The favourites, GMs Divya Deshmukh and Bibisara Assoubaeva, advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2026 Women’s Speed Chess Championship on Friday. The winners lost only one game between them. Divya defeated IM Rose Atwell undefeated 14–1, while Assoubaeva lost a game in the match against WGM Afruza Khamadova, which ended 10.5–3.5.
next two matches will be Monday, July 13. Women’s world number one GM Hou Yifan will play IM Dinara Wagner 8am ET / 14:00 CEST / 5:30pm ISTNext IM Polina Shuvalova vs Anastasia Avramidou 10:30am ET / 17:00 CEST / 8:30pm IST.
Women’s Speed Chess Championship Bracket
Divya 14-1 Atwell
Divya gave the greatest performance ever in any speed chess championship. After winning almost every game, she earns $2,900, while Atwell earns $100 based on win percentage.
5+1: Divya 5-0 Atwell
Divya started the match by winning every game of the first segment.
In the next game, Atwell fought back from losing the last game, but despite the situation being tied, she lost in overtime. And then Divya turned the bishop-pair advantage around in game three, and ended the game with a showy pawn promotion strategy. If the bishop is captured, the pawn moves forward, and otherwise Black must sacrifice his knight.
Divya won two more games to end the 5+1 part with a lead of five points. In the last game he got the killer in the middle 19.f4! To win a piece.
3+1: Divya 5-0 Atwell
Divya continued her victory in the second section by scoring 10 points against zero.
24…e5! This was a crushing move in game one, forcing the knight off f4 and clearing the way for the long diagonal to the queen. White quickly fell apart.
After three games, it looked like Atwell was on her way to winning for the first time with an extra piece, but when both players fell within a minute, Divya turned the tide. 35.Rxb7! This was a sudden move, and if it had not been for the move, Black would have won. But, in chess, you only need one good move.
Divya won again and started the bullet segment with a double digit lead.
1+1: Divya 4-1 Atwell
Divya finished the match without giving a single loss. In the Bullet section, he won three games and drew two.
Divya made it look easy throughout the match. He won the first game by exchanging pieces between the winning king and the pawn, and won the game despite allowing a draw for one move.
It looked like Attwell was going to win the last game of the match when she won a free pawn in the endgame, but the tilt factor was too important at this point.
Throughout the match, Divya listened intently to her music, often nodding her head and singing along. When asked about her playlist, she said that she mostly listens to Indian music. But asked for a musical recommendation to complement Blitz Chess, she named Imagine Dragons, specifically the songs “Shark” and “Whatever It Takes”.
Asoubaeva 10.5-3.5 Khamdamova
Asoubaeva lost a single game in the match. Otherwise, the path to a seven-point win was easy. She earns $1,125, and Khadamova earns $375 based on winning percentage.
5+1: Assoubaeva 3.5-1.5 Khamdamova
Assoubaeva finished the first section with a two-point lead, with two wins and three draws.
Although on paper the score looked largely in favor of Assaubayeva, it was Khamdamova who was applying the pressure in the first two games. However, they ended in a draw, and Assaubaeva played the first draw in the third game with the theme of “pin and win”. The only defensive move is 18…Qd7! The blitz was out of reach in the game, and even if it had been found, White would have been better.
Asoubaeva achieved her second victory in a two-way match Sicilian Dragondorf (a hybrid of dragon and najdorf). with 34.Rdh2??White went full force for a checkmating attack on the h-file, but Assoubyu ruined his pawn structure, defended mate and ultimately won a pawn.
In the last game, the players played a draw, leaving Asoubaeva ahead by two points.
3+1: Assoubaeva 4-1 Khamdamova
Asoubaeva won the second division with four wins and one loss.
After winning the first game, Kazakhstan’s only loss in the match came from a position where it was actually winning. But with little time, he could not find an adequate way to deal with the countermove on the kingside, and he went down in flames (even though a miraculous 27.Rb8!! defense was in place).
But he won the next three games. The most disappointing of these was the second, where his opponent lost a piece early on. The game ended in 22 moves.
With another win, the three-time Women’s World Blitz champion finished the segment with a five-point lead, 7.5-2.5.
1+1: Assoubaeva 3-1 Khamdamova
Without missing another beat, Asoubaeva finished the match in complete control. He won two games and drew two.
In the last decisive game, she won a pawn on c4 and until the rook endgame, she was absolutely ruthless in converting the extra pawn.
Asoubaeva said after the match that she was nervous going into it, as she had not played much online recently. But after avoiding a wobble in the first game, she felt she was “back to form and hasn’t played great, but hasn’t played bad chess either.”
His attitude even towards losing was carefree. “I thought, OK if I lose the match, I’ll have some free time, but if I win, I’ll keep playing.” She has reached the quarterfinals against Divya, a match with a long history. But to him, it’s “just another game, one of thousands!”
The 2026 Women’s Speed Chess Championship, taking place from July 6–31, is a Chess.com event where some of the world’s strongest female chess players compete for $75,000 in prize money. The main event features 16 players competing in a single-elimination bracket in matches played on 5+1, 3+1 and 1+1 time controls.
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