Harika Advances To Final Vs. Hou Yifan

GM Harika Dronavalli will face GM Hou Yifan in the Julius Baer Women's Speed Chess Championship 2023 Final. On Tuesday, she defeated GM Kateryna Lagno in the Semifinals by a score of 12-10.

It was a fairly even match in the first two segments, though Harika led by one or two points throughout. The turning point was the last 3+1 game, which the Indian GM won, and she carried that momentum through the bullet segment.

The Final will take place on Wednesday, November 22 starting at 7:00 a.m. ET / 13:00 CET / 5:30 p.m. IST.

Lagno 10-12 Harika | Semifinals 

• 5+1: Lagno 3.5-4.5 Harika
• 3+1: Lagno 3.5-3.5 Harika
• 1+1: Lagno 3-4 Harika

Two years ago, in the 2021 Semifinals, Harika defeated Lagno 14-13 and needed tiebreaks to do so. This year, SmarterChess predicted an advantage for Lagno in the faster time controls, although ultimately her opponent triumphed once again.

Harika overcame the odds as she outplayed Lagno in each segment. Even in the first two segments, there were some points left on the table that could have extended the lead further.

GM Daniel Naroditsky prefaced the match with this summary: "[We have] two players with completely opposing styles. Harika, very positional, a very classical player, Kateryna Lagno, exclusively 1.e4, extremely tactical, loves complications. I'm really curious which playing style is going to prevail today."

5+1: Lagno 3.5-4.5 Harika

Harika took a one-point lead in the first segment, although it could have been even more. 

She drew her first two games with White and won her first two with Black, taking an early two-point lead.

In the first game, which is also our Game of the Day, Harika won after the powerful 23...Rxf3! which, although the position was still equal, quickly caused White to collapse. GM Rafael Leitao analyzes it in detail below. 

Lagno got her first victory in game five thanks to the weak dark squares around the opponent's king—several sparkling tactics revolved around this theme, with Black's loose knights also coming into play.

The last three games were drawn, although they were still full of action. Game six left neither player any chance to win, but in game seven, Lagno gained a one-pawn advantage which she wasn't able to convert. In the eighth and last game of the 5+1 section, Harika was winning on the board but, in time trouble, settled for a threefold repetition.

White was only looking for the perpetual check, but can you visualize the mate in five missed in the game?! #SpeedChess #WSCC pic.twitter.com/b8AxQ8Twlc

— chess24.com (@chess24com) November 21, 2023

WGM Jennifer Shahade concluded: "This score could be a lot bigger than one point for Harika!", a premonition that turned out to be true later on.

3+1: Lagno 3.5-3.5 Harika

Following the three draws to finish the last segment, the first four games of this one were drawn as well. Even between grandmasters, seven draws in a row is quite unusual for the SCC. Despite fighting chess by both players, in the end there were just two decisive results in this portion—one win for each side.

The action picked up in the fifth game, when Harika resigned on move 14 after forgetting about a pin on the e-file, allowing Lagno to equalize the score.

Harika resigns on move 14!

13...Kd7 would have kept things defended instead.#SpeedChess #WSCC pic.twitter.com/AQ0yNE1e6a

— chess24.com (@chess24com) November 21, 2023

On the other side of another draw, it was Harika who regained the one-point lead. After walking into a family fork, completely lost, she managed to quickly recover and win the game.

Harika later called this the turning point of the match. Psychologically, this game seemed to give Harika great momentum ahead of the bullet portion.

1+1: Lagno 3-4 Harika

The Indian grandmaster started strong to gain a three-point lead. Just as it seemed Lagno was about to stage a comeback in the second half, Harika shut it down.

Winning the first two games, she took a three-point lead that would carry her through to the end of the match. The second of those games featured an elegant pawn move to force mate:

49...h4! is the nail in the coffin, with an unstoppable mate, and Harika goes +3!#SpeedChess #WSCC pic.twitter.com/6ylpqZFEiY

— chess24.com (@chess24com) November 21, 2023

Lagno won game four after using a discovered check to win a queen, but in game five, she lost a piece and the point. The penultimate game was her last chance, and even after blundering a full rook in the endgame, Lagno once again had a chance to win. This game ending in a draw decided the match.

Harika lost the last game but won the match—though pride points always count for something, including a bit of extra cash.

The Indian GM earns $6,000 for winning the match plus $3,272.73 by win percentage. Lagno finishes in the Semifinals with $2,727.27 by win percentage.

Asked about playing the Final against Hou on Wednesday, Harika said: "Actually, I didn't even still process that I finished this and I'm going to Finals... I'll try to relax a bit and try to focus on the game as much as I can and play some quality games if possible." She finished with: "It's just a new day and I'll fight."

"It was about equal, but then I was really, really tired, and I just started blundering pieces in bullet. So I think today she was better than me," said Lagno after the match.

She also predicted that Harika, whom she said was in great form, would win the match tomorrow against Hou! We won't have to wait long to find out, as the Final takes place the very next day.

The 2023 Julius Baer Women's Speed Chess Championship (WSCC) is an online competition featuring some of the strongest women chess players in the world, with the main event starting on November 13. The WSCC features a $75,000 prize fund.

Previous coverage

• Hou Yifan Prevails In Clash Of World Champions
• 'Chess Queen' Kosteniuk Wins Battle Of Generations Vs. Vaishali
• Lagno Clinches With Double-Digit Margin, Advances To Semifinals
• Harika Wins All 3 Segments, Hou Yifan Cranks Out 7-Game Winning Streak
• Shuvalova, Priyanka Qualify For Julius Baer WSCC 2023
• 'Hou Yifan Out For Revenge Against Lagno In 2023 Julius Baer Women’s Speed Chess Championship