Divya creates history, enters FIDE World Cup final

India’s Divya Deshmukh scripted history by becoming the first Indian to enter the FIDE Women’s World Cup final after defeating China’s Tan Zhongyi. The win also secured her a spot in the 2026 Candidates and her maiden GM norm.

HYDERABAD: India’s Divya Deshmukh, playing with white pieces, outwitted China’s Tan Zhongyin Game 2 of the FIDE Women’s World Cup 2025 semifinal to secure a spot in the final and be the first Indian to achieve this feat, in Batumi, Georgia, on Wednesday night.

This victory meant that Divya earned a slot in the prestigious Candidates championship to be held next year, even while she secured her first Grandmaster norm (three required to earn the GM title).

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The Indian chess star recorded a 1.5-0.5 win in the semifinal, after having drawn the first game on Tuesday. Deshmukh seized on a mid-game error from Zhongyi to gain a two-pawn advantage, before trading queens.

After briefly fumbling her position, Deshmukh showed her class to recover from early blues to regain her advantage and, more importantly, defended it pretty well from then on. Tingjie eventually resigned after her opponent went rook up.

With this win, Deshmukh also claimed a spot in the Candidates tournament set to happen in 2026, while also securing her first Grand Master norm.

Humpy takes issue to tie-break

In the other semifinal, India’s Koneru Humpy and China’s Lei Tingjie played out a second consecutive draw to head into a tiebreak which will be played on Thursday. Humpy held a massive advantage early in the endgame, before bungling the position as the two players settled for a draw after the 75th move.

The tie-break format: Two-game match – 10 minutes for each player with a 10-second increment, starting from the first move. Two-game match – Five minutes for each player with a three-second increment, starting from the first move.

Two-game match – Three minutes for each player with a two-second increment, starting from the first move. Players keep contesting 3+2 games until a decisive result determines the match winner.