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Business Standard
a day ago
- Sport
- Business Standard
FIDE Women's World Cup Final tie-breaker 2025 LIVE UPDATES: Koneru and Divya draw first rapid game
Humpy, 38, brings with her a wealth of top-level experience and recently advanced through a gripping semi-final tie-break. Shashwat Nishant New Delhi 3:15 PM Koneru vs Divya Chess Women's World Cup LIVE UPDATES: Both players vying for control! The battle has shifted to the a-file, with both players vying for control. Humpy has established a rook battery along with her queen on the file, and Divya responds by setting up a similar formation. 3:10 PM Koneru vs Divya Chess Women's World Cup LIVE UPDATES: Humpy going on the defense! Humpy is down to just seven minutes on her clock, while Divya has over 14 remaining, an evident sign of how confidently and effectively Divya has handled the opening phase of the game. 3:07 PM Koneru vs Divya Chess Women's World Cup LIVE UPDATES: 12 moves in! Divya is the first to castle, opting for the kingside. Humpy quickly follows suit, matching her move. Both players are setting up for a solid middle game, keeping their kings safe as the tension begins to build in this high-stakes second rapid tiebreak. 3:06 PM Koneru vs Divya Chess Women's World Cup LIVE UPDATES: quick attacks on the board! Game 2 of the tiebreaks features the Queen's Gambit Declined with a Catalan Opening. Divya has carved out a slight edge, winning a pawn and holding the lead both on the clock and the evaluation bar. 2:57 PM Koneru vs Divya Chess Women's World Cup LIVE UPDATES: 2nd rapid game underway! The second rapid game is underway, with Humpy playing with the white pieces this time. The question now is whether she can capitalize on that advantage. A victory for either player in this game will secure the championship. 2:42 PM Koneru vs Divya Chess Women's World Cup LIVE UPDATES: All moves from Rapid Game 1! 1. e4e52. Nf3Nf63. Nxe5d64. Nf3Nxe45. d4d56. Bd3Bf57. O-OBe78. c4dxc49. Bxc4O-O10. Re1Nc611. Nc3Nd612. Bd5Nb413. Bb3Nd314. Re3Nxc115. Rxc1c616. h3Bg617. Na4Bg518. Nxg5Qxg519. Rg3Qf620. d5Rad821. Qg4cxd522. Rf3Qe623. Qf4b624. Nc3Ne425. Re1Qc626. Nxe4dxe427. Rc3Qd628. Qg4Qd729. Qg3Qd630. Qg4h531. Qg5Rfe832. Rec1Re533. Qg3Re734. Rd1Qxd1+35. Bxd1Rxd1+36. Kh2Red737. Rc8+Rd838. Rxd8+Rxd839. Qc3Bf540. Qc7Rd741. Qf4Bg642. a4Kh743. Qc1Rd344. g4hxg445. hxg4Rd446. b3Rd347. Qc4e348. fxe3Rxe349. Kg2a550. Qb5Re651. Kf2Be452. Qg5Kg853. Qd8+Kh754. Qd4Kg855. Kg3Kh756. Qd8Bg657. Qh4+Kg858. Qd8+Kh759. Qd2Kg860. b4axb461. Qxb4Re3+62. Kh4Re463. Qb5Re664. Kg3Kh765. Qg5Kg866. Qd8+Kh767. Qc7Re3+68. Kf2Re669. Kf3Kg870. Qd8+Kh771. Qh4+Kg872. Qd8+Kh773. Qc7Kg874. Qh2Be4+75. Kg3Bg676. Qh4Re3+77. Kf2Re678. Qd8+Kh779. Qh4+Kg880. Qd8+Kh781. Qh4+ 2:31 PM Koneru vs Divya Chess Women's World Cup LIVE UPDATES: First rapid game drawn! Divya had to use up significant time on the clock to calculate the right move, with both players showing no intention of agreeing to a draw. Eventually, Divya forces a series of perpetual checks, and the two players finally agree to a draw with a handshake. 2:19 PM Koneru vs Divya Chess Women's World Cup LIVE UPDATES: Moves 16-22! Here's a summary of moves 16 to 25 between Divya Deshmukh and Koneru Humpy. Indian chess legend Viswanathan Anand, commenting on the first rapid tie-breaker, suggests that a draw is the most probable result. Although Humpy is a pawn ahead, Anand notes that this advantage isn't decisive. h3 Bg6 Na4 Bg5 Nxg5 Qxg5 Rg3 Qf6 d5 Rad8 Qg4 cxd5 Rf3 Qe6 Qf4 b6 Nc3 Ne4 Re1 Qc6 Connect with us on WhatsApp
Indian Express
2 days ago
- Sport
- Indian Express
Koneru Humpy and Divya Deshmukh play out a second classical draw. Now what to expect in the tiebreakers of World Cup final?
If the FIDE Women's World Cup 2025 wasn't already a physically exhausting and mentally draining tournament, it became all the more so on Sunday after Divya Deshmukh and Koneru Humpy took their all-Indian final clash into an extra day in Batumi, Georgia. The second classical game of their final ended in a draw, pushing the decider to a tiebreak on Monday. While the first leg was a tale of missed opportunities for Divya, the second leg saw a different approach from Humpy, who opted for a non-risky opening with White. She began with knight to f3 from the right flank, choosing a well-known English opening, sticking to her strength, which is positional chess, in the hope of grinding Divya down later in the game. The players quickly exchanged all minor pieces, except for Humpy's dark-squared bishop, which she retained in exchange for Divya's knight, with queens still on the board for counterplay. GM Pravin Thipsay analysed Humpy's opening choice: 'It was expected that Humpy would try to press for an advantage, and that's what happened. She began with the English opening but eventually transposed into the regular Queen's Gambit Declined, the Semitarash variation,' Thipsay told The Indian Express. Explaining Humpy's middle-game strategy, Thipsay added: 'I expected her to play for a better pawn structure, as she excels at exploiting weaknesses. But on move 9, she had a choice between a bishop-over-knight advantage or a superior pawn structure and she opted for the former. In my opinion, a pawn structure advantage would have suited her better.' By the 22nd move, the players entered an endgame with equal pawns, though Humpy sought an edge with her active bishop, placing it on long diagonals. She even sacrificed a central pawn to keep the position sharp and pressure Divya into an error. 'Divya exchanged one of Humpy's knights for a bishop on move 9, and on the 12th move, she gave up her second bishop for a knight, leading to a complex but roughly equal position in a symmetrical pawn structure,' said Thipsay. 'Double bishops are generally better than double knights, but this was a semi-open position with central pawns. I've played this structure many times, and the advantage isn't significant. Divya correctly exchanged rooks, and by the 20th move, a draw seemed inevitable.' 'But Humpy took bold decisions,' he added. 'She sacrificed a pawn on move 23, putting Divya in a tricky spot. Divya missed the best 24th move, which would have forced a draw. After that, Humpy had chances, especially on move 28, where she could have regained the pawn with some advantage.' However, Humpy allowed Divya's position to improve before regaining her pawn, by which point she also forced Divya to end the game by perpetual checks. In the all-Chinese battle for third place, Tan Zhongyi prevailed over top seed Lei Tingjie, clinching her spot in the 2026 Candidates Tournament. Though both players are drained after nearly a month of relentless chess, one can still expect a high-octane tiebreak clash, with neither player likely to back down until the very end. Humpy holds an edge in shorter time controls as a two-time and reigning World Rapid Champion. However, the odds aren't entirely skewed as Divya has never lost to her in Rapid chess. In their two recorded rapid encounters, Divya has one win and one draw. Things will change though, if the tiebreak heads to the Blitz round, the gulf between the two players widens. Humpy, the 2022 World Blitz Championship runner-up, has dominated Divya in this format, winning four of their five blitz games. Five-time World Champion Viswanathan Anand analysed their strengths ahead of the tiebreak. He said, 'On paper, Humpy has better results, but Divya has more momentum. Humpy's wins have been shakier, but since the 2024 Olympiad (where Humpy didn't play) she's won the Women's World Rapid Championship, the Pune Grand Prix, and performed strongly at Norway Chess. Divya, though, must be relieved this tournament is finally here. Everyone's been waiting for her breakthrough, and both seem pleased with how things are unfolding,' Anand said on ChessBase India YouTube stream. This will be Humpy's second Candidates appearance in a row after her second-place finish in 2023. 'It's a great result (two Indians in the World Cup final), but what I like is this twin thing that on the one hand, we have Harika and Humpy as two veterans of the game but on the other hand, the last Candidates was Vaishali and now we're guaranteed a spot for Humpy and Divya so I like this combination of one youngster and one of the veterans,' Anand remarked. Praising India's first female Grandmaster, he added, 'What Humpy is doing is incredible. I feel bad calling her a veteran, but this is amazing stuff. She has come from a break, so her ability to relaunch herself, so to speak and even she's specialising in the faster format, she's doing quite well there. If you look at her openings, it's all current. In that sense, she shows that not only she's able to play but she's also fully in touch with all the current developments in chess.'
News18
6 days ago
- Sport
- News18
Divya Deshmukh Creates History! Becomes First Indian To Qualify For FIDE Women's World Cup Final
Divya Deshmukh becomes the first Indian to qualify for the final of the FIDE Women's World Cup, defeating 2017 Women's World Champion Zhongyi Tan 1.5-0.5 in the semifinal. Divya Deshmukh's astronomical rise in the world of Chess continues onwards, as the youngster has now become the first Indian ever to qualify for the final of the FIDE Women's World Cup on Wednesday. Divya, who held the white pieces today, had an impressive display to oust Zhongyi Tan, the 2017 Women's World Champion, and edge her out 1.5-0.5 in the semifinal. Earlier yesterday, Divya held her ground impressively against Tan. The game followed the Queen's Gambit Declined, with Divya steering the position into calm waters through timely exchanges and securing a hard-fought draw. With a spot in the final on the line, Divya kicked into overdrive, while Tan blundered badly in the endgame, gifting Divya the place in the final, along with a spot in the next FIDE Women's Candidates Tournament as well. In the other semifinal, Divya's Indian compatriot Koneru Humpy couldn't get the job done on the day, claiming yet another draw against Chinese GM Tingjie Lei, leading to a 1-1 tie. Humpy held a massive advantage early in the endgame, before throwing the advantage away as the two players settled for a draw. In 2021, Divya became India's 21st Woman Grandmaster and won the 2022 Women's Indian Chess Championship. She secured an individual bronze medal at the 2022 Chess Olympiad and was instrumental in India's gold medal win at the 2020 FIDE Online Olympiad. As of December 2024, she is ranked No. 2 among Indian women chess players. In 2023, Divya won the Asian Women's Chess Championship in Almaty and emerged victorious in the women's rapid section of the Tata Steel India Chess Tournament, defeating top players such as Harika Dronavalli and Koneru Humpy. In May 2024, she triumphed at the Sharjah Challengers, followed by a historic win at the FIDE World U20 Girls Championship in June, becoming only the fourth Indian to achieve this title. She finished with an impressive score of 10/11 after a decisive final-round win. At the 2025 World Rapid and Blitz Team Championships in London, Divya played a key role for Hexamind Chess Club, securing silver in the rapid team event and bronze in the blitz team event. A standout moment came in the blitz semifinal, where she defeated world No. 1 Hou Yifan in a thrilling 74-move game. view comments First Published: 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.
Indian Express
11-06-2025
- Sport
- Indian Express
Delhi Open Chess: Abhijeet Gupta outplays Gharibyan in time crunch to claim sole lead
India's Abhijeet Gupta surged to the sole lead at the 21st Delhi International Chess Open after defeating Armenia's Mamikon Gharibyan in the seventh round on Wednesday. The sixth seed Gupta employed a free-flowing Ragozin Defense in their Queen's Gambit Declined game, gaining a significant time advantage early on with white pieces. By the 21st move, Gupta had 35 minutes remaining compared to Gharibyan's 23 minutes. The Indian grandmaster utilised both his time advantage and space on the board to pressure his opponent. By the 36th move, Gharibyan was down to just 21 seconds on his clock. Despite a stubborn defence, Gharibyan resigned on the 71st move after Gupta cornered his king. With this win, Gupta moved to 6.5 points after eight rounds. He is now followed by eight players tied for second place at 6.0 points, including top seed SL Narayanan and Georgia's Levan Pantsulaia, the highest-rated overseas player. Among the top five boards, only one other match produced a decisive result, with Swedish GM Vitaly Sivuk defeating India's untitled Alekhya Mukhopadhyay while playing white. Gupta will take on another Armenian, Manuel Petrosyan, in the eighth round. The Delhi Open is India's biggest chess event, featuring nearly 2,500 players from more than 20 countries. The prize pool of the event is 1.21 crore. (More to follow)
