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Humpy sets up historic all-Indian FIDE Women's World Cup final against Divya after beating top-seed Lei
Koneru Humpy in action during the semi-finals of the 2025 FIDE Women's World Cup in Batumi, Georgia. Image credit: FIDE
The FIDE Women's World Cup in Batumi, Georgia, is set to witness a historic all-Indian final with Grandmaster Koneru Humpy defeating Chinese top-seed Lei Tingjie in the tie-breaks to win her semi-final showdown with a 5-3 scoreline.
Reigning women's world rapid champion Humpy is set to face International Master Divya Deshmukh, who had won the other Sino-Indian semi-final showdown with a victory over veteran GM Tan Zhongyi 1.5-0.5 on Wednesday.
World No 3 Lei had earlier dragged the semi-final into the tie-breaks after holding Humpy to a draw in the second Classical game on Wednesday. And she found herself leading 3-2 at one stage of the tie-breaks, before the 38-year-old Indian GM roared back with a hat-trick of victories – two of them with white pieces.
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🇮🇳 Humpy Koneru will face 🇮🇳 Divya Deshmukh in the FIDE Women's World Cup 2025 Final! 🔥#FIDEWorldCup pic.twitter.com/OG0P54Q2og — International Chess Federation (@FIDE_chess) July 24, 2025
Only one Indian (GM Harika Dronavalli in 2021) had reached the previous two editions of the prestigious tournament. This edition has witnessed four Indians in the quarter-finals, with two of them going the distance.
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