Vantika Agrawal, who’s at the moment an Worldwide Grasp with a score of 2377, handed former ladies’s world champion Anna Ushenina (score of 2413) a defeat with the white items within the first recreation of a two-game second spherical match on the ongoing FIDE Ladies’s World Cup within the Georgian metropolis of Batumi. Each gamers might be again with colors reversed to play within the second recreation of the match tomorrow. The Ukrainian Ushenina had ascended to the ladies’s throne in 2012 and wore the crown until 2013. She’s crossed the 2500 score threshold a couple of occasions over the course of her lengthy profession whereas younger Vantika’s peak score to date has been 2435.
Vantika was one of many stars of the Indian ladies’s group which gained the Chess Olympiad group gold final 12 months in Budapest with Vantika claiming a particular person gold as effectively for board 4 within the ladies’s occasion.
In the meantime, one other former ladies’s world champion Alexandra Kosteniuk (who now represents Switzerland) was held to a draw by India’s Padmini Rout in a outstanding consequence. The day introduced loads of excellent news for different Indian gamers in motion: Koneru Humpy (versus Khamdamova Afruza of Uzbekistan), Vaishali Rameshbabu (vs Ouellet Maili-Jade of Canada) and Divya Deshmukh (vs Mgeladze Kesaria of Georgia) all secured wins within the first recreation.
In the meantime, the all Indian conflict between Harika Dronavalli and Nandhidhaa PV resulted in a draw whereas Priyanka Okay additionally held Kulon Klaudia of Poland to a draw.
The FIDE Ladies’s World Cup provides three spots to the distinguished 2026 FIDE Ladies’s Candidates Match, a match which is able to resolve the challenger to compete in opposition to world champion Ju Wenjun.
INTERACTIVE: How Vantika beat an ex-women’s world champion
The Indian compelled her opponent to resign in 36 strikes. When the resignation got here, the Ukrainian was up a pawn and a knight, and Vantika had simply provided up her queen for a commerce. However persevering with the sport was futile as a result of had Ushenina captured Vantika’s queen, Vantika would have recaptured with a pawn, which might have then been free to succeed in the endzone and promote.
“It’s an incredible feeling (beating a former ladies’s world champion),” beamed the Indian in an interview with FIDE’s official deal with.
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WATCH: Vantika Agrawal’s interview after beating Anna Ushenina
The highest gamers at a FIDE World Cup get a bye within the first spherical. Agrawal, although, needed to play the primary spherical of the occasion, the place she had prevailed over Lala Shohradova after being held to a draw within the first recreation after which gaining victory within the second. Requested if enjoying within the first spherical had given her a bonus within the second, Vantika stated: “Yeah, for certain. Follow, you realize, there’s a lot of strain and a distinct environment. Enjoying the primary spherical provides extra confidence and motivation to play higher within the subsequent rounds.”
That is Vantika’s first large FIDE occasion ever since her heroics on the Olympiad.
“Since then, I’ve performed loads of extra open tournaments, sturdy tournaments. Performed with many sturdy gamers. I feel I’ve realized so much and I hope I can use that have right here,” Vantika stated.