GM Hou Yifan defeated GM Alexandra Kosteniuk in the quarterfinals of the FIDE Chess.com 2022 Women's Speed Chess Championship to reach semifinals. This clash of two worthy opponents produced many exciting tactical battles.

The last year champion, Hou, took  an early lead and despite Kosteniuk’s stubborn resistance won the first 5+1 segment by a score of 6-3.

Alexandra did not lose her heart and after scoring two victories in a row made up ground, but Hou responded with three straight wins to seal the second 3+1 stage of the match (5.5-3.5).

Kosteniuk reduced the gap at the start of the 1+1 games but Hou struck back and clinched the match despite eventually losing the third segment.

Hou earned $3,115.38 in prize money for her victory while Kosteniuk picked up $884.62 for her efforts.

In the post-match interview, Hou told about her warm-up for the match: “The only preparation I’ve done was just trying to play some practice games with friends or students. But to be honest, in those games, I was actually performing very poorly, giving away pieces or making blunders. I remember one of my friends said that ‘you’ll do better in a real match.’ Maybe that helps, you know."

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.