Women’s World Cup: Humpy, Harika, Vaishali and Divya win tiebreakers

All four Indian players prevail

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All four tiebreak matches in round four of the Women’s World Cup were won by Indian players, completing the quarterfinal line-up in Batumi. Humpy Koneru, Divya Deshmukh, Harika Dronavalli and Vaishali Rameshbabu advanced after a series of intense games, ranging from 15-minute rapid to blitz encounters. As a result, Indian players now make up half of the final eight heading into the tournament’s decisive stages.

Humpy Koneru and Divya Deshmukh were the first to qualify, both securing 1½-½ victories in the 15+10 rapid games. Humpy defeated Alexandra Kosteniuk, remaining undefeated across both classical and rapid portions of the match. Divya, meanwhile, delivered an impressive win over second seed Zhu Jiner, rebounding from a loss in the second classical game with a strong performance in faster time controls.

Harika Dronavalli was next to qualify, prevailing over Kateryna Lagno in the 10-minute rapid games. Their encounter extended deep into the tiebreak phases, with Harika eventually winning the match 3½-2½. The final match of the day saw Vaishali Rameshbabu eliminate Meruert Kamalidenova, one of the standout performers of the tournament. After splitting the rapid games and ten-minute rounds, the match was only decided in the blitz phase, with Vaishali edging the Kazakh player 4½-3½.

With these results, the quarterfinal pairings are now confirmed: Lei Tingjie will face Nana Dzagnidze, Humpy Koneru will play Song Yuxin, Harika Dronavalli is set to meet Divya Deshmukh, and Tan Zhongyi will take on Vaishali Rameshbabu. The strong presence of Indian players highlights a new chapter in the country’s rising prominence in women’s chess at the highest level.

Harika Dronavalli facing Kateryna Lagno | Photo: Anna Shtourman

Vaishali Rameshbabu defeated Meruert Kamalidenova in a lengthy tiebreaker to reach the quarterfinals | Photo: Anna Shtourman

This video course provides a comprehensive and practical White repertoire in the Ruy Lopez! Through instructive model games and in-depth theoretical explanations, you will learn how to confidently handle both main lines and sidelines.

This video course provides a comprehensive and practical White repertoire in the Ruy Lopez! Through instructive model games and in-depth theoretical explanations, you will learn how to confidently handle both main lines and sidelines.
Free video sample: Introduction
Free video sample: Overview
Free video sample: Chigorin: 9…Na5 10.Bc2 c5 11.d4 Nd7/cxd4

Humpy Koneru | Photo: Anna Shtourman

Zhu 0-1 Divya

Analysis by GM Karsten Müller

In this video course, experts (Pelletier, Marin, Müller and Reeh) examine the games of Judit Polgar. Let them show you which openings Polgar chose to play, where her strength in middlegames were, or how she outplayed her opponents in the endgame.

Zhu Jiner facing Divya Deshmukh | Photo: Anna Shtourman

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