Koneru Humpy wins FIDE Women's Grand Prix chess meet

Indian Grandmaster Koneru Humpy clinched the FIDE Women’s Grand Prix 2024-25 (Pune leg) title on Wednesday, edging out China’s Zhu Jiner on superior tie-breaks after both players finished with identical scores.
Humpy secured victory in her final round by defeating Bulgaria’s Nurgyul Salimova, ending the tournament with seven points. Zhu Jiner also notched up a win against Russia’s Polina Shuvalova in her last game to match Humpy’s tally.
“Humpy Koneru and Zhu Jiner both won their final round games and ended the FIDE Women’s Grand Prix tied for first, but it’s Humpy who takes the top spot thanks to superior tiebreaks!” FIDE posted on 'X'.

The day before, Humpy and Zhu were tied at six points each after the penultimate round. Humpy managed to hold Alina Kashlinskaya to a draw in a tense game, while Zhu defeated India’s Divya Deshmukh in a sharp tactical contest.

In other final-round results, India’s R Vaishali was held to a draw by Georgia’s Salome Melia, while Divya Deshmukh also drew her game against Poland’s top-ranked player Alina Kashlinskaya.
Dronavalli Harika shared the point with Mongolia’s Munguntuul Batkhuyag in her final round clash.