Bulgarian extends lead in chess rapid, blitz World championships

Batumi (Georgia) - Stefanova Antoaneta, the 2004 World champion from Bulgaria, has further extended her lead in the 2012 women’s World Chess Rapid and Blitz Championships.

The Grandmaster (GM) tied one and won two games Saturday to sit atop the 50-player pack with 7.5 points from nine rounds of play, Xinhua reported.

Her closest rival, 2008 world champion Alexandra Kosteniuk from Russia, garnered seven points to place second, followed by India’s Koneru Humpy, Ukraine’s Kateryna Lahno and Slovenia’s Anna Muzychuk, all with 6.5 points.

Early leader women’s GM Huang Qian from China dropped further after losing her first game in the Batumi championships to ninth position on an accumulated tally of 5.5 points.

Two more rounds will be played Sunday to decide the winner of the 11-round, 50-player world women’s rapid chess champion.

Another tournament of 15 rounds will be held Monday and Tuesday as the 2012 women’s World Chess Blitz Championship.