New Delhi, July 18 (H.S.): In the FIDE Women's World Cup pre-quarterfinals, all four Indian chess players – Divya Deshmukh, R. Vaishali, Koneru Humpy, and Harika Dronavalli – were pushed into tiebreaks. Divya Deshmukh faced China's Zhu Jiner, who made a comeback in the second game, defeating Divya after she had previously won with white pieces. Needing only a draw, Divya's position deteriorated in the middle game with the black pieces.

R. Vaishali also drew her match against Kazakhstan’s Meruert Kamalidenova, leading to tiebreaks. Experienced players Humpy and Dronavalli both drew their games with white pieces against Alexandra Kosteniuk (Switzerland) and Kateryna Lagno (Russia), respectively. In contrast, three Chinese players advanced to the quarterfinals.

The most notable upset was Nana Dzhagnidze, who eliminated Ukraine’s Maria Muzychuk. This World Cup allows three players to qualify for the FIDE Women's Candidates Tournament scheduled for the first half of 2026. Tiebreaks for the Indian players commenced at 4:35 PM IST today.

Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar