At the FIDE Women's World Cup in Batumi, Georgia, the pre-quarterfinals saw a dramatic turn as all four Indian players—Divya Deshmukh, R. Vaishali, Koneru Humpy, and Harika Dronavalli—were pushed to tiebreaks after the second game of Round 4.

Divya Deshmukh faced China's Zhu Jiner, the world number 2. After a stunning victory in Game 1, Divya needed only a draw in Game 2 to advance to the quarterfinals. However, Zhu Jiner struck back, capitalizing on an error in the middlegame by Divya to win the second game and level the score. Deshmukh played a Scotch Opening, but Zhu exploited inaccuracies in her play. Despite Deshmukh's efforts, she could not recover in the endgame, leading to the tiebreak.

The other three Indian players, R. Vaishali, Koneru Humpy, and Harika Dronavalli, also ended their games in draws, leading to tiebreaks. Vaishali, playing with black against Kazakhstan's Meruert Kamalidenova, displayed strong defense but couldn't secure a win. Humpy and Harika, both playing with white, drew against Alexandra Kosteniuk of Switzerland and Kateryna Lagno of Russia, respectively.

Three Chinese players, Lei Tingjie, Tan Zhongyi, and Song Yuxin, secured their spots in the quarterfinals. Lei Tingjie drew against Uzbekistan's Umida Omonova, Song Yuxin drew against Georgia's Lela Javakhishvili, and Tan Zhongyi defeated Yulia Osmak. Additionally, Georgia's Nana Dzagnidze upset former world champion Mariya Muzychuk of Ukraine.

The tiebreaks for the four Indian players were scheduled to take place on Friday, July 18, starting at 4:35 PM IST. The winners of these tiebreaks will advance to the quarterfinals.

Harika Dronavalli is the only Indian player to have reached the quarterfinal of a Women's World Cup, which she accomplished in 2023. The World Cup offers three spots to the FIDE Women's Candidates Tournament, scheduled for the first half of 2026.

The FIDE Women's World Cup is a knockout event with a total prize pool of USD 691,250, with the winner receiving USD 50,000.