[Event "Women's World Cup 2025"] [Site "Batumi, Georgia"] [Date "2025.07.23"] [Round "36.2"] [White "Divya Deshmukh"] [Black "Tan, Zhongyi"] [Result "1-0"] [WhiteElo "2463"] [BlackElo "2527"] [Variant "Standard"] [Annotator "WGM Sabina Foisor"] [FEN "1R6/7p/1P4k1/6p1/8/5P2/5PKP/1r6 b - - 0 59"] [ECO "?"] [Opening "?"] [StudyName "Women's World Cup"] [ChapterName "Divya Deshmukh - Tan, Zhongyi"] [ChapterURL "https://lichess.org/study/fB3lLxYD/6vUZ2sIc"] [FEN "1R6/7p/1P4k1/6p1/8/5P2/5PKP/1r6 b - - 0 59"] [SetUp "1"] [Orientation "white"] { This was a very intense endgame that earned Divya her well-deserved spot in the Final, where the players began by drawing a relatively balanced game. This endgame certainly brought a rollercoaster of emotions not only for the players, but for the fans as well, I am sure. White is up two pawns, but with the rook in front of the b-passed pawn and the king stuck on g2, this endgame looks, at first sight, like it should end in a draw. However, Black has to be cautious of a possible pawn sacrifice with f3-f4 which would allow White's king to get its well-needed activity. If White can manage this, she should be winning the game by bringing her king to c6 to free up the rook and support the promotion of her b-pawn. } 59... Kg7?? (59... Kh5 { was the only way to keep activity and stop White's threat of f3-f4! } 60. f4 gxf4 61. Kf3 Rb4 62. Ke2 (62. b7 { doesn't help much with advancement as the king won't have a hiding spot anymore. } 62... Kh4 63. Kg2 h5) 62... Kg4 63. Rg8+ Kh3 64. Rg7 h5 65. b7 Kxh2 { and Black is able to hold. }) 60. Kg3 Rb4 61. Kg2?? (61. b7! { Here was the counterintuitive move that wins, as Black is in somewhat of a zugzwang. } 61... Kh6 (61... h5 62. h4 gxh4+ 63. Kh3 Rb2 64. Kxh4 Rb5 65. f4 { and with the f-pawn pushing all the way to f6 it is clear that White is headed for the win. }) 62. f4! gxf4+ 63. Kg4 { The pawn is not necessary provided that the king advances. } 63... Rb2 64. h4 Kg7 65. f3 Rb4 66. Kg5 h6+ 67. Kf5 { and now for the winning idea, trading the rooks as follows } 67... Kh7 68. Ke5 Kg7 69. h5 Kh7 70. Kd6 Rb1 71. Re8 Rxb7 72. Re7+ $18) 61... Rb1?? (61... Kh6 { would have given Black the needed activity to save the game once again. } 62. Kg3 (62. Kf1 Rb2 63. Ke1 Kh5) 62... Kh5 63. f4 gxf4+ 64. Kf3 Kh4! { stopping White from Kf3-g4, with ... h7-h5 and ... Kh4-h3 to follow. }) 62. h4 { The next sequence was perfectly played by Divya looking confident in taking the point. } 62... h6 63. h5 Kh7 64. Rb7+ Kg8 65. Rb8+ Kg7 66. Kg3 Rb4 67. Rb7+ Kg8 68. f4 gxf4+ 69. Kg4 Kf8 70. Rb8+ Kf7 71. f3 Kf6 72. Rb7 Ke5 73. Re7+ Kd5 74. b7 Kd6 75. Rh7 { This complicates matters a bit. } (75. Re4 Rxb7 76. Kf5! $18 { A beautiful idea, activating the king to win the h6-pawn while keeping Black's king cut off from the f-pawn. }) 75... Ke5 76. Rg7 Rb1 77. Re7+ Kf6 78. Rc7 Ke5 79. Rh7?? { The blunder that could have turned the match around and given Tan another chance in the tie-breaks. } (79. Re7+ { White had to get back to this idea. } 79... Kf6 (79... Kd6 80. Re4 $18) 80. Rh7 Ke5 81. Rxh6 Rxb7 82. Ra6 Rg7+ (82... Rb1 83. h6 Rg1+ 84. Kh5 Kf5 85. Ra5+ Kf6 86. Ra7 Kf5 87. Rf7+ Ke5 88. h7 $18) 83. Rg6 Rxg6+ 84. hxg6 Kf6 85. Kh5 $18) 79... Rg1+ 80. Kh3 Rh1+ 81. Kg4 Rg1+ 82. Kh3 Rh1+ 83. Kg2 Rb1 84. Rd7 Kf5 85. Kf2 Kg5 86. Ke2 Kxh5 87. Kd3 Kh4 88. Rg7 h5 89. Ke4 Rb4+ 90. Kd5 { Everything seemed to have worked in Tan's favor, until... } 90... Kh3?? { was played after which Black is losing once again. } (90... Rb3! { would have saved the game as it is important to give checks from behind! } 91. Kc6 Rc3+ 92. Kd7 Rb3 93. Kc8 Rc3+ 94. Rc7 Rb3 95. b8=Q Rxb8+ 96. Kxb8 Kg3 97. Rh7 Kxf3 98. Rxh5 Ke2) (90... Rb6! { also draws, but goes back to the idea of rook behind. } 91. Kc5 Rb3 92. Kc6 Rc3+) 91. Kc6 Rc4+ 92. Kd5 Rb4 93. Kc6 Rc4+ 94. Kb5 { Now that Black's rook is too close, White is able to convert the game as it forces Black's king back to h4. } 94... Rc1 95. Rg5 Kh4 96. Rg8 Rb1+ 97. Kc6 Rb3 98. b8=Q Rxb8 99. Rxb8 Kg3 { Now, Black is down a few tempi compared to the other line. } 100. Rb3 h4 101. Kd5 { 1-0 White wins. } 1-0