Harika will spearhead India at FIDE World Women's Team Championship 2021
Days after winning the Bronze medal at the FIDE Online Olympiad 2021, Indian women's team will start their FIDE World Women's Team Championship campaign on Monday, September 27th at Sitges, Spain. The tournament format has slightly changed from a Round-Robin even to Pool stage and then knockout. Top four from each pool will advance to the Quarterfinals. In 2019, Indian women's team finished at sixth place, they would definitely like to better that finish this time. Harika will be joined by Vaishali, Tania, Bhakti and Mary. Round 1 starts today 27th September at 3 p.m. CET (6:30 p.m. IST). Photo: FIDE
FIDE World Women's Team Championship 2021: Preview
Reigning Women's World Rapid champion and World no.3 Koneru Humpy did not get a visa as she got vaccinated by Covaxin. She got replaced by WGM Mary Ann Gomes who led the Indian women's team last year to a Gold medal victory at Asian Online Nations Cup.
At the end of the month, on September 26, the FIDE World Women's Team Championship 2021 starts in Sitges, a coastal town in Spain's Catalonia region famous for eight editions of a popular chess open, "Sunway Chess". Now, the first time, Sitges is hosting an official FIDE event.
The 8th edition of the FIDE World Women's Team Championship will run from September 26th to October 3rd in a new, more spectator-friendly format. Instead of the usual round-robin, the twelve teams will be divided into two pools of approximately equal strength. Four top teams from each pool (round-robin event of five rounds) qualify to the knockout playoff. In the knockout, each duel consists of two matches and the tie is broken by blitz matches, just like at the recent Online Olympiad. The time control will be shorter than usual, too, 45 minutes for the whole game with an increment of 10 seconds per move starting from the first move.
Team India
Team lineups:
Armenia
1 Elina Danielian 2358
2 Anna Sargsyan 2283
3 Lilit Mkrtchian 2306
4 Susanna Gaboyan 2083
5 Siranush Ghukasyan 2168*
Captain - Zaven Andriasyan
France
1 Marie Sebag 2401
2 Natacha Benmesbah 2193
3 Silvia Alexieva 2277
4 Andrea Navrotescu 2220
5 Christine Flear 2128
Captain - Christine Flear
India
1 Harika Dronavalli 2515
2 Vaishali R 2393
3 Tania Sachdev 2392
4 Bhakti Kulkarni 2391
5 Mary Ann Gomes 2305
Captain - Abhijit Kunte
CFR Team
1 Aleksandra Goryachkina 2520
2 Kateryna Lagno 2521
3 Alexandra Kosteniuk 2517
4 Polina Shuvalova 2383
5 Alina Kashlinskaya 2367
Captain - Sergei Rublevsky
Azerbaijan
1 Gunay Mammadzada 2280
2 Gulnar Mammadova 2406
3 Turkan Mamedjarova 2243
4 Zeinab Mamedjarova 2198
5 Ulviyya Fataliyeva 2310
Georgia
1 Nana Dzagnidze 2455
2 Nino Batsiashvili 2371
3 Bela Khotenashvili 2383
4 Lela Javakhishvili 2364
5 Meri Arabidze 2343
Captain - Davit Jojua
Kazakhstan
1 Zhansaya Abdumalik 2444
2 Dinara Saduakassova 2429
3 Bibisara Assaubayeva 2369
4 Gulmira Dauletova 2184
5 Meruert Kamalidenova 1984
Captain - Pavel Kotsur
Spain
1 Ana Matnadze 2349
2 Sabrina Vega Gutierrez 2214
3 Marta Garcia Martin 2097
4 Monica Calzetta Ruiz 2103
5 Maria Eizaguerri Floris 1811
Captain - David Martinez Martin
FIDE Americas
1 Deysi Cori 2340
2 Carolina Luján 2375
3 Maritza Arribas 2261
4 Maili-Jade Ouellet 2113
5 Jeniffer Pérez 2150
Captain - Claudia Amura
Germany
1 Elisabeth Paehtz 2371
2 Josephine Heinemann 2177
3 Hanna Marie Klek 2331*
4 Jana Schneider 2138
5 Melanie Lubbe 2300*
Poland
1 Jolanta Zawadzka 2403
2 Karina Cyfka 2417
3 Monika Socko 2393
4 Klaudia Kulon 2363
5 Julia Antolak 2340
Captain - Marcin Dziuba
Ukraine
1 Anna Muzychuk 2537
2 Mariya Muzychuk 2496
3 Anna Ushenina 2418
4 Nataliya Buksa 2184
5 Julia Osmak 2302
Captain - Michail Brodsky
* – player doesn't have a rapid rating, classical one used instead
Schedule
Pool Stage: Monday 27th September
Round 1 - 3:00 p.m. CET (6:30 p.m. IST)
Round 2 - 6:00 p.m. CET (9:30 p.m. IST)
Tuesday 28th September
Round 3 - 3:00 p.m. CET (6:30 p.m. IST)
Round 4 - 6:00 p.m. CET (9:30 p.m. IST)
Wednesday 29th September
Round 5 - 3:00 p.m. CET (6:30 p.m. IST)
Quarterfinals: Thursday 30th September
Match 1 - 3:00 p.m. CET (6:30 p.m. IST)
Match 2 - 6:00 p.m. CET (9:30 p.m. IST)
Tie-breaks - 8:30 p.m. CET (Friday 12:00 a.m. IST)
Semifinals: Friday 1st October
Match 1 - 3:00 p.m. CET (6:30 p.m. IST)
Match 2 - 6:00 p.m. CET (9:30 p.m. IST)
Tie-breaks - 8:30 p.m. CET (Friday 12:00 a.m. IST)
Finals Saturday 2nd October
Match 1 - 3:00 p.m. CET (6:30 p.m. IST)
Match 2 - 6:00 p.m. CET (9:30 p.m. IST)
Tie-breaks - 8:30 p.m. CET (Friday 12:00 a.m. IST)
Time Control
The time control is 45 minutes + 10 seconds increment for the entire game, for tie-breaks - 3 minutes + 2 seconds increment.
