Indian final at Women’s Chess World Cup: Koneru Humpy joins Divya Deshmukh in title clash

BATUMI: Indian chess reached an unprecedented milestone in Batumi as two Indian players advanced to the Women’s World Cup final, guaranteeing the coveted title for the country. The finalists are 19-year-old Divya Deshmukh and 38-year-old Koneru Humpy. This historic milestone marks the first time two Indian players have reached the finals of the prestigious tournament. Their entry into the final marks a major breakthrough, shattering the long-standing dominance of Chinese players in women’s chess.

Divya was the first to qualify for the final after defeating former world champion Tan Zhongyi in the semifinals the previous day. Yesterday, Humpy secured her spot in the final by winning a tiebreak against Chinese player Lei Tingjie. The first two classical games of the semifinal ended in draws, necessitating the tiebreak.

The first two rapid games, each lasting 10 minutes, also ended in draws. This was followed by two five-minute blitz games, where Lei Tingjie won the first and Humpy struck back in the second, forcing the match into a three-minute sudden-death playoff. Humpy won the first of these games, putting Lei under immense pressure, and sealed the victory by winning the next game as well — creating history for Indian chess.