Latest news with #FIDEWomen'sWorldCupFinal
NDTV
5 hours ago
- Sport
- NDTV
Divya Deshmukh "Will Inspire Several Youngsters": PM Narendra Modi, Amit Shah Laud Chess Sensation's World Cup Win
Prime Minister Narendra Modi extended his wishes to India's young chess star Divya Deshmukh for her sensational victory at the FIDE Women's World Cup against the veteran Koneru Humpy in the final. Divya, a 19-year-old rising sensation in the world of chess, became the first Indian woman to clinch the Chess World Cup after overwhelming Koneru on Monday evening in the final via tiebreaks. She became just the fourth Indian woman grandmaster and overall the 88th in the nation to clinch that title. PM Modi hailed the remarkable efforts of both players and believes Divya's victory will serve as an inspiration for the youngsters. "A historic final featuring two outstanding Indian chess players! Proud of the young Divya Deshmukh on becoming FIDE Women's World Chess Champion 2025. Congratulations to her for this remarkable feat, which will inspire several youngsters. Koneru Humpy has also displayed immense prowess throughout the championship. Best wishes to both players for their future endeavours. @DivyaDeshmukh05 @humpy_koneru," PM Modi wrote on X. A historic final featuring two outstanding Indian chess players! Proud of the young Divya Deshmukh on becoming FIDE Women's World Chess Champion 2025. Congratulations to her for this remarkable feat, which will inspire several youngsters. Koneru Humpy has also displayed… — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) July 28, 2025 Union Home Minister Amit Shah also congratulated the chess sensation. Ecstasy for India! Congratulations to @DivyaDeshmukh05 on winning the FIDE Women's World Cup Final and achieving the marvellous feat of becoming a Grandmaster. Your tenacity and mindfulness have truly earned you this crown. Also, congratulations to @humpy_koneru on a remarkable… — Amit Shah (@AmitShah) July 28, 2025 President Droupadi Murmu also lavished praise on Divya and wrote on X, "My heartiest congratulations to Divya Deshmukh who has become the first Indian woman to win the FIDE Women's World Cup, that too, at a very young age of nineteen." My heartiest congratulations to Divya Deshmukh who has become the first Indian woman to win the FIDE Women's World Cup, that too, at a very young age of nineteen. Koneru Humpy being the runner up, both the finalists of the chess world championship were from India. This underlines… — President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) July 28, 2025 During the tense contest, a string of inaccuracies in the second rapid game contributed to Koneru's downfall. She found herself a pawn down in the rook endgame, which played out in Divya's favour. The veteran allowed the situation to sink in and resigned on the 75th move and fell short in a gripping final with a score of 2.5-1.5. Divya failed to capitalise on the two windows that Koneru left open for her with her inaccurate moves. However, on the third time, Koneru inflicted more damage on herself by capturing the f pawn on move 69, which changed the tide in Divya's favour towards the final moments of the contest. This time around, Divya made no mistake, played the right moves and forced Koneru to resign after six moves. Her eyes welled up with tears as she began to grasp the scale of her victory. She tried to compose herself, but soon became overwhelmed with emotions again after embracing her mother in a heartfelt moment.
News18
12 hours ago
- Entertainment
- News18
Divya Deshmukh Crowned FIDE Women's World Cup Champion! Becomes First Indian To Achieve Historic Feat
Divya Deshmukh defeated Koneru Humpy in the tiebreaks of the FIDE Women's World Cup Final, becoming the first-ever Indian champion of the tournament. Divya Deshmukh etched her name into chess history, defeating fellow Indian compatriot Koneru Humpy with a score of 2.5-1.5 in the tiebreaks of the FIDE Women's World Cup Final to become the first-ever Indian champion of the esteemed tournament on Monday. Deshmukh will now receive $50,000 as their prize money on top of the coveted trophy. The Indian players, who were left tied at 1-1 each after the two classical games in the Final, entered the tiebreaks today to decide the ultimate winner. So, it all boiled down to two Rapid matches of 10 minutes with a 10-second increment after every move. Having won the toss the previous night, Divya once again got the luck of the draw, opting to start the tiebreaks with the white pieces in the first Rapid game. In Rapid Game 1, Divya played her natural game, attacking Humpy out of the gate and forcing the veteran to yet again burn the clock early. With no second time control in the tiebreaks, the pressure was on Humpy to yet again find the draw. The pressure ultimately forced Divya to make an error, who blundered and left her central pawn unguarded, opening the gates for Humpy to come in for the attack. Humpy tempted Divya to take a Queen Exchange, which was denied, and then, with the clock ticking, was forced to sacrifice her Queen in a last-ditch attempt to find the kill. But, as fate would have it, the duo ultimately decided on the inevitable draw, preparing to play for all glory in the second Rapid game. More of the same from the first Rapid game ensued in the second game as well, as Humpy was yet again pushed to her limits, as Divya forced the veteran to burn down her clock effectively. After 30 moves, Humpy, playing with just about a minute left on her clock (compared to Divya's six), found her form yet again under the pump, as a quick flurry of moves ensued amongst the two Indians, who were trying to pry the other's weakness. Divya found her break on move 40, as Humpy blundered with a pawn, allowing the youngster to activate her Queen and hunt for a win against the veteran. But, Humpy fought off the advancing Divya, pushing them to a rook endgame, with the 19-year-old holding an extra pawn. A final-minute blunder from Humpy gifted Divya the window to advance her pawn to potentially be promoted, putting the veteran in a world of trouble. Despite pushing the youngster to a muddy endgame, it was far too gone for Humpy, who ultimately resigned on move 75, gifting the title to Divya. How The Final Unfolded Both finalists already made history, becoming the first-ever Indians to qualify for the semifinals of the Women's World Cup, after which both players went on to schedule the first-ever All-Indian final at the event. Game 1 of the Final was a nail-biting draw, which saw Divya throw away her lead with the white pieces, allowing the veteran Humpy to fight her way back into the game and force the draw. Game 2 on Sunday saw the duo battle it out in yet another fascinating draw, where Humpy seemingly lost the advantage of starting with the white pieces, as the young buck Divya fought her way back to force the veteran to tiebreaks. And the rest, as they say, is history. view comments Location : New Delhi, India, India First Published: Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
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First Post
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- First Post
How Divya missed out on going 1-0 up against Humpy in Game 1 of FIDE Women's World Cup Final
Grandmaster Koneru Humpy and International Master Divya Deshmukh played out a 41-move draw in Game 1 of the FIDE Women's World Cup Final in Batumi, Georgia on Saturday. Divya, however, could have seized the lead while playing with white pieces. read more The final round of games in the third edition of the FIDE Women's World Cup got underway in Batumi, Georgia on Saturday, with the all-Indian final between Grandmaster Koneru Humpy and Divya Deshmukh and the all-Chinese third-place playoff between Lei Tingjie and Tan Zhongyi ending in a draw. With all four players collecting half-a-point each, both contests will remain wide open when the second Classical game gets underway less than 24 hours from now. Whether they end with a decisive result on Sunday itself or move into the tie-breaks on Monday, is something that only time will tell. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD But before we turn our attention to Game 2, we revisit the opening duel between the two Indians, who have confirmed their place in next year's Candidates Tournament by virtue of being guaranteed a top-three finish in the ongoing tournament. Did Divya miss out on the chance to go 1-0 up against her experienced compatriot? Divya and Humpy played out a 41-move draw on Saturday with the former playing with white pieces. It wasn't quite the hard-fought stalemate in which the two players battled on towards the 100-move mark, refusing to give up until neither had any gas left in the tank. The two Indians shook hands in 41 moves, but the draw was anything but ordinary. The game began with a Queen's pawn opening, and it wasn't long before Divya had both of her knights galloping out forward, with her kingside knight capturing Humpy's corresponding piece in just the fifth move. This was, of course, after the latter gave the white king a check with her dark-squared bishop, which forced the 19-year-old IM to bring out her other knight. Mistakes, however, started to creep into Humpy's game inside the first 10 moves, starting with her decision to move her light-squared bishop in the seventh move (Bb7). According to Lichess, the 38-year-old would have been better served capturing Divya's E-file pawn (Nxe4). That was followed by Humpy's decision to withdraw her knight shortly after capturing the aforementioned E-file pawn (Nxe4). The Lichess engine feels the veteran should have used this opportunity to advance her other knight (Nd7). Three moves later, she committed an absolute blunder by moving her king to f8 instead of closer to the queen at d8. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'The game saw an extremely sharp battle with the game ending in a draw in 41 moves. On move 7, Divya made her aggressive intentions clear by offering another pawn, which looked like home preparation. Humpy made a practical decision of refraining from taking the pawn and a balanced position was reached by move 10 by white,' said Indian GM Pravin Thipsay told news agency PTI after Game 1. 'However, instead of developing the undeveloped Knight, Humpy retreated the centralised Knight on move 10, giving huge positional advantage to Divya. Divya could have gained huge positional advantage on the 12th move by moving a rook. However, she chose to play for King side attack by sacrificing a piece instead,' he added, referring to a blunder by Divya (12. Nxc4 bxc4) in which she lost a huge chunk of advantage on the eval bar with a knight sacrifice. Despite failing to capitalise on Humpy's errors, Divya refused to give up and remained on the hunt for a victory even as her opponent tried offering her a draw via repetition, with the game later meandering towards a double-rook-and-queen endgame. Game 1 of the Final between 🇮🇳 Divya Deshmukh and 🇮🇳 Humpy Koneru ends in a draw! #FIDEWorldCup — International Chess Federation (@FIDE_chess) July 26, 2025 STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD However, it was Humpy's superior time management that allowed her to eventually walk away with a draw, with Divya having half-a-minute left on her clock at one point. And after her escape in Game 1, Humpy with be aiming to come up with a strong response in Game 2 in which it will be her turn to play with white pieces.
The Hindu
3 days ago
- Sport
- The Hindu
Koneru Humpy vs Divya Deshmukh, FIDE Women's World Cup Final: Preview, Schedule, Format, Live Streaming info
Koneru Humpy and Divya Deshmukh will meet in an all-Indian final at the FIDE Women's World Cup in Batumi, marking India's best-ever performance at the event. It's a generational clash: Humpy, 38, is a Grand Master and reigning World Rapid Champion; Divya, 19, is a rising star and Junior World Champion. Both have secured spots in the 2026 Candidates, the qualifier to challenge China's Ju Wenjun for the World Championship. Finals schedule Game 1 - July 26, 4:45 pm IST Game 2 - July 27, 4:45 pm IST Tiebreaks (if needed) - July 28, 4:35 pm IST Streaming info The FIDE Women's World Cup Final will be streamed live on FIDE's YouTube channel. Format The finalists will play two classical games - one on Saturday and another on Sunday. A win awards one point while both players get 0.5 point each in case of a draw. If the two players cannot be separated after two classical games, the winner will be decided via tiebreaks. Tiebreak format: Two-game match - 10 minutes for each player with a 10-second increment, starting from the first move. Two-game match - Five minutes for each player with a three-second increment, starting from the first move. Two-game match - Three minutes for each player with a two-second increment, starting from the first move. Players keep contesting 3+2 games until a decisive result determines the match winner Route to final Koneru Humpy (Rating - 2543) Semifinal: Beat China's Lei Tingjie (2552) 5-3 Quarterfinal: Beat China's Yuxin Song (2410) 1.5-0.5 Round 4: Beat Switzerland's Alexandra Kosteniuk (2474) 2.5-0.5 Round 3: Beat Poland's Klaudia Kulon (2407) 1.5-0.5 Round 2: Beat Uzbekistan's Afruza Khamdamova (2326) 1.5-0.5 Round 1: Bye Divya Deshmukh (2463) Semifinal: Beat China's Tan Zhongyi (2546) 1.5-0.5 Quarterfinal: Beat India's Harika Dronavalli (2483) 3-1 Round 4: Beat China's Zhu Jiner (2547) 2.5-1.5 Round 3: Beat Serbia's Teodora Injac (2457) 1.5-0.5 Round 2: Beat Georgia's Kesaria Mgeladze (2226) 1.5-0.5 Round 1: Bye
India Today
4 days ago
- Sport
- India Today
Koneru Humpy sets up historic all-Indian Women's World Cup final vs Divya Deshmukh
Grandmaster Koneru Humpy advanced to the final of the FIDE Women's World Cup after defeating China's Lei Tingjie in a lengthy tiebreak in Georgia on Thursday, setting up an all-Indian final with Divya Deshmukh. With this result, both Humpy and Divya have secured places in the Women's Candidates Tournament scheduled for next will be generational battle in the FIDE Women's World Cup Final as 38-year-old Grandmaster Koneru faces teenage prodigy Divya, who won her maiden GM Norm earlier in the tournament, inching closer to becoming only the fourth-ever female Grandmaster from the World Champion Viswanathan Anand praised Humpy's performance, lauding the veteran's consistency in big-ticket tournaments in the recent past. 'The tiebreak between Humpy Koneru and Lei Tingjie ended in a duel of nerves given the huge stakes involved. Humpy managed to compose herself and come back into the match after the first setback and then won the last two games to go through. Incredible resilience and, after her World Rapid win as well as her shared first place in the Pune Grand Prix, a remarkable World Cup to get another Candidates spot.'"Indian fans can rejoice," Anand said, highlighting the enormity of the occasion. For the first time, two Indians will compete in the final of the Women's World Cup. The final will get underway on Saturday following a rest HUMPY FIGHTS IT OUTHumpy and Lei had drawn their two classical games earlier in the week, sending the match into rapid tiebreaks. The first set of rapid games, played with a time control of 15 minutes plus 10 seconds increment, also ended in a 1-1 stalemate. That led to a second set of games, with 10 minutes per player and the same the first of those games, Lei capitalised on an error in the middlegame to gain a pawn and convert her advantage into a win in the endgame. Despite the presence of opposite-coloured bishops, Humpy was unable to hold for a draw and found herself needing a win to stay in the responded with a composed and efficient performance in the return game. Playing with the white pieces, Humpy adopted a Queen's Pawn opening and maintained steady control throughout. Her positional superiority and technical endgame play allowed her to level the score and force another set of blitz third set, played at five minutes plus a three-second increment, saw Humpy in command. She won the first game convincingly with the white pieces, putting Lei under pressure from the opening and steadily building an advantage. In the reverse game, needing only a draw to progress, Humpy opted for the Italian Opening and gradually tightened her grip on the position. She went on to win the game, sealing her place in the final with a 2-0 result in the blitz this win, Humpy moves into her first Women's World Cup final. While she has held the World Rapid title and been part of multiple major team and individual triumphs, the World Cup has been one of the few titles missing from her Deshmukh, 18, will be her opponent in the final after beating Russia's Polina Shuvalova in her own semi-final. (WITH PTI Inputs)- Ends
