Divya Deshmukh Makes History, Beats Koneru Humpy in All-Indian FIDE Women's World Cup 2025 Final

Rising Indian chess star Divya Deshmukh triumphed over her compatriot Koneru Humpy to win the final of the FIDE Women's World Cup 2025 on Monday (July 28). 

The win also sees Deshmukh attain the title of chess grandmaster, a huge honour for the 19-year-old who is also the 88th Indian to secure the title of grandmaster. 

She is also the fourth Indian woman to earn the title after Humpy, R Vaishali and Harika Dronavalli. 

Both Humpy and Deshmukh were guaranteed an entry into the Candidates tournament that was set to be held in 2026, as they needed to secure a top 3 finish in the World Cup for that to happen. 

However, it is the youngster who will enter the Candidates as the winner of the World Cup, a massive boost not just for her but Indian chess as a whole. 

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Youngster Beats Out Veteran

The match-up between the veteran Humpy, who earned the title of grandmaster in 2022 and Deshmukh, one of India's rising stars, was always going to be a hotly anticipated one. 

And it was also expected to be a close match, which is exactly how it played out - their first 2 matches were drawn, which led to the match heading into tie-breaks on Monday (July 28). 

And it was in the tiebreaks that Divya finally managed to pull ahead, in the end registering a 1.5-0.5 win to secure the title of not only being a World Cup winner but also a grandmaster. 

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How The Tiebreaks Played Out

The tiebreaks start with rapid games, and much like the first 2 classical games they also ended in a draw, handing both of them 0.5 points each. In this round, Deshmukh played with the white pieces. 

But the big moment came in the next round as Deshmukh, now armed with the black pieces, secured an impressive victory - and thus ended the match, crowning herself the winner of the FIDE Women's World Cup. 

She will now play in the Candidates in 2026, which will get her the chance to go up against women's chess world champion Ju Wenjun from China should she go the distance.