In Chess, Grandmasters Koneru Humpy, D Harika and R Vaishali, and International Master Divya Deshmukh stormed into the quarterfinals of FIDE World Women’s Cup, scripting history as India became the first country to have four players in the tournament’s last-eight stage. All four women won their tiebreak matches yesterday to enter the last-eight stage at Batumi in Georgia.
Humpy showed her experience and calmness, defeating Switzerland’s Alexandra Kosteniuk 1.5-0.5 in just two games. Divya pulled off a major upset by beating second seed Zhu Jiner of China with the same score.
Harika bounced back after losing her first game to Russia’s Kateryna Lagno. She won the second, then drew and won again in the tiebreaks to seal her spot. Vaishali on the other hand, defeated Kazakhistan’s Meruert Kamalidenova to join the others in the quarterfinals.
While Humpy will next face China’s Song Yuxin and Vaishali will meet Tan Zhongyi of China, and Divya will take on Harika in an all Indian quarterfinal. Georgia’s Nana Dzagnidze is also in the quarterfinals after impressive performances.
With four Indian players in the top eight, the race is now between India and China for the title and the top three spots that guarantee a place in the women’s Candidates, which will eventually determine the challenger for the next Women’s World Championship.
