 "Divya Deshmukh defeated a much higher-ranked Zhu Jiner to setup a quarter-final clash against compatriot Harika Dronavalli at the FIDE Women's World Cup. Image credit: FIDE")
It was an incredible day for the Indian contingent at the FIDE Women’s World Cup in Batumi, Georgia with all four Indians – Grandmasters Koneru Humpy, Harika Dronavalli and R Vaishali and International Master Divya Deshmukh – winning their fourth-round clashes on Friday . Not only does that boost the chances of an Indian winning the third edition of the prestigious competition, which is set to conclude on 29 July, it also increases the likelihood of Indian participation at next year’s Candidates Tournament.
The Women’s World Cup, after all, offers three slots for Candidates – the qualification tournament to decide the challenge to the reigning world champion. And despite an all-Indian showdown between Divya and Harika in the quarters, the possibility of Indians finishing in the top three and securing their place in the Candidates remains alive for now.
The tournament, meanwhile, has witnessed some incredible results. Earlier in the second round, it was IM Vantika Agrawal triumphing over GM Anna Ushenina, a former women’s world champion, in the second round. And in Round 4, Divya defeated Chinese second seed Zhu Jiner , ranked 12 places above her on the latest FIDE ratings, in the tie-breaks after both players finished level at the end of the Classical games.
Senior GMs Humpy and Harika defeated Alexandra Kosteniuk and Kateryna Lagno respectively while Vaishali triumphed over Kazakhstani Woman Grandmaster Meruert Kamalidenova.
Indian chess president and others react to superb performance in Batumi
Their heroics was celebrated by the chess community on social media with All India Chess Federation president Nitin Narang among those congratulating the quartet. Here are select reactions:
The quarter-finals will get underway on Saturday and will conclude with the tie-breaks on Monday. Besides the Divya-Harika face-off, Humpy and Vaishali will be up against Chinese opponents – facing Song Yuxin and Tan Zhongyi respectively.