Lei continues impressive run in Batumi
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The first classical games of the quarterfinal stage at the Women’s World Cup in Batumi concluded with two decisive results and two draws. Top seed Lei Tingjie and fourth seed Humpy Koneru claimed important victories to take the lead in their respective mini-matches.
The remaining encounters – an all-Indian clash between Divya Deshmukh and Harika Dronavalli and a tense strategic battle between Vaishali Rameshbabu and third seed Tan Zhongyi – ended in draws.
Lei Tingjie scored her sixth win of the tournament, defeating Georgia’s Nana Dzagnidze with the black pieces. Dzagnidze, the only remaining participant not representing India or China, was unable to withstand her opponent’s active play, as Lei has shown remarkable consistency throughout the event. The game ended in an unusual fashion, as Dzagnidze lost on time after both players mistakenly believed they had reached move 40, following a miscount while recording their moves on the scoresheets. By the time Dzagnidze’s clock ran out, however, Lei had already established a completely winning position.
With a score of 6½/7 in classical games and no tiebreaks played so far, Lei has also gained 10.4 rating points and now sits just 2.6 points behind women’s world champion Ju Wenjun in the live ratings list.
There was a misunderstanding following a miscount while recording the players’ moves in the game between Nana Dzagnidze and Lei Tingjie | Photo: Anna Shtourman
Humpy Koneru, playing white against Song Yuxin, also took the lead in her match. Song, at 19 years old, is the lowest-rated player still in contention, as she comes from knocking out strong opponents to reach this stage – i.e. Anna Muzychuk and Lela Javakhishvili. Humpy, who had required tiebreaks to get past Alexandra Kosteniuk in the previous round, delivered a solid performance to bring her classical score to 5/7. Alongside Lei and Tan Zhongyi, she is one of three players who remain unbeaten at this year’s event.
The clash between Divya Deshmukh and Harika Dronavalli saw little drama, with Harika choosing the well-known Berlin Defence as black. The game lasted 31 moves and never deviated far from equality.
Harika Dronavalli | Photo: Anna Shtourman
More tension arose in the game between Vaishali Rameshbabu and Tan Zhongyi. Vaishali, with the white pieces, emerged from the opening with a favourable position.
However, on move 22, Vaishali opted for 22.Qe2, allowing Black to simplify with 22…Nxf3+ 23.Qxf3 Qxf3 24.gxf3 Nh4. This sequence enabled Tan to resolve the central tension and steer the game toward equality.
A more testing alternative would have been 22.Ra3, a rook lift that would have both prevented the immediate capture on f3 and maintained the latent pressure on the e5-pawn.
Following the simplifications, the players reached an endgame, where Vaishali held a bishop and three pawns against Tan’s rook and two pawns.
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The resulting position was objectively balanced, and both players demonstrated accurate technique to hold the draw.
Vaishali Rameshbabu | Photo: Anna Shtourman
Humpy 1-0 Song
Humpy Koneru | Photo: Anna Shtourman
Song Yuxin is now in a must-win situation | Photo: Anna Shtourman
