Africa-Press – Rwanda. Divya Deshmukh on Monday, July 28, defeated compatriot Humpy Koneru to win the 2025 FIDE Women’s World Cup, in Batumi, Georgia. The 19-year-old chess sensation made history, becoming the first Indian to win the FIDE Women’s Chess World Cup and also the country’s 88th Grandmaster, after defeating the legendary Koneru Humpy in the rapid tiebreaks on Monday.
On Sunday, 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.
“I need time to process it. I think it was fate, me getting the Grandmaster title this way. Because before this, I didn’t even have one norm, and before this tournament, I was thinking ‘Oh, where can I get my norm’ and now I’m a Grandmaster,” Divya said in an interview with FIDE right after clinching the title.
Divya is now the fourth Indian woman to become a Grand Master, after Humpy, R. Vaishali, and Harika Dronavalli.
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