GM Koneru Humpy was on the point of elimination within the 2025 FIDE Girls’s World Cup Semifinals after shedding the third tiebreak recreation. However she received on demand in recreation 4 after which received the 2 blitz video games—pulling off the hat trick—to advance over GM Lei Tingjie. She’s going to play IM Divya Deshmukh for the title, whereas GM Tan Zhongyi will face Lei within the match for third place.
After a relaxation day, the Finals are on Saturday, July 26, beginning at 7 a.m. ET / 13:00 CEST / 4:30 p.m. IST.
Girls’s World Cup Semifinal Outcomes
The highest three finishers of the occasion will qualify for the 2026 FIDE Girls’s Candidates Event, which implies the match for third place nonetheless has nice penalties.
Humpy 5-3 Lei
It took a full eight video games to determine the match: two classical, two fast (15+10), one other two fast (10+10), after which two blitz (5+3). Humpy summarized the five-and-a-half-hour battle: “It was a really powerful match and he or she additionally gave an excellent battle.”
It was a really powerful match and he or she additionally gave an excellent battle.
—Koneru Humpy
Lei had a greater first half of the match, creating (however lacking) possibilities as early because the very first recreation. She had an sudden, sudden win on the spot with 19.Bxh6!! however performed 19.Nhf5 after a couple of minute, nonetheless with a bonus however not a decisive one. In a while, she had nice possibilities to win the opposite-color bishop endgame with queens on, however the recreation fizzled after 38.Qxa5? (38.Qd8 was the one approach ahead).
We continued to see gradual, maneuvering, cautious play by either side—comprehensible, contemplating the immense stakes of the match. In recreation two, we noticed a clear draw, with 97 accuracy by either side, however in recreation three, Lei drew first blood.
In a queenless middlegame that arose from the Italian Opening, Humpy blundered a pawn with 22…h5?, blitzed out. It ought to have been a routine win for gamers of this caliber, however nerves have been on full show as each gamers made errors. Humpy may have seized her likelihood to save lots of the sport with 38…Rbxg6, however after 38…Rxh5? Lei had one other alternative and managed to transform the opposite-color bishop endgame with a pair of rooks.
Humpy later stated, “I feel initially I performed fairly dangerous with the black items and he or she at all times had the benefit. After the loss, it was a really tough state of affairs, however I used to be in a position to come again.”
The following recreation, Humpy received on demand, beginning with the space-gaining pawn push 17.c5!. Although Black had two pawns within the heart, White carved out the d6-square for a knight, a technique that netted the alternate many strikes later. That is our Recreation of the Day, analyzed by GM Rafael Leitao under.
From there, it was all Humpy. Recreation certainly one of blitz was a nervy encounter the place either side hung exchanges within the middlegame. After buying and selling into an equal endgame, although, it was Humpy who pounced on a decisive blunder beneath time strain.
Needing solely a draw within the remaining recreation, Humpy went on to win when her opponent went for a determined and unsound assault, although Lei did the precise factor by making an attempt. Humpy’s protection was impeccable.
It is the primary time in historical past that an Indian participant has made it to the Closing, and now we have now two. We’re assured an Indian winner. Humpy addressed the followers: “I feel it is one of many happiest moments for the chess followers… however after all as a participant tomorrow it is going to be fairly a tricky recreation as nicely. Divya has performed tremendously nicely on this entire event.”
Divya has performed tremendously nicely on this entire event.
—Koneru Humpy
She additionally shared recommendation for women who’re watching: “For women it is actually vital to at all times compete particularly among the many boys. It is vital of their studying stage to battle with the primary gamers to allow them to enhance their expertise.”
The gamers will recharge their batteries on Friday, after which the finale of this almost month-long occasion will happen on Saturday. The Closing shall be a real conflict of generations.
Learn how to watch?
The 2025 FIDE Girls’s World Cup takes place on the Grand Bellagio Lodge & On line casino in Batumi, Georgia. It’s a 107-player event with a single-elimination knockout format and a classical time management of 90 minutes for the primary 40 strikes and half-hour for the remainder of the sport, plus a 30-second increment per transfer from the primary transfer. Every spherical consists of two video games on the classical time management, adopted by a tiebreak in quicker time controls in case the scores are tied.
Earlier protection:
