India’s Divya Deshmukh won the FIDE Women’s World Cup title on Monday. She beat experienced player Koneru Humpy in the second Rapid tie-break game in Batumi, Georgia.
The final went to tie-breaks after both classical games were drawn. The first Rapid game was also a draw. But in the second Rapid game, Divya won with the black pieces. She took advantage of a mistake by Humpy on the 54th move. Divya made no errors and claimed a famous victory.
Divya is only 19 years old. Humpy is 38 and is the current World Rapid Champion. Despite the age and experience gap, Divya played with great confidence. When Humpy resigned, Divya got emotional. She covered her face with her hands and cried. Her mother hugged her as the family celebrated together.
Divya Deshmukh becomes the fourth Indian woman Grandmaster
By winning the title, Divya became the fourth Indian woman Grandmaster. The other three are Koneru Humpy, Harika Dronavalli, and R Vaishali. Both Divya and Humpy have also qualified for the Candidates Tournament. The winner of that event will get a chance to fight for the World Championship title against China’s Ju Wenjun.
Divya said after the match, “I need time to process it. I had only one GM norm before this. It feels like fate.” She also said, “It means a lot, but this is just the start. There’s more to achieve.”
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Divya has been performing well over the past two years. In 2023, she won the Asian Continental Women’s Championship. She also surprised everyone by winning the Tata Steel Women’s Rapid section as a last-minute replacement. She finished ahead of World Champion Ju Wenjun.
In 2024, Divya won the World Under-20 Girls Championship. She scored 10 out of 11 points and remained unbeaten.
Her latest win adds to the growing list of achievements by young Indian chess stars. Last year, 18-year-old D Gukesh won the FIDE World Championship in Singapore. Now Divya has added her name to that list with a memorable victory.
