Women’s World Cup: Kamalidenova knocks out Goryachkina, Omanova gets second upset win

The second-round tiebreaks of the Women’s World Cup saw major developments, including the early exit of defending champion Aleksandra Goryachkina at the hands of Meruert Kamalidenova (pictured). Alina Kashlinskaya was also eliminated, while several top seeds – such as Mariya Muzychuk, Kateryna Lagno and Alexandra Kosteniuk – were pushed to extended matches. Other notable qualifiers included Umida Omonova, Song Yuxin and Lu Miaoyi, who all advanced after strong performances in rapid and blitz. | Photo: Anna Shtourman / FIDE