Exciting Results from Round Five of the 2025 Pune FIDE Women’s Grand Prix

The 2025 Pune FIDE Women’s Grand Prix saw an intense round five with GM Vaishali Rameshbabu securing the only win of the day by defeating IM Batkhuyag Munguntuul. However, the real highlight of the round was the near-upset of leader GM Zhu Jiner by IM Nurgyul Salimova. Salimova executed a brilliant queen sacrifice but Zhu fought back from an objectively lost position to salvage a draw by repetition on move 71, maintaining her lead in the tournament.

With Vaishali’s win, the standings at the top remained unchanged, with Zhu leading half a point ahead of GM Humpy Koneru and IM Divya Deshmukh. The round also saw quick draws between players like Harika Dronavalli and Alina Kashlinskaya, while Divya’s game against Polina Shuvalova ended in a stalemate after a long battle.

The most thrilling game of the day was between Salimova and Zhu, where Zhu came close to defeat but managed to hold on for a draw in a rollercoaster of a game. The near-miss left Zhu as the sole leader going into the rest day before round six.

Round six promises more excitement with Zhu facing Vaishali with the white pieces, while Divya and Humpy will play with black. Fans can catch the action on Chess.com India’s YouTube channel or the event’s dedicated page on Chess.com.

The 2025 Pune FIDE Women’s Grand Prix is part of the FIDE Women’s Grand Prix series, with players competing for a top prize of €18,000 and a chance to qualify for the 2026 FIDE Women’s Candidates Tournament. Stay tuned for more updates and coverage of this thrilling tournament.