Latest news with #DivyaDeshmukh
Time of India
5 hours ago
- Sport
- Time of India
Chess: Divya Deshmukh stuns World No 2 Zhu Jiner, other Indians settle for draw at FIDE Women's World Cup
Divya Deshmukh in action (Image via X/@FIDE_chesss) India's Divya Deshmukh pulled off a big surprise at the FIDE Women's World Cup in Batumi, Georgia, by defeating world No. 2 Zhu Jiner in the first game of their pre-quarterfinal match on Wednesday. The 18-year-old Indian, playing with the white pieces, showed great maturity and calmness against the Chinese star, who is the second seed and a strong title contender. Divya slowly built a strong position, stayed steady through the middlegame, and took advantage of Zhu's mistakes to earn a memorable win. With a 1-0 lead in the two-game match, Divya now needs just a draw in the second game to reach the quarterfinals. If she does, she will become only the second Indian woman to make it this far in the Women's World Cup, after Harika Dronavalli in 2023. Meanwhile, the other three Indian players in the pre-quarterfinals—R. Vaishali, Koneru Humpy, and Harika—played out draws in their first games. Vaishali, playing white, had a tight game against Kazakhstan's Meruert Kamalidenova, with both players cancelling each other out. Humpy and Harika, who are both former World Championship semifinalists, played safe and held their games with the black pieces. Humpy faced Switzerland's Alexandra Kosteniuk, while Harika played against Russia's Kateryna Lagno. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Indonesia melirik jet tempur J-10 milik China. Mengapa para pakar memperingatkan untuk hati-hati? CNA Indonesia Baca Undo Poll Will Divya Deshmukh secure a draw in her next game to advance? Yes, she will advance No, she will lose The FIDE Women's World Cup is one of the top events in women's chess. The top three players from the tournament will qualify for the 2026 FIDE Women's Candidates Tournament, which is a key step toward the Women's World Championship. All four Indian players will return for Game 2 of their matches on Thursday. Catch Rani Rampal's inspiring story on Game On, Episode 4. Watch Here!
News18
15 hours ago
- Sport
- News18
Divya Deshmukh Shocks Jiner Zhu In FIDE World Women's Chess Cup
Last Updated: Divya Deshmukh defeated second seed Jiner Zhu in the pre-quarterfinals of the FIDE World Women's Chess Cup. Koneru Humpy, D Harika, and R Vaishali drew their games. Indian International Master Divya Deshmukh made significant progress by defeating second seed Jiner Zhu of China in the first game of the pre-quarterfinals of the FIDE World Women's Chess Cup on Wednesday. Divya, rejuvenated after the event's first rest day, outplayed the much higher-ranked Zhu and now needs only a draw in the return game to reach the quarterfinals. Zhu opted for a Sicilian defense, which was met with an original response from Divya. She gained control in the center and gradually strengthened her position. Although Zhu is known for her resilience, her attempt to create counterplay towards the end of the first time-control proved risky, allowing Divya to convert to a superior Queen and minor piece endgame. With her Queen and knight creating havoc, Divya secured an important victory without any trouble. What About Other Indians In The Fray? Top-rated Indian Grandmaster Koneru Humpy played out a hard-fought draw with former world women's champion Alexandra Kosteniuk of Switzerland. Humpy's Berlin defense provided an optical advantage to Kosteniuk, but the Indian held her ground to split the points. D Harika played an enterprising game but settled for a draw with Kateryna Lagno, who is competing under the FIDE flag. Harika sacrificed a couple of pawns, but her Bishop pair always provided enough play for the lost material. Another Indian contender, R Vaishali, signed the peace treaty with Meruert Kamalidenova of Kazakhstan. Vaishali did not gain much from the opening, and all minor pieces were exchanged, keeping the position level in the ensuing heavy pieces situation. The draw was a fair result. Among other prominent players, top seed Tingjie Lei of China defeated Umida Omanova of Uzbekistan, while the remaining Chinese competitors, Zhongyi Tan and Yuxin Song, also began with victories against Yulia Osmak of Ukraine and local hopeful Lela Javakhishvili, respectively. The event is now intriguingly poised with four Chinese and four Indians remaining. The top three finishers will secure a berth in the next Women's Candidates' tournament. In each round except the finals, players compete in two games under Classical time control, and in case of a tie, shorter duration games are used to determine the winner. Results round 4 game 1: R Vaishali (Ind) drew with Meruert Kamalidenova; Alexanndra Kosteniuk (Sui) drew with Koneru Humpy (Ind); Kateryna Lagno (Fid) drew with D Harika (Ind); Divya Deshmukh (Ind) beat Jiner Zhu (Chn); TIngjie Lei (Chn) beat Umida Omanova (Uzb); Yuxin Song (Chn) beat Lela Javakhishvili (Geo); Mariya Muzychuk (Ukr) drew with Nana Dzagnidze (Geo); Zhongyi Tan (Chn) beat Yulia Osmak (Ukr). view comments First Published: July 16, 2025, 22:51 IST Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
The Hindu
2 days ago
- Sport
- The Hindu
FIDE Women's World Cup Round 4: Indians in action — Schedule, opponents, match order, streaming info
India's R. Vaishali, Harika Dronavalli, Koneru Humpy and Divya Deshmukh will be in action in the fourth round (pre-quarterfinal) of the FIDE Women's World Cup in Batumi, Georgia on Wednesday. Vantika Agarwal was the only Indian to be knocked out in the third round, following a defeat to Kateryna Lagno in tiebreaks. Only one Indian player has ever entered the quarterfinal of a Women's World Cup - Harika in 2023. The World Cup offers three spots to the FIDE Women's Candidates Tournament, set to happen in the first half of 2026. Opponents for Indians in fourth round Divya Deshmukh vs Zhu Jiner (CHN) Koneru Humpy vs Kosteniuk Alexandra (SUI) Dronavalli Harika vs Lagno Kateryna (FID) R Vaishali vs Kamalidenova Meruert (KAZ) Match Order While Vaishali and Divya will play their first match of the fourth round with white pieces, Humpy and Harika will wield the black pieces in their openers. Round four schedule Game 1 - July 16, 4:45 IST Game 2 - July 17, 4:45 IST Tiebreaks - July 18, 4:35 IST Streaming info The Women's World Cup will be streamed live on FIDE's YouTube channel.
Indian Express
3 days ago
- Sport
- Indian Express
Divya Deshmukh: ‘Mind kept thinking ambitious (moves)… and I was like no, we don't want that today, chill'
IM Divya Deshmukh made it to the fourth round of the ongoing FIDE Women's World Cup in Batumi, Georgia after defeating Serbia's Teodora Injac. But not before she had to 'negotiate' with her mind. Having won the first game with black pieces on Saturday, Divya just needed a draw on Sunday with colours reversed to secure a spot in the next round. But, as Divya recounted after Sunday's game, getting a draw was harder than getting a win in the first game. 'Today actually was tougher than yesterday because I absolutely just wanted to draw and qualify. But my mind couldn't search for ways how to make a draw. All I kept thinking was ambitious (play) and then I was like 'no, we don't want that today,'' Divya told FIDE in a hilarious interview. Besides Divya, Koneru Humpy also made it through to the 4th round while Harika Dronavalli (vs Greece's Stavroula Tsolakidou), Vantika Agrawal (vs Kateryna Lagno) and Vaishali Rameshbabu (vs USA's Carissa Yip) will fight it out in the tiebreaks today after their two classical games could not yield a winner. Divya said that the last FIDE Women's World Cup was very important for her as it had given her a glimpse of what top-level chess looks like. Asked what that level looks like, Divya said: 'It's very stressful, but I wouldn't be anywhere else.' Divya did not have a bye in the first round, unlike other strong players. She admitted to being a bit nervous before the start of the tournament. 'I was a bit nervous before the first round because I hadn't played a super serious tournament since like Grand Prix. And after that, I played rapid, blitz, and open tournaments. So, I kind of lost my rhythm. But after the first game, I was like, 'Oh, okay. I still got it',' Divya said with a grin. Divya also said that she was happy winning all the games in classical format itself rather than needing tiebreaks (playoffs) to decide the winner. 'I hope I don't go there (in tiebreaks). I hope I just win or else, you know, playoffs are nerve-wracking. They they just kill you,' Divya smiled. She then said that she sometimes skips her prep to watch the other players fighting it out in the rapid and blitz tiebreaks. The FIDE World Cup sees head-to-head knockout battles across two games between two players in classical format with each player playing with white pieces once. If the two games cannot determine a winner, players play best-of-two-game tiebreaks. In the tiebreaks, players first play two games in the 15 minutes (+10 seconds increment per move, popularly called 15+10) format. If that also cannot separate the two players, from this point on, the time gets reduced at each two-game interval unless there's a winner. So, if after the 15+10 games, the scores are still level, players play two more games with 10 minutes (+10 seconds increment per move, called 10+10). Then the time trickles down to five minutes + three seconds (5+3). After this point, if players are still deadlocked, the game enters chess' equivalent of a sudden death: a winner-takes-all single game of three minutes + 2 seconds. This 3+2 game will be played until there's a winner.
Time of India
4 days ago
- Sport
- Time of India
Chess World Cup: Divya Deshmukh, Vantika Agrawal share lead after 3rd-round opener, close in on pre-quarterfinals
Divya Deshmukh in Chess World Cup (FIDE Photo) Indian chess stars Vantika Agrawal and Divya Deshmukh advanced toward the pre-quarterfinals in the FIDE World Women's Chess Cup. They won their first games against Kateryna Lagno of Russia and Teodora Injac of Serbia, respectively. The USD 691250 knockout tournament has reached its final 32 participants. Vantika demonstrated her growing capabilities by defeating the higher-ranked Lagno. Divya Deshmukh, playing with black pieces, met expectations by winning against Teodora Injac. She now stands as a strong contender among the five remaining Indian players. Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW! Top-rated Indian player Koneru Humpy drew her match with Kulon Klaudia of Poland while playing with white pieces. Harika Dronavalli also drew with Tsolakidou Stavroula, and R Vaishali shared points with Carissa Yip from the United States. Lei Tingjei of China, the tournament's top seed, won against Bulgaria's Antoaneta Stefanova. Stefanova now faces the challenge of defeating the highest-rated player to force a tiebreaker. Chinese player Zhu Jiner defeated Aleksandra Maltsveskaya of Poland, advancing closer to securing a spot in the last 16. Vantika's performance against one of the favoured Russian players became the day's highlight. The Russian participants are competing under the FIDE flag. Poll Do you follow the FIDE World Women's Chess Cup regularly? Yes, I watch every game Occasionally Not really No, I don't follow it The game began with a Grunfeld opening and developed into a symmetrical pawn structure during the middle game. While Lagno struggled with strategy, Vantika excelled in creating complications. Lagno's mistake on her 20th move gave Vantika an extra piece advantage. Vantika maintained her lead throughout the game. She now needs only a draw in her next game as black to advance to the next round. Divya secured her victory against Teodora Injac in an endgame that emerged from a queen pawn opening. The Serbian player's calculation errors allowed Divya to capitalise on the opportunities. Complete results round 3 game 1: Antoaneta Stefanova (Bul) lost to Lei Tingjie (Chn); Zhu Jiner (Chn) beat Aleksandra Maltsveskaya (Pol); Irina Bulmaga (Rou) drew with Tan Zhongyi (Chn); Koneru Humpy (Ind) drew with Kulon Klaudia (Pol); Anna Muzychuk (Ukr) drew with Yixing Song (Chn); Vantika Agrawal beat Kateryna Lagno (Fid); Nana Dzagnidze (Geo) beat Valentina Gunina (Fid); Bella Khotenashvili (Geo) lost to Mariya Muzychuk (Ukr); Dronavalli Harika (Ind) drew with Tsolakidou Stavroula (Gre); Carissa Yip (Usa) drew with R Vaishali (Ind); Polina Shuvalova (Fid) drew with Lela Javakhashvili (Geo); Teodora Injac (Srb) lost to Divya Deshmukh (Ind); Kaliakhmet Elnaz (Kaz) drew Umida Polonova (Uzb); Meri Arabidze (Geo) drew with Alexandra Kosteniuk (Sui); Osmak Yuliia (Ukr) beat Lu Miaoyi (Chn); Kamalidenova Meruert (Kaz) drew with Anna Shukhman. For real-time updates, scores, and highlights, follow our live coverage of the India vs England Test match here . Catch Manika Batra's inspiring story on Game On, Episode 3. Watch Here!
