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Journalism of Courage
The FIDE Women’s World Cup 2025 will provide a double bill of India-China clashes in the semifinals after teenage sensation Divya Deshmukh triumphed over her more experienced compatriot Harika Dronavalli in the quarterfinal tie-breaks in Georgia’s Batumi on Monday, becoming only the second Indian ever to reach that stage of the elite competition.
The third edition of the FIDE Women’s World Cup 2025 will now feature two Indians – Koneru Humpy and Divya – taking on two Chinese opponents, Lei Tingjie and Tan Zhongyi respectively, for a place in the final. It also guarantees India at least one spot in next year’s Candidates Tournament – that will decide the eventual challenger to women’s world champion Ju Wenjun, who has held the title since 2018. The top three finishers from the ongoing tournament make it to the Candidates and even if both Humpy and Divya are defeated at the semifinal stage, they will face each other in a third-place playoff.
Hence, besides the individual glory beckoning the two Indians, Humpy and Divya also have an opportunity to challenge China’s decades-long domination in the women’s game.
The 34-year-old Harika, who had already reached the quarterfinals in 2023 (the first Indian to make the top eight), was the slight favourite heading into the tie-breaks against Divya. But the 2024 World Junior Champion, 15 years her junior, relied on her innate confidence, which often belies her age, to pull off a stunning victory.
The first 15+10 Rapid tie-break was a work of art from Divya. Playing with white pieces, she executed a clear plan against her opponent. For an entire game in which 15 minutes are allotted with a 10-second increment per move, Divya had increased the time left at her disposal to 17 minutes and 20 seconds by the 17th move after blitzing out her opening moves. She lured Harika into exchanging a light-squared bishop, a pair of knights, and a pawn to set a trap.
Harika, the seasoned campaigner, fell for the bait, exchanging two more central pawns which allowed Divya’s hyperactive queen to exploit the open space, and by the 27th move, the senior player was already staring down the barrel. Divya sacrificed her bishop to pin Harika’s queen and let go her rook pair to gain superior compensation by keeping her queen. With no counterplay left, Harika resigned.
The second 15+10 tie-break was a must-win for Harika. Divya, however, was in no mood to relent. She immediately offered a risky queen exchange, which Harika accepted, hoping to grind out a win and level the match.
The 19-year-old faced mounting pressure as Harika kept the position sharp, while piling on time pressure. At one point, Divya made a move with just four seconds left on the clock, and blundered twice in three moves after holding Harika to near-equality for 60 moves. She misplaced her king, handing Harika a massive advantage.
But Harika, the Indian No. 2, failed to capitalise on her opportunities, missing both chances to punish Divya’s mistakes. Moments later, she lost a pawn, her position collapsed, and she was forced to concede.
An emotional Divya, still shaking after her victory, credited her preparation for the win in the first tie-break game.
“I would have to say the preparation had a lot of role in that game (first tie-break), and I would like to thank my coach for that,” she told the broadcasters.
The teenage sensation had earlier ousted second seed China‘s Zhu Jiner, also in tie-breaks. She described Zhu as her toughest opponent and expressed relief after the high-intensity semifinal battle.
“She (Harika) played quite well. I’m just glad it’s over. When I initially went into the tournament, I knew I didn’t want to play any tie-breaks, but well… that has not been my fate. It’s okay. So far, so good!” Divya said.
On Sunday, Humpy became the first Indian ever to reach the top four of the FIDE Women’s World Cup, defeating China’s Yuxin Song 1.5-0.5 without needing tie-breaks.
“Yeah, it feels very good that I qualified without playing tie-breaks. I could have played even better, I was completely in a better position but I slipped out in time trouble,” Humpy said after securing her semifinal spot.
On her upcoming clash against China’s Lei Tingjie, the top seed, she said, “I’ll also rest for some time and then prepare because it’s going to be a very tough match in the semifinals. Lei is one of the strongest opponents and also the top seed of the tournament.”
The respect was mutual, with Lei acknowledging Humpy’s strengths.
“Humpy is a well-known player, we played a lot and generally we know each other. She’s very strong but I will try my best,” the Chinese said.
The semi-finals will feature a battle of equals between Humpy and the active World No.1 Lei (current top-ranked player Hou Yifan is semi-retired and inactive). The two veterans have faced each other 17 times across all formats, with both players winning six games each with the other five ending in draws.
Humpy holds a slight edge in the Classical format, leading 4-3 in their nine encounters, with two games drawn.
For Divya, the challenge is markedly different. The teenage prodigy faces former World Champion Tan Zhongyi, who was also the World Championship challenger in the last cycle. The head-to-head record favours the 34-year-old Chinese. In their three previous meetings, Tan has won twice with Divya managing just one draw.
