Divya Deshmukh Breaks Down After Clinching Historic Chess World Cup Title
Divya Deshmukh 🇮🇳 winner of the World Chess Cup and also now a Grandmaster! pic.twitter.com/UNmgiq33qq
— Chessdom (@chessdom) July 28, 2025
She is only the fourth woman from India to become a Grandmaster, and the 88th overall.
The victory has come at a time when India is riding a wave of success in men's chess, with the likes of world champion D Gukesh, R Praggnanandhaa and Arjun Erigaisi producing good results consistently.
Deshmukh joins Humpy, Dronavalli Harika and R Vaishali in the list of women who became Grandmasters in the country.
By virtue of making it to the Women's World Cup final, Deshmukh also secured a spot in next year's Candidates tournament, which will decide who will take on world champion Ju Wenjun of China in the Women's World Championship.
An emotional Deshmukh couldn't hold back her tears following the victory against an opponent twice her age, who fought till the last before losing to the determined youngster.
"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.
(With PTI inputs)
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