FIDE Women’s World Cup: Divya beats Harika on tiebreaks to enter semifinals

India’s Divya Deshmukh beat compatriot Harika Dronavalli on tiebreaks on Monday to enter the semifinals of the FIDE Women’s World Cup 2025.

She joins Koneru Humpy in the last four. Humpy beat China’s Yuxin Song in the quarterfinals to become the first Indian to enter the semifinal stage of the World Cup. It was Harika quarterfinals run at the last edition in 2023 which was previously the best result by an Indian.

Divya drew both Game 1 and Game 2 against Harika to take the contest to tiebreaks. Then, the 19-year-old went on to beat her senior in consecutive games to book her spot in the semifinal, where she will meet China’s Tan Zhongyi.

Humpy will also face a Chinese player in Lei Tingjie.