Divya Deshmukh cries with tears of joy in her mother's arms after defeating Konery Humpy to win Women's Chess World Cup
The first Rapid game ended in a draw and in the next, Divya rose to the occation, bagging a sensational win with the Black pieces to win the match. She has also qualified for the Candidates Tournament by entering the finals, and also became the first Indian to win the FIDE Women's World Cup, which also directly go her the Grandmaster title as a result.
In the winning moment, she broke down in tears and was visibly emotional. She was joined by her mother, and during her post-match interview, she kept it short, revealing that she needed to process the moment.
'I need time to process it (win). I think it was fate, me getting the Grandmaster title this way because before this (tournament) I didn't even have one (GM) norm, and now I am the Grandmaster', she said.
Full video of Divya Deshmukh, after defeating Koneru Humpy:
The win comes at a time when India are cementing their domination in chess, with the likes of D Gukesh, R Praggnanandhaa and Erigaisi hogging the spotlight. She joins Humpy, R Vaishali and Dronavalli Harka in the list of women's Grandmasters in India.
During her career, she has won multiple golds at the World Junior C'ships, Asian Championship and also the World Youth C'ship. She is a native from Nagpur and is one of the leading personalities of chess in India.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
&w=3840&q=100)
First Post
14 minutes ago
- First Post
Esports World Cup 2025: Carlsen crowned champion as Erigaisi finishes fourth after defeat against Nakamura
Arjun Erigaisi's campaign ended with back-to-back defeats as the Indian Grandmaster, representing Gen.G at the Esports World Cup, lost to Hikaru Nakamura 2.5-3.5 to finish fourth. Magnus Carlsen, meanwhile, beat Alireza Firouzja to be crowned champion. read more Magnus Carlsen and Arjun Erigaisi finished first and fourth respectively on chess' debut at the Esports World Cup. Image credit: Esports World Cup Indian Grandmaster Arjun Erigaisi's campaign ended with back-to-back defeats as Magnus Carlsen was crowned champion on chess' debut at the Esports World Cup in Riyadh on Friday. After storming into the semi-finals with a hat-trick of victories, including against compatriot Nihal Sarin, Erigaisi was halted on his tracks by French GM Alireza Firouzja, who handed him a 4-1 defeat to advance to the final. On Friday, Erigaisi – representing Gen.G – suffered a second defeat in as many games to finish fourth on chess' debut at the Esports World Cup, suffering a 2.5-3.5 loss at the hands of world No 2 Hikaru Nakamura. This despite the 21-year-old Indian winning Game 1 with white pieces and holding the American GM to a draw in the second. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Nakamura would surge ahead by winning the next two games, which was followed by Erigaisi leveling the scores at 2.5-2.5, collecting another victory with white pieces. Nakamura, however, won the decisive game to clinch the contest and finish third on the overall standings. 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮, 𝐄𝐖𝐂 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓 Arjun Erigaisi finishes in 4th Place! ♟️🏅 This concludes Gen.G's debut in CHESS at the EWC. We want to extend our deepest gratitude to all our fans for following along and supporting us throughout this week, with a special shoutout to those… — Gen.G Esports (@GenG) August 1, 2025 Carlsen stamps his authority in Riyadh Team Falcons thus had two players finishing among the top three – Firouzja and Nakamura at the second and third positions respectively. Team Liquid's Magnus Carlsen, who has been the Classical world No 1 since 2011 and is also a five-time world champion, was crowned the inaugural chess champion at the Esports World Cup after winning both sets in the best-of-three-sets final against Firouzja by 3-1 margins. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Carlsen thus takes home a prize money of $250,000 (Rs 2.18 crore) while Firouzja and Nakamura won $190,000 (Rs 1.65 crore) and $145,000 (Rs 1.26 crore) respectively. Erigaisi took home $115,000 which is just over Rs 1 crore. Sarin, who had represented Indian Esports organisation S8UL after confirming his place via the Last Chance Qualifier, finished in the 5th-8th bracket after his quarter-final defeat against Carlsen. He wins $85,000 (Rs 74 lakh) for his efforts.
India.com
14 minutes ago
- India.com
PCB bars use of Pakistan's name in private cricket leagues after WCL fiasco: Report
Pakistan Cricket Board. (PIC - X) The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has put a ban on using the name of the country in teams representing it in private cricket leagues following the fiasco in the World Championships of Legends (WCL) in which Indian players refused to play against the 'Pakistan Champions'. According to a report in Telecom Asia Sport( the PCB has decided to pull the plug on the use of the country's name in private cricket leagues after the ongoing WCL in the UK was made out to be a clash between India and Pakistan. 'The decision was taken after a detailed discussion in the Board of Directors meeting on Thursday,' sources told on Friday. 'The high-level authorities felt Indian players refusing to play Pakistan in the WCL's second edition twice is hurtful to the name of the country.' In the future, no permission will be given to any private organization to use the name of the country for private leagues. However, the current Pakistan Legends team will be allowed to play Saturday's final against South Africa. The reports said that various private organisations have used the name of Pakistan to feature in minor and low-profile leagues in Zimbabwe, Kenya, and the USA. 'All private organizations will face legal action in case they use Pakistan's name. PCB has the sole right to allow its use for cricket events if it finds the authenticity of the League and the organization as reputable,' the report quoted sources close to the PCB as saying. It is also learnt that the Pakistan government and the IPC (Inter-provincial coordination committee), which is looking after the sports in the country, has sent an advisory to the PCB to control the use of the country's name in private cricket leagues in the future.
The Hindu
14 minutes ago
- The Hindu
Macau Open: Lakshya, Mannepalli enter semifinals; Satwik-Chirag out
Star Indian shuttler Lakshya Sen and promising Tharun Mannepalli advanced to the men's singles semifinals of the Macau Open Super 300 badminton tournament after registering hard-fought wins here Friday. Taking the court first, the 23-year-old Mannepalli, ranked 47th in the world, showcased speed and a versatile shot selection to edge out China's 87th ranked Hu Zhe 21-12 13-21 21-18 in a 75-minute battle. Later in the day, Lakshya, a Commonwealth Games gold medallist and second seed here, eked out a tough 21-14 18-21 21-14 victory over Xuan Chen Zhu of China in his quarterfinal that lasted one hour and three minutes. Lakshya will be up against fifth seed Alwi Farhan of Indonesia while Mannepalli will take on Malaysia's Justin Hoh in the last-four round. This marks Mannepalli's maiden semi-final appearance at a BWF Super 300 event. He had reached the quarterfinals at the German Open in February. However, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty bowed out of the tournament after losing 14-21 21-13 20-22 to Malaysian combination of Choong Hon Jian and Haikal Muhammad in the quarterfinals. Mannepalli, who joined the Pullela Gopichand Academy four years ago, has focused on improving his fitness, agility, and movement over the past two years. His hard work paid off this week as he also stunned top seed Lee Cheuk Yiu of Hong Kong in the last eight. The Indian, who won gold at the 37th National Games, was trailing 4-7 in the first game before rallying to 12-9. He then took control and scored six straight points from 15-11 to seal the game. After the change of ends, Hu played with greater intent, leading 6-2 and extending the lead to 15-6. Mannepalli couldn't close the gap as the Chinese player dominated the second game. In the decider, Mannepalli surged to a 5-0 lead and maintained a healthy advantage up to 19-15. It got tense towards finish as he squandered three points, with Hu sending two returns on his forehand corner. However, Mannepalli stayed composed and landed a timely body smash to earn two match points. He secured the win with a precise push to Hu's backhand corner and raised his arms in celebration. Mannepalli started playing badminton at the age of eight in Khammam, Telangana, before moving to Hyderabad after Class X to pursue the sport seriously alongside his studies. Lakshya had to work hard to get past world number 77 Chen. The Indian produced a dominating show in the opening game, building on an early 9-4 lead to quickly move to 15-8 and pocketing the game. However, Chen made a spirited comeback in the second game, erasing a 5-10 and 14-17 deficit to take the match to the decider. Lakshya got back his bearing in the third game, surging to 7-1 early on and even though Chen made it 9-11, the Indian managed to stay ahead to come up trumps.
