2010 Women’s Chess Championship: Round #4

2010 Women World Chess Championship Round #4 Pairings
#	Player	ELO	Nation	Flag	Player	ELO	Nation	Flag
1	Harika	2525	IND		Ruan	2480	CHN
2	Zhao	2474	CHN		Skripchenko	2460	FRA
3	Koneru	2600	IND		Ju	2524	CHN
4	Hou	2591	CHN		Lahno	2522	UKR

Preview: Looking at the quarterfinals, you have Koneru Humpy and Hou Yifan in the same bracket. That is unfortunate and probably an oversight. Apparentely, Alexandra Kosteniuk is the top seed as World Champion, but it still would not explain Humpy and Hou in the same bracket since they would be #2 and #3. It appears as if Kosteniuk was given the best chance to defend.

This could be an “all-Chinese” semi-final, or it could be India vs. China semi-final. Ruan Lufei is in good form and her matchup with Dronavali Harika will be a major fight. Ju Wenjun can possibly be a difficult opponent for Koneru Humpy. Uncertain of their head-to-head record, but Ju is a very determined fighter as are all of the Chinese.

Almira Skripchenko will be a heavy underdog versus Zhao Xue, but her games against Viktorija Cmilyte were impressive. Hou-Lahno will be a good matchup of experienced players… both legitimate Grandmasters. There is no rest day until after round #5.