After upsetting US, Kazakhstan faces India in World Team Chess Championship playoffs

In the final round of the group stage at the World Women’s Team Chess Championship in Spain, the Kazakh women’s team left the Americans no chance, winning 3.5-0.5. Finishing second in Group A, Team Kazakhstan will face India, the third-place team in Group B, in the quarterfinals.

The convincing win over the Americans was all the more notable given that the U.S. players were higher-rated on every board. Xeniya Balabayeva secured her fourth victory in five games. The 19-year-old Kazakh, playing White, forced 41-year-old Irina Krush to resign on move 58 under the threat of an inevitable pawn promotion to a queen. Krush, who was born in Odesa and moved to Brooklyn at age 11, is widely regarded as a leading figure in U.S. women’s chess. In 2013, she earned the sport’s highest title: grandmaster.

Kazakhstan’s current national team also includes a grandmaster, but Bibisara Assaubayeva did not play in the match against the Americans. Meruert Kamalidenova earned the team’s fourth point, defeating Carissa Yip with the White pieces on Board 1.

In the first stage of the playoffs, Kazakhstan will face India today. With a win, captain Pavel Kotsur’s team would advance to the semifinals to play the winner of the Georgia-Azerbaijan match.