Indian Chess Player Divya Deshmukh Breaks Down in Tears After Securing FIDE Women's World Cup Semis Spot

It is a great time to be an Indian chess fan as a number of rising talents in the sport have been making the nation proud, and the latest to do so in the FIDE Women's World Cup 2025 was rising star Divya Deshmukh, who won an all-Indian quarterfinal against Harika Dronivalli.

Thus, Divya has joined Koneru Humpy as the second Indian chess player in the semi-finals, and she will now take on China's Tan Zhongyi in the final four. 

However, it is Divya's emotional reaction to the win that is now going viral as she could not control the flowing of tears after she secured her victory. 

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See The Video Here

The reaction perhaps come from managing to emerge on top after what was a fairly gruelling match in the last 8, one which needed tie-breakers to settle the score. 

Both of the classical games that they played ended in draws, meaning the game required a tie-breaker - that was won by Divya, but it was not an easy win in the slightest. 

The biggest victor from this is India, as the country can now send at least one player to the Candidates thanks to this result. 

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What This Means For Indian Chess

The top 3 finishers in the tournament make it to the Candidates - meaning if Divya and Humpy win their respective semis, they will both be heading to the Candidates. 

However, even if both lose then the player who places third will get to represent India at the Candidates - although Indian fans will hope for both to make it. 

Interestingly, both players will be taking on Chinese chess players - Humpy will be going up against Lei Tingjie in her semi-final.