- By Vishal Pushkar
- Mon, 28 Jul 2025 05:11 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
Who is Divya Deshmukh? By beating compatriot Koneru Humpy 1.5-0.5 in the final, Divya Deshmukh become India's first-ever Women Chess World Cup champion on Monday in Baku. Earlier, the classical games played ended in a fierce draw, with both players displaying calm in the room.
At the age of 19, Divya, had proved her worth already as an India Master in Chess before becoming a Grand Master. Hailing from the city of Nagpur, situated in Maharashtra, Divya has the titles of Woman Grandmaster (WGM) and International Master (IM) in her young career so far. Born in a family of doctors, her parents, Jitendra and Namratha Deshmukh, are doctors by profession. She completed her early education at Bhavans Bhagwandas Purohit Vidya Mandir as she began playing chess at a fairly young age.
Divya is a winner of the 2022 Women’s Indian Chess Championship and was crowned India’s 21st Woman Grandmaster in 2021. At the 2021, FIDE Online Olympiad, Divya helped India clinch a gold and even earned a bronze medal at the 2022 Chess Olympiad.
Experienced Indian players among the likes of Harika Dronavalli and Koneru Humpy were defeated by the 19-year-old as she won the Asian Women’s Chess Championship and the women’s quick division of the Tata Steel India Chess Tournament in 2023. In addition to this, Divya has won titles at the Sharjah Challengers in the year 2024 and the FIDE World U20 Girls Championship in June made her just the fourth Indian to earn this title.
Divya was ranked No. 18 in classical, No. 22 in rapid, and No. 18 in blitz on the FIDE women's list before the tournament.
It was fate: Divya Deshmukh
"It was fate," said an emotional Divya after the final. "Before the tournament, I was thinking that I could maybe earn a Grandmaster norm here. And at the end, I became a Grandmaster."