India No. 4 Divya Deshmukh played well within herself and carved out a sensational victory over former champion from China, Tan Zhongyi, to secure a historic final berth in the FIDE Women’s World Cup in Batumi, Georgia, on Wednesday.The 19-year-old Indian trusted her instincts and utilised the extra pawn to win the marathon 101-move battle in the second classical game for a 1.5-0.5 triumph in the semifinal.Divya became the first teenager in 34 years to secure a berth in the Women’s Candidates tournament. The International Master (IM) from Nagpur also duly completed her Grandmaster norm.In the final to be played from Saturday, Divya will face the winner of India No. 1 Koneru Humpy and top-seeded third-ranked Chinese GM Lei Tingjie. The second classical battle of the semifinal between these experienced GMs ended in an entertaining 75move draw where both played at an accuracy rate of 93%.The battle between Divya and three-time semifinalist Tan went down to the wire. Looking for a decisive advantage with white pieces, Divya started with the basic king’s pawn opening while Tan chose the Alapin Sicilian defense. On the fourth move, Divya advanced her centre pawn and made her intentions clear of going for an all-out attacking game. On the 12th and 13th turns, Tan made back-to-back dubious moves, and Divya looked in an advantageous position as the pieces of the Chinese GM lacked coordination. A notable move on the 14th turn by Divya strengthened her position. Left with no option, Tan sacrificed her knight for Divya’s bishop.On the 15th turn, Divya played a wrong move. If Divya traded the queens, she could have had a decisive advantage as per the computers, but she took Tan’s knight with her queen to keep an edge in the clash with a pleasant and easy-to-play position. Thereafter, Tan made a blunder with her second bishop, and Divya took control of the centre by sliding her rook. Both players made a couple of dubious moves on the 17th and 18th turns, and Divya lost the near accuracy of her play. After castling, Tan escaped from the clutches of Divya. On the 23rd move, Divya went a pawn up and eventually utilised her extra pawn to win a thrill-a-minute battle.
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For the next 50-odd moves, Tan tried many tricks but Divya held her ground and reached a position with two extra pawns — with one a move away from getting exchanged as the queen. Divya sacrificed her defensive pawn on the 86th move. On the 98th turn, Divya converted her much-awaited pawn into a queen and Tan lost her rook. With Divya enjoying the services of a rook and a pawn against Tan’s two pawns, she made the decisive 101st move with her king and Tan was left with no option but to resign. Having qualified for the final and also the Candidates, Divya automatically secured her GM norm.Divya later said, “My thoughts are not clear as of now. I need some sleep and some food.” On the semifinal she said, “I could have played and had a much smoother win. I messed up in the middle game.”
