Atreyo Mukhopadhyay
It’s tempting to find similarities between the triumph of D Gukesh against Ding Liren of China in last year’s World Championship match, and Koneru Humpy and Divya Deshmukh beating Chinese opponents to set up an all-India final in the ongoing Women’s Chess World Cup. The first is the biggest title in chess and the second the second-biggest prize in the women’s game. It’s a big coincidence that Indian players slew heavyweights from the Red Dragon to win these competitions.
That’s where the similarity ends. Ding is from China and he won the world crown before Gukesh alright, but he is not part of a great legacy. Nor is he one in a long list of world-beaters from the same country. Chinese men are not. It’s totally different in women’s chess. They are the undisputed rulers, who have held the world title since 2016 and won it the most number of times. The top three in the world are from China. By eliminating two from that country in an event they were the favourites in, Humpy and Divya have made the biggest headline in women’s chess of late.
Chinese dynasty shaken
The dynasty has not collapsed, but it has at least been shaken. Tan Zhongyi, the world No. 9 and a former world champion who lost the World Championship final earlier this year, was eliminated in the semi-finals by the 19-year-old Divya. Humpy, the world No. 5 at 38, dug deep into her reserve of resources to knock out No. 3 Lei Tingjie after a marathon tie-breaker. Divya had beaten world No. 6 Zhu Jiner in the quarter-finals. These results from Batumi in Georgia will make the world of women’s chess sit up and take notice.
“It’s one of the happiest moments for the (Indian) chess fans because the title is coming to India for sure,” Humpy told the official broadcaster. “But as a player, it will be a tough game. Divya has played tremendously well throughout the tournament.” Both Humpy and Divya qualified for the Candidates after finishing in the top three. Tan will take on Lei to grab the remaining slot to make it to the competition that chooses the challenger to the world champion.
It’s true that Hou Yifan, the women’s world No. 1, is selective in playing tournaments. Ju Wenjun, the reigning world champion and No. 2, didn’t play in the World Cup this time. Since she doesn’t have to qualify for the World Championship, Ju possibly stayed away from this one, to leave the door ajar for her compatriots. However, two Indians took advantage of that instead.
Biggest individual achievement
Whoever wins the final starting on July 26 after a day’s break, will create the biggest success story in the history of Indian women’s chess as far as individuals are concerned. The team won Olympiad gold last year, but no player has won a tournament of this magnitude. Humpy reaching the World Championship final in 2011 and losing to Hou was the biggest achievement for Indian women until now. To have a World Cup winner from there by beating the Chinese is a big leap.
On the official channel on YouTube, the commentators were saying after Humpy and Lei shared the spoils in the first four rapid tie-breaker games that the Indian was struggling with black pieces. In fact, she lost with black in the third rapid game and won the fourth with white to draw level, which led to blitz tie-breakers. Humpy won the first blitz with white and then with black to seal the deal.
“It was a very tough match,” said Humpy. “Initially, I played quite bad with black. Lei had the advantage. It was difficult to come back from the defeat, but I did. Then, the blitz part was comfortable.”
A seasoned pro taking on an upcoming star after together plotting one of the biggest chess coups of recent times — India’s and Humpy’s excellent year just got better.
Follow Revsportz for latest sports news