Chess | Koneru Humpy creates historical past, turns into first Indian lady to enter FIDE Ladies’s World Cup semifinals | Chess Information

Koneru Humpy scripted historical past by changing into the primary Indian lady to succeed in the semifinals of the FIDE Ladies’s Chess World Cup. A composed draw within the second sport of her quarterfinal conflict towards China’s IM Music Yuxin was sufficient to seal her spot within the last 4.Regardless of a number of minor inaccuracies throughout the sport, Humpy maintained management, choosing a protected and strategic strategy. Finally, Yuxin provided a draw — a consequence that secured Humpy’s historic development.Humpy had taken the higher hand earlier, successful the primary sport of the two-game quarterfinal collection in Batumi on Saturday night time.In one other quarterfinal, an all-Indian conflict between Harika Dronavalli and rising star Divya Deshmukh remained carefully contested. Enjoying with the white items, Divya opted for the Slav Protection: Fashionable Line, however Harika stored her at bay all through. The duel stretched to 60 strikes earlier than each gamers agreed to a draw, with no decisive breakthrough.In the meantime, Vaishali Rameshbabu’s spectacular marketing campaign got here to an finish after she was outplayed by China’s third seed, Tan Zhongyi.High seed Lei Tingjie of China continued her dominant run, defeating Georgia’s Nana Dzagnidze for a straight path into the semifinals. Humpy will now face Tingjie in a blockbuster semifinal showdown, whereas Tan Zhongyi awaits the winner of the Harika vs Divya matchup.The stakes are excessive — the highest three finishers on the World Cup will qualify for the Candidates Match later this yr. With no less than one Indian assured of a semifinal berth from the Harika-Divya tie, India is assured illustration within the subsequent stage of the world championship cycle.Quarterfinal outcomes: Koneru Humpy (Ind) beat Yuxin Music (Chn) 1.5-0.5; Nana Dzagnidze (Geo) misplaced to Tingjie Lei (Chn) 0-2; R Vaishali (Ind) misplaced to Tan Zhongyi (Chn) 0.5-1.5; Divya Deshmukh (Ind) drew with D Harika (Ind) 1-1 goes to tiebreaker.