How Divya Deshmukh outfoxed Koneru Humpy, scripted history by winning FIDE Women’s Chess World Cup 2025

Teenage chess sensation Divya Deshmukh scripted new history on Monday as she became the first Indian champion in a FIDE Women’s Chess World Cup tournament. The 19-year-old defeated compatriot Koneru Humpy in tiebreaks to clinch the FIDE Women’s Chess World Cup 2025 crown at Batumi, Georgia.

Only the Rapid tiebreaks took place on Monday after the Classical round ended in a draw. The first Rapid tiebreak also ended without a result, but Divya turned the tables towards the end in the second game against an error-prone Humpy to clinch the title in 75 moves with Black pieces, forcing her opponent to resign.

🇮🇳 Divya Deshmukh defeats Humpy Koneru 🇮🇳 to win the 2025 FIDE Women's World Cup 🏆#FIDEWorldCup @DivyaDeshmukh05 pic.twitter.com/KzO2MlC0FC

— International Chess Federation (@FIDE_chess) July 28, 2025

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Besides becoming the first Indian to win a FIDE Women’s Chess World Cup, Divya also earned her Grandmaster title. She is India’s 88th Grandmaster and only the fourth woman chess player to earn the feat after Humpy, R Vaishali, and Harika Dronavalli.

How Divya outfoxed Humpy, scripted history

All the while, during the second Rapid tiebreak, it looked like the match would finish in a draw as both players opted for defensive moves. But as the tie headed into a draw, Humpy, playing with the advantage of White pieces,  tried to create an opening with a pawn sacrifice. However, this move allowed Divya to tilt the balance in her favour as she opted for a Queen and Rook exchange.

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The blunder from humpy came on 54.Rxf4, which enabled the Black pawn to move a2 and be very close to promotion, forcing Humpy to station her Rook on a1.

Divya, however, came close to surrendering the adage with 67.. f4, indicated as a blunder by the engine, only for Humpy to return the favour by playing an equally poor 67.h6 when Kd5 would have been the best move. Humpy repeated her mistake on 69.h7 under time pressure as Rook took it out.

Also Read | India rejoices as Divya Deshmukh clinches FIDE Women’s World Cup title

Humpy replied by taking out the Black pawn on a2 with her Rook, but Divya ended with a pawn up in the Rook endgame and the former was forced to resign after 75 moves.

How Divya defeated Humpy in the second Rapid tiebreak:

Five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand was also surprised to see Humpy crumbling under the pressure in the endgame. “Dramatic. Humpy just collapsed. It was totally self-inflicted. This was one of those situations where your nerves get the better of you, and there’s nothing you can do about it,” Anand said in the commentary.

As a result of her grand victory, Divya earned a prize money of $50,000 (Rs 41.6 lakh), while Humpy will be rewarded home $35,000 (Rs 29.1 lakh).