Divya Deshmukh Creates History: India’s First Women’s World Cup Chess Winner

It was the FIDE Women Chess World cup 2025 in Batumi, Georgia which was won by Divya Deshmukh, the 19-year-old genius chess master, and this was the first time ever that an Indian female chess master had ever won this game. She tied in tiebreakers with Koneru Humpy, world No. 5 in an all Indian final. Along with this victory, Divya too became the 88 th Grandmaster of India and the fourth Indian woman to have achieved this. The win contributes to the increasing strength of India in the game of chess, as Gukesh won the world championship. All these enabled Divya and Humpy to qualify to the Candidates Tournament towards the Women World Chess Championship.

Context:

• Name: FIDE Women Chess World Cup 2025

• Location: Batumi, Georgia

• Final Date 29 July 2025

• Significance: First Indian woman to win the World Cup; a contributor to the increased domination of India in chess at the international scene.

Takeaways of Divya in her Win:

• Defeated Finalist:

  • Beat Omega No. 5 Koneru Humpy after tiebreakers (India)

• Milestones Achieved:

  • First Indian woman to be the Women Chess World Cup winner

  • Was the 88 th Indian Grandmaster

  • Fourth Indian woman Grandmaster (after Humpy, Harika and Vaishali)

  • Qualified to FIDE Women Candidates Tournament

• Recent Achievements:

  • The World Junior Championship 2024 was won in Gandhinagar

  • Contributed to the bagging of the gold medal in the Chess Olympiad 2025 at Budapest, India

• Historic Parallel:

  • The previous Indian to have won the World Cup was the only one (Viswanathan Anand, 2002)

The Ascendancy of India in the International Chess:

• Recent Feats:

  • D. Gukesh: Qualified at 2025 Open Candidates and won the world title at the age of 18

  • 4 Indian women advance to the quarter final of the world cup

  • The number of applications (those who took part in Candidates 2024 (Toronto) was 5 Indians 3 men, 2 women)

• Women in the Indian Chess:

  • Koneru Humpy: First, Five in the World

  • D. Harika, R. Vaishali, and Divya, now, so, India is a world power in female chess

• Institutional Support:

  • Growth of FIDE- recognised targets in India (e.g. World Junior 2024)

  • Sponsorships by National Chess Federation and privately sponsored development of youth

Conclusion

This is a historic achievement of Indian chess and women who are taking part in sports as Divya Deshmukh is the first of Indian people to achieve this feat. Her early success indicates India is establishing a much more serious chess system, cultivated by instruction, youth competitions, and competitor experience. The fact that Indian players have succeeded at the level of the world arena such as the world cup, Olympiad and the candidates tournament is a sign of a new golden age of the chess game in India. Such achievements improve the image of India in the world, as well as stimulating the involvement of young people and gender equality in serious sports.