The two classical games of the final of the Women’s World Cup ended both in a draw. In the first game, Divya Deshmukh was unable to convert a significant advantage into a win, allowing Humpy Koneru to escape with a draw. In the second game, Koneru, playing White, held a slight edge, but it wasn’t enough to claim victory.
As a result, the two finalists—both already qualified for the Candidates Tournament by reaching the final—had to play a tiebreak. At stake for the two Indian stars was not only the title but also a significant difference in prize money: the winner would receive $50,000, the runner-up $35,000.
Tiebreaks, if needed, were played over several rounds of two games each, with the time control shortened after each round. In the first round, each player had 15 minutes plus a 20-second increment. If no winner was determined, the match continued with 10+10, then 5+3, and finally 3+2.
Divya Deshmukh
In the first tiebreak game Divya Deshmukh had White and opened with 1.e4. Humpy Koneru opted for a Petroff and equalized easily.
As the game progressed, Deshmukh won the queen for a rook and bishop but couldn’t make progress against Black’s solid position. After several winning attempts with less and less time on the clock, she finally gave a perpetual and the game ended in a draw after 81 moves.
Meditation before the game – Humpy Koneru
In the second game, Deshmukh got a solid position with an extra pawn against Humpy Koneru’s Catalan Gambit. Both sides seemed unable to make progress, and the game appeared to be heading for a draw. But then Koneru forced matters unnecessarily with the pawn push e4 and could have lost quickly with accurate play from Black.
Deshmukh missed the best continuation but still reached a winning rook endgame. However, after mistakes by both sides, the evaluation shifted several times between drawn and winning for Black, offering instructive material for this type of endgame.
With the win, Divya Deshmukh became the winner of the 2025 Women’s World Cup. One of the first to congratulate her was her mother.
Games
