In an all-Indian battle on the top board in the 10th round at the Gift City Club, Divya defeated Sachi Jain, whose weak manoeuvres with her knights on successive moves proved costly in the Queen Gambit Declined game. The top seed won in 26 moves to take her tally to nine points.
If Divya wins against Beloslava Krasteva of Bulgaria, she will emerge as the clear champion.
Mkrtchyan defeated Sri Lanka’s Oshini Gunawardhana to keep her hopes alive. The Armenian is on 8.5 points.