Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday expressed joy as he congratulated Indian chess grandmaster Divya Deshmukh on defeating the World No. 1, Hou Yifan, in the second leg of the Blitz semifinal at the World Team Blitz Championships in London. “Congratulations to Divya Deshmukh on defeating the World No. 1, Hou Yifan in the 2nd leg of the Blitz semifinal at the World Team Blitz Championships, London. Her success highlights her grit and determination. It also inspires many upcoming chess players. Best wishes for her future endeavours,” PM Modi wrote in a post on X.
Congratulations to Divya Deshmukh on defeating the World No. 1, Hou Yifan in the 2nd leg of Blitz semifinal at the World Team Blitz Championships, London. Her success highlights her grit and determination. It also inspires many upcoming chess players. Best wishes for her future… pic.twitter.com/mjdWO0llFT
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) June 19, 2025
Hailing from Maharashtra, Deshmukh created history by defeating World No. 1 Hou Yifan in the semi-finals of the Blitz 2025 Chess Tournament held in London. She responded to PM Modi’s post, writing on X, “Thank you, Respected Sir. It is a great honour and encouragement for me to be recognised by the Prime Minister.”
Union Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya also posted, “Checkmate! Heartiest congratulations to our chess star Divya Deshmukh on her stunning win over World No. 1 Hou Yifan in the 2nd leg of the Blitz semifinal at the World Team Blitz Championships in London. Wishing you the very best for the future games.”
Notably, Deshmukh’s victory comes just weeks after D. Gukesh, the reigning World Champion and recipient of the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award, secured a third-place position in the Norway Chess tournament, which concluded early in June.
One of Gukesh’s standout moments during the competition was an unprecedented victory over world number one Magnus Carlsen, which was his first classical game win over him. Grandmaster Arjun Erigaisi also finished fifth.
Additionally, Aravindh Chithambaram clinched first place in the Stepan Avagyan Memorial Chess Tournament, and R. Praggnanandhaa secured second place in the same tournament. The tournament was held from May 28 to June 6.
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