India first and second in 2025 FIDE Women’s World Cup, as Divya Deshmukh wins by beating Koneru Humpy in final

Overview

• Divya Deshmukh won the FIDE Women's World Cup 2025 by beating Koneru Humpy in the final
• The 19-year-old became the fourth Indian female Grand Master after Humpy, Harika Dronavalli, and Vaishali Rameshbabu
• Deshmukh earned a berth in the Candidates tournament to challenge the world champion

Divya Deshmukh beat Koneru Humpy in the final in tiebreakers and won the FIDE Women's World Cup 2025 in Batumi, Georgia, on the 28th of July, 2025. Following two draws in their first two games, Deshmukh and Humpy's third match went for a tiebreaker, where a blunder from the 38-year-old cost her the match, enabling the 19-year-old to win the title.

Also Read: Chess World Champion Gukesh Dommaraju reveals player from 'Big Three' to be his inspiration

The time-controlled tie-breaker round witnessed a draw when Divya operated with white pieces. In the reverse game, Deshmukh had the black pieces and beat her fellow countrywoman 2.5-1.5. As soon as she won the match, Divya got highly emotional and hugged the two-time world rapid champion to express how much the win meant for her.

Having qualified for the Women's World Cup final, Divya and Humpy earned a place to compete in the Candidates tournament, which will take place in 2026 and decide the Number One Contender to challenge China's Ju Wenjun for the Women's World Championship. 

Also Check: Gukesh Dommaraju reveals how MS Dhoni helped him become youngest world chess champion

Divya Deshmukh becomes the fourth Indian female Grand Master after Koneru Humpy, Harika Dronavalli, and Vaishali Rameshbabu

By winning the Women's World Cup, Divya joined the elite list of players to have become a Grand Master. While there were a whopping 87 Grand Masters from India before her, Divya became the fourth female Grand Master after Humpy, Harika Dronavalli, and Vaishali Rameshbabu.

Speaking after her win, Divya claimed that she would need some time to process her win. She felt that becoming the Grand Master the way she did was a fate. Divya said she had never had a norm to her name but ended up becoming the Grand Master.

Read More: India’s D Gukesh gets emotional after becoming youngest-ever World Chess Champion

"I need time to process it (win). I think it was fate, me getting the Grandmaster title this way, because before this (tournament) I didn't even have one (GM) norm, and now I am the Grand Master," Divya said after winning the FIDE Women's World Cup.