Anna Ushenina from Ukraine became the new Women’s World Champion after defeating Antoaneta Stefanova from Bulgaria in the final match by 3,5-2,5. Congratulations!
The score after the four classical games was tied 2-2, with Ushenina winning the third game and Stefanova striking back in the fourth. The rapid tie-break match was played on Saturday. Ushenina came on the top with 1,5-0,5 to claim the title. Replay the games.
Stefanova, the former World Champion in 2004-2006, was prevented from winning the title again. She is also the reigning Women’s World Rapid Champion.
Anna Ushenina will defend her title in 2013 in a match against Hou Yifan, the former World Champion (2010-2012) who qualified as the winner of the FIDE Grand Prix series.
At the press conference Ushenina stated: “The match was very interesting, but we were clearly tired and made many mistakes. In the third and fourth games we exchanged blows: first I took the lead, then Antoaneta equalized the score. In the first tie-break game White stood better, but I held a draw. In the second game Black was slightly worse, but Antoaneta was very short on time, defended inaccurately and gave me a chance to win.”
Anna Ushenina
