Who is Divya Deshmukh? Meet India's 4th female grandmaster who clinched Women's Chess World Cup 2025
Divya's historical moment came against none other than fellow Indian chess legend Koneru Humpy. The FIDE star follows Humpy, R. Vaishali, and Harika Dronavalli in taking the prestigious Grandmaster title.
Unlike most who tread the long road of GM norms and rating milestones, Divya's achievement of the Grandmaster title came from an atypical path.
Usually, chess players earn the 'Grandmaster' title by achieving three GM norms and a FIDE rating of 2500 or more.
There's however, an another way of securing the title—winning top-level competitions including the FIDE Women's World Cup — which Divya Deshmukh did on Monday.
Divya Deshmukh was born on December 9, 2005 in Maharashtra's Nagpur.
As per Chess.com, Divya's world ranking stands at 905.
Previously, Deshmukh has bagged the 2022 women's chess champion, 2023 Asian women's champion, and 2024 Under‑20 World Champion titles, mentioned the Chess website.
The FIDE Women's World Cup 2025 final match between Divya and Humpy was nothing short of a clash of generations—19-year-old Divya facing off against veteran Humpy, who is India's first woman Grandmaster and twice her age. In this image released by Flickr, India's chess players Koneru Humpy and Divya Deshmukh during the FIDE Women's World Cup 2025 final match tiebreaks, in Batumi, Georgia, Monday, July 28, 2025. (Flickr/Andrey Anosov via PTI Photo)(PTI07_28_2025_000265A)
More significantly, it was an all-Indian final, while China's Tan Zhongyi and Lei Tingjie competed for third place.
Divya's latest feat makes her the 88th Grandmaster in India.
The victory for the Nagpur player came after the two classical games played on Saturday and Sunday ended in draws.
Having drawn the two classical games, it was the first set of tiebreakers that proved decisive as Humpy lost her nerves. Except the World Cup and the Women's World Championship, Humpy has won everything under the sun but, as fate or nerves would have it, the World Cup title eluded her.
Divya showed steely resolve on Monday, and the bonus for the determination was the Grandmaster title, reserved for the champion of this event, reported ANI.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
India Today
15 minutes ago
- India Today
Why should India be nice to England? Boycott slams Ben Stokes for Manchester drama
Former England captain Geoffrey Boycott has slammed the Ben Stokes-led England team for their on-field antics during the dramatic final moments of the fourth Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy at Old Trafford, Manchester. Boycott criticised England's reaction after Indian batters Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar declined an offer from Stokes to call the game off early and settle for a unfolded on Day 5 of the high-stakes Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy in Manchester as Indian batters Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar declined England captain Ben Stokes' offer to settle for a draw before the final hour of play. While the rules allow both captains to agree to a draw when a result appears impossible, the Indian duo — batting on 89 and 80 — chose to carry on after leading a remarkable recovery from a 311-run deficit, a decision that visibly irked the England writing in his Telegraph column, expressed strong support for the Indian pair, stating that they had every right to keep batting after their monumental effort to save the Test match. "What goes around comes around. England were gobby enough when it suited them, so you can't blame India for wanting to stay on and allow two batsmen who had worked their socks off to reach their hundreds," Boycott wrote. "If you give it, like England do, then you have to be able to take it. I could hear them through the stump mics chipping away at India, so why should they be nice to them and agree to go off when England have had enough?" Scored a hundred, saved the Test, farmed aura! #RavindraJadeja didn't hesitate, till the end #ENGvIND 5th TEST | Starts THU, 31st July, 2:30 PM | Streaming on JioHotstar! Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) July 27, 2025The former England captain also hailed the mental toughness of the Indian players and said he would have done the same had he been in their shoes."These India players are tough cookies. They do not take a backward step. There is no way I would have let anyone drag me off on 89 after I had worked hard all day to save the game for my team," he wrote."Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar deserved their hundreds. They left the ball well, played with the full face of the bat and defended their wickets at all costs. Well done."Boycott did not hold back in criticising the current generation of cricketers for their over-reliance on sledging and mind games, suggesting it's a far cry from the standards during his playing days."I'm not sure what it is with modern players. You hear a lot of them mouthing off. It never really happened when I was playing. It will carry on at the Oval and India will go there thinking they got a win at Old Trafford," he wrote.- EndsYou May Also Like
Hindustan Times
15 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Tinubu receives Nigerian women's team after Africa Cup victory
The Nigerian women's national football team touched down in the capital Monday for an audience with the president, fresh off their weekend Africa Cup championship victory over Morocco. Tinubu receives Nigerian women's team after Africa Cup victory The Super Falcons, winners of Saturday's Women's Africa Cup of Nations final, were greeted on the tarmac at Abuja's international airport by traditional dancers, drummers and a swarm of journalists and government officials. They then departed in a convoy escorted by security to meet with President Bola Tinubu. The women brought with them their 10th WAFCON trophy, the culmination of years of dominance at the continent level despite struggles at home over late payments and pay disparities with the men's team. To grab the gold, the Super Falcons mounted a stunning comeback from a seemingly fatal 2-0 deficit, winning 3-2 over their WAFCON hosts in Rabat. Ahead of the match it was announced that Tinubu had personally approved players' tournament bonus payments. The seemingly routine measure has in the past been anything but, with the Super Falcons butting heads with the Nigeria Football Federation over unpaid bonuses after their 2023 Women's World Cup run. Fans in recent years have also called for the team to be paid the same as the men's team, the Super Eagles. At the presidential villa, Tinubu announced that players would be given a three bedroom apartment as well as a $100,000 cash bonus. "We could not be prouder," the president said, adding that he "didn't want to watch the match" at one point because of the stress. Despite the challenges, the team has made an appearance in every women's World Cup since the tournament debuted in 1991. "Nigeria is the best country, with the best women's national football team," said Paul Edeh, chairman of the Benue State Football Association, who was at the airport to greet the team Monday. "What these girls have been able to achieve... the kind of trophies they've brought to us, we've not seen that with the male team," he told AFP. While watch parties erupted in cheers across the country Saturday evening, the overall reaction in the country of some 220 million was relatively muted. Most of the crowd greeting the players as they touched down were airport workers, government officials and journalists. Though the government promised "the streets of Abuja" would "be agog" during a citywide parade, ultimately plans were pared back. For many fans, however, the team got its proper roses with Saturday's trophy, which also served as a temporary relief from the country's many crises, from jihadist insurgency to spiralling inflation. Muhammad Awwal, a taxi driver in Kano, told AFP over the weekend that the women helped Nigerians "momentarily forget our common problems". "All our problems were drowned in the frenzy of celebration of the spectacular win," he said. nro-adl/sn/lp This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
&w=3840&q=100)
First Post
15 minutes ago
- First Post
Why has N Jagadeesan been picked as Rishabh Pant's replacement during the England Tests?
With Rishabh Pant out, N Jagadeesan has been called up as his replacement. But does Jagadeesan have the credentials to earn a spot in the playing XI for the Oval Test? And did he edge out Ishan Kishan for the role? read more A toe fracture on Day 1 of the 4th Test meant that Rishabh Pant's series is done, and a contingency substitute will join the squad for the Oval Test. As the 4th Test has concluded, and the batters have done an immaculate job to keep India in the hunt to evade a series defeat, the BCCI has entrusted faith in the talents of N Jagadeesan and picked him as the replacement for Pant. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Jagadeesan's call-up has come rather surprising to the keen observers of Indian cricket, as wicketkeepers like Ishan Kishan and KS Bharat were seemingly above in the pecking order. Given that Kishan has been a regular feature in the IPL for many years, the Jharkhand cricketer comes as an alluring option, and reportedly, BCCI was interested in picking him for the 5th Test. So, why did the board zero in on Jagadeesan eventually? As per reports, Ishan Kishan is nursing an injury on his left ankle and thus had no other option but to say no to chief selector Ajit Agarkar. As for KS Bharat, he was not approached by the board. Jagadeesan's record backs his selection The Chennai cricketer came into the fray at the back of a stellar domestic season, particularly in red-ball cricket. In 52 First-Class games, the wicketkeeper-batsman has stockpiled 3,373 runs at a handsome average of 47.50. He has 14 half-centuries and 10 centuries to his name in the domestic circuit. He emerged as a standout player in the previous Ranji season, where he racked up 674 runs in eight matches at a brilliant average of 56.16, notching two hundreds and five fifties in the process. He ended up being the leading run-scorer for his state in the competition. While he has been brought in as an emergency replacement, it will be interesting to note whether he will make it to the playing XI or not for the Oval Test. Dhruv Jurel, who has carried out duties as a substitute keeper in the last two tests, will be in the reckoning as well. Moreover, the team can fall back on KL Rahul, as he has spent time behind the wickets for India in the past.
