Odisha, Bhubaneshwar – Fresh off her historic FIDE World Cup triumph, Indian Grandmaster Divya Deshmukh continued her impressive run, defeating Chinese Grandmaster Lei Tingjie 10-3 to advance to the quarterfinals of the Women’s Speed Chess Championship 2025 on Monday.
World Cup Champion’s Strong Start
The 19-year-old Deshmukh, who earned her Grandmaster title by winning the World Cup in Georgia last month, showed no signs of slowing down in her opening-round clash against Lei Tingjie, a formidable opponent. Deshmukh will now face another strong Chinese Grandmaster, three-time World Champion Hou Yifan, on Thursday for a spot in the semifinals.
Meanwhile, the other Indian participant, R. Vaishali, was eliminated from the tournament last week after a close 6-8 loss to American International Master Alice Lee.
Tournament Format and Divya’s Commanding Performance
The Women’s Speed Chess Championship is an online, single-elimination tournament featuring 16 players, comprising eight qualifiers and eight direct invitees, all vying for a share of the $75,000 total prize money, with the winner taking home $7,000.
Matches are divided into three segments with varying time controls: 5 minutes plus 1 second increment per move (5+1), 3 minutes plus 1 second increment (3+1), and 1 minute plus 1 second increment (1+1). Players earn one point for a win and 0.5 for a draw, with the highest total score at the end of all segments determining the winner.
Divya Deshmukh displayed consistent dominance throughout her match against Lei Tingjie. She established an early lead of 3.5-0.5 after the first segment (5+1 games). Her grip on the match tightened further in the second segment (3+1 games), extending her lead to 7.5-1.5. Deshmukh then sealed her convincing victory by winning the final segment (1+1 games) 2.5-1.5.
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