Koneru Humpy Seeded Fourth In FIDE World Women's Chess Cup, Eyes Candidates Spot

Last Updated:July 05, 2025, 16:34 IST

Indian Grandmaster Koneru Humpy is seeded fourth in the FIDE World Women's Chess Cup. Top seeds are China's Lei Tingjie, Jiner Zhu, and Zhongyi Tan.

Indian GM Koneru Humpy (PTI)

Indian Grandmaster Koneru Humpy has been seeded fourth and is among the favourites in the FIDE World Women’s Chess Cup, where the top three finishers will qualify for the Candidates’ tournament.

China’s Lei Tingjie, Jiner Zhu, and Zhongyi Tan are the top three seeds. Along with Humpy, they lead the Asian contingent in a section that has witnessed Asian dominance for some time.

The winner of the Candidates will earn the right to challenge reigning women’s champion Wenjun Ju of China in the next championship.

The top 21 rated players have received direct seeding into the second round, with four Indian players among them: Humpy, GM D Harika, GM R Vaishali, and Divya Deshmukh.

In this interesting format, 86 players will compete in a knockout format. The 43 winners from the first round will join the 21 seeded players, rounding the total to 64. Each round will consist of two classical games, with one reserved day for tie-break games of shorter duration to decide the winner.

Any Other Indians In Fray?

Besides the four seeded players, Vantika Agrawal is another Indian who could surprise many, while Padmini Rout and P V Nandhidhaa have impressive résumés that could lead to some upsets. Kiran Manisha Mohanty and K Priyanka complete the Indian line-up.

Lei Tingjie has been quite consistent in her rating, but Jiner Zhu’s rise in recent years has been phenomenal. The Indian women’s team won the last Chess Olympiad ahead of China, but the Chinese women remain higher ranked in ratings and thus favourites.

R Vaishali and Divya Deshmukh are two young players who could reach the top tables. Vaishali has already participated in one Candidates’ tournament, and Divya recently defeated the highest-ranked woman player, Yifan Hou of China, in the world rapid and blitz team championship.

Top pairings round 1: Carissa Yip (Usa) Hannah Wilson (Bar); Evi Yuliana Stavroula Tsolakidou (Gre); Bella Khotenashvili (Geo) Caxita Esperanca (Ang); Ning Isabelle Yixuan (Nzl) Valentina Gunina (Fid); Anna Ushenina (Ukr) Jesse February (Rsa); Ruelle Canino (Phi) Anna Shukhman (Fid); Yuxin Song (Chn) Kiran Manisha Mohanty (Ind); Tania Miranda Rodriguez (Mex) Kulon Klaudia (Pol); Azhar Puteri Munajjah Az-Zahraa (Mas) Antoaneta Stefanova (Bul); Zsoka Gaal (Hun) K Priyanka (Ind); Lala Shohradova (Tkm) Vantika Agrawal (Ind); Padmini Rout (Ind) Zhang Lanlin (Chn); Ortiz Verdezoto Anahi (Ecu) P V Nandhidhaa (Ind).

(With inputs from PTI)

Ritayan Basu

Ritayan Basu, Senior Sub-Editor, Sports at News18.com. Has been covering domestic and and international football for nearly a decade. Has played and covered badminton. Ocassionally writes on cricket content, ha...Read More

Ritayan Basu, Senior Sub-Editor, Sports at News18.com. Has been covering domestic and and international football for nearly a decade. Has played and covered badminton. Ocassionally writes on cricket content, ha...

Read More

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