Koneru Humpy, Divya Deshmukh Settle For A Draw In Game 2 Of FIDE Women's World Cup Final; Tiebreaks To Ensue On Monday
Well, it was level pegging yet again, and tiebreaks shall decide the fate of Koneru Humpy and Divya Deshmukh, who played out yet another enthralling draw at Game 2 of the FIDE Women's World Cup on Sunday.
The Indian players, currently tied at 1-1 each, shall now enter the tiebreaks to decide the ultimate winner.
Both finalists already made history, becoming the first-ever Indians to qualify for the semifinals of the Women's World Cup, after which both players went on the schedule the first-ever All-Indian final at the event.
Game 1 of the Final was a nail-biting draw, which saw Divya throw away her lead with the white pieces, allowing the veteran Humpy to fight her way back into the game and force the draw.
With the title on the line, Humpy and Divya came in with the idea of finishing off the bout today.
Humpy started off with a conservative opening, in an attempt to hold onto her slender advantage with the white pieces. But, a spirited Divya was on top of her game, attacking the veteran with might and courage, piling the time pressure on Humpy early on.
Move 20, though, proved to be a moment of importance.
Divya, playing with two knights, offered a tempting Queen Exchange to Humpy, who had two bishops on offer.
But the veteran took her sweet time, burning the clock down to a little less than 35 minutes left, to deny the offer and push Divya, who held the clear time advantage, to an early endgame.
Divya, though, kept her composure to work her way out of the rut and secure the draw, to live to fight another day.
Humpy and Divya will face off in the tiebreaks tomorrow, on Monday.
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