Koneru Humpy, Divya Deshmukh play peaceful 34-move draw to stay at par
Young Divya Deshmukh held the experienced Koneru Humpy for a peaceful draw in Batumi, Georgia, on Sunday. The draw brought to the fore the preparations of Indian players that prevailed in the second game of the FIDE Women's Chess World Cup final.
A day after the duo had played a game of missed opportunities followed by a great escape for a fighting draw in the opening game, 19-year-old Divya and 38-year-old Humpy sought refuge in the books, and with an accuracy rate as high as 98.8%, signed a peace treaty in just 34 moves. With the second successive classical game of the World Cup ending in a draw, the outcome of the final will be decided in the tiebreaks to be played in the rapid and blitz formats of various time controls on Monday.
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While Divya brought all her defensive weapons on Sunday and looked better prepared, Humpy missed the chance to utilise her opening advantage with the white pieces. Being the reigning Women's World Rapid champion, Humpy would be happy to take the tiebreaks. Similarly, Divya would not be too broken to take the same route as she, in 2023, had defeated Humpy to clinch her maiden Women's Rapid title. It was a victory on debut, that too being a last-minute inclusion for the tournament played in Kolkata.
Playing the faster format against Humpy, a two-time World Rapid champion will not be a matter of concern for Divya.
In the interview after playing out an easy draw, Divya said, 'I am going to give my best. She is a strong player. Hoping the tiebreaks go my way.'
The second classical game of the World Cup saw an English Opening from Humpy with her white pieces, while Divya chose the Agincourt Defense.
As expected, Humpy started pressing for an advantage and changed her English opening into the regular Queen's Gambit Declined game of Semi-Tarrasch variation.
Divya was quick to react, and on the 10th turn, she made the most of her centre pawn structure to deny Humpy any chance. On the 12th turn, Divya exchanged both her bishops by claiming Humpy's knights.
By the 19th move, both players exchanged their rooks, and the game headed towards a draw with Divya's knights and Humpy's bishops and an equal set of pawns. Though double bishops are considered stronger against twin knights, the centre pawn structure was not at all a threat for Divya.
Speaking with TOI on the draw, former national champion Pravin Thipsay said, 'When Divya correctly exchanged the rooks, the game was heading towards an obvious draw, but Humpy took some bold decisions.
She sacrificed a pawn on the 23rd move, and the game became a bit dangerous for Divya as she failed to find the best 24th move, which would have led to a forced draw.' Divya said, 'I think I got into a mess for no reason in the middle game. I got a bad position with a wrong choice but managed it in the end, and finally, it was an easy draw.' Thipsay added, 'On the 28th move, Humpy could have regained the pawn, maintaining some advantage.
As things happened, Humpy delayed the process by one move, and by the time she recovered the pawn, Divya's queen position had improved, and she forced a draw by perpetual check.'
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