In the eighth round of the Women’s World Team Championship, all the leaders confidently won their matches and kept the same standings.
World Champion Anna Ushenina lost for the first time in the tournament against Irina Krush, but Ukraine was still stronger in the match against the USA. Natalia Zhukova and Kateryna Lahno defeated their opponents, while Mariya Muzychuk made a draw to secure the team’s victory.
Participants / Follow – replay the games with computer analysis
Kateryna Lahno won her game for Ukraine
Kazakhstan outplayed France with a 2,5-1,5 score and moved up to the seventh place. Guliskhan Nakhbaeva, who is showing great results on the first board, defeated IM Sophie Milliet. The talented player from Kazakhstan has already secured an IM norm.
China crushed Turkey with a 4-0 score. Two participants of the match – Ju Wenjun (China) and Kubra Ozturk (Turkey) – have also achieved IM norms.
Georgia won against Romania 3-1. Nana Dzagnidze was defeated by Irina Bulmaga, but all other Georgian girls managed to win.
Irina Krush defeated World Champion Anna Ushenina
After eight rounds, Ukraine leads two points ahead of China. Russia is still one point behind China. Ukraine has already secured at least the silver medals, but needs not to lose against Russia to get the overall victory. On the other hand, the Russian team is also fighting for a place on the podium. Only a victory in the match against the Indian team is going to give the Chinese girls a chance to fight for the gold. Georgia needs to outplay Kazakhstan to keep chances for the bronze medals.
The crucial fight for the medals will begin at 11am local time on the 12th of March.
Valentina Gunina - first board of the Russian team
Standings after 8 rounds:
| 1 | UKRAINE | 15 | 22½ |
| 2 | CHINA | 13 | 23 |
| 3 | RUSSIA | 12 | 22 |
| 4 | GEORGIA | 10 | 19 |
| 5 | INDIA | 9 | 16½ |
| 6 | USA | 7 | 13½ |
| 7 | KAZAKHSTAN | 6 | 14 |
| 8 | ROMANIA | 5 | 12½ |
| 9 | FRANCE | 2 | 8½ |
| 10 | TURKEY | 1 | 8½ |
Round 9 pairings:
| FRANCE | – | TURKEY | |||||
| 1 | IM | Millet Sophie | 2401 | : | WGM | Yildiz Betul Cemre | 2341 |
| 2 | WGM | Maisuradze Nino | 2330 | : | WGM | Ozturk Kubra | 2252 |
| 3 | IM | Collas Silvia | 2282 | : | WCM | Cemhan Kardelen | 2025 |
| 4 | WIM | Benmesbah Natacha | 2266 | : | WFM | Sop Selen | 2028 |
| GEORGIA | – | KAZAKHSTAN | |||||
| 1 | GM | Dzagnidze Nana | 2554 | : | WGM | Nakhbayeva Guliskhan | 2344 |
| 2 | IM | Khotenashvili Bela | 2499 | : | WIM | Dauletova Gulmira | 2265 |
| 3 | IM | JavaKhishvilli Lela | 2464 | : | WIM | Davletbayeva Madina | 2272 |
| 4 | IM | Khurtsidze Nino | 2437 | : | WIM | Abdumalik Zansaya | 2187 |
| USA | – | ROMANIA | |||||
| 1 | IM | Krush Irina | 2448 | : | IM | Foisor Cristina Adela | 2401 |
| 2 | WGM | Abrahamyan Tatev | 2300 | : | WGM | Bulmaga Irina | 2354 |
| 3 | WGM | Foisor Sabina | 2323 | : | WGM | Lami Alina | 2353 |
| 4 | WIM | Ni Viktorija | 2263 | : | WGM | Voicu-Jagodzinsky Carmen | 2281 |
| RUSSIA | – | UKRAINE | |||||
| 1 | IM | Gunina Valentina | 2505 | : | GM | Lagno Kateryna | 2547 |
| 2 | WGM | Pogonina Natalija | 2475 | : | GM | Ushenina Anna | 2477 |
| 3 | IM | Galliamova Alisa | 2459 | : | IM | Muzychuk Mariya | 2479 |
| 4 | WGM | Girya Olga | 2440 | : | GM | Zhukova Natalia | 2471 |
Photos by Anastasiya Karlovich
