GM-elect Divya Deshmukh dominated her first match in the Women’s Speed Chess Championship and got off to a great start against GM Hou Yifan in her quarterfinal match on Wednesday. However, Hou fought back and the two played the closest WSCC match this season. Hou finally won an armageddon tiebreak game to move on to the semifinals.
The next quarterfinal match will be on Monday, August 18 at 10:30 ET between IMs Polina Shuvalova and Alice Lee.
Women’s Speed Chess Championship Bracket
5+1: Hou 2-3 Divya
Some players might be intimidated at the start of a match against a four-time world champion. Divya, however, was unimpressed by her opponent’s titles and came out with brilliant sacrifices starting in the very first game, where she gave up a rook for good compensation and soon forced a draw with Black. The second game was even better and her knight sacrifice for passed pawns picked up a full point, wowing the commentary team of IM Jovanka Houska and GM Judit Polgar.
“Look at that, look at that… what a girl!” says Judit Polgar as Divya Deshmukh finds some brilliant tactics to pick up the 1st win! https://t.co/x9TEgr9Nst#SpeedChess pic.twitter.com/IW6jkeTsLV
— chess24 (@chess24com) August 14, 2025
In the third game, Hou gained a positional edge in a Sicilian Najdorf, but a couple small errors allowed Divya to take the initiative and the game soon ended in a repetition. In her next game with White, Divya used another powerful knight sacrifice in the opening to get a great position and a substantial lead on the clock. Hou declined the knight, but both white knights soon invaded her position, and Divya took a two point lead in the match.
Hou’s best decision in the above game was to resign one second before the match clock ran out, meaning that the players would get another 5+1 game. Hou gained another positional advantage, dominating the d5-square in the Najdorf. This time Divya ran low on time and couldn’t escape, giving Hou her first win of the match.
Hou Yifan checkmates Divya in the final 5-minute game to narrow the score to Divya 3-2 Hou going into 3+1! #SpeedChess pic.twitter.com/UpFPG5phBi
— chess24 (@chess24com) August 14, 2025
3+1: Hou 4-1 Divya
As strong as Divya was in the 5+1 section, Hou was even better in 3+1. She took advantage of tactical opportunities and good clock management to win the first three games in the section.
Hou Yifan finally won a drawn position on time to level the scores at 3-3 after the 1st 3-minute game! https://t.co/Ox8MqWdx9F pic.twitter.com/wLRLldVWiv
— chess24 (@chess24com) August 14, 2025
The players alternated wins in the final two blitz games, leaving Hou with a two point lead heading into bullet.
1+1: Hou 1.5-3.5 Divya
Once again the match took a huge turn as the time controls sped up. This time it was Divya who struck back, winning the first three bullet games in a row to take a one-point lead in the match’s closing minutes.
“There is always an option to blunder…” says Judit Polgar. Seconds later Hou Yifan blunders a rook in a completely winning position and Divya takes the lead instead! pic.twitter.com/QVXKuTzOFa
— chess24 (@chess24com) August 14, 2025
After a draw, Hou needed to win on demand to send the match to overtime. She came through:
Tiebreak Hou 3-2 Divya
Tiebreakers in the WSCC include four 1+1 bullet games, followed by an armageddon game if needed. Hou won the first two games, but the match saw one more momentum swing and Divya won consecutive games on demand to force the final armageddon tiebreaker to decide the match.
Before that final game, the players bid for time, which resulted in Hou having the white pieces and five minutes. Divya had Black and started with 3:48 on her clock, along with draw odds. For the second straight round, Hou needed to win, this time to take the match, and she was once again up to the task.
How to watch?
You can watch the broadcast on Twitch and YouTube. The games can also be checked out on our dedicated events page.
The 2025 Women’s Speed Chess Championship, which takes place August 4-29, is a Chess.com event where some of the strongest female chess players in the world battle for a $75,000 prize fund. The main event sees 16 players compete in a single-elimination bracket in matches played at 5+1, 3+1, and 1+1 time controls.
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