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Both Divya Deshmukh and Koneru Humpy had chances and the game eventually ended in a draw when the latter sacrificed her rook to force perpetual checks.
The two will face each other again in Game 2 on Sunday. (Picture Credit: X/FIDE_chess)
Young Indian International Master Divya Deshmukh maintained her composure to secure a draw against the formidable Koneru Humpy in game 1 of the FIDE Women’s World Cup 2025 final, with both players having opportunities to take the lead on Saturday.
The draw with black gives Humpy, the two-time World Rapid champion, a slight edge going into the second and final game under classical chess rules in the two-game mini-match. If the tie persists, shorter duration games will be played to determine the winner.
Humpy employed the Queen’s gambit accepted as black, and the game turned fascinating from the opening as 19-year-old Divya sacrificed a piece early to prevent the black king from castling.
Humpy was the first to make an error, and according to computer analysis, Divya had control by the 14th move. However, in her attempt to recover the extra material, Divya missed a promising continuation.
After exchanging all minor pieces, the ensuing queen and rook endgame provided enough counter play for both players. The game was eventually drawn after Humpy sacrificed her rook to force perpetual checks.
Grandmaster Pravin Thipsay, an Arjuna awardee and the first Indian to achieve a chess Grandmaster norm, remarked, “The game saw an extremely sharp battle ending in a draw in 41 moves. On move 7, Divya made her aggressive intentions clear by offering another pawn, which looked like home preparation. Humpy made a practical decision to avoid taking the pawn, leading to a balanced position by move 10 for white.”
“Instead of developing the undeveloped knight, Humpy retreated the centralised knight on move 10, giving a huge positional advantage to Divya. Divya could have gained a significant positional advantage on the 12th move by moving a rook but chose to attack the king side by sacrificing a piece instead.”
“Humpy also erred at this stage by moving the king to the king side instead of the queen side. On move 14, Divya could have launched a crushing attack by developing her queen to threaten a mate. Instead, she chose to exchange a pair of bishops first, allowing Humpy to defend her king by returning the piece.”
“Players reached a balanced queen and two rooks ending. Divya continued to play ambitiously and tried to attack Humpy’s king, but Humpy defended accurately, and the game was drawn in 41 moves by perpetual check.”
In the play-off for third place, Chinese players Zhongyi Tan, the former women’s world champion, and top seed Lei Tingjie also decided to split points out of a Queen’s gambit declined game.
The opening indicated a close contest between the two, but having been knocked out of the title race in the previous round, neither wanted to take any significant risks. It was still a middle game when the players shook hands.
With the top two positions secured by the Indians, the berth to the next Candidates tournament is also assigned, while the player finishing third will get entry to the premier event scheduled for 2026.
Game 1 Results
Final: Divya Deshmukh (India) drew with Koneru Humpy (India);
3rd-Place Playoff: Zhongyi Tan (China) drew with Tingjie Lei (China).
With PTI Inputs
Feroz Khan has been covering sports for over 12 years now and is currently working with Network18 as Principal Correspondent. He embarked on his journey in 2011 and has since acquired vast experience in digital…Read More
Feroz Khan has been covering sports for over 12 years now and is currently working with Network18 as Principal Correspondent. He embarked on his journey in 2011 and has since acquired vast experience in digital… Read More
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