Udaipur, July 29, 2025: A new chapter has been added to the history of Indian chess. 19-year-old Divya Desahmukh has won the FIDE Women's World Cup 2025. She achieved this by defeating Koneru Humpy, one of the top female chess players in the world.

There was a tough fight between the two Indian stars in the final. Both classical games ended in a draw, so the match was decided in the rapid tiebreaker. Divya won the title by beating Humpy and created history. She is now the first Indian woman to win the Chess World Cup.

With this big win, Divya has also become the 88th Grandmaster of India. The Grandmaster title is the highest honor in chess and a dream for every player. After this win, Divya will receive around ₹43 lakh as prize money, while Humpy will get around ₹30 lakh.

Divya’s Historic Victory and Big Wins

Before taking home the honors, Divya caused many upsets by beating second-seeded Jiner Zhu (China), India’s D. Harika, and former world champion Tan Zhongyi in the semi-finals.

The final match showed how far Indian women’s chess has come. It was a battle between experience and youth. Both classical games were drawn, and Divya won in the rapid tiebreaker. She drew the first rapid game with white pieces, then defeated Humpy in the second game with black to win 2.5–1.5.

With this win, Divya became the first Indian woman to win the Chess World Cup and the 88th Grandmaster of India. Normally, a player needs three GM norms and a 2500+ rating, but some special tournaments give the title directly — the FIDE Women’s World Cup is one of them. She is now India’s fourth female Grandmaster, after Koneru Humpy, D. Harika, and R. Vaishali.

Emotional Reaction and Words After the Win

After her win, Divya became emotional and couldn’t hold back her tears. She had just beaten an opponent twice her age. Humpy gave a tough fight till the end. Divya said, "I need time to understand this victory. I think it was destiny that I got the Grandmaster title like this. Before this tournament, I didn’t even have one GM norm, and now I am a Grandmaster."

Her win adds to India’s growing strength in chess, with names like D. Gukesh, R. Praggnanandhaa, and Arjun Erigaisi already shining in the men’s game.