The Indian grandmaster, Koneru Humpy, defeated the Chinese player, Tingjie Lei, to take second place in the Women’s Candidates Tournament. After a draw with Anna Muzychuk of Ukraine, Zhongyi Tan of China took first place. R. Vaishali’s remarkable performance led to a tie for second place, eventually finishing fourth on tiebreak.
Humpy, Lei, and Vaishali each scored seven points, putting Tan in second place with nine total points.
Humpy’s remarkable recovery—she has five points in the last seven games—was in stark contrast to her early difficulties at the halfway stage. In a close battle with Lei, Humpy took advantage of a crucial mistake to win.
Vaishali emerged victorious in a resounding manner, with Kateryna Lagno losing the match on her thirty-first move due to her lack of resilience. With forty-five moves remaining, Vaishali won with composure.
Lei fell to Humpy, Lagno to Vaishali, Goryachkina to Salimova, and Muzychuk to Tan in the final round. Tan came out on top of the standings, with Humpy, Lei, and Vaishali coming in second, third, and fourth, respectively. Goryachkina took fifth place, with Lagno coming in sixth, Salimova coming in seventh, and Muzychuk coming in eighth.
