Women's chess world cup: Humpy, Divya make history as two Indians reach last four

GEORGIA: Koneru Humpy made history on Sunday in Batumi, Georgia, by becoming the first Indian to reach the semi-final of the FIDE Women’s World Cup.

India No 1 Humpy, playing with the black pieces, drew her second classical game against China’s Yuxin Song, having won the first game a day earlier, to seal the quarter-final tie 1.5-0.5.

Until now, Harika Dronavalli’s quarter-final finish in 2023 had been the best performance by an Indian woman in the event.

Song opted for Jobava’s London, a popular opening among top Grandmasters, but Humpy equalised comfortably before sacrificing two pawns to give White some hope. Song’s pawn structure soon crumbled, with three pawns left isolated on a single file, and Humpy seized control in the centre. Recovering the pawns, she steered the game towards a balanced rook-and-pawn endgame.

Song battled on for 53 moves before agreeing to a draw.

Humpy will now face top seed Lei Tingjie of China, who overcame local favourite Nana Dzagnidze 2-0 in her quarter-final clash.

Meanwhile, R Vaishali bowed out after losing her second classical game to China’s Tan Zhongyi, who clinched their tie 1.5-0.5.

The all-Indian quarter-final between Harika Dronavalli and Divya Deshmukh went to tiebreaks and Divya came out on top on Monday and will be facing Tan in the semi-final.

With three of the five remaining players being Indian, the country is guaranteed at least one of the three spots on offer for the FIDE Women’s Candidates Tournament, scheduled for the first half of 2026.