World Cup winner Divya Deshmukh sets up ‘speed chess’ quarterfinal clash with World No 1
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World Cup winner Divya Deshmukh set up a thrilling quarterfinal showdown with World No 1 Hou Yifan in the Women's Speed Chess Championship.
Divya crushed Lei Tingjie of China 10-3 in the event hosted by chess.com. Hou Yifan had advanced from her first round match-up with Karina Ambartsumova (11-3).
Yifan is the highest-rated women's player, who rarely competes in women-only events. Like the legendary Judit Pogar, Yifan usually prefers to compete in the open category against higher-rated male players.
Besides Divya, Vaishali Rameshbabu was the other India among the 16 participants. Vaishali bowed out in the first round, losing 6-8 to IM Alice Lee.
Divya, 19, recently became the first Indian to clinch the FIDE Women's World Cup, defeating compatriot Koneru Humpy at Batumi in Georgia.
By winning the World Cup, Divya's International Master title was upgraded, making her India's 88th Grandmaster. In June, Divya caused a major upset by defeating Yifan for the first time in her career. Divya's big win against Yifan came in the second leg of the World Team Blitz Championship semifinal in London.