The 2 India vs China semifinals — Koneru Humpy vs Lei Tingjie and Divya Deshmukh vs Tan Zhongyi — resulted in contrasting attracts on Tuesday on the FIDE Ladies’s World Cup. Each contests are evenly poised heading into the second day of the two-game battle at Batumi. Whereas Divya’s draw was brief and fast, Humpy pulled out a brand new trick from her hat to unsettle her opponent earlier than settling for a draw.
Such are the excessive requirements that Indians set for themselves; even a draw in opposition to the world’s finest is now unimpressive in their very own eyes as was evident from Divya’s physique language. Requested by FIDE if she was pleased, significantly since she had the black items, Divya solely supplied: “It’s okay, I suppose.”
“It was fairly a brief draw, so I don’t actually have many ideas concerning the recreation,” shrugged the 19-year-old, who’s but to turn into a GM, after going toe-to-toe and holding her personal in opposition to a participant who was the ladies’s world champion eight years in the past. Within the three earlier video games between the pair, the veteran Tan has received twice with Divya salvaging a draw within the remaining battle.
Ask GM Abhijit Kunte, who has seen Divya’s fast rise from shut quarters, what that unimpressed reply says about Divya’s mindset, and he says: “In these sorts of mini-matches (video games of two), you don’t categorical something. As a result of any optimistic or detrimental expression is unhealthy for you. It’s a must to stay impartial. And this type of maturity at 19 is just not simple to get. It’s very uncommon.”
The 2 India vs China semifinals — Koneru Humpy vs Lei Tingjie and Divya Deshmukh vs Tan Zhongyi — resulted in contrasting attracts on Tuesday on the FIDE Ladies’s World Cup. (FIDE/Anna Shtourman)
Kunte, who was the captain of the all-conquering Indian’s ladies’s workforce on the Chess Olympiad final yr the place Divya was one of many stars, traces her lightning-quick journey to the highest: “Simply final yr, Divya was a world junior champion. She has at all times been very courageous, somebody by no means afraid to experiment. However she had very restricted publicity to the highest brass of girls’s chess. Then she performed on the Olympiad final yr. This yr, she’s performed within the FIDE Grand Prix occasions, which has helped immensely.”
Up to now, Divya has had a barnstorming FIDE World Cup, taking down the veteran grandmaster Harika Dronavalli within the quarters, and World No 6 Zhu Jiner within the earlier two rounds.
Divya has additionally proven different stand-out attributes on the board. GM Shyamsundar Mohanraj, who’s the top of delegation for the Indian workforce in Batumi and has given the nation its final two GMs, factors at her victory over the veteran Harika Dronavalli within the earlier spherical by way of tiebreaks.
❓Who’s your choose for the finals?
Recreation 1 of the semifinals was performed right now — and each resulted in attracts!
🇨🇳 Lei Tingjie ½–½ Humpy Koneru 🇮🇳
🇨🇳 Tan Zhongyi ½–½ Divya Deshmukh 🇮🇳 #FIDEWorldCup pic.twitter.com/Oldya1Hgc7— Worldwide Chess Federation (@FIDE_chess) July 22, 2025
“I say this as an outsider, however Divya’s endgame abilities and her defensive abilities have improved rather a lot in a really brief span of time. Within the first recreation in opposition to Harika of the tiebreaks, she performed dynamic chess to win. However in the event you take a look at the second recreation, she defended very properly in a minus place (a place the place she had an obstacle). In Recreation 2 of the tie-breaks, Divya defended very properly regardless of being low on time. She was barely taking part in with seconds on the clock, and Harika had like 4-5 minutes. There was strain as a result of Divya was in a don’t-lose state of affairs,” says Shyamsundar.
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Humpy’s resurgence
On the different finish of the spectrum is the veteran Humpy, who has already accounted for Alexandra Kosteniuk, one of many strongest gamers within the subject, and the up-and-coming Chinese language prodigy Tune Yuxin. Whereas Divya has surprised higher-rated opponents to script a fairytale story already, Humpy has been scientific: solely as soon as within the occasion has she wanted tiebreaks to beat her opponent.
Within the first recreation of the semi-final in opposition to Lei on Tuesday, Humpy performed the Berlin Defence, which she has hardly ever employed over the course of her prolonged profession. Actually, one of many solely occasions she’s performed it was in opposition to Kosteniuk within the earlier rounds. On Tuesday, it had the specified impact; it compelled Lei to suppose for about 10 minutes after 4… Ne7, a well known lure door.
“Three years again, I assumed Humpy appeared like she was on the verge of quitting. However within the final yr, she has come again so strongly. Successful a medal on the World Fast Championship, then being among the many prime locations within the Ladies’s Grand Prix. Her recreation can also be very optimistic now: she doesn’t conform to fast attracts. At this age, many individuals attempt to make some fast attracts and win some simple video games and attempt to end within the prime. However she’s combating it out. That exhibits her optimistic angle and aggression. It’s like seeing a really younger Humpy once more,” says Kunte earlier than including with a smile: “I believe Humpy is attempting to match Divya’s age. And Divya is attempting to match Humpy’s expertise and maturity.”
‘Intense format’
What makes Humpy’s resurgence and Divya’s emergence on the FIDE World Cup much more outstanding, factors out GM Shyamsundar, is how tough the World Cup is for any participant, due to the treacherous format of two head-to-head battles after which tiebreaks if wanted.
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“The format is kind of intense and really exhausting for the gamers. It’s a best-of-2 battle. It’s a harmful format in a method and tough. It’s not like different Swiss tournaments (the place you don’t get eradicated) the place even in the event you lose, you might have an additional recreation to come back again. However right here, it’s not like that. You by no means know when you can be leaving the match,” says Shyamsundar from Batumi.
In addition to Humpy’s resurgence and Divya’s emergence, there have been different moments to cheer for Indian chess in Batumi. Like Vantika Agrawal taking down former ladies’s world champion Anna Ushenina. Or 4 Indians making it to the quarters (R Vaishali and Harika beside Humpy and Divya).
He seems on the Indian gamers’ performances and predicts a golden period just like the one which males’s chess is seeing in India.
“In India, regardless of the inhabitants, we’ve got solely had three ladies who’ve turn into GMs. However after seeing the outcomes of those two gamers from completely different eras on the World Cup, gamers of any age in India will get impressed. This can positively encourage and inspire many ladies gamers to take up sports activities,” says Shyamsundar.