Pune, April 18 (H.S.): In the fourth round of the FIDE Women's Grand Prix 2024, Indian Grandmaster Koneru Hampi showcased her experience and positional strength by defeating Russia's Polina Shuvalova. Meanwhile, Divya Deshmukh made an exciting comeback to claim her victory, while Dronavalli Harika and Vaishali Rameshbabu's all-Indian clash ended in a draw.

Hampi's precise strategy led to Polina's defeat - This match, which began with the Italian Opening, saw Hampi gradually strengthen her position against Polina. A mistake by Polina on the eighth move gave Hampi the lead. After exchanging queens on the twelfth move, Hampi secured control of the game with her connected pawns and an infiltrating rook on the seventh rank. By the 26th move, the picture was clear, and Hampi won the game in 37 moves. After the match, Hampi described it as a comfortable game.

Divya Deshmukh's battle lasted 70 moves - Divya Deshmukh demonstrated excellent play in the Caro-Kann Defense Exchange Variation. She maintained the lead most of the time and ultimately defeated Melia Salome after 70 moves with the help of double rooks and her king. With this victory, Divya has also moved up the leaderboard.

Harika and Vaishali's match ended in an exciting draw - In the all-Indian clash, Dronavalli Harika faced Vaishali Rameshbabu. Starting with the Grünfeld Defense, Harika maintained the lead for a long time, but Vaishali did not lose her patience. After the 34th move, Harika could not secure a decisive advantage, leading to a draw.

Tight competition in the leaderboard - China's Zhu Jin'er currently leads the scoreboard with 3.5 points. Both Hampi and Divya are just half a point behind Jin'er. On Friday, an important all-Indian match will be played between Hampi and Harika, while Divya will take on Polina.

Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar