FIDE Women's Chess WC: Divya, Humpy kickstart semifinal clashes with first-game draws

Batumi [Georgia], July 22 (ANI): The first games of both the International Chess Federation (FIDE) Women's World Cup featuring Indian grandmasters Koneru Humpy and Divya Deshmukh ended in draws on Tuesday.

The results from the first game were shared on the official X handle of FIDE.

Humpy's first game with China's Lei Tingjie ended in a draw at 0.5-0.5 each, and so did the other semifinal first game between China's Tan Zhongyi and Divya with a similar scoreline.

Earlier, Humpy created history by becoming the first-ever Indian woman to reach the semifinals of the tournament. A solid draw in the second game of her quarterfinal clash against China's IM Song Yuxin was enough to seal the deal, according to ESPN.

There were a couple of minor inaccuracies along the way, but Humpy kept things under control, playing safe and smart. Eventually, her opponent settled for a draw, which confirmed Humpy's passage into the final four.

Earlier, Koneru Humpy struck the first blow, securing the game one in the quarterfinals of the International Chess Federation (FIDE) Women's World Cup at Batumi on Saturday night.

Deshmukh produced a remarkable performance to defeat compatriot GM Harika Dronavalli in the quarterfinals, winning both the tie-break games to advance to the semifinals.

The match was tightly contested in the classical segment, but Divya grabbed her opportunity in the first tie-break, when Harika made a crucial error in the endgame. In the second tie-break game, Harika had chances to bounce back, but she missed a couple of winning opportunities, and Divya made her pay for it. As a result, Harika's campaign came to an end, while Divya marched on with great composure and maturity.

The top three finishers of the tournament will earn a spot in the Candidates later this year. One thing is now confirmed, at least one Indian woman will be in the mix for a shot at the Candidates. (ANI)

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