Prime Highlights
- Youngest Indian woman FIDE Women’s World Cup winner was Divya Deshmukh at 19.
- She defeated Koneru Humpy in rapid tiebreaks and became a Grandmaster.
Key Facts
- Result: Divya Deshmukh 1.5–0.5 v Humpy Koneru in rapid tiebreaks.
- Prize money: The winner, who took home $50,000, and the runner-up, who took home $35,000.
Key Background
India witnessed history in the making on the chessboard as Divya Deshmukh crushed educated Grandmaster Koneru Humpy in an each- Indian homestretch of the FIDE Women’s World Cup in Batumi, Georgia, with classical games ending in a draw and the title settled in rapid-fire tiebreaks. Divya showed determinedness- suchlike calm, recovering from lost openings in the first- blitz game to thrash the alternate to seal the day and India’s first- ever Women’s World Cup champion title.
Not only did this bestow upon her the championship but also turned her into the Grandmaster herself, India’s 88th Grandmaster and India’s fourth lady Grandmaster. Divya and Humpy both earned qualification to the 2026 Women’s Candidates Tournament, the path to compete for the Women’s World Chess Championship.
She was born on 9 December 2005 at Nagpur. She has been on a steady decline ever since. From studying and playing chess to becoming a winner of top-level titles like the Asian Continental Women’s Championship (2023) and the World U-20 Girls Championship (2024), she is India’s hope for chess. Top-level victories, coupled with good performances in rapid tournaments, speak a lot about how she is smart overall.
Her win has come as world on Indian chess’s finest hour. Her nerves and endgame have also thrilled chess legend Judit Polgar to call her win proof of India’s “unbelievable” rise into the chess world. Experts are taking it as Indian chess’s golden period, with Divya-like young talents revolutionizing the game’s face globally.