India’s Divya Deshmukh beat China’s Tan Zhongyi in Game 2 of the FIDE Women’s World Cup 2025 semifinal to secure a spot in the final, in Batumi, Georgia on Wednesday.
The Indian chess star outplayed her opponent with white pieces to claim a 1.5-0.5 win in the semifinal, after having drawn the first game on Tuesday.
Deshmukh pounced on a mid-game error from Zhongyi to gain a two-pawn advantage, before trading queens. She guarded her advantage from thereon before her opponent resigned after Deshmukh’s 101st move.
With this win, Deshmukh also claimed a spot in the Candidates tournament set to happen in 2026.
The 19-year-old also became the first Indian to enter the final of FIDE Women’s World Cup.
In the other semifinal, India’s Koneru Humpy and China’s Lei Tingjie played out a second consecutive draw to head into a tiebreak which will be played on Thursday.
