After game two of the first round in the 2025 FIDE Women’s World Cup, 52 players are confirmed for round two. Those who won their matches will enjoy a rest day on Tuesday, while we will see 11 pairs of players fighting for their spots in round two with rapid and blitz tiebreaks.
For the most part, the favorites advanced, but there were several upsets and wins on demand. The most impressive (from a ratings perspective) was Mexican WIM Tania Miranda Rodriguez winning on demand, with Black, against 400-points higher IM Klaudia Kulon to reach tiebreaks.
Round one tiebreaks take place on Tuesday, July 8, starting at 7 a.m. ET / 13:00 CEST / 4:30 p.m. IST.
The pairings for Tuesday’s tiebreak games are below. The format is:
- Two-game match with a 15+10 time control
- Two-game match with a 10+10 time control
- Two-game match with a 5+3 time control
- Players keep contesting 3+2 games until a decisive result determines the match winner
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There were several players who won with 2-0 sweeps against lower-rated players. They were:
IM Carissa Yip, WGM Anna Shukhman, GM Bela Khotenashvili, IM Aleksandra Maltsevskaya, GM Antoaneta Stefanova, IM Irina Bulmaga, IM Deimante Daulyte-Cornette, GM Elina Danielian, IM Nurgyul Salimova, WGM Zhai Mo, IM Gulrukhbegim Tokhirjonova, WGM P V Nandhidhaa, IM Padmini Rout, IM Meruert Kamalidenova, and WIM Afruza Khamdamova.
On board one was American IM Yip, who had just earned her second GM norm by winning St. Louis’ elite women’s tournament, the 2025 Cairns Cup. She won both games against WFM Hannah Wilson, quickly taking over after the queen trade. White’s bishop found itself out of play on a1.
GM Valentina Gunina, who was held to a draw by 16-year-old CM Isabelle Ning in game one, then played the Game of the Day in the second. She explained that yesterday “everything was preparation,” although her opponent had some chances for an advantage, and that in game two “everything was also prepared.” Gunina was proud of her maneuver of the knight to e4, followed by capturing on c5, even if the computer reveals things weren’t so straightforward. GM Rafael Leitao analyzes all the details below.
Besides two tournaments last month, presumably in preparation for this event, Gunina hadn’t played classical chess since September 2024. She has been, however, an active player in rapid and blitz. In 2024 she spoke to Chess.com about her lupus diagnosis, and she hinted at it again in her post-game interview: “Nowadays it’s complicated to play classical but I’m trying to move on.” You can listen to Gunina’s analysis of the game below.
The matches weren’t so one-sided for all the favorites though. IM Alice Lee squeaked through after winning the match against the youngest participant in the tournament, WIM Devindya Oshini Gunawardhana. Lee’s win in round one helped, as she explained: “I think the first game was good, I just played it normally… [whereas in the second game] I think the opening position I got was decent… but then I blundered this pawn at some point and it just became very hard to play.” She held the pawn-down endgame, avoiding tiebreaks.
GM Irina Krush, another favorite who was held to a draw in game one, called the second “a much smoother game,” with the final move on 31 being an emphatic nail in the coffin.
With this win, Krush has set up an all-American encounter with Yip in round two. About prodigies in general, though the statement can apply to Yip, Krush said, “Young players are dangerous, but you play your own chess.” She’s relieved to have the rest day, without tiebreaks: “I can just go to sleep earlier and not do my usual 4am sleep time. I think it’s better if I can get to sleep a little earlier,” adding that she’ll be in “this part of the world” until “about September.”
One of the strangest results of the day was the draw offer from IM Stavroula Tsolakidou against WFM Evi Yuliana in the following winning, pawn-up endgame. It secured the match for Tsolakidou, which is understandable enough, though she advances with a three-point rating loss.
Players Win On Demand, Reach Tiebreaks
With players fighting against elimination, we saw several on-demand wins to keep the matches going.
Miranda lost with the white pieces in game one but struck back against her much higher-rated opponent in game two. It was some sort of opening disaster for the Polish international master, as she went for a sharp line of the Chekhover Sicilian and mixed something up. After 17.Ne5?? Bg5! Black won the exchange, and later the game, to tie up the score.
WIM Priyanka K beat WGM Zsoka Gaal to overcome a 300-point rating difference. With White, she demolished the Winawer French Defense. Black’s 15…g5? looked like the start of an attack, but it also severely weakened the f6-square, a cozy nest for the knight.
There were other notable comebacks that did not feature underdogs. WGM Mobina Alinasab recovered from a previous loss against WIM Amina Kairbekova. Curiously, she had an hour and 34 minutes on the clock when her opponent, with just 17 minutes, made the decisive mistake on move 18—it’s also curious that this blunder had been made in a game before! After 18.Rxe7?? Kf8 White had no follow-up, lost the exchange, and then succumbed to a counter-attack.
IM Ann Matnadze also came back from a previous loss by winning on demand against WFM Anastasia Kirtadze. 24…Bxc3! was a key tactical find to win back material and to reach a winning endgame.
WGM Thalia Cervantes won on demand with White against WCM Bat-Erdene Mungunzul to reach tiebreaks, with the last move of the game being the only winning move and a crunchy one.
WGM Maili-Jade Ouellet also won with Black, on demand, against WIM Anapaola Borda in a four-rooks and bishop endgame to keep her match alive.
Underdogs Win Matches Too
15-year-old Georgian WFM Kesaria Mgeladze, on home soil, advanced after holding a draw against Vietnamese IM Le Thao Nguyen Pham, over 100 points higher-rated. The work was essentially done in game one, but she gave no chances with White in the second game to advance. In round two she will play IM Divya Deshmukh, who has a bye as one of the highest seeds.
The longest game of the day featured a 180-degree swing in the queen endgame that lasted 123 moves between WFM Elnaz Kaliakhmet (2218) and IM Khanim Balajayeva (2358), with the lower-rated player winning the match. Also here, a draw was enough for the underdog to advance, but this game was full of many twists.
White was the one pushing with the outside passed pawn and needed a win to reach tiebreaks, but first she missed an on-the-spot win with 92.Qf5! and then went on to lose by blundering 115.Ke8??, with checkmate being the theme behind both moves.
That’s enough classical chess for now. On Tuesday, the action will speed up considerably with rapid and blitz, before we return to the second classical round on Wednesday.
How to watch?
The 2025 FIDE Women’s World Cup takes place at the Grand Bellagio Hotel & Casino in Batumi, Georgia. It is a 107-player tournament with a single-elimination knockout format and a classical time control of 90 minutes for the first 40 moves and 30 minutes for the rest of the game, plus a 30-second increment per move from the first move. Each round consists of two games at the classical time control followed by a tiebreak in faster time controls in case the scores are tied.
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