Teenage prodigy Divya Deshmukh stunned the chess world on Monday by becoming the first Indian woman to win the FIDE Women’s Chess World Cup. In a nail-biting final held in Batumi, Georgia, the 19-year-old beat legendary compatriot Koneru Humpy in the Rapid tiebreak to lift the 2025 title.
The all-Indian clash remained deadlocked through the classical rounds. However, in the final rapid tiebreak, Divya turned the tables in a tense 75-move battle. Playing with the Black pieces, she capitalized on a late blunder by Humpy and forced her to resign.
With White, Humpy seemed poised to push for victory but miscalculated with 54.Rxf4. This allowed Divya’s passed a-pawn to create a decisive advantage. Despite a blunder at move 67, the young talent held her nerves as Humpy faltered again under time pressure with 69.h7.
After a brief struggle, Humpy lost her grip. Divya entered the Rook endgame a pawn up and sealed the game on move 75. The emotional teenager broke down in tears, rushing into her mother’s arms.
This historic win not only gave Divya the World Cup crown but also her long-awaited Grandmaster title. She became India’s 88th Grandmaster and the fourth woman after Humpy, R Vaishali, and Harika Dronavalli to achieve the feat.
“I didn’t even have a single GM norm before this,” she said after the win. “It feels surreal.”
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Divya pocketed $50,000 (Rs 41.6 lakh), while runner-up Humpy earned $35,000 (Rs 29.1 lakh). The final will be remembered as a chess classic, marking a turning point in Indian women’s chess.
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