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International Master (IM) Divya Deshmukh scripted history on Wednesday by storming into the final of the FIDE Women’s World Chess Cup, defeating former world champion Zhongyi Tan of China. With this win, Divya also became the first Indian ever to qualify for the Women’s Candidates tournament, which will decide the next challenger for world champion Wenjun Ju. Divya won the second game of the semi-final to seal the mini-match 1.5-0.5. It was another stunning performance 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.
