GM Kateryna Lagno prevailed over GM Humpy Koneru in their quarterfinal match and became the first semifinalist of the FIDE Chess.com 2022 Women’s Speed Chess Championship.

Koneru took a great start and convincingly won the 5+1 segment 5-3. However, Lagno pulled herself together, fought back in the 3+1 portion and overtook the lead.

It all came down to the wire with just three minutes to go on the match clock. Trailing by two points, Koneru needed to win quickly to get a chance to level the score with one more victory. Humpy reached a winning position, but Kateryna managed to stretch the game long enough and sealed the match after her opponent blundered a checkmate.

Lagno talked about some critical moments of the match in a quick interview:

“In the 5+1, I couldn’t get anything with White, and I was struggling with Black, and I was minus two. But then she blundered the rook in this ending when I was two pawns down … I got very lucky. Somehow I could breathe a little bit … During the break, I checked some lines, just to know a few moves, not to lose immediately with Black. Then I had the feeling that she mixed up the moves in Petroff. I checked it, and then I won my first game without any fight.”

The next quarterfinals match, GM Harika Dronavalli vs IM Vaishali R, begins on Thursday, July 21, at 6:30 a.m. Pacific / 15:30 Central European.

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.