Koneru Humpy vs Divya Deshmukh, Women’s Chess World Cup Final 2025 Highlights: Game 2 ends in draw via repetition

With her victory in the all-Chinese third-place face-off, Tan joins India’s Koneru Humpy and Divya Deshmukh in next year’s Women’s Candidates Tournament!

Here’s what the board looks like at the end of Game 2:

We are 46 moves into Game 2 of the third-place playoff between Lei and Tan, and the two Chinese GMs continue to battle it out in Batumi, hoping to sign off from the tournament on Sunday itself. Though the eval bar is level between the two, Tan is well ahead of Lei on the clock at the moment.

Humpy moves her King back to g1, tempting Divya into a stalemate via three-fold repetition. Divya ponders over it for a bit, and reluctantly accepts, as the all-Indian final moves into the tie-breaks on Monday! This despite the fact that Divya had over 10 minutes left on the clock compared to her opponent.

Here’s what the board looks like at the end of the game:

And here’s the full set of moves in Game 2:

1. Nf3 d5

2. e3 Nf6

3. c4 e6

4. Nc3 a6

5. b3 c5

6. Bb2 Nc6

7. cxd5 exd5

8. d4 Bg4

9. Be2 Bxf3

10. Bxf3 cxd4

11. exd4 Bb4

12. O-O Bxc3

13. Bxc3 O-O

14. Qd3 Re8

15. Rfe1 Qd7

16. h3 h6

17. Rac1 Rxe1+

18. Rxe1 Re8

19. Rxe8+ Qxe8

20. Qf5 Qe6

21. Qf4 Ne4

22. Bxe4 dxe4

23. d5 Qxd5

24. Qg4 g6

25. Qc8+ Nd8

26. Qb8 Qg5

27. Bd4 Kh7

28. Qc7 Qd5

29. Bb6 Nc6

30. Qxb7 Qd1+

31. Kh2 Qd6+

32. Kg1 Qd1+

33. Kh2 Qd6+

34. Kg1 Qd1+

After Humpy moves her bishop to safety (Bb6), Divya puts her knight between the white bishop and queen and her own queen (Nc6). Humpy makes a pawn (Qxb7) capture in her next move, which is followed by Divya offering her experienced opponent a check with her queen, forcing Humpy to move her king into the next rank.

That marks the beginning of a repetition of moves (31. Kh2 Qd6+ 32. Kg1 Qd1+ 33 Kh2 Qd6+) which has all the makings of a stalemate. Unlike the Lei vs Tan game, where the latter is closing in on a victory, the eval bar is dead even at the moment.

Not only is Lei under immense time pressure, having a little over five minutes left on the clock compared to nearly half-an-hour for Tan, she commits a blunder by moving her rook left to Rfe4 – right next to her other rook and knight. The eval bar suddenly reads 2.4 in favour of Tan!

Humpy takes 10 minutes before moving her queen to c7 in her 28th move. Divya’s response is prompt as she moves her own queen to d5, where she not only protects her knight but also threatens Humpy’s bishop.

Here’s the full list of moves so far:

1. Nf3 d5

2. e3 Nf6

3. c4 e6

4. Nc3 a6

5. b3 c5

6. Bb2 Nc6

7. cxd5 exd5

8. d4 Bg4

9. Be2 Bxf3

10. Bxf3 cxd4

11. exd4 Bb4

12. O-O Bxc3

13. Bxc3 O-O

14. Qd3 Re8

15. Rfe1 Qd7

16. h3 h6

17. Rac1 Rxe1+

18. Rxe1 Re8

19. Rxe8+ Qxe8

20. Qf5 Qe6

21. Qf4 Ne4

22. Bxe4 dxe4

23. d5 Qxd5

24. Qg4 g6

25. Qc8+ Nd8

26. Qb8 Qg5

27. Bd4 Kh7

28. Qc7 Qd5

And to think she had a huge lead over her experienced opponent at one point. It was Humpy’s smart time management that allowed her to walk away with a draw in Game 1. Divya, however, isn’t likely to accept a stalemate so easily in Game 2 and will fight till the end.

Humpy, meanwhile, had offered Divya a check with her queen in her 25th move (Qc8+), and the latter responded by blocking the queen’s path (Nd8) with her knight. Divya later moves her own queen (Qg5) to the right directly in line with her knight, in order to protect that piece. And in her latest move, shifts her king to safety (Kh7).

Divya’s considerable time advantage over Humpy has almost been neutralised with both players having a little over 30 minutes left on the clock. She ends up consuming 18 minutes before advancing her G-pawn (g6).

As for the Lei-Tan third-place playoff, Lei blocks Tan’s queen by placing her rook right next to her king in the 29th move.

Humpy decides to move her queen away from Divya’s corresponding piece. Divya and Humpy later lose a knight and bishop respectively in the 22nd move (Bxe4 dxe4). Divya also captures Humpy’s pawn on the d file in her latest move. The Stockfish engine likes Divya’s latest move (24. Qg4).

Game 2 of the third-place playoff between Tan Zhongyi and Lei Tingjie, meanwhile, had been moving at a much quicker pace than the Divya-Humpy final today until Lei consumed nearly half-a-hour for her 25th move (Nd6). Like the other game, Tan has a time advantage over her opponent while playing as black. And both players are level on the eval bar and are playing with near-full accuracy.

The two Indians decide to put their Queens next to one another in their latest moves (20. Qf5 Qf6).

Here’s how the game has progressed so far: 

1. Nf3 d5

2. e3 Nf6

3. c4 e6

4. Nc3 a6

5. b3 c5

6. Bb2 Nc6

7. cxd5 exd5

8. d4 Bg4

9. Be2 Bxf3

10. Bxf3 cxd4

11. exd4 Bb4

12. O-O Bxc3

13. Bxc3 O-O

14. Qd3 Re8

15. Rfe1 Qd7

16. h3 h6

17. Rac1 Rxe1+

18. Rxe1 Re8

19. Rxe8+ Qxe8

20. Qf5 Qe6

Both players, meanwhile, advance their H-file pawns. Divya later offers Humpy a check with what essentially proves to be a rook exchange (17. Rxe1+ 18. Rxe1 Re8). Both players get their other rooks in the same position as the the previous ones.

Humpy decides to line up her rook in the same file as Divya’s corresponding piece, and the latter responds by advancing her queen. Humpy’s king is also guarded by three pawns and a bishop instead of a knight.

Humpy had done the same in her previous move, with the two players opting for a quick knight-bishop exchange in between (12.Bxc3 13.Bxc3). Divya, meanwhile, has an accuracy of 100 at the moment, while Humpy stands at 99.6.

Humpy is playing with White, while Divya is playing with Black. Here are all the moves so far.

1. Nf3 d5 2. e3 Nf6 3. c4 e6 4. Nc3 a6 5. b3 c5 6. Bb2 Nc6 7. cxd5 exd5 8. d4 Bg4

Humpy is now taking her time after a few quick moves. She is playing with white pieces, while Divya is playing with black. 1. Nf3 d5 2. e3 Nf6 3. c4 e6 4. Nc3 a6 5. b3 c5

Koneru Humpy opened Game 2 with Nf3, while Divya Deshmukh replied with d5. Humpy followed up with e3, and Divya with Nf6.

1. Nf3 d5 2. e3 Nf6 3. c4 e6 4. Nc3 a6 5. b3 c5

The match is about to begin. Follow the live board of Game 2 of the Women’s World Cup final between Divya Deshmukh and Koneru Humpy here in our blog.

Fans can watch the 2025 Women’s World Cup final live on FIDE’s YouTube channel. The Game 2 will begin in less than 13 minutes from now at 4:30 PM IST.

🇮🇳 Humpy Koneru vs Divya Deshmukh 🇮🇳
🔥 Final, Game 2 begins in 1 hour!
❓ Will we see a champion today—or tie-breaks tomorrow?

🎙️ Follow with live commentary: https://t.co/JptIgPn72q

🔇 Silent broadcasts:
🇮🇳 Humpy Koneru vs Divya Deshmukh 🇮🇳https://t.co/Q4ZEegOcH8
🇨🇳 Lei… pic.twitter.com/HYMJ6Or9r6

— International Chess Federation (@FIDE_chess) July 27, 2025