Koneru Humpy Makes History! Becomes First Indian Woman To...

Last Updated:July 20, 2025, 23:53 IST

Humpy secured a semifinal spot in the FIDE Women’s Chess World Cup by drawing with China’s Yuxin Song. D Harika and Divya Deshmukh's match will be decided in tie-breaks.

Indian Grandmaster Koneru Humpy (X)

Indian Grandmaster Koneru Humpy played a sharp counterattacking game to hold China’s International Master Yuxin Song to a draw on Sunday, securing her place in the semifinals of the FIDE Women’s Chess World Cup.

Byt doing so, she also became the first Indian ever to reach the semifinals of the FIDE Women’s World Cup.

Having won the first game with the white pieces, Humpy needed only a draw in the second to move forward—and she delivered under pressure, navigating a complex battle to wrap up the match 1.5–0.5.

Humpy One Step from Candidates Qualification

By reaching the semifinals, Humpy is now guaranteed at least a fourth-place finish. That gives her two opportunities to secure a top-three spot, which would qualify her for the next Women’s Candidates Tournament—a key step on the road to the World Championship.

The all-Indian quarterfinal between Grandmaster D Harika and International Master Divya Deshmukh ended in a draw on Sunday, meaning the match will be decided via rapid and blitz tie-break games scheduled for Monday.

Like their first encounter, Sunday’s game reached a drawn rook-and-pawn endgame after Harika opted for a solid approach with the white pieces. The balanced result sets the stage for an intense final showdown to decide who joins Humpy in the semifinals.

Grandmaster R Vaishali’s campaign came to an end as she lost to former Women’s World Champion Tan Zhongyi of China. Vaishali had drawn the first game but suffered defeat in the second, thus losing the match 0.5–1.5.

Although Vaishali managed to reach a promising position in the middlegame, a single misstep gave Tan the initiative. Despite some late chances, Vaishali was unable to find the precise moves needed to save the game.

China’s top seed Tingjie Lei also advanced to the semifinals with a clean 2–0 win over Nana Dzagnidze of Georgia, joining compatriot Tan and Humpy in the final four.

Yuxin Song needed a win to stay in contention and chose the Jobava London System, a modern and aggressive opening favored by many top players. Humpy calmly neutralized the early initiative and then boldly sacrificed two pawns to shift the momentum.

Despite having some positional hopes, Song’s compromised pawn structure—three pawns stacked on one file—left her vulnerable. Humpy counterattacked effectively in the center, regained the sacrificed material, and steered the game into a balanced rook-and-pawn endgame.

Song pressed for 53 moves but could not break through, eventually accepting the draw that sealed her elimination.

Quarterfinal Results

• Koneru Humpy (IND) defeated Yuxin Song (CHN) 1.5–0.5
• Tingjie Lei (CHN) defeated Nana Dzagnidze (GEO) 2–0
• Tan Zhongyi (CHN) defeated R Vaishali (IND) 1.5–0.5
• D Harika (IND) drew with Divya Deshmukh (IND) 1–1 (to be decided in tie-breaks)

(with PTI inputs)

Siddarth Sriram

After training in the field of broadcast media, Siddarth, as a sub-editor for News18 Sports, currently dabbles in putting together stories, from across a plethora of sports, onto a digital canvas. His long-term...Read More

After training in the field of broadcast media, Siddarth, as a sub-editor for News18 Sports, currently dabbles in putting together stories, from across a plethora of sports, onto a digital canvas. His long-term...

Read More

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