Divya Deshmukh springs one other shock beautiful Harika to be in semis

Slowly however certainly rising as one among India’s key gamers, International Master Divya Deshmukh surprised higher-ranked compatriot Harika Dronavalli 2-0 within the tiebreaks to enter the semifinals of the FIDE World Women’s Chess Cup right here.

After two uneventful attracts within the classical video games, the stress was on Harika within the speedy tiebreaks. Divya capitalised with a decided efficiency to win the primary sport, earlier than sealing the match within the second as Harika, in a must-win state of affairs, overpressed in the hunt for a miracle that by no means got here.

While Harika has been a semifinalist on three totally different events in an identical format which was then referred to as the world ladies’s championship, Humpy and now Divya have turn into the 2 Indians who made it to the semis of the ladies’s world cup as this is part of the brand new world championship cycle.

This additionally signifies that one Indian entry is assured within the Women’s Candidates Tournament slated someday subsequent yr, which is able to determine who will contest the world championship match in opposition to incumbent Ju Wenjun of China.

Highest-ranked Indian for over a decade, Koneru Humpy is already within the final 4 for the primary time in her profession, and that is one title that has eluded her all these years. With Divya Deshmukh becoming a member of her as the opposite semi-finalist, it reveals a paradigm shift in Indian ladies’s chess too, the place the boys have largely been making hay.

Divya employed the Italian Opening within the first sport and gave nothing away. Harika was outdone within the middlegame whereas looking for some critical counterplay however ended up miscalculating, which price her the queen for 2 white items. The relaxation was simple for Divya, who has now established herself as a pressure to reckon with in ladies’s chess.

In the return sport, Harika needed to win, however once more Divya was as much as the duty in defence. It is well-known that Harika adores her possibilities in sooner variations, however in opposition to Divya she didn’t get many. It was a picturesque end ultimately that closed the doorways for Harika.

In the semifinals, Humpy will meet prime seed Lei Tingjie of China, whereas Divya will face former ladies’s world champion Tan Zhongyi, additionally of China.