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Divya Deshmukh defeats Zhu Jiner, qualifies for FIDE Women's World Cup quarterfinals
On Friday, India's Divya Deshmukh defeated Chinese GM Zhu Jiner to qualify for the FIDE Women's World Cup quarterfinals. The 19-year-old Divya got the better of Zhu in Game 1 of the 25+10 Rapid tiebreaks and drew Game 2 to emerge victorious in the match. Deshmukh's victory come after a setback on Thursday, when she lost her second game with black pieces to Zhu. She defeated the world No. 6 from China with pieces a day before.
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🇮🇳 Divya Deshmukh (2463) defeats 🇨🇳 Zhu Jiner (2533) in Round 4 of the FIDE Women's World Cup!#FIDEWorldCup @DivyaDeshmukh05 pic.twitter.com/uDDMiRvDZM — International Chess Federation (@FIDE_chess) July 18, 2025
Delight for GM Koneru Humpy as well
Also sealing her place in the World Cup quarter-finals on Friday was GM Koneru Humpy, who defeated GM Alexander Kosteniuk. Both their classical games ended in a draw, with Humpy defeating Kosteniuk in Game 1 of the 15+10 Rapid tiebreaks and holding her to a draw in Game 2 to win the match.
Also Read | FIDE Women's World Cup: Divya Deshmukh loses to Zhu Jiner as all 4 Indians reach tiebreaks in pre-quarterfinals
The FIDE Women's World Cup uses a head-to-head knockout format. Players compete in two classical games (one with white, one with black). If there's no winner after these two games, tiebreaks with progressively shorter time controls decide the winner. Classical games span two days; tiebreaks occur on the third day.
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