India’s teenage chess prodigy Divya Deshmukh continued her impressive run, dismantling China’s Lei Tingjie 10-3 to reach the quarterfinals of the Women’s Speed Chess Championship 2025 on Monday.
Divya decimated Lei with both white and black pieces. She lost only one game while ending up winning eight and drawing four to get an eight-point win over the Chinese.
In the online event hosted by Chess.com, Divya, India’s 88th Grandmaster and only the fourth woman from the country to earn the title, won eight games, drew four, and lost just one against Lei, who had finished fourth at the recently concluded FIDE Women’s World Cup in Batumi, Georgia.
Divya is riding high on confidence after winning the Women’s World Cup in Batumi, where she beat compatriot Koneru Humpy in the final — a victory that also secured her a spot in the upcoming Women’s Candidates tournament, the final qualifier to challenge reigning champion Ju Wenjun.
In the quarterfinals, the 18-year-old will face world No. 1 Hou Yifan of China, who cruised past Karina Ambartsumova 11-3 in her round-of-16 match.
