Divya Deshmukh exits Women’s Speed Chess Championship 2025 after defeat in quarterfinals

In her first tournament since a historic triumph at the FIDE World Cup, Divya Deshmukh went down fighting against World No. 1 Hou Yifan in the quarterfinals of the Women’s Speed Chess Championship 2025 on Thursday.

The 19-year-old Divya, who became a Grandmaster after winning the World Cup in Georgia last month, lost 9.5-10.5 to the three-time World Champion from China.

Earlier, Divya had dominated Lei Tingjie 10-3 in her opening-round clash.

R. Vaishali, the other Indian in the field, was eliminated after losing 6-8 to American IM Alice Lee in the first round.

After the first segment (time control of five minutes with an increment of one second per move), Divya led 3-2. However, the 31-year-old Hou won the second segment (time control of three minutes with a second’s increment per move) 4-1 to take the lead. The Indian teenager fought back, clinching the final segment (time control of one minute with one second increment per move) 3.5-1.5 which meant that the match was tied at 7.5-7.5

The contest went into tiebreaks – a four-game playoff (1+1 format) – but the two players could still not be separated.

Finally, Hou beat Divya in a single bidding armageddon game to seal her spot in the semifinals.