Russia’s Kateryna Lagno wins World Blitz Chess title in St. Petersburg
Russian chess player Kateryna Lagno claimed the women’s World Blitz Chess crown with a dominant performance in St. Petersburg on Sunday.
Lagno, 29, went undefeated as she scored 13.5/17 in the rapid-fire series of games, pushing Iran’s Sarasdat Khademalsharieh into second and China’s Lei Tingjie into third.
The World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships are being held at St. Petersburg’s Manege exhibition center in the north of Russia.
Kateryna Lagno is the Women’s World Blitz Champion 2018! She scored 13,5 out of 17 undefeated. Sarasadat Khademalsharieh is second, Lei Tingjie third. Congratulations! #wrbc2018 Full standings https://t.co/u8xIaaB9LO Photo by @LennartOotespic.twitter.com/z1e1rnhRdI
— FIDE (@FIDE_chess) December 30, 2018
GM Lagno just won the 2018 Women’s World Blitz Championship! Congratulations! @WOMChess@FIDE_chess@ruchess_eng@EuropeEchecs@chessdom (photo by S Triay) pic.twitter.com/FeeFp2am0o
— Susan Polgar (@SusanPolgar) December 30, 2018
The blitz chess success for Lagno adds to victory in the men’s rapid chess tournament for 22-year-old Russian Daniil Dubov.
Norwegian sensation Magnus Carlsen made up for a relatively lowly fifth-place showing in that tournament by claiming victory in the blitz edition of the event.
Congratulations to 2018 World Blitz Chess Champion @MagnusCarlsen!🙌🏆🙌 #WRBC2018Magnus scored an insane 🔥 17/21 🔥 and needed every point as Polish prodigy Jan-Krzystzof Duda finished only a half-point behind! pic.twitter.com/Z3rM3qusPk
— Chess.com (@chesscom) December 30, 2018
Carlsen scored 17/21, edging out Polish star Jan-Krzystzof Duda by just half a point.
Ukrainian-bornLagno was a child chess prodigy, and earned the title of women’s grandmaster at the age of just 12.
She made the switch from the Ukrainian Chess Federation to the Russian Federation in 2014 in a move approved by FIDE.
She has previously won the world rapid title in 2014, and in November of this year lost out to China’s Ju in a tense playoff at the Women’s World Championship.
