Official WWC report
Only 8 participants are left in the World Championship. Hou Yifan, playing with black pieces, won against Katerina Lahno. Ukrainian player had a little advantage due to the extra pawn but the bishops of the opponent were very strong. Instead of making accurate draw, Katerina Lahno was probably trying to play for more and lost the game.
Humpy Koneru received a position with an advantage and managed to win a pawn. Her opponent Ju Wenjun created some counter play on the king’s side and provoked a mistake from the Indian player. Achieved a comfortable equalization, Ju Wenjun blundered both pawn and game as her position immediately collapsed.
Two games, Zhao – Skripchenko and Harika – Ruan, were drawn. In the first game French player Almira Skripchenko grabbed a pawn in a middle game but it was not enough to make a full point. Harika Dronavalli got a position with two bishops in the endgame but, due to accurate play of her opponent Ruan Lufei, didn’t manage to win a game.
It’s a disgrace that the top 2 have to meet in the semifinal. This is all to protect Kosteniuk.