Chess Gambit 64

  Who would've expected this?  The Women's Chess World Cup final is set, and there's no Chinese player in sight! Yesterday, Divya Deshmukh eliminated Zhongyi Tan, and today, Humpy Koneru defeated Tingjie Lei in a tiebreaker. This means two Indian women will face off for first place, while two Chinese women will battle it out for third. We've already posted the decisive game on our website. ```

The first semifinal games of the Women's Chess World Cup concluded today, and both matches ended in draws. While there were no major upsets, it's worth noting that both Chinese players, despite having the advantage of playing white, were met with easy equalization by their Indian opponents. We've posted both games on our website, and we encourage you to analyze them yourselves! Women's Chess World Cup Semifinals: Game 1 Results: GM Tingjie Lei (2552) - GM Humpy Koneru (2543)  -  1/2-1/2 GM Zhongyi Tan (2546) - IM  Deshmukh Divya (2463)  -  1/2-1/2.

After winning yesterday's game, Humpy Koneru needed a draw to advance. Yuxin Song tried her best, but there was never a moment where a draw was possible on the board. Koneru thus won the match 1.5-0.5 and a dvanced to the semifinals of the FIDE Women's World Cup 2025 . Game Yuxin Song -  Humpy Koneru:

As we predicted, Humpy Koneru clinched the first game of the FIDE Women's World Cup 2025 quarterfinal against China's Yuxin Song ! The Indian grandmaster seized an early advantage in the opening. While Black focused on capturing pawns, it came at the cost of a weakened king's position. We're posting the full game on our website – go check it out for yourself!

Deshmukh Divya and Humpy Koneru have advanced to the quarterfinals of the FIDE Women's World Cup 2025 after winning their tiebreak matches.  Both players secured victory in their first games and then drew the second to clinch their spots. Congratulations! Check out both winning games: