FIDE Women’s World Cup: Humpy wins; Harika holds Divya in Game 1 of quarterfinals

Koneru Humpy registered a crucial win while R. Vaishali, Divya Deshmukh and Harika Dronavalli played out draws in Game 1 of the quarterfinals at the FIDE Women’s World Cup in Batumi, Georgia, on Saturday.

Humpy, playing with white pieces, took down China’s Yuxin Song in the first classical game and only needs a draw on Sunday to become the first-ever Indian woman to reach the semifinals.

The experienced Harika, who also reached the quarterfinals at the 2023 edition, held youngster Divya with black pieces.

Vaishali, facing China’s Tan Zhongyi – who lost to compatriot Ju Wenjun in the World Championship Final this year – did well to secure a draw with white pieces.

In the fourth quarterfinal, local hope Nana Dzagnidze suffered a loss against top-seeded Chinese Lei Tingjie.

The World Cup offers three spots to the FIDE Women’s Candidates Tournament, set to happen in the first half of 2026.

Game 2 of the quarterfinals will be played on Sunday, July 20, from 4:45PM IST.