Nicosia Women's Grand Prix: Harika holds Mariya to a draw; Divya falls short

Indian Grandmaster Harika Dronavalli continued her impressive form at the Nicosia Women's Grand Prix, securing a well-fought draw against Ukraine's Mariya Muzychuk in Round 7 in Nicosia, Cyprus, on Saturday.

With both players showcasing an identical accuracy rate of 99.3%, they effectively neutralized each other in the Queen's Pawn opening, leading to a 28-move draw by threefold repetition.

Harika remains in the top three with 4 points from 7 matches. However, she trails current leader Zhu Jiner of China by a full point and will be eager to secure a win in at least one of her remaining games.

Divya faces a defeat

Meanwhile, Divya Deshmukh endured a tough round, suffering a heavy defeat against Zhu Jiner. Struggling to find a defensive move to prevent Zhu’s pawn promotion, Divya was eventually overpowered.

Now positioned eighth with just 2.5 points from 7 rounds, Divya is officially out of title contention. With two rounds remaining, she will now compete for crucial Grand Prix points.

In the upcoming round, Harika faces a crucial challenge against Aleksandra Goryachkina, the current leader of the 2024-25 Grand Prix circuit, as she looks to close the gap at the top. Meanwhile, Divya will take on Austria’s Olga Badelka.