Dominance on the World Stage
Grandmaster Koneru Humpy, India’s most experienced player, held firm in a tense match against Switzerland’s Alexandra Kosteniuk. A draw was all she needed to punch her ticket to the quarterfinals.
International Master Divya Deshmukh delivered one of the tournament’s biggest upsets, defeating China’s top seed Zhu Jiner with confidence and tactical brilliance.
Grandmaster Harika Dronavalli showcased her grit in a nail-biting encounter with Russian powerhouse Kateryna Lagno. After a back-and-forth series, Harika edged out Lagno 3.5–2.5 in a battle of nerves.
Grandmaster R Vaishali had the most dramatic journey, battling through a marathon eight-game tiebreaker to overcome the tournament’s dark horse. With a 4.5–3.5 scoreline, Vaishali sealed her spot among the final eight.
Grandmaster Koneru Humpy is through to the Semifinals of FIDE Women’s World Cup 2025! Humpy defeated Chinese IM Yuxin Song 1.5-0.5 in their match to eliminate her and move to the next round.
Humpy scored a great win over Yuxin with the White pieces in Game 1, and held a draw… pic.twitter.com/rf5oQUzTtL
— ChessBase India (@ChessbaseIndia) July 20, 2025
Quarterfinal Matchups Set
With four Indian women among the elite eight, fans are guaranteed more history. A highly anticipated all-Indian quarterfinal between Divya Deshmukh and Harika Dronavalli ensures at least one Indian semifinalist.
Other matchups:
- Koneru Humpy vs Song Yuxin (China)
- R Vaishali vs Tan Zhongyi (China)
- Nana Dzagnidze (Georgia) vs Lei Tingjie (China)
The quarterfinals begin July 19, and Indian fans have every reason to be optimistic.
A New Era in Indian Chess
This milestone comes on the heels of last year’s triumph, where the Indian women’s chess team—featuring Harika, Vaishali, Divya, Vantika Agarwal, and Tania Sachdev—won gold against Azerbaijan in a dominant 3.5–0.5 final.
With rising stars like Divya Deshmukh and Vaishali Rameshbabu joining seasoned champions Humpy and Harika, India’s chess revolution is clearly here to stay.
