Meet Divya Deshmukh, 19-Year-Old Wins FIDE Women’s World Cup 2025, In Photos
Divya Deshmukh won the FIDE Women’s World Cup in 2025. The chess tournament lasted 24 days in Batumi, Georgia. Divya is only 19 years old. She beat Koneru Humpy in the final. The match was very close and went to a tiebreak. Divya won in the end.
Both players in the final are from India. Koneru Humpy is the first Indian woman Grandmaster. Divya is much younger than her. The third place match was between two players from China, Tan Zhongyi and Lei Tingjie. Only two Indian women reached this level after Humpy. Now Divya is the third.
Early Life and Family Background
Divya was born on December 9, 2005, in Nagpur. Her parents are doctors. At first, she wanted to play badminton like her sister. But she could not. So she started playing chess at age five and liked it a lot.
Starting Chess and First Big Wins
She won her first big prize in 2012 by winning the Under-7 National Championship. After that, she won World Youth titles in Under-10 in 2014 and Under-12 in 2017. She became Women FIDE Master and then Woman Grandmaster in 2021. She is the first woman Grandmaster from Vidarbha and the 22nd from India.
Becoming Grandmaster and World No. 1
In 2023, Divya got the International Master title. In 2024, she won the World Junior Girls Under-20 Championship. She scored 10 out of 11 points and became World No. 1 for her age group.
Helping India Win Chess Olympiad Gold
Divya helped India win gold at the 45th Chess Olympiad in Budapest in 2024. She also scored over 2600 points in blitz games at the World Team Rapid and Blitz Championship. This shows she plays well in fast games.
A Bright Future Ahead in Indian Chess
Now Divya has three Chess Olympiad gold medals and many other awards. She is a new star in Indian chess. People expect her to do even better in the future.
