Indian PM Modi hails Divya's Fide Women's Chess World Cup win

Khaleej Times

18 hours ago

Prime Minister Narendra Modi extended his wishes to India's young chess star Divya Deshmukh for her sensational victory at the Fide Women's World Cup against the veteran Koneru Humpy in the final.
Divya, a 19-year-old rising sensation in the world of chess, became the first Indian woman to clinch the Chess World Cup after overwhelming Koneru on Monday evening in the final via tiebreaks.
PM Modi hailed the remarkable efforts of both players and believes Divya's victory will serve as an inspiration for the youngsters.
"A historic final featuring two outstanding Indian chess players! Proud of the young Divya Deshmukh on becoming FIDE Women's World Chess Champion 2025. Congratulations to her for this remarkable feat, which will inspire several youngsters. Koneru Humpy has also displayed immense prowess throughout the championship. Best wishes to both players for their future endeavours. @DivyaDeshmukh05 @humpy_koneru," PM Modi wrote on X.
President Droupadi Murmu also lavished praise on Divya and wrote on X, "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."
During the tense contest, a string of inaccuracies in the second rapid game contributed to Koneru's downfall. She found herself a pawn down in the rook endgame, which played out in Divya's favour. The veteran allowed the situation to sink in and resigned on the 75th move and fell short in a gripping final with a score of 2.5-1.5.
Divya failed to capitalise on the two windows that Koneru left open for her with her inaccurate moves. However, on the third time, Koneru inflicted more damage on herself by capturing the f pawn on move 69, which changed the tide in Divya's favour towards the final moments of the contest. This time around, Divya made no mistake, played the right moves and forced Koneru to resign after six moves.