Koneru Humpy beats Lei Tingjie, to face Divya Deshmukh in FIDE Women’s World Cup 2025 final
India’s Koneru Humpy outmaneuvered China’s Lei Tingjie in the semifinal tiebreaks of the FIDE Women’s World Cup in Batumi, Georgia on Thursday.
Humpy’s win sets up an all-Indian final, with Divya Deshmukh entering the summit clash on Wednesday after bettering China’s Tan Zhongyi in a topsy-turvy semifinal.
The tiebreaks started in sedate fashion as Humpy and Tingjie drew both their 10+10 rapid games.
But, action erupted after the Chinese GM opened the second tiebreak (5+3 format) with a win with the white pieces. Forced into a must-win territory, Humpy levelled the tie in the second game to set up a thrilling blitz showdown.
In the 3+2 blitz round opener, Humpy pounced on a mistake from Tingjie in the 44th move to go queen up and squeezed a momentum-seizing win with white pieces.
ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT FIDE WORLD CUP FINAL
In the second blitz game, Humpy held onto her advantage to assure India a first-ever Women’s World Cup title.
The win also secured Humpy a spot at the Candidates tournament, set to happen early next year.
The World Cup final will happen on July 26 and 27, with the tiebreaks scheduled for July 28, if needed.