FIDE Women's Grand Prix: Divya strikes again on day two

IM Divya Deshmukh continued her winning streak on the second day of the FIDE Women’s Grand Prix in Pune on Tuesday.

Divya and China's Zhu Jiner games were the only decisive matches as three of the five games ended in a draw.

GM Koneru Humpy and GM Harika Dronavalli played out a draw with their respective opponents. Humpy, the recently-crowned World Rapid Champion, held Georgia’s GM Melia Salome while Harika drew with IM Alina Kashlinskaya.

Playing with the white pieces, Divya needed only 26 moves to seal her victory over GM Vaishali Rameshbabu. In what was an all-Indian tussle, Divya unleashed an attacking game and put pressure on Vaishali from move 17 to 22.

Previously, Divya had beaten Bulgaria’s IM Nurgyul Salimova.

Vaishali, however, is yet to make her mark. She has registered one loss and one draw (against Humpy) in as many outings.

Elsewhere, playing with Black pieces, China’s Zhu Jiner beat Munguntuul Batkhuyag for her second win in the Pune leg.

Top two finishers in the WGP series will advance to the FIDE Women Candidates Tournament 2026. So far, Russia’s Aleksandra Goryachkina is leading the Grand Prix standings with 308 points.

Among the Indians in the fray, Humpy is best placed in sixth spot with 161 points from two events in the Women's Grand Prix standings. Harika (12th), Divya (14th) and Vaishali (18th) will also be looking to accumulate points to improve their ranking.

On Wednesday, Divya will hope to continue her winning momentum when she takes on Humpy. Vaishali and Harika will be up against Shuvalova Polina and Salimova Nurgyul, respectively. Zhu will face Salome and Alina meets Munguntuul Batkhuyag.

Day two results

IM Divya Deshmukh beat GM Vaishali Rameshbabu

GM Zhu Jiner beat Munguntuul Batkhuyag

GM Koneru Humpy draws Melia Salome

IM Polina Shuvalova draws IM Salimova Nurgyul

GM Harika Dronavalli draws IM Alina Kashlinskaya.