Pune GP R1: Divya Deshmukh starts with a win
The fifth leg of the FIDE Women's Grand Prix 2024-25 had an exciting start. Four out of the five games ended decisively. IM Divya Deshmukh won her game against IM Nurgyul Salimova (BUL). The Bulgarian made an incorrect recapture after losing an exchange. Divya correctly exploited it and won the game. GM R Vaishali drew with GM Koneru Humpy. GM Harika Dronavalli's passive play did not work out against GM Jiner Zhu (CHN). Birthday lady, IM Melia Salome (GEO) suffered a tough loss against IM Batkhuyag Munguntuul (MGL). It could have very well ended in a draw. Round 2 starts today from 3 p.m. IST. Photos: Anmol Bhargav
Vaishali draws with Humpy
Nurgyul - Divya: 0-1
IM Nurgyul Salimova (BUL, 2402) and IM Divya Deshmukh (2460) faced each other twice before this in Classical rated games. Both ended in draws. This time, it was Divya who scored the win.
31...Ne4 is a double attack where White is forced to lose an exchange which is not a big issue. 32.Rxe4 dxe4 33.fxe4? Here White needed to recapture with the bishop 33.Bxe4. Divya found the correct continuation 33...f5 gave Black a substantial advantage. 34.Qe3 Rg4 35.Be1 Bxe4 36.Bxb5+ Kf7 37.g3 Bg5 and Black went on to win the game.
Batkhuyag - Melia
It is not easy for IM Batkhuyag Munguntuul (MGL, 2361) to win the endgame unless IM Melia Salome (GEO, 2293) makes a huge mistake which is what happened in the game. Since White is threatening Be6+ and g8Q, Black has no choice but to take the g7-pawn 77...Bxg7 78.Nxg7 now Black could have drawn if she played Nc6! getting rid of the a5-pawn was more important to draw the game instead of automatic recapture of the knight. 78...Kxg7?? 79.Bb7 to limit knight's movement Kf6 80.Kc3 Na2+ 81.Kc4 and White won the game in four more moves after the knight got trapped.
For more Round 1 photos, please click here.
Replay live stream
Prizes
Total prize fund is €80000. The top three prizes are €18000, €13000 and €10500 each. The top three GP points are - 130, 105 and 85. For more details, check out the regulations below.
Schedule
The tournament will take place from 14th to 23rd April 2025. Sole rest day is on Saturday 19th April.
Round 1 results
| Bo. | No. | Rtg | White | Result | Black | Rtg | No. | PGN | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 2361 | IM | Batkhuyag, Munguntuul | 1 - 0 | IM | Melia, Salome | 2293 | 10 | PGN | ||
| 2 | 2 | 2525 | GM | Zhu, Jiner | 1 - 0 | GM | Dronavalli, Harika | 2488 | 9 | PGN | ||
| 3 | 3 | 2496 | IM | Kashlinskaya, Alina | 0 - 1 | IM | Shuvalova, Polina | 2500 | 8 | PGN | ||
| 4 | 4 | 2402 | IM | Salimova, Nurgyul | 0 - 1 | IM | Divya, Deshmukh | 2460 | 7 | PGN | ||
| 5 | 5 | 2484 | GM | Vaishali, Rameshbabu | ½ - ½ | GM | Koneru, Humpy | 2528 | 6 | PGN |
Standings after Round 1
| Rk. | SNo | Name | FED | Rtg | Pts. | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | IM | Divya, Deshmukh | IND | 2460 | 1 | 1 | 0,00 | 1 | |
| 8 | IM | Shuvalova, Polina | FID | 2500 | 1 | 1 | 0,00 | 1 | ||
| 3 | 1 | IM | Batkhuyag, Munguntuul | MGL | 2361 | 1 | 0 | 0,00 | 1 | |
| 2 | GM | Zhu, Jiner | CHN | 2525 | 1 | 0 | 0,00 | 1 | ||
| 5 | 6 | GM | Koneru, Humpy | IND | 2528 | 0,5 | 1 | 0,25 | 0 | |
| 6 | 5 | GM | Vaishali, Rameshbabu | IND | 2484 | 0,5 | 0 | 0,25 | 0 | |
| 7 | 9 | GM | Dronavalli, Harika | IND | 2488 | 0 | 1 | 0,00 | 0 | |
| 10 | IM | Melia, Salome | GEO | 2293 | 0 | 1 | 0,00 | 0 | ||
| 9 | 3 | IM | Kashlinskaya, Alina | POL | 2496 | 0 | 0 | 0,00 | 0 | |
| 4 | IM | Salimova, Nurgyul | BUL | 2402 | 0 | 0 | 0,00 | 0 |
Round 2 pairings
| Bo. | No. | Rtg | White | Result | Black | Rtg | No. | PGN | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 | 2293 | IM | Melia, Salome | GM | Koneru, Humpy | 2528 | 6 | ||||
| 2 | 7 | 2460 | IM | Divya, Deshmukh | GM | Vaishali, Rameshbabu | 2484 | 5 | ||||
| 3 | 8 | 2500 | IM | Shuvalova, Polina | IM | Salimova, Nurgyul | 2402 | 4 | ||||
| 4 | 9 | 2488 | GM | Dronavalli, Harika | IM | Kashlinskaya, Alina | 2496 | 3 | ||||
| 5 | 1 | 2361 | IM | Batkhuyag, Munguntuul | GM | Zhu, Jiner | 2525 | 2 |
