It’s All About the Endgame! Big Wins at Women’s Grand Prix Pune
The Women’s Grand Prix in Pune is heating up! It’s quickly becoming one of the most exciting chess events of 2025. Every round brings thrilling games, standout performances, and unforgettable moments. It’s All About the Endgame!
Round 4 Delivers Drama
In Round 4, we saw four decisive results out of five games. Even the drawn match was packed with action and could’ve gone either way!
Endgames took center stage:
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Divya and Humpy both used connected passed pawns in rook endgames to score wins.
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Salimova finished with a rare bishop + knight vs rook endgame win!
After this round, Zhu Jiner remains in the lead with 3.5/4. But Humpy and Divya are close behind with 3 points. With five rounds left, the title is still up for grabs!
Special Guests at the Board
The ceremonial first moves were made by:
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Ms. Shakuntala Khatavkar, International Kabaddi player (opened for Polina Shuvalova).
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Mr. Sunil Phulari, Special Inspector General of Police, and
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Mr. Amit Sharma, GM of Fern Hotel (opened for Humpy Koneru).
Let’s break down each game from the round:
🏁 Humpy Koneru Defeats Polina Shuvalova (1-0)
Humpy surprised everyone by choosing the sharp 8…g5 line in the Italian Game. She read Shuvalova’s style perfectly and took the game into an endgame she could control.
She dominated with rook activity and powerful passed pawns, forcing a resignation after just 33 moves.
➡️ Humpy’s accuracy: 99.7%! Don’t miss her post-game analysis on the live stream at minute 3:41:00.
🤝 Harika Dronavalli Draws Vaishali Rameshbabu (0.5-0.5)
An all-Indian derby! Harika surprised Vaishali with a fresh idea in the Grunfeld Defense, gaining a strong passed pawn on d6.
Despite being down three pawns, Harika pushed for a win, but eventually settled for a draw with repetition.
Engines later revealed that 30.Re1! could’ve won. A missed chance—but a fantastic fight!
🏆 Zhu Jiner Beats Alina Kashlinskaya (1-0)
Zhu continued her winning streak. She kept calm in a complicated opening, gained the initiative after 23.d4, and capitalized when Kashlinskaya ran into time trouble.
After 26…g6, Alina’s king became weak. Zhu cleaned up with ease.
🎤 Catch her post-game interview with IM Michael Rahal for her thoughts on the match and her love for chess.
🔥 Nurgyul Salimova Beats Munguntuul Batkhuyag (1-0)
Another day, another Caro-Kann from Salimova! Munguntuul tried the Advance Variation to shake things up.
After wild complications and time trouble, Munguntuul blundered with 32.Nxe4? instead of 32.Qxh6!, losing her edge.
Salimova closed the game confidently in the endgame and joined the broadcast to talk about her journey and challenges on the pro circuit.
💪 Divya Deshmukh Wins Against Salome Melia (1-0)
Divya tried the Caro-Kann, catching Salome off-guard with solid prep.
Despite a long and tough game, Divya stayed sharp in time trouble. She took over in the final moves and secured another point.
She’s now tied with Humpy and just behind Zhu Jiner.
🎥 Check out her analysis on the live stream (starting at 5:36:00).
🔮 What’s Next? Round 5 Pairings – April 18
Here’s who plays next:
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Alina Kashlinskaya vs Salome Melia
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Nurgyul Salimova vs Zhu Jiner
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Vaishali Rameshbabu vs Munguntuul Batkhuyag
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Humpy Koneru vs Harika Dronavalli
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Divya Deshmukh vs Polina Shuvalova
🕒 Matches begin at 15:00 CET in Pune, India.
🎙️ Follow the games live with expert commentary on FIDE’s YouTube channel.
For more updates, pairings, and standings, check out the official website.
Photos: IM Michael Rahal, FIDE_chess
Source: FIDE CHESS NEWS
