Updated July 28th 2025, 16:59 IST

FIDE Chess World Cup: In an all-Indian final, India's Divya Deshmukh defeated her compatriot Koneru Humpy to win the summit clash of the FIDE Women’s Chess World Cup. Deshmukh's historic victory on Koneru Humpy saw her become India's 88th Grandmaster. The 19-year-old joined the likes of Koneru Humpy, R Vaishali and Harika Dronavalli to become the fourth Indian woman to secure the title of a Grandmaster.
The newly crowned champion will now be allowed to enter The Candidates tournaments, which will give a huge boost to her career and will push Indian chess to greater heights. The clash was initially forced into a tiebreaker, but the young Grandmaster held on to her nerves to outsmart an experienced veteran like Humpy in the final.
The Fédération Internationale des Échecs (FIDE) aka the International Chess Federation shared a video on their official Instagram account featuring Divya Deshmukh and her mother. The video shows Divya hugging her mother and breaking down after experiencing one of the biggest highs of her career.
ALSO READ | Divya Deshmukh Makes History, Beats Koneru Humpy in All-Indian FIDE Women's World Cup 2025 Final
The Deshmukh vs Humpy clash was one of the most-anticipated games in recent times, considering the fact that it was an all-India final. Humpy had earned the title of Grandmaster back in 2022, but today she was on the different end of things. After the first two tied matches, the match headed into a tiebreak. The youngster registered figures of 1.5-0.5 to secure the title of a Grandmaster.
The 19-year-old youngster hails from Nagpur and she is also a three-time gold medalist at the Olympiad. The newly-crowned Grandmaster has won gold many times in the Asian Championship, the World Junior Championship, as well as the World Youth Championship. Deshmukh's parents, Jitendra Deshmukh and Namratha Deshmukh, are doctors and she received her early education from Bhavans Bhagwandas Purohit Vidya Mandir.
Published July 28th 2025, 16:59 IST