Divya Deshmukh played really well at the FIDE Women’s World Cup 2025. She defeated Grandmaster Harika Dronavalli in the quarterfinal. Both tie-break games went in Divya’s favor. With this win, she became the second Indian woman to reach the semifinals after Koneru Humpy.
Divya beats Harika in tie-break games
The classical part of the match was very close. Neither player made big mistakes. But in the first tie-break game, Harika made a wrong move near the end. Divya took full advantage and won the game.
Harika had chances in the second tie-break too. But she missed good moves again. Divya stayed calm and won that game as well. The final score was 3-1 in Divya’s favor. Harika was out, and Divya moved on to the semis.
🇮🇳 Divya Deshmukh is through to the semifinals of the 2025 FIDE Women’s World Cup!#FIDEWorldCup @DivyaDeshmukh05 pic.twitter.com/oUDcnQcGrP
— International Chess Federation (@FIDE_chess) July 21, 2025
Now Divya will play against GM Tan Zhongyi from China, a former Women’s World Champion. In the other semifinal, India’s top player Humpy will face Lei Tingjie from China.
India vs China in World Cup semifinals
Now only four players are left in the tournament. Two are from India and two are from China. So the semifinals are now India vs China battles. Humpy beat China’s Song Yuxin 1.5-0.5 to reach the semis.
Tan Zhongyi beat Vaishali Rameshbabu by the same score. Divya beat Harika in an all-Indian match. Lei Tingjie won her match against Nana Dzagnidze with a clean 2-0.
The top three players from this World Cup will go to the Candidates Tournament later this year. That means at least one Indian player will be there for sure.
Who is Divya Deshmukh? Young Chess Star From India
Divya was born on December 9, 2005. She is from Nagpur, Maharashtra. Her parents are doctors. She started playing chess when she was very young. She went to Bhavans Bhagwandas Purohit Vidya Mandir for school.
Divya is already a Woman Grandmaster and International Master. She has won many medals in big tournaments like the Chess Olympiad, Asian Championship, and World Youth.
In 2021, she became India’s 21st Woman Grandmaster. In 2022, she won the Women’s National Championship. She also helped India win gold in the FIDE Online Olympiad. By the end of 2024, she was India’s No. 2 female chess player.
Divya Deshmukh’s Recent Wins And Rating
In 2023, Divya won the Asian Women’s Championship in Almaty. She also won the Tata Steel India Rapid event by beating top players like Harika and Humpy.
In May 2024, she won the Sharjah Challengers. Then in June, she won the U20 World Girls Championship with a big score of 10 out of 11. She became only the fourth Indian girl to win this title.
At the 2025 World Rapid and Blitz Team Championship in London, she played for Hexamind Chess Club. Her team won silver in rapid and bronze in blitz. One big moment was when she beat world No. 1 Hou Yifan in a 74-move blitz game.
Divya Deshmukh’s current rating (July 2025): 2463
Her peak rating (October 2024): 2501
ALSO READ: Reclaiming The Board: India To Host Chess World Cup After 23 Years
