"VAN" (Sports Desk - 23.07.2025) :: The stage is set for a thrilling showdown between China and India in the Women’s World Cup semi-finals. This afternoon, the first games of the two-game matches were played — and both encounters ended in hard-fought draws, leaving everything to be decided in tomorrow’s second games.
Humpy Koneru surprised Lei Tingjie in the opening, prompting the Chinese Grandmaster to steer the game toward safer territory. It was a tense, strategic battle with both players feeling the pressure.
“It was quite a tough game, not easy at all,” said Humpy in her post-game interview. “At some points I felt I was OK, but then I thought it was a bit dubious. I really don’t know what was going on.”
A quieter affair on board two saw a relatively short and balanced game between the experienced Tan Zhongyi and India’s rising star, Divya Deshmukh.
“I don’t have many thoughts on the game, as it was quite a short draw,” Divya remarked afterward. “I don’t think I was much worse at any point, but it could have definitely been slightly unpleasant if she had chosen the right ending.”
Let’s take a closer look at the two games.
Lei Tingjie vs Humpy Koneru (0.5-0.5)
Lei opened with her usual 1.e4, but then spent ten minutes of her thinking time after Humpy’s fourth move. For the Indian GM, balancing new openings with her regular repertoire is not a problem. As Humpy explained after the game:
“It’s quite standard to bring new openings to a tournament to have some new ideas. The Berlin Defence is quite a standard opening that has been played for many years.”
After 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.O-O Humpy played 4…Ne7, an interesting alternative to the more popular 4…Bc5 and 4…d6.
This line aims to reposition the knight via g6, reinforcing kingside control and avoiding early exchanges. Notably, 5.Nxe5 would be a serious mistake—Black responds with 5…c6, hitting the bishop, followed by 6…Qa5+, with a double attack on the king and the knight.
Lei spotted the trap immediately but fell deep into thought on how to proceed, as there are many interesting possibilities. “I tried to sacrifice a pawn for piece play, but my opponent declined both times,” Humpy explained.
Going into the middlegame, Lei had achieved a small edge based on slightly superior piece activity. On the clock, the situation was alarmingly equal — approximately half an hour left for each of them on move eighteen.
But Humpy gradually neutralized Lei’s small initiative and even found chances of her own.
“After I got in this …a6, …c4 and …Bc5 plan I think the position is quite comfortable for me,” Humpy explained after the game.
The final interesting moment would have occurred if Humpy had captured a pawn that was up for grabs.
Although the engine confirms that 35…Qxa4 is perfectly playable, Humpy didn’t like the idea of facing a direct attack after 36.f6!, which would have broken open the kingside around her castled king.
“I didn’t like capturing that pawn at all, either directly or with a preparatory move. I just didn’t like that kind of position. My pieces are out of the game, and I preferred to keep things in control,” she explained. Her intuition, as it turns out, was spot on. Humpy played very sensible 35…Qd3 and a few moves down the road, the game was drawn.
Tan Zhongyi vs Divya Deshmukh (0.5-0.5)
Against her opponent’s Queen’s Gambit Declined, Tan Zhongyi opted for an unexpected idea on move four—4.e3 instead of the more popular 4.Nc3 or 4.Bg5—forcing Divya to pause and think deeply.
Checking recent games, I found that Tan had used this line before, notably against Hou Yifan and Ju Wenjun, suggesting it’s a quiet but deliberate part of her repertoire.
“I didn’t expect 4.e3, so I took a few minutes to decide which variation I should go for,” Divya explained after the game.
After careful consideration, she chose to steer the game into an isolated queen’s pawn (IQP) structure—an excellent strategic decision in response to Tan’s more restrained setup.
In doing so, she followed in the footsteps of her compatriot, GM Vidit Gujrathi, who successfully employed the same approach in a 2021 encounter.
On move eleven, Divya unveiled an impressive novelty: 11…Ba3!, an improvement over the more commonly played 11…Bb4+, seen in several master-level games.
While 11… Bb4+ is also perfectly reasonable, 11…Ba3! had a surprising point. After 12.Bxa3 Qa5+, Divya immediately recovered the bishop, reaching full equality. Her isolated d-pawn was offset by active piece play — especially her queen on a3 — and pressure along the open files.
In the following phase, after a series of exchanges and the liquidation of queenside pawns, the opponents simplified into a completely equal ending. A draw was agreed upon on move thirty.
After the game, Divya took a few moments to share her thoughts in a short interview.
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