet recreation that began as Bogo-Indian (3.Nf3 Bb4+). Goryachkina, possible caught off-guard, selected a wholesome however not overly formidable setup for her items which allowed Tan to utterly equalize by transfer 20. Within the second half of the sport, not a lot occurred.

Afterward, Goryachkina stated: “I don’t have a lot to say. Certainly, she performed in a short time, but when I’m unable to trigger any issues, there may be not a lot to consider.”

Saturday’s recreation began with the Cambridge-Springs Variation of the Queen’s Gambit Declined, and in addition right here, Black appeared completely advantageous out of the opening. A fourth draw, resulting in a tiebreak on Sunday, appeared imminent.

However then the important thing second for the entire match. Goryachkina spent a bit beneath 4 minutes for her utterly pure 17…Rac8 transfer, which occurred to be a novelty as nicely. Simply 5 minutes later, Tan demonstrated that there was an issue with it: she performed the superb 18.c5! and abruptly all of the techniques labored in her favor.

Goryachkina needed to give a bit for 2 pawns, and she or he might briefly shut down Tan’s bishop on the kingside, however the Chinese language GM determined the sport in her favor surprisingly shortly.

After a Chinese language B staff gained the World Staff Championship not too long ago, it is one more large success for China. With two Chinese language gamers within the remaining, and a Chinese language reigning champion, the ladies’s world title has been secured for not less than one other three years.

The 2022-23 Ladies’s Candidates Event is an elite occasion that includes eight high feminine gamers, who compete in a knockout format for a share of the €250,000 prize fund and the correct to play within the Ladies’s World Championship match in opposition to Ladies’s World Champion Ju Wenjun.

Pool A was gained by GM Lei Tingjie; Pool B came about November 29-December 10, 2022 in Khiva, Uzbekistan. The prize fund was 70,000 euros, whereas one other 110,000 will likely be at stake in subsequent 12 months’s remaining. The time management was 90 minutes for the primary 40 strikes, adopted by half-hour for the remainder of the sport with an increment of 30 seconds per transfer ranging from transfer one. A draw provide earlier than transfer 40 was not allowed.