 "'The new queen of world chess': India rejoices as Divya Deshmukh clinches FIDE Women's World Cup title")
Divya Deshmukh defeated veteran Koneru Humpy in the tiebreaker of the all-India final to clinch the FIDE Women's World Cup 2025 in Batumi, Georgia. The 19-year-old has become the youngest FIDE World Cup winner and has also attained the coveted Grandmaster title. Divya is India’s 88th Grandmaster and 4th Women’s Grandmaster.
Earlier, the classical games ended in stalemates. Game 1 on Saturday finished in a draw after 41 moves, whereas Game 2 finished much earlier after just 34 moves.
Also Read | How Divya Deshmukh outfoxed Koneru Humpy, scripted history by winning FIDE Women’s Chess World Cup 2025
As the action moved to tiebreakers, Game 1 of the tiebreaker also ended in a draw, but Divya emerged victorious in the second game after Humpy made a blunder.
“It was fate,” an emotional Divya said right after her win. “Before the tournament, I was thinking that I could maybe earn a grandmaster norm here. And at the end, I became a grandmaster.”
It will go down as a historic campaign for Divya for varied reasons. She entered the tournament as an underdog and exceeded expectations with each passing round. She defeated several top seeds, including 2nd seed Zhu Jiner in the 4th round, 10th seed Harika D in the quarterfinals, 3rd seed Tan Zhongyi in the semifinals, and ultimately 4th seed Koneru Humpy in the final.
While she dominated her opponents in the tournament, the odds were still not in her favour in the final tiebreaker. Humpy, who became the World Rapid Champion for the second time in her career in December last year, was the favourite against Deshmukh, but Divya capitalised on the blunder made by Humpy and eventually became the champion.
India celebrate Divya Deshmukh’s epic victory
Social media is abuzz with the victory of Divya Deshmukh, and the entire chess community is celebrating her glorious achievement. From India’s President Droupadi Murmu, Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, to 5-time World Champion Viswanathan Anand, India and the Chess world have hailed the new FIDE Women’s World Cup winner.
Here are some of the best reactions:
My heartiest congratulations to Divya Deshmukh who has become the first Indian woman to win the FIDE Women’s World Cup, that too, at a very young age of nineteen. Koneru Humpy being the runner up, both the finalists of the chess world championship were from India. This underlines…
— President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) July 28, 2025
Bharat Rules the Chessboard! ♟️
— Dr Mansukh Mandaviya (@mansukhmandviya) July 28, 2025
Congratulations to @DivyaDeshmukh05 on winning the FIDE Women’s World Cup! 🏆
Proud of @humpy_koneru for a stellar performance in this all-India final. pic.twitter.com/GCR0xU1Trn
Divya Deshmukh wins the FIDE Women's World Cup!
— Emilchess (@EmilSutovsky) July 28, 2025
What an achievement for a 19-years-old Indian player!
Not only she becomes the youngest Women's World Cup winner, but also gets a GM title.
Amazing feat! Bravo! pic.twitter.com/WFrK0bVGTP
Divya Deshmukh at this #FIDEWomenWorldCup
— Ranjith (@iam_rrt) July 28, 2025
- Defeated 2nd seed Zhu Jiner in R4
- Defeated 10th seed Harika D in QF
- Defeated 3rd seed Tan Zhongyi in SF
- Defeated 4th seed Humpy Konery in the final
- Become a Grand Master
- Qualified for the Candidates
Congratulations to @Divyadeshmukh05 on winning the World Cup. Becoming GM and a spot in the candidates. Amazing battle of nerves. @humpy_koneru played a very good event and showed a commendable fighting spirit . The great champion she is!
— Viswanathan Anand (@vishy64theking) July 28, 2025
It was a great celebration of Indian…
The new queen of world chess #divyadeshmukh #fideworldcup
— Prateek Arya (@Pratitudesporty) July 28, 2025
At 19, it is just the start of Divya Deshmukh’s journey to rule the sport. After becoming the first Indian to win the FIDE Women’s World Cup. She will now enter the Candidates tournament and will eye the World Championship.
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