Second seed GM Zhu Jiner struck back with a powerful game against IM Divya Deshmukh to take their 2025 FIDE Women’s World Cup round four match to tiebreaks. Chinese stars GM Lei Tingjie, GM Tan Zhongyi, and IM Song Yuxin all sealed Quarterfinal spots with a draw, while GM Nana Dzagnidze joined them by defeating former Women’s World Champion GM Mariya Muzychuk. The four tiebreak matches on Friday will all feature an Indian player.   Â
The round four tiebreaks are on Friday, July 18, starting at 7 a.m. ET / 13:00 CEST / 4:30 p.m. IST.
Women’s World Cup Round 4 Results
There were only two wins in game two of round four, with four matches going to tiebreaks.Â
| Fed | Player | Rtg | – | Fed | Player | Rtg | G1 | G2 | TB |
| GM LEI TINGJIE | 2552 | – | WIM Umida Omonova | 2211 | 1-0 | Âœ-Âœ | . | ||
| GM Mariya Muzychuk | 2492 | – | GM NANA DZAGNIDZE | 2505 | Âœ-Âœ | 0-1 | . | ||
| GM Alexandra Kosteniuk | 2474 | – | GM Humpy Koneru | 2543 | Âœ-Âœ | Âœ-Âœ | . | ||
| IM SONG YUXIN | 2410 | – | IM Lela Javakhishvili | 2432 | 1-0 | Âœ-Âœ | . | ||
| GM Vaishali Rameshbabu | 2481 | – | IM Meruert Kamalidenova | 2330 | Âœ-Âœ | Âœ-Âœ | . | ||
| GM TAN ZHONGYI | 2546 | – | IM Yuliia Osmak | 2468 | 1-0 | Âœ-Âœ | . | ||
| GM Kateryna Lagno | 2515 | – | GM Harika Dronavalli | 2483 | Âœ-Âœ | Âœ-Âœ | . | ||
| IM Divya Deshmukh | 2463 | – | GM Zhu Jiner | 2547 | 1-0 | 0-1 | . |
Zhu Jiner Hits Back Against Divya To Force TiebreaksÂ
The one clear favorite to lose the first game of round four was second-seed Zhu, but she managed to hit back in the second with a game that was just as convincing as Divya’s win the day before. As she explained, “Today I have to win this game so I play some not my main opening.”
It worked out perfectly as Zhu went on to play our Game of the Day, which has been analyzed by GM Rafael Leitao below.
Zhu was given a boost by the win, commenting of the tiebreaks ahead: “After todayâs game I feel a bit confident so tomorrow I will just try to focus on chess and enjoying my game!”
Chinese Stars Wrap Up Quarterfinal Spots Despite Lei Scare Vs. Omonova
No one else managed to come back from losing the first game, but 19-year-old 81st seed WIM Umida Omonova ended top seed Lei’s winning streak and came incredibly close to levelling the score in their match.
Lei was down to under three minutes when her position began to crumble, while she played the losing 39…h5? with three seconds to spare. Omonova had almost 12 minutes but made the move 40.Nf5?, giving up almost all her advantage, in under a minute.
Lei seized her chance and never looked in danger after the time control. It was understandable that Omonova needed consoling at the end.
Umida Omonova knows she missed a chance to hit back against Lei Tingjie! pic.twitter.com/fPnuKIW6Kt
â chess24 (@chess24com) July 17, 2025
The other Chinese stars wrapped up their matches with much less drama. 19-year-old Song has been a revelation of the event and she eased to victory against local IM Lela Javakhishvili. She could have won the match 2-0, but accompanied the attractive final move 30…Nxg5! with a draw offer.
IM Yuliia Osmak managed to plant a knight on f7 by move 14, which gave some chances when Tan refused to eliminate it, but in the end the Chinese former women’s world champion made a comfortable draw. Â
Just one player would strike after making a draw in the first game.
Nana Dzagnidze Strikes On Day Of Hard-Fought Draws
“A bit tired, to be honest, but happy, of course!” is how local hero Dzagnidze described her feelings after beating GM Mariya Muzychuk to reach the Quarterfinals.
The game featured a pawn sacrifice by Muzychuk that was justified until 11…h6? condemned Black to playing a pawn down for no compensation. Dzagnidze soon established complete control and went on to win smoothlyâif World Cup survival wasn’t on the line Mariya might have resigned much sooner.
Divya is joined in playing tiebreaks by three Indian players who drew both their classical games. GM Harika Dronvalli vs. GM Kateryna Lagno was a relatively uneventful 31-move draw. The same could be said for IM Meruert Kamalidenova vs. GM Vaishali Rameshbabu, except that the game lasted 70 moves and over five hours!Â
The one remaining draw, however, was a thriller. GM Koneru Humpy, who noted she’s four times reached the Semifinals of these knockout tournaments, talked about missed chances against GM Alexandra Kosteniuk, but added, “towards the end at some point I felt like I was even losing, and somehow I survived!”
The game defies any easy summary, but here’s the action with brief notes from the point at which Kosteniuk decides to grab a somewhat poisoned pawn!Â
The final four places in the Quarterfinals will be decided in four India vs. The World tiebreaks on Friday!
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.Â
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