Pune GP R2: Vaishali self-destructs against Divya Deshmukh
IM Divya Deshmukh scored her second consecutive win at FIDE Pune GP 2025. She defeated her 45th Olympiad Gold medalist teammate, GM R Vaishali. The GM blundered on move no.17. Divya had no trouble spotting the excellent tactic and win the game in nine more moves. GM Jiner Zhu (CHN) scored the only other win of the round against IM Batkhuyag Munguntuul (MGL). The latter made an incorrect pawn sacrifice in the double rook endgame which cost her the game. GM Koneru Humpy and GM Harika Dronavalli drew with IM Melia Salome (GEO) and IM Alina Kashlinskaya (POL) respectively. IM Polina Shuvalova shared the point with IM Nurgyul Salimova (BUL). Round 3 starts today from 3 p.m. IST. Photos: Anmol Bhargav
Jiner and Divya win two in-a-row
Divya - Vaishali: 1-0
IM Divya Deshmukh (2460) played three Classical rated games against GM R Vaishali (2484) before this battle. Divya won the first one and drew the next two. In this game, Vaishali blundered on the 17th move.
17...Bg4?? created an opportunity for White. Divya found the excellent tactical shot 18.Nxf6!+- White is now completely winning Bxf3 19.Nxd7+ Ke8 20.Nc5 Bc6 21.Re6 Bd7 22.Re5 h6 23.Bd2 Rf8 24.Rae1 Rf7 25.Bb4 Rb8 26.Ba3 and it's over as Black cannot avoid material loss. 17...Re8 needed to be played to stay in the fight. 18.Nxf6! is definitely worthy of making it into future books which features tactics.
For more Round 2 photos, please click here.
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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 2 results
| Bo. | No. | Rtg | White | Result | Black | Rtg | No. | PGN | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 | 2293 | IM | Melia, Salome | ½ - ½ | GM | Koneru, Humpy | 2528 | 6 | PGN | ||
| 2 | 7 | 2460 | IM | Divya, Deshmukh | 1 - 0 | GM | Vaishali, Rameshbabu | 2484 | 5 | PGN | ||
| 3 | 8 | 2500 | IM | Shuvalova, Polina | ½ - ½ | IM | Salimova, Nurgyul | 2402 | 4 | PGN | ||
| 4 | 9 | 2488 | GM | Dronavalli, Harika | ½ - ½ | IM | Kashlinskaya, Alina | 2496 | 3 | PGN | ||
| 5 | 1 | 2361 | IM | Batkhuyag, Munguntuul | 0 - 1 | GM | Zhu, Jiner | 2525 | 2 | PGN |
Standings after Round 2
| Rk. | SNo | Name | FED | Rtg | Pts. | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | GM | Zhu, Jiner | CHN | 2525 | 2 | 1 | 1,50 | 2 | |
| 2 | 7 | IM | Divya, Deshmukh | IND | 2460 | 2 | 1 | 1,00 | 2 | |
| 3 | 8 | IM | Shuvalova, Polina | FID | 2500 | 1,5 | 1 | 0,75 | 1 | |
| 4 | 6 | GM | Koneru, Humpy | IND | 2528 | 1 | 2 | 0,50 | 0 | |
| 5 | 1 | IM | Batkhuyag, Munguntuul | MGL | 2361 | 1 | 0 | 0,50 | 1 | |
| 6 | 4 | IM | Salimova, Nurgyul | BUL | 2402 | 0,5 | 1 | 0,75 | 0 | |
| 7 | 5 | GM | Vaishali, Rameshbabu | IND | 2484 | 0,5 | 1 | 0,50 | 0 | |
| 10 | IM | Melia, Salome | GEO | 2293 | 0,5 | 1 | 0,50 | 0 | ||
| 9 | 3 | IM | Kashlinskaya, Alina | POL | 2496 | 0,5 | 1 | 0,25 | 0 | |
| 9 | GM | Dronavalli, Harika | IND | 2488 | 0,5 | 1 | 0,25 | 0 |
Round 3 pairings
| Bo. | No. | Rtg | White | Result | Black | Rtg | No. | PGN | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 2525 | GM | Zhu, Jiner | IM | Melia, Salome | 2293 | 10 | ||||
| 2 | 3 | 2496 | IM | Kashlinskaya, Alina | IM | Batkhuyag, Munguntuul | 2361 | 1 | ||||
| 3 | 4 | 2402 | IM | Salimova, Nurgyul | GM | Dronavalli, Harika | 2488 | 9 | ||||
| 4 | 5 | 2484 | GM | Vaishali, Rameshbabu | IM | Shuvalova, Polina | 2500 | 8 | ||||
| 5 | 6 | 2528 | GM | Koneru, Humpy | IM | Divya, Deshmukh | 2460 | 7 |
