[Event "Women's World Cup 2025"] [Site "Batumi, Georgia"] [Date "2025.07.28"] [Round "46.1"] [White "Koneru, Humpy"] [Black "Divya Deshmukh"] [Result "0-1"] [WhiteElo "2536"] [BlackElo "2463"] [Variant "Standard"] [ECO "E04"] [Opening "Catalan Opening: Open Defense"] [StudyName "Women's World Cup"] [ChapterName "Koneru, Humpy - Divya Deshmukh"] [ChapterURL "https://lichess.org/study/fB3lLxYD/b3RpLZ0y"] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/ChessLifeOnline"] [Orientation "white"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. g3 dxc4 5. Bg2 Bb4+ 6. Bd2 a5 7. Qc2 Bxd2+ 8. Nbxd2 b5 9. a4 c6 10. b3 cxb3 11. Nxb3 O-O 12. O-O Ba6 13. Nc5 bxa4 14. Nxa6 Rxa6 15. Rxa4 Nbd7 16. Rfa1 Qb6 17. Nd2 Rfa8 18. e3 Nd5 19. Nc4 Qc7 20. Qd2 N5b6 21. Nxb6 Qxb6 22. Qc3 Nf6 23. Rc1 Nd5 24. Bxd5 exd5 25. Rca1 h6 26. Kg2 Qb5 27. h3 Qb6 28. R1a2 Qc7 29. Qc5 Qa7 30. Qc3 Qb6 31. Rb2 Qd8 32. Rba2 h5 33. h4 g6 34. Ra1 Qb6 35. Kg1 Kg7 36. Kg2 Qd8 37. Qc5 R8a7 38. R1a2 Ra8 39. Ra1 Qc7 { [Annotations by JJ Lang] After a draw in the first playoff game, Humpy found herself fighting for equality as White in the second game. Worse yet, Black had over five minutes on her clock, compared to under a minute for White. } 40. e4? { Trying to force things, which is a common strategy in severe time pressure. But clarifying the position does not mean you will necessarily like what you see so clearly at the end! } 40... dxe4 41. d5? { This is just a miscalculation. } (41. Re1!? Rd8 42. Rxe4 { regains one pawn, but } 42... Rd5 43. Qc3 Kh7 $17 { still leaves Black pawn-up, while White lacks counterplay. }) 41... Qe5! { Turning the tables, as now Black's queen is pinning the d5-pawn to White's queen! } 42. Rd1 cxd5? { With four rooks still on the board, White has much better chances of holding a draw. Instead, } (42... Rd8! { was the right idea, keeping on the pressure. If } 43. Rad4 { then now } 43... Rxd5 { wins, as } 44. Rxd5 cxd5 45. Rxd5 Qf6 46. Qe3 Qf3+! $19 { just simplifies into a won rook-and-pawn endgame for Black! }) 43. Rxd5 Qe8 44. Qd4+ Kg8 45. Re5 Qc6 46. Qxe4 { White has managed to regain one pawn, and, thanks to her active pressure against the a-pawn, she has essentially equalized. } 46... Qxe4+ 47. Rexe4 Rf6 48. Re5 Rf5 { The only way to stay pawn-up requires this structural concession, so White should still be within the drawing margin. But, with only two rooks on the board instead of four, the margin will not be so forgiving. } 49. Rxf5 gxf5 50. Kf3 Kg7 51. Kf4 Kg6 52. Ke5 Ra6 { Black's clock management should be praised, as she has reserved over two minutes of time still, while White has been living essentially on the increment for well over a dozen turns. } 53. Kd5 f4 { Asking questions, now that ... Ra6-f6 is an activating resource. } 54. Rxf4?? { The move that gave Divya the GM title. Ignoring the pawn with, e.g., } (54. Ke4 { was fine, as } 54... fxg3 55. fxg3 { makes it hard for Black to go after the g-pawn without losing the a-pawn. Black could try } 55... Re6+ 56. Kd4 Re1 { but } 57. Rxa5 { threatens Ra5-g5+ to defend the g3-pawn, so } 57... f6 { ought to be played, when } 58. Rc5 Rg1 59. Rc3 { should hold, as } 59... Kf5 60. Rf3+ $10 { prevents Black from advancing towards the g3-pawn without hanging the f-pawn. }) 54... a4 55. Rb4 a3 56. Rb1 Kf5 57. f3 a2 58. Ra1 Ra3 { Black will be able to create a passed f-pawn, now! } 59. Kd4 f6 60. Kd5 Ra4 61. Kd6 Ra5 62. Ke7 Ra6 63. Kd7 Ke5 64. g4 Ra7+ 65. Kc6 { But now, with Divya getting down to around a minute on her clock, she takes 30 seconds here before giving Humpy one more chance. } 65... Kf4?? (65... f5 { was simplest, with the f6-square making Black's king's job of reaching the h8-square much simpler. } 66. gxh5 Kf6 $19) 66. gxh5 Kxf3 67. h6?? { This was presumably what both players fixated on. } (67. Kd5!! { A hard-enough idea to come up with in a classical game, let alone a mutual time scramble. } 67... f5 68. Ke5 f4 69. h6 { See notes to White's 69th move to understand the necessity of this plan. }) 67... f5?? (67... Ke4! { Prophylaxis against White's Kc6-d5 resource. }) 68. Kd5 { This time, Humpy finds it! } 68... f4 69. h7?? { But she does not find the necessary follow-up. This is far too quick. } (69. Ke5! Kg3 70. Rg1+ Kf2 71. Ra1 f3 72. Kf4! Kg2 { Already, this variation is worthy of careful study. But now we see that, by forcing Black's king onto the seventh- and eighth-ranks, the a2-pawn will with check, meaning that now it is time for... } 73. h7! Rxh7 74. Rxa2+ f2 75. Kg4! Kg1 76. Ra1+ f1=Q 77. Rxf1+ Kxf1 78. Kg5 $10) 69... Rxh7 70. Rxa2 Kg3 { The endgame is still winning, with Black's king managing to keep the Lucena position. } 71. Ra8 Rxh4 72. Rg8+ Rg4 73. Rf8 f3 74. Ke5 f2 75. Rf7 Kg2 { 0-1 Black wins. } 0-1