FIDE Women's World Cup 2025: Divya Deshmukh stuns Koneru Humpy in thrilling finale to become champion; earns Grandmaster title

Divya Deshmukh, the prodigy from Nagpur, has made history by sealing her first-ever World title by beating veteran Koneru Humpy in a thrilling final of the FIDE Women's World Cup in Georgia on Monday (July 28). After the two classical games between the finalists had ended in draws on Saturday and Sunday respectively, the title had to be decided by tiebreaks and Deshmukh held her nerve to come out with the silverware, overcoming the higher-ranked Humpy.

 

 

While the difference in age and experience between the finalists is well-documented, Deshmukh barely showed any signs of panic on the big occasion and played her cards smartly. Humpy had her moments of aggression where she tried to force the play and tempt the rookie during the classical games but Deshmukh ensured that she didn't fall to the bait. Deshmukh could have gained an advantage in the first classical game where she failed to capitalise on an opening and had to settle with a draw.

 

The second classical game, however, did have her in some trouble before the draw was secured in 34 moves and she was honest enough to admit that. The girl from Nagpur did show more composure than she did in the first game but while she was guilty of being over-aggressive in that clash, Deshmukh was probably too cautious in the second game, something that nearly backfired for her.

 

“It should have been an easy draw, but I got into trouble for no reason,” Divya had remarked after the game.

 

With two draws, the final had to be decided through the tie-breaker, which included a set of short-duration matches of rapid chess. In the rapid games, both players are given each colour once and the matches last for ten minutes. Deshmukh had the advantage of starting the tiebreaker with white. The 19-year-old started out on the front foot and at one point, made Humpy ask for a queen trade which Deshmukh denied. Accepting that could have arguably given Deshmukh an easier route to victory but she was determined to do things her way.

 

Much like the classical games on July 26 and 27, the first tie-breaker game also ended in a draw despite Deshmukh having multiple opportunities to seal the deal. The pattern seemed similar in the second tie-breaker as well but the prodigy's doggedness finally reaped rewards as Humpy endured a rare error in judgement, and this time her opponent didn't miss out on the opportunity.

 

After three days of a closely-contested final, Deshmukh came out on top by beating her senior opponent Humpy to become the new FIDE Women's World Cup Champion. Already a three-time Gold medalist at the Olympiad with the titles of Woman Grandmaster and International Master in her kitty, this win now seals Deshmukh the coveted title of Grandmaster.

 

Deshmukh is only the fourth woman from India to gain this prestigious title with Humpy, R Vaishali and Harika Dronavalli being her predecessors in this regard. Gaining the Grandmaster tag is no easy task as it generally requires the players to win three GM norms and also gain a FIDE rating of 2500 or above. However, winning elite competitions is another route to getting there with the FIDE Women's World Cup being one of those tournaments and it is this unique route that Deshmukh has taken to glory.

 

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