Date:11/09/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/09/11/stories/2008091161362100.htm

Sport

Hou stuns Humpy

NEW DELHI: China’s 15-year-old wonder-girl Hou Yifan dealt a serious blow to the title aspirations of second seed K. Humpy by inflicting a surprise defeat in the first game of their women’s World championship semifinals at Nalchik, Russia, on Wednesday.

In this Ruy Lopez game, Humpy blundered away a knight on the 34th move and thereafter continued to fight in search of a draw. But the Chinese girl played accurately and ended Humpy’s resistance in 55 moves.

Humpy faces a must-win situation on Thursday with white pieces to stay alive in the competition.

In the other semifinal, Russia’s Alexandra Kosteniuk defeated Sweden’s Pia Cramling in 35 moves to get closer to a place in the final.

Meanwhile at Bilbao, in Spain, Viswanathan Anand who faced Azerbaijan’s Teimour Radjabov played out his sixth draw in seven rounds of the Grand Slam Finals on a sensational day when leader Magnus Carlsen and second-placed Veselin Topalov suffered defeats.

Following the 29-move deadlock in Sicilian Paulsen, Anand and Rajdabov are the only players yet to win a game in the six-player field. Three more rounds remain.

Vassily Ivanchuk scored his first victory of the competition when he overpowered Carlsen with black pieces in 32 moves of Queen’s Gambit Declined.

Later, Levon Aronian ensured that there was no unbeaten player in the field after bringing down Topalov in 58 moves of Nimzo Indian. The result also helped Carlsen stay ahead.

The results: Seventh round: Teimour Radjabov (Aze, 6) drew with Viswanathan Anand (6); Magnus Carlsen (Nor, 11) lost to Vassily Ivanchuk (Ukr, 8); Levon Aronian (Arm, 9) bt Veselin Topalov (Bul, 10).