Chess: Divya becomes fourth Indian woman to earn Grandmaster title
Divya Deshmukh – Historic Victory at FIDE Women’s World Cup 2025
- Event: FIDE Women’s World Cup 2025, Batumi, Georgia
- Winner: Divya Deshmukh (19 years old)
- Runner-up: Koneru Humpy
- Final Format: 2.5 – 1.5 (after tiebreaks; decisive rapid game with Black pieces)
- Milestone:
- First Indian woman to win the FIDE Women’s World Cup title
- Became Grandmaster (GM) → 4th Indian woman GM after Koneru Humpy, Dronavalli Harika, and R Vaishali
- Overall 88th Grandmaster
- Future Qualification: Earned a spot in the 2026 Candidates Tournament (to challenge Women’s World Champion Ju Wenjun, China)
- Significance for Indian Chess:
- Adds to India’s recent chess dominance (D Gukesh – World Champion, Indian teams – Olympiad Gold, Divya – Women’s World Cup, Praggnanandhaa & Arjun Erigaisi – strong performances)
- Government Response: PM Narendra Modi congratulated Divya, calling it an inspiration for youth, and also praised Koneru Humpy’s efforts.
Updated - July 28, 2025 8:07 PM | News On Air
Divya Deshmukh FIDE Women’s World Cup 2025 Koneru Humpy Batumi Georgia Women’s World Chess Champion Indian chess First Indian woman World Cup winner Grandmaster Indian women Grandmasters Candidates Tournament 2026 Ju Wenjun D Gukesh R Praggnanandhaa Arjun Erigaisi Indian sports achievements Narendra Modi congratulates