Divya Deshmukh: 1st Indian To Win Chess Women's World Cup, Titled Grandmaster

Divya Deshmukh has become the first Indian to win the FIDE World Women's Chess World Cup 2025, in Batumi, Georgia, on July 28. She has been titled Grandmaster, becoming the fourth Indian woman (88th overall) to achieve this top chess honour. Divya secured her victory by defeating compatriot Grandmaster Koneru Humpy in a nail-biting tie-breaker tournament. “I think it was fate, me getting the grandmaster title this way,” Divya told the press after her win. “Before the tournament, I didn’t even have one norm. I was thinking that I could maybe earn a grandmaster norm here. And at the end, I became a grandmaster.”

Earlier in the championship, Divya defeated several higher-seeded opponents, including 2nd seed China's Zhu Jiner in the fourth round, 10th seed Indian Harika Dronavalli in the quarterfinals, and 3rd seed China's Tan Zhongyi in the semifinals. She made history as the first Indian to enter the Women's World Cup final. Before this, Humpy became the first Indian to enter the semifinal.

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Who is Divya Deshmukh?

Divya Deshmukh is one of the highest-ranked chess players from India. The 19-year-old from Maharashtra entered the world of chess quite by accident. In an interview with Sportskeeda, she said, "I got into chess very accidentally. My elder sister used to play badminton, and I was around 4 or 5 years old. My parents wanted me to join some sports, but I was too small to hold a racquet or hit a shot. There was a chess class right downstairs at the same time, so that’s how I got into chess."

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Divya Deshmukh has been given the titles of International Master, Women's Grandmaster. In June 2024, Divya emerged as an undisputed champion at the World Junior Girls’ Chess Championship, beating Bulgaria's Beloslava Krasteva in the final round. At the 2024 Chess Olympiad in September 2024, she helped Team India win the team Gold medal, scoring 9.5/11 on Board 3 with a performance rating of 2608. She also earned an individual Gold medal for her board performance.

Divya defeated women’s world No. 1 Hou Yifan in a 74-move rook-vs-bishop endgame at the 2025 World Rapid and Blitz Team Chess Championships in London, marking her first victory over the Chinese grandmaster. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also praised Divya Deshmukh for her stellar performances across the world and described her as an inspiration for young chess players.