In a day of electric drama and nerves of steel, all four Indian women pushed through to the quarterfinals of the FIDE Women's World Cup, proving once again that India is a rising superpower in world chess. Two of them-GM Humpy Koneru and IM Divya Deshmukh-sealed their spots early. Humpy, the reigning World Rapid Champion, overcame former World Champion Alexandra Kosteniuk in a composed performance, navigating a sharp first game and locking in qualification with a solid second draw.
Meanwhile, 18-year-old Divya continued her sensational run, defeating GM Zhu Jiner 1.5-0.5 in their rapid tiebreak. Zhu's queen sacrifice in the second game was brave, but Divya's calm and calculation proved too strong.
GM Harika Dronavalli's match against GM Kateryna Lagno was a marathon. After losing the first rapid game, Harika bounced back with grit and a little luck-Lagno missed a decisive tactic in game two. From there, Harika clawed her way back, finally breaking through in the fourth game of the tiebreak with a brilliant endgame display.
The longest and most nerve-wracking match of the day was IM Meruert Kamalidenova vs GM Vaishali Rameshbabu. The two traded wins back and forth through rapid, then blitz. It all came down to the second blitz game, where Vaishali, despite being worse at one point, held her nerve and edged through. She admitted later.
With all four Indians in the final eight, the quarterfinals will feature two all-Indian clashes: Harika vs Divya and Humpy vs Song Yuxin, while Vaishali faces Tan Zhongyi.
Scheduled to take place from July 6 to July 28, the 2025 FIDE Women's World Cup has gathered together in Batumi (Georgia) the world's best female chess players. A total of 107 players from 46 different federations are set to participate in the event, including seventeen of the current top twenty.
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