Worldwide Grasp (IM) Divya Deshmukh scripted historical past on Wednesday by storming into the ultimate of the FIDE Ladies’s World Chess Cup, defeating former world champion Zhongyi Tan of China. With this win, Divya additionally turned the primary Indian ever to qualify for the Ladies’s Candidates match, which is able to determine the following challenger for world champion Wenjun Ju. Divya received the second sport of the semi-final to seal the mini-match 1.5-0.5. It was one other beautiful efficiency from the 19-year-old, who has already knocked out second seed Zoner Jhu of China and compatriot Grandmaster D Harika in earlier rounds. Playing with white pieces against Tan, Divya opted for the Alapin variation in the Sicilian Defence and showed her sharp positional understanding. A well-timed exchange of bishops for knights led to a favourable endgame with an extra pawn. Although Tan had chances in the middle game, the former world champion lost her grip on the position. As the game progressed, Divya emerged with two extra pawns and an outside passed pawn. However, the match saw several twists before she eventually clinched it after a 101-move battle.
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In the other semi-final, Koneru Humpy played out a draw against top seed Tingjie Lei of China. Playing white against the Slav Defence, Humpy went for the exchange variation. The game saw early queen exchanges and Humpy managed to get a bishop pair against Lei’s knights. Despite having an extra pawn in a rook and pawn endgame, the position remained balanced, and the game ended in a draw after 75 moves. Humpy will now face Lei in a tie-break to decide the second finalist.
