Harika loses first game; faces ouster from World Chess
Grandmaster D Harika lost momentum and went down to Tan Zhongyi of China in the first semifinal game of the world women’s chess championship here.
It was a tough day at work for Harika as nothing worked right for the Indian who is making her third straight appearance in the semi-final of a knockout world championship. Zhongyi gave no chances in this nearly one-sided encounter.
Harika will now have to win at all costs to stay in the match. A win in the return game of the two-game mini-match will bring the Indian back in contention while a draw or a loss would mean the end of the road for her in the championship.
The other semifinal match witnessed a huge drama as Russian Alexandra Kosteniuk not only blundered away a won position but went on to lose the game against Anna Muzychuk of Ukraine.
Muzychuk, who won with black, must be thanking her stars as she is now just a draw away from reaching the final of the championship.
Sania Mirza and Barbora Strycova bowed out to the second-seeded pair of Elena Vesnina and Ekaterina Makarova in the semifinals of the Dubai Tennis Championships on Friday. The third-seeded Indo-Czech pair lost 4-6 3-6 in 76 minutes. In singles, Angelique Kerber hammered out a 6-3, 6-2 defeat of Ana Konjuh to stay in contention for a return to the top WTA ranking. Germany’s double Grand Slam winner from 2016 can take back the top spot from Serena Williams through a title on Saturday.
World No 2 Novak Djokovic will make his return from a shoulder injury at next week’s ATP tournament in Acapulco, the Serb said on Friday. Djokovic had accepted a wildcard into the Mexican tournament which boasts a strong field including Australian Open finalist Rafa Nadal.