Divya Deshmukh: How a Nagpur girl became India's brand new Chess queen

In Batumi, Georgia, the board was set, the clocks were ticking, and two Indian women—generations apart—sat facing each other in the final of the FIDE Women’s World Cup 2025.

On one side was Koneru Humpy, a seasoned legend and former rapid world champion. On the other was Divya Deshmukh, 19, calm and composed, her fingers dancing on the pieces with silent confidence.

No one quite expected what came next.


After two tense classical games ended in draws, the match went into tie-breaks. In the second rapid game, Humpy faltered—just once—on the 54th move. That was all Divya needed. With clinical precision, she seized the opportunity, pushing the game into a win. The moment the victory was sealed, the teenager broke down in tears.

“I didn’t even have one norm before this. I was thinking, ‘Where can I get my norm?’ And now I’m a Grandmaster. I think it was fate,” Divya told reporters later, her voice soft but steady.

With that win, she became the first Indian woman to ever lift the FIDE Women’s World Cup trophy. She also earned the Grandmaster title—becoming India’s 88th GM and only the fourth Indian woman after Humpy, Harika Dronavalli, and Vaishali to do so.

A childhood in Nagpur

Born on 9 December 2005 in Nagpur, Divya grew up in a household of achievers. Her parents, Dr. Jitendra and Dr. Namratha Deshmukh, both medical professionals, never pushed her into chess. However, a four-year-old Divya picked up the game.

By the age of ten, she was flying out to represent India in age-group world tournaments. School, meanwhile, never took a backseat. Studying at Bhavans Bhagwandas Purohit Vidya Mandir, Divya juggled exams and tournaments like pieces on a board.

What sets Divya apart from other prodigies is her choice to pursue both education and chess—not as rivals, but as allies. After acing her Class 12 board exams, she chose distance learning to continue her academic journey.

Currently, she’s studying sports psychology, performance science, and data analytics in chess—subjects she believes will sharpen her game and mindset.

“It definitely means a lot. There’s a lot more to achieve. I’m hoping this is just the start,” she said after her World Cup win.

How Divya achieved the feat

Divya didn’t enter this tournament as the top seed. In fact, in the 2023 Tata Steel Women’s Rapid, she was a last-minute entry and the lowest-rated player in the field. Yet she finished ahead of world champion Ju Wenjun.

In 2024, she clinched the World U-20 Girls Championship with a commanding 10/11 score. And in 2023, she bagged the Asian Continental Women’s title.

Each win was quiet, calculated, and consistent—like her play.

Her victory over Humpy wasn’t just a win over a great—it was a passing of the baton. The same Koneru Humpy, who once inspired young Indian girls to take up chess, now stood across from one of her successors. That 54th move may have been a small error, but it became the move that shifted Indian chess history.

With the World Cup in her pocket, Divya now qualifies for the Women’s Candidates Tournament, the gateway to challenge Ju Wenjun for the world title. The teenager from Nagpur is just a few matches away from possibly becoming the World Chess Champion.