Divya Deshmukh rises as new star of world chess

Time of India

25-07-2025

Divya Deshmukh
NAGPUR: In her 14-year journey on the 64 squares, Divya Deshmukh has etched her name in history books. From being the youngest Woman Fide Master (WFM) in 2013 to achieving a new milestone in Batumi, Georgia, by becoming the first Indian to reach the FIDE Women's World Cup final, Divya has become the toast of the nation.
In her second attempt in the Women's World Cup, Divya set an Indian record. The 19-year-old World junior champion became the first teenager in 34 years to secure a berth in the Women's Candidates tournament. She also completed her Grandmaster norm and is now one win away from becoming India's fourth woman Grandmaster. Only three Indian women – Koneru Humpy, Harika D and Vaishali Rameshbabu – hold the GM title. The winner of the World Cup will automatically become a GM.
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Divya's chess journey began in 2010 when she was five years old. Like many Indian parents, Divya's parents, Dr Jitendra and Namrata, enrolled her in a nearby chess academy. In their residential colony at Shankar Nagar in Nagpur, three sporting activities — badminton, basketball and chess — were taught. While Divya's elder sister Aarya played basketball and badminton, the Deshmukh couple chose chess for Divya.
Gradually, she developed interest in the sport and within two years Divya won her first major title – the U-7 national gold in Puducherry in July 2012.
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She did not look back thereafter. Divya made her first international mark by becoming the U-8 Asian Champion in Iran in 2013 and qualified to represent India in the World Youth Championship the following year. In 2014, at eight years and five months old, Divya won her first World Championship title by becoming the youngest U-10 World Champion in Durban, South Africa.
She secured the crown by remaining unbeaten and finishing the 11-round event with nine wins and two draws.
Since then, Divya has represented India on 40 occasions, achieving 35 podium finishes, bringing home 23 gold, seven silver and five bronze medals.
In 2020, Divya was an active member of the Indian Olympiad team that won the event organised online by FIDE. Subsequently, she joined India's top players and began receiving tips from Viswanathan Anand. Within a year, Divya became a Woman Grandmaster (WGM) and in 2023 secured the title of International Master (IM), gaining recognition as India's fast-rising chess sensation.
In addition to winning eight age category national titles, Divya, at 17 in 2023, became the two-time National women's champion. At 18, she was crowned Asia's chess queen when she won her first Women's Continental title in Kazakhstan. Last year in June, Divya became the World junior champion by collecting 10 points in the 11-round U-20 event. This was Divya's third world title. As per international rating points, Divya progressed from India Junior No.1 to World Junior No.1 — a ranking she has maintained to date.
Now a win away from the Women's World Cup title, Divya will look to maintain the momentum in Georgia when she starts her final on Saturday.
Given her consistency, she takes one tournament at a time and goes with the flow. Though her dream of becoming a GM is just a step away, Divya can look forward to the Candidates tournament next year in her quest to become a Challenger to the World women's champion, Ju Wenjun of China.
Catch Rani Rampal's inspiring story on Game On, Episode 4. Watch Here!