FIDE Women’s World Cup: Divya Deshmukh creates historical past, qualifies for Candidates tournament | Chess News

International Master (IM) Divya Deshmukh scripted historical past on Wednesday by storming into the ultimate of the FIDE Women’s World Chess Cup, defeating former world champion Zhongyi Tan of China. With this win, Divya additionally grew to become the primary Indian ever to qualify for the Women’s Candidates tournament, which is able to determine the following challenger for world champion Wenjun Ju. Divya gained the second sport of the semi-final to seal the mini-match 1.5-0.5. It was one other beautiful efficiency 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 items in opposition to Tan, Divya opted for the Alapin variation within the Sicilian Defence and confirmed her sharp positional understanding. A well-timed alternate of bishops for knights led to a beneficial endgame with an additional pawn. Although Tan had probabilities within the center sport, the previous world champion misplaced her grip on the place. As the sport progressed, Divya emerged with two additional pawns and an out of doors handed pawn. However, the match noticed a number of twists earlier than she finally clinched it after a 101-move battle.