Zhu, Humpy Win Again In 2-Horse Race
GM Zhu Jiner won a fourth game in six rounds of the 2025 Pune FIDE Women's Grand Prix, beating GM Vaishali Rameshbabu to retain the sole lead and climb above GM Tan Zhongyi to world number-five on the FIDE women's rating list. GM Humpy Koneru is still just half a point behind before the leaders clash in round seven, after a crushing win over IM Batkhuyag Munguntuul. The day's other winner was IM Polina Shuvalova, who took down IM Salome Melia.
Round seven starts on Monday, April 21, at 5:30 a.m. ET / 11:30 CEST / 3:00 p.m. IST.
Pune FIDE Women's Grand Prix Round 6 Results
We got three decisive games in round six, though it could easily have been four.
Pune FIDE Women's Grand Prix Standings After Round 6
Humpy has pulled half a point ahead of Divya but couldn't catch Zhu, who won her fourth game in just six rounds.
The only quiet draw in round seven saw GM Harika Dronavalli and IM Divya Deshmukh make a 27-move draw by repetition, while the day's other draw, IM Alina Kashlinskaya vs. IM Nurgyul Salimova, was the longest game of the day and an absolute nail-biter. Salimova was on top for large swathes of the game, but when she missed mate-in-nine on move 48, Kashlinskaya could even have gained a win.
Vaishali had been the only winner in round five, but in round six she lost in spectacular style to the leader.
Zhu 1-0 Vaishali
The game was a sharp 3.Bb5 Sicilian which had only been seen in GM Magnus Carlsen vs. GM Teimour Radjabov from the 2013 FIDE Candidates Tournament in London, until Vaishali played 9...0-0 instead of Radjabov's 9...e5. The Indian star sacrificed a pawn for a kingside attack and, when Zhu didn't pick up a free pawn, had enough play to force a draw. It was extremely tactical, however, and with just 13 seconds on the clock, Vaishali blundered with 26...Nxc2?.
Zhu pounced with 27.Nxd5!, but a move later moved too fast and missed a knockout blow. It could have proved costly, but Vaishali failed to find the best response and fell to defeat.
That win saw 22-year-old Zhu overtake world championship challenger Tan on the live rating list.
As you can see, however, another player who is climbing is Humpy, with her third win in four games ensuring Zhu has just a half-point lead with three rounds to go.
Munguntuul 0-1 Humpy
Munguntuul has still made no draws in Pune, and her loss in round six felt somewhat self-inflicted. "I didn’t expect her to enter such a complicated line without preparation!" said Humpy, with 8.Qf3? a clear mistake when only extreme accuracy could hold things together.
Instead Humpy got such a powerful attack that from 22...Rdh8! onward she could leave a piece en prise on almost every move until the end of the game!
The other win of the day came for Shuvalova, who moved into a plus score, 1.5 points behind Zhu.
Melia 0-1 Shuvalova
Shuvalova said she'd done a bit too much sightseeing on the rest day and that her more aggressive choice of the Sicilian hadn't gone well, at least until 19.Nd4? spoiled White's promising position. Melia slipped into trouble on the board and on the clock, and 34.Qxa6?, played with one second to spare, was the last straw. Shuvalova unleashed the winning blow 34...Rxf2!, though with 15 seconds to spare, she admitted there wasn't time to calculate it fully!
Shuvalova said she hadn't been satisfied with her previous play in the tournament and is just hoping to win some games in the remaining rounds.
Round 7 Pairings
Humpy-Zhu could now be the key game of the tournament, while Divya-Munguntuul is a chance for Divya to force her way into the race or even take the joint lead, depending on what happens in the top clash.
How to watch?
You can watch the broadcast on Chess.com India's YouTube channel. The games can also be checked out on our dedicated 2025 Pune FIDE Women's Grand Prix events page.
The live broadcast was hosted by IM Rakesh Kulkarni and Sahil Tickoo.
The 2025 Pune FIDE Women's Grand Prix is the fifth of six legs of the 2024-2025 FIDE Women's Grand Prix. The 10-player round-robin runs March April 14-23 in Pune, India. Players have 90 minutes, plus 30 minutes from move 40, with a 30-second increment per move. The top prize is €18,000 (~$20,000), with players also earning Grand Prix points. Each of the 20+ players competes in three events; the top two qualify for the 2026 FIDE Women's Candidates Tournament that decides the World Championship challenger.
Previous coverage:
- Round 5: Vaishali Scores 1st Win, Zhu Survives Salimova's Queen Sac
- Round 4: Zhu Wins Again As Humpy, Divya Stay In Hunt
- Round 3: Zhu Sole Leader At Pune Women's Grand Prix As Humpy Beats Divya
- Round 2: Divya, Zhu Win Again To Lead Pune Women's Grand Prix With 2/2
- Round 1: Pune Women's Grand Prix Takes Off With 4 Decisive Games
Colin McGourty led news at Chess24 from its launch until it merged with Chess.com a decade later. An amateur player, he got into chess writing when he set up the website Chess in Translation after previously studying Slavic languages and literature in St. Andrews, Odesa, Oxford, and Krakow.
