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India Today
23-07-2025
- Sport
- India Today
Divya Deshmukh creates history, storms into FIDE Women's World Cup final
India's teenage chess sensation Divya Deshmukh continued her dream run at the FIDE Women's World Cup 2025 as she knocked out the former World Champion China's Tan Zhongyi on Wednesday, July 23 to reach the final. With the win, Deshmukh became the first Indian to reach the summit clash in the elite tournament. The 19-year-old stunned the World No.4 to record the biggest win of her career and reach the final. She defeated Zhongyi in the second leg of their semi-final by white pieces to to win the tie 1.5-0.5 after drawing the first leg with black applied a wild Alapin Sicilian Defence game to turn the tide her in a game that ebbed and flowed both ways. Deshmukh's magical run so far The 19-year-old has shown tremendous form in the ongoing tournament. She had defeated second seed China's Zhu Jiner in the fourth round, before knocking out compatriot Harika Dronavalli in the quarterfinals. Harika had pushed the quarterfinal clash into tie-breaks after playing two draws in the Classical leg. However, Deshmukh was too good for Harika in the end. Deshmukh will take on the winner of the second semifinal played between top seed China's Lei Tingjie and India No. 1 Koneru Humpy. The 19-year-old's result on Wednesday means that India could have two spots at the prestigious Candidate tournament. Even if Humpy can make it to the final of the tournament, then she will also be assured of a place in the Candidate tournament. Even if she loses the final, the India No.1 will get another shot to seal her spot in the World Championship challenger FIDE Women's World Cup is an important event in the World Championship cycle as it offers three qualifying spots for the Candidates. The Women's Grand Prix Series 2024-25 and the Grand Swiss will provide two spots each, while the last is reserved for the highest-placed player in the FIDE Women's Events 2025-26 series. Whoever wins the Candidates, will have the chance to challenge for the World Champion. - Ends
Indian Express
23-07-2025
- Sport
- Indian Express
Divya Deshmukh scripts history, reaches FIDE Women's World Cup final after beating former World Champion Tan Zhongyi
India's teenage superstar Divya Deshmukh's dream run at the ongoing FIDE Women's World Cup 2025 continues as she knocked out former World Champion China's Tan Zhongyi in the semifinal in Batumi on Wednesday, becoming the first Indian to reach the finals of this elite tournament. The 19-year-old stunned World No. 4 for the biggest win of her career. She handed Tan a loss in the second leg of their semifinal clash by white pieces to win the tie 1.5-0.5 after drawing the first leg with black pieces. Divya played a wild Alapin Sicilian Defense game to convert a match which ebbed and flowed both ways. The teenage sensation had earlier ousted second seed China's Zhu Jiner in the fourth round, before eliminating compatriot Harika Dronavalli in the quarterfinals. The India No. 2 Harika, who had already reached the quarterfinals in 2023 (the first Indian to make the top eight), took the quarterfinal clash to the tiebreaks after playing two draws in the Classical leg, but the youngster proved too good to handle for the 34-year-old Harika. Divya will take on the winner of the second semifinal played between top seed China's Lei Tingjie and India No. 1 Koneru Humpy. Divya's result meant two Indians can get a spot at the prestigious Candidate tournament. If Humpy qualifies for the final, she will also be assured of a Candidates spot. Even if she loses, Humpy will have another shot at making it into the World Championship challenger tournament. The FIDE Women's World Cup is the most crucial event in the World Championship cycle, offering three qualifying spots for Candidates. The Women's Grand Prix Series 2024-25 and the Grand Swiss provide two spots each, while the last is reserved for the highest-placed player in the 'FIDE Women's Events 2025-26' series. The winner of the Candidates will earn the right to challenge the reigning World Champion, in this case, China's Ju Wenjun.
The Hindu
22-07-2025
- Sport
- The Hindu
Divya Deshmukh springs another surprise stunning Harika to be in semis
Slowly but surely emerging as one of India's key players, International Master Divya Deshmukh stunned higher-ranked compatriot Harika Dronavalli 2-0 in the tiebreaks to enter the semifinals of the FIDE World Women's Chess Cup here. After two uneventful draws in the classical games, the pressure was on Harika in the rapid tiebreaks. Divya capitalised with a determined performance to win the first game, before sealing the match in the second as Harika, in a must-win situation, overpressed in search of a miracle that never came. While Harika has been a semifinalist on three different occasions in a similar format which was then called the world women's championship, Humpy and now Divya have become the two Indians who made it to the semis of the women's world cup as this is a part of the new world championship cycle. This also means that one Indian entry is assured in the Women's Candidates Tournament slated sometime next year, which will decide who will contest the world championship match against incumbent Ju Wenjun of China. Highest-ranked Indian for over a decade, Koneru Humpy is already in the last four for the first time in her career, and this is one title that has eluded her all these years. With Divya Deshmukh joining her as the other semi-finalist, it shows a paradigm shift in Indian women's chess too, where the boys have largely been making hay. Divya employed the Italian Opening in the first game and gave nothing away. Harika was outdone in the middlegame while trying to find some serious counterplay but ended up miscalculating, which cost her the queen for two white pieces. The rest was easy for Divya, who has now established herself as a force to reckon with in women's chess. In the return game, Harika had to win, but again Divya was up to the task in defence. It is well known that Harika adores her chances in faster versions, but against Divya she did not get many. It was a picturesque finish in the end that closed the doors for Harika. In the semifinals, Humpy will meet top seed Lei Tingjie of China, while Divya will face former women's world champion Tan Zhongyi, also of China.
Time of India
22-07-2025
- Sport
- Time of India
Inspired Divya Deshmukh takes down Harika in rapid
Divya Deshmukh (Image credit FIDE) Making the most of her favourite chess format, World junior champion Divya Deshmukh made it to the FIDE Women's World Cup semifinals in Batumi, Georgia, on Monday. Nagpur's 19-year-old International Master (IM) knocked down veteran Grandmaster D Harika in the first set of quarterfinal tiebreaks played in Divya's favourite rapid format. Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW! The win saw her take a bold step towards qualifying for the Women's Candidates tournament. Divya won both her games played with the white and black pieces to clinch the quarterfinal 3-1, a day after the compatriots drew two of their classical games. Divya was overwhelmed with emotions after winning the second tiebreak game, which at one stage was a losing contest for her. She said, 'Happy with the way I played today. I think the preparation had a lot of role in the first rapid game today. I would like to thank my coach for this. The last game didn't go the way I thought. In the second game, Harika played quite well, I am just glad it's over.' In the day's opening game played in the rapid format, Divya utilised her opening advantage with white pieces well. Divya opted for the Giuoco Piano Game with Center attack, utilising her pawn. On the 22nd and 24th turns, Harika made a couple of dubious moves, and Divya found her attacking weapon. On the 33rd move, Divya snatched Harika's queen by exchanging her rook to take a firm grip on the contest. She converted the queen vs rook endgame and took the lead by winning the contest in 57 moves. In the following game with black pieces, Divya chose the Slav Defense of Modern Line. After Divya played a couple of questionable moves, Harika made a mistake on the 18th turn. Despite that, the game remained equal with a couple of Harika's bishops and Divya's knight and bishop. A 60th move by Divya confused Harika, and she made back-to-back blunders on the 61st and 63rd turns. Divya was severely low on time and on the verge of losing the contest, but she started making her moves fast and succeeded in going a pawn up. When Divya made her winning 76th move by advancing her pawn, Harika resigned. From Tuesday, the semifinal battles will be played between India and China. Divya will face China's World No. 8 Tan Zhongyi, and Koneru Humpy will be up against top seed Lei Tingjie. With the top three finishers qualifiyng for the Women's Candidates tournament, both Humpy and Divya can earn the right to fight in the event from where the World Champion Challenger will be identified. On her plans against Tan in the semifinals, Divya said, 'I always wanted to avoid tiebreaks, but it's not in my hands. I just want to forget everything and eat now. After that, I will start preparing.' On who was the toughest opponent in the World Cup so far, Divya said, 'Zhu was the toughest opponent. Winning against Zhu in tiebreaks gave me confidence, and today it reflected in my play.' Catch Rani Rampal's inspiring story on Game On, Episode 4. Watch Here!
The Hindu
22-07-2025
- Sport
- The Hindu
Divya Deshmukh springs another surprise to be in semis
Slowly but surely emerging as one of India's key players, International Master Divya Deshmukh stunned higher-ranked compatriot Harika Dronavalli 2-0 in the tiebreaks to enter the semifinals of the FIDE World Women's Chess Cup here. After two uneventful draws in the classical games, the pressure was on Harika in the rapid tiebreaks. Divya capitalised with a determined performance to win the first game, before sealing the match in the second as Harika, in a must-win situation, overpressed in search of a miracle that never came. While Harika has been a semifinalist on three different occasions in a similar format which was then called the world women's championship, Humpy and now Divya have become the two Indians who made it to the semis of the women's world cup as this is a part of the new world championship cycle. This also means that one Indian entry is assured in the Women's Candidates Tournament slated sometime next year, which will decide who will contest the world championship match against incumbent Ju Wenjun of China. Highest-ranked Indian for over a decade, Koneru Humpy is already in the last four for the first time in her career, and this is one title that has eluded her all these years. With Divya Deshmukh joining her as the other semi-finalist, it shows a paradigm shift in Indian women's chess too, where the boys have largely been making hay. Divya employed the Italian Opening in the first game and gave nothing away. Harika was outdone in the middlegame while trying to find some serious counterplay but ended up miscalculating, which cost her the queen for two white pieces. The rest was easy for Divya, who has now established herself as a force to reckon with in women's chess. In the return game, Harika had to win, but again Divya was up to the task in defence. It is well known that Harika adores her chances in faster versions, but against Divya she did not get many. It was a picturesque finish in the end that closed the doors for Harika. In the semifinals, Humpy will meet top seed Lei Tingjie of China, while Divya will face former women's world champion Tan Zhongyi, also of China.
