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In a historic moment for Indian chess, all four remaining players, Koneru Humpy, Dronavalli Harika, R Vaishali, and International Master Divya Deshmukh, have stormed into the quarterfinals of the FIDE Women’s World Cup. The achievement drew special praise from FIDE CEO Emil Sutovsky, who wrote on X, “All four Indian players make it through tie-breaks. Quite a feat! Congrats to Humpy, Divya, Harika and Vaishali! At the same time, kudos to Zhu Jiner, Kosteniuk, Lagno and Kamalidenova, who had an excellent run, and were just a bit short to make it to quarterfinals.”The path to this milestone was anything but easy. Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!All four Indians were pushed to the limit in the pre-quarterfinals, with their fate decided in tense tie-breakers after drawn classical games. Koneru Humpy overcame former world champion Alexandra Kosteniuk, while Harika Dronavalli edged out Kateryna Lagno in a gripping contest. Rising star R Vaishali defeated Kazakhstan’s Meruert Kamalidenova to continue her impressive run, and 19-year-old Divya Deshmukh held her nerve after a setback against China’s Zhu Jiner in the return game to seal her spot.Earlier, Divya had been India’s best hope for a direct qualification after winning her first game, but a middlegame slip in the Scotch Opening forced her into rapid tie-breaks. Displaying remarkable composure, she bounced back to keep India’s perfect record intact.
Meanwhile, three Chinese players, Lei Tingjie, Song Yuxin, and Tan Zhongyi, secured smooth progress to the last eight, while Georgian veteran Nana Dzagnidze stunned former world champion Mariya Muzychuk to advance.The Women’s World Cup, a high-stakes knockout event, carries a total prize fund of USD 691,250, with the winner claiming USD 50,000. Beyond the prize money, three coveted spots in the Women’s Candidates Tournament, leading to a World Championship challenge, are up for grabs. With four Indians among the elite eight, the tournament has taken on historic significance for Indian chess, signalling the country’s growing dominance on the global stage.
