On Monday, Divya Deshmukh defeated the veteran Koneru Humpy in the second Rapid match of the tie-break in Batumi, Georgia, to win the FIDE Women's World Cup.
The 19-year-old won the second quick game with black pieces after the first was drawn, capping her incredible run to the competition final. Following the draws in both of their classical games, the final had moved into the tie-breaks realm. This win has made Divya the first Indian woman to win the FIDE World Championship. She also became the fourth Indian woman to become a Chess Grandmaster.
Who is Divya Deshmukh?
Divya Deshmukh was born in Nagpur, Maharashtra, on December 9, 2005, to Jitendra and Namratha, both doctors. She became interested in sports after her older sister started playing badminton. However, at the age of five, she discovered her passion for chess and made rapid progress.
Deshmukh won the Under-7 National Championship in 2012, two years later, and took home her first trophy. She further won world youth titles in the U-10 (Durban, 2014) and U-12 (Brazil, 2017).
After achieving early success as a woman FIDE Master, Deshmukh became the first woman in Vidarbha and the 22nd in India to be rated as a Woman Grandmaster (WGM) by 2021.
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Divya Deshmukh’s Grandmaster Journey
Deshmukh is the third person to win the coveted Grandmaster title, after Humpy, R. Vaishali, and Harika Dronavalli.
The way that Divya became a Grandmaster was a little different from the norm. In order to become a GM, a player must first earn three GM norms and then get a Standard (Classical) FIDE rating of at least 2500.
However, winning some prestigious tournaments, including as the FIDE Women's World Cup, can serve as an alternate means of gaining the title. As a result of her win in the 2025 edition final, Divya is now the Grandmaster.
Divya Deshmukh Education Qualification
Divya started her official education at the famous Nagpur school Bhavans Bhagwandas Purohit Vidya Mandir, a CBSE-affiliated school.
Divya was already a national champion by the age of ten, competing internationally in age-category competitions.
In contrast to many of her classmates who enrolled in college right away after Class 12, Divya chose to concentrate on her chess career. But that didn't mean giving up on academics. With an increasing interest in sports psychology, performance science, and chess data analytics, she is continuing her further education via remote learning as of 2025.
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