FIDE Women’s World Cup: All four Indians taken to tiebreaks in pre-quarterfinals
Zhu Jiner bounced back to beat Divya Deshmukh in Game 2, taking their FIDE Women’s World Cup pre-quarterfinal to tiebreaks in Batumi, Georgia, on Thursday.
Other Indians in action – R. Vaishali, Koneru Humpy and Harika Dronavalli – also headed to tiebreaks after drawing both their games in their respective last-16 matches.
Divya, playing with white pieces, had dominated second-seeded Chinese Zhu for a stunning win on Wednesday and needed only a draw with black to progress to the quarterfinals. However, Zhu put the pressure back on the young Indian in Game 2 to restore parity.
Vaishali, who also had black pieces, played out another draw against Kazakhstan’s Meruert Kamalidenova.
Experienced Humpy and Harika both drew with white pieces against Switzerland’s Alexandra Kosteniuk and Russia’s Kateryna Lagno respectively.
Only one Indian player has ever entered the quarterfinal of a Women’s World Cup – Harika in 2023.
The World Cup offers three spots to the FIDE Women’s Candidates Tournament, set to happen in the first half of 2026.
All four Indians will play Tiebreaks on Friday, July 18, from 4:35PM IST.