In Round 7 of the FIDE Women’s Grand Prix – Shymkent 2024, India’s GM Koneru Humpy and IM Divya Deshmukh salvaged draws to pick up vital points.
Deshmukh drew her game against Bibisara Assaubayeva to pick up 0.5 points. Incidentally, the Indian had scored a victory in the round-5.
Meanwhile, GM Koneru Humpy also picked up 0.5 points from her drawn game in round-7 against Germany’s Elisabeth Paehtz.
This draw comes as a bit of relief for Humpy after she had suffered losses in rounds-5 and 6.
Both Koneru Humpy and Divya Deshmukh draw their respective matches in round 7 of the FIDE Women’s Grand Prix leg-2 in Kazakhstan.#Chess ♟️ pic.twitter.com/xUIhWL9HNF
— The Bridge (@the_bridge_in) November 6, 2024
After 7-rounds, GM Aleksandra Goryachkina leads the points table with 6-points, followed by China’s Tan Zhongyi, who has 5-points.
GM Koneru Humpy and IM Divya Deshmukh are in 5th and 6th positions respectively with 3.5 points apiece.
With just two-rounds to be played, the task for the two Indians to catch the leads is a herculean one.