The British woman champion, 22, won the board two bronze medal with an unbeaten 5.5/8 at the European teams, but the open squad, joint leaders with two rounds left, were edged out to sixth place
Last week’s European team championships at Budva, Montenegro saw the England open squad narrowly miss out on medals, but there was a fresh success for Lan Yao, 22, a rising star of the women’s game. Lan Yao’s unbeaten 5.5/8 on second board for England women earned her the bronze medal as well as her first international master norm at men’s/open level, and was achieved against a high class field.
In the final two rounds Lan Yao drew with the former world champion Anna Ushenina, of Ukraine, then defeated Sweden’s Pia Cramling, for decades the No 1 woman in western Europe, by effective use of her two bishops. Her rating gain of 26 Fide points means that she is now ranked England’s No 1 woman ahead of the popular commentator Jovanka Houska.
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