The Women’s Speed Chess Championship Grand Prix continues on chess.com - Leg 03 quarterfinals were played today.

The matches of the first playing session were lopsided affairs: European Blitz Champion Alexandra Kosteniuk somewhat surprisingly clobbered Humpy Koneru 9-2, whereas #1 in women rating Hou Yifan convincingly outplayed Harika Dronavalli 7-3.

On the contrary, both matches of the second session came down to the wire.

The match between Kateryna Lagno and Anna Ushenina had it all - a disconnection, missed chances, and even a dramatic threefold repetition in a queen vs. rook ending in the ultimate bullet game. The outcome of this duel was decided in Armageddon won by Lagno who goes further to the semis.

The match Ju Wenjun – Sarasadat Khademalsharieh brought the major upset of the quarterfinals. The Chinese pulled ahead after the slowest portion of the match but Sarasadat showed her prowess in faster time controls, stormed back, and eliminated the Women’s World Champion.

The semifinal matches will start on July 10 one hour earlier than usual, at 13:30 CEST.