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FIDE Women's World Cup: Koneru Humpy, Divya Deshmukh stay unbeaten after semifinal openers
Indian chess stars Koneru Humpy and Divya Deshmukh made a solid start in the semifinals of the FIDE Women's World Cup 2025, holding their Chinese opponents to draws in the first games on Tuesday, July 22.
Humpy, playing with black pieces, comfortably held China's Tingjie Lei to a draw, while Divya frustrated former world champion Zhongyi Tan with her solid defence. Both Indians will now have the advantage of playing with white pieces in the return leg of this fixture.
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The second semifinal games will be held on Wednesday, July 23. If the scores remain tied after the two classical games, the semifinalists will head to faster tie-break games, which will be held a day later.
The winner of this event is slated to get $50,000 (over Rs 43 lakh), while the runners-up and third place player will earn $35,000 (Rs 30 lakh) and $25,000 (Rs 21 lakh), respectively. The top-three players will also qualify for the 2026 FIDE Women's Candidates Tournament.
Funny moment before Humpy vs Tingjie game
Humpy was seen meditating before her high-stakes semifinal clash against Tingjie. As Lei approached the board, she hesitated and quietly went about her routine because Humpy sat with her eyes closed, completely immersed in her thoughts.
The scene quickly went viral on social media after FIDE shared it with the caption, 'When your opponent is meditating and you don't want to disturb the vibe…'
🧘♀️ When your opponent is meditating and you don't want to disturb the vibe…
FIDE Women's World Cup. Semifinal
🇨🇳 Lei Tingjie – Humpy Koneru 🇮🇳#FIDEWorldCup pic.twitter.com/TNOpn7YCz0 — International Chess Federation (@FIDE_chess) July 22, 2025
Humpy made history on Sunday by becoming the first Indian woman to reach the semifinals of a FIDE World Cup. The 38-year-old defeated China's Yuxin Song 1.5-0.5 in the quarterfinals.
'It feels happy to qualify without playing tie-breaks,' the Indian Grandmaster said after the match. 'I felt I could have played much better today, I was in a much better position, but slipped out in the time trouble.'
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Meanwhile, International Master Divya Deshmukh had earlier stunned everyone by storming into the semifinals on her debut appearance. She knocked out compatriot and senior Grandmaster Harika Dronavalli in the quarters.
'Very shaky,' she told FIDE. 'I think I am happy with the way I played. I don't think the last game went well but, not really (worried)…My preparation had a lot of role in that game and I would like to thank my coach for that.'
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