Humpy and Deshmukh draw Game 1 of WC final

The World Rapid champion, playing black, held her 19-year-old compatriot to a 41-move draw

- HT Correspondent

Moments before Divya Deshmukh shook hands with Koneru Humpy, she sat pressing her eyes and covering her face with her left hand for a few seconds. Quite visibly and evidently, the 19-year-old wasn’t too pleased about the end result of the opening game of the FIDE Women’s World Cup all-India final in Batumi, Georgia on Saturday.

A draw isn’t the worst outcome for the youngster playing with white, but Divya could look back with a sense of missed opportunity after she couldn't manage to press home the advantage from an aggressive opening.

Instead, a draw after 41 moves ensued, which would give the seasoned Humpy a slight advantage going into Game 2 of the title clash on Sunday.