Hou Yifan surprised Elina Danielian with the 3.f3 variation against the Caro-Kann. The tournament leader inflicted kingside weaknesses on the Armenian in the early middlegame. This in itself was probably not serious, but an unsuccessful attempt to break out rebounded on Danielian and Hou Yifan cashed in.
Ruan Lufei's activity in the central arena led to self-weakening, rather than an attack, and Tatiana Kosintseva was able to take control.
Anna Muzychuk tried the Leningrad Dutch, and was able to obtain enough play with a clever knight manoeuvre. Later when Humpy Koneru started to press, Muzychuk sacrificed the exchange for a fortress.
Alisa Galliamova and Alexandra Kosteniuk played out a very sharp opening variation, which looked rather dubious for Kosteniuk. However she somehow survived the complications and obtained an equal endgame.
Kateryna Lahno didn't obtain any advantage against Ekateryna Kovalevskaya's active handling of the Tarrasch.
The game between Antoaneta Stefanova and Nadezhda Kosintseva involved early exchanges. Kosintseva pressed for a while, then it was Stefanova's turn, but it always stayed balanced.
The round 6 summary:
| White | Rating | Result | Black | Rating | Moves | Opening |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ruan Lufei | 2479 | 0-1 | Tatiana Kosintseva | 2557 | 63 | Sicilian Scheveningen |
| Kateryna Lahno | 2536 | ½-½ | Ekaterina Kovalevskaya | 2427 | 27 | QGD Tarrasch |
| Hou Yifan | 2575 | 1-0 | Elina Danielian | 2521 | 40 | Caro-Kann Fantasy |
| Antoaneta Stefanova | 2524 | ½-½ | Kosintseva Nadezhda | 2560 | 44 | QGD Ragozin |
| Humpy Koneru | 2614 | ½-½ | Anna Muzychuk | 2538 | 48 | Leningrad Dutch |
| Alisa Galliamova | 2492 | ½-½ | Alexandra Kosteniuk | 2497 | 62 | Nimzoindian Classical |
