India Makes History With All-Indian Women’s World Cup Final

Photo: Instagram/@fide_chess

India has reached an amazing milestone in the world of chess at the Women's World Cup being held in Batumi. This special moment was created when two Indian players, Humpy Koneru and Divya Deshmukh, entered the final of this big tournament. For the first time in the history of the Women’s World Cup, both finalists are from the same country.

Divya Deshmukh Beats Tan Zhongyi

It all started when young Indian chess player Divya Deshmukh defeated Tan Zhongyi in her classical game on Wednesday. Divya, who is known for her confidence and smart moves, played very strongly. Her victory made everyone in India proud and excited.

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Humpy Koneru Defeats Lei Tingjie

The next day, on Thursday, India's top woman chess player Humpy Koneru defeated Lei Tingjie from China in the tiebreak rounds. This victory by Humpy completed a clean sweep for India, meaning both finalists are Indians. It also assured that the Women's World Cup title will come to India for the first time ever.

Both Humpy and Divya have now qualified for the 2026 Women’s Candidates Tournament. This is the next big tournament that decides who will challenge the world champion.

The Tense Semifinal Between Humpy and Lei

Humpy Koneru’s semifinal against Lei Tingjie was a very tough and tense match. Both players were careful and smart. Their two classical games ended in draws, but they were not boring at all. In their second classical game, Humpy got a clear advantage in a rook endgame after playing the Exchange Variation of the Slav Defence. Lei was under time pressure and made a few mistakes, giving Humpy a chance to win. But Humpy also made an incorrect pawn move, missing her chance to win, and the game ended in a draw.

Moving Into Rapid Tiebreaks

Because both classical games were drawn, the match went into rapid tiebreaks on Thursday. In rapid tiebreaks, players have only 15 minutes with a 10-second increment per move.

In the first rapid game, Lei Tingjie had white pieces and played strongly, but she missed a winning move. She played 38.Qxa5, but the better move was 38.Qd8. If she had played 38.Qd8, her attack would have become very strong. After her wrong move, Humpy replied with a strong 38...Be4 and later the game ended in a draw after 70 moves.

Humpy later said that she was not happy with her play in this rapid game because Lei always had the advantage.

Second Rapid Game Also Drawn

The second rapid game also ended in a draw. Because of this, the match moved to the second tiebreak round with shorter time controls of 10 minutes plus 10-second increment.

Lei Tingjie Takes The Lead

In the third game of the match, Lei Tingjie played very confidently and won the game. This put Humpy in a must-win situation because if she lost the next game, she would be out of the tournament.

Humpy Fights Back Strongly

In the fourth game, Humpy showed her courage and determination. She played very accurately under pressure and won the game to level the match score. This forced the match to move into the final blitz tiebreaks.

In this game, Humpy found the strongest way to win by playing 38.Qc7 Kf7 39.fxe3, after which Lei Tingjie resigned. If Humpy had played 38.fxe3 earlier, it would have ended in a draw. But her strong nerves and smart thinking helped her win this important game and take the match to blitz tiebreakers.

Final Blitz Tiebreaks

In the final blitz round, both players were tired and stressed because the match had already been very long. In blitz games, each player gets only 5 minutes with a 3-second increment per move. The first blitz game was dramatic. Humpy had the white pieces and built up a good position. Lei Tingjie dropped an exchange, but then Humpy made a tactical mistake, giving Lei a chance to escape.

However, Lei played 44...Ra6, which lost her the game. Humpy then played 45.Qd7 and won her opponent’s queen. Lei resigned and Humpy won the first blitz game.

Humpy Wins The Match

After losing the first blitz game, Lei needed to win the second blitz game to stay in the match. But Humpy, who was calm and confident, played strongly again and won the final blitz game too. This ended the match with a score of 5-3 in Humpy’s favour.

Humpy Speaks After Her Win

After the match, Humpy said that she was not completely happy with her play in the rapid games, but she praised her opponent Lei Tingjie for giving a strong fight. She said:

“I played a bit shaky in the rapid, but she also gave a very good fight. It could have gone either way.”

Looking Forward To The All-Indian Final

When asked about her feelings before the final against Divya Deshmukh, Humpy said:

“I think it's one of the happiest moments for chess fans because now the title will go to India for sure. But of course, as a player, tomorrow will be quite a tough game as well - Divya has played tremendously well in this whole tournament.”

Third Place Match Between Lei and Tan

Meanwhile, Lei Tingjie and Tan Zhongyi will play against each other in the third-place match. The winner of this match will get the final spot available for the 2026 Women’s Candidates Tournament.

Why This Is A Historic Moment For India

This achievement is very special because it is the first time in Women’s World Cup history that both finalists are from the same country. It shows how strong Indian women are becoming in the world of chess. This will inspire many young girls in India to take up chess and dream big like Humpy and Divya.

Both Humpy Koneru and Divya Deshmukh have made India proud. Their hard work, smart thinking, and courage have brought India to the top of world chess. Now all eyes are on the final to see who will lift the Women’s World Cup trophy and become the champion.