GM Kateryna Lagno overcame IM Vaishali R in the semifinals of the FIDE Chess.com 2022 Women’s Speed Chess Championship 2022 to advance into the final.

Lagno proved to be a better player in the 5+1 and 3+1 segments of the duel, convincingly winning both (6-3 and 5-3, respectively). Vaishali did a better job in the final 1+1 portion but could not wipe out a 5-point deficit – Kateryna sealed the match with about 10 minutes to go. One of the key factors behind her victory was much better time management which helped Lagno to find all the right answers in critical situations.  

Lagno earned $6,384.62 in prize money for her victory, while Vaishali took home $1,615.38 for her efforts.

In a short postgame interview, Kateryna shared her takeaway from this match: “The first impression I have right now is I need to solve more tactics, more and more. Yes, I won the match, but it wasn’t easy. I was ahead all the match, but I had some problems. I missed some tricks. It was a tough match.”

The FIDE Chess.com 2022 Women’s Speed Chess Championship is an online event where titled women players will play a series of blitz and bullet matches for a share of the $70,000 prize fund.

To follow the FIDE Chess.com Women’s Speed Chess Championship, watch a live broadcast of the event with expert commentary on Chess.com/TV and Chess.com Twitch Channel. 

More info and a full schedule of the FIDE Chess.com Women’s Speed Chess Championship can be found here.