Divya Deshmukh beats Koneru Humpy to clinch Women’s World Cup 2025

BATUMI (Georgia): India’s young chess sensation Divya Deshmukh conquered the FIDE Women’s World Cup 2025. Divya created history as she became the first Indian to win the Women’s World Cup 2025, beating Koneru Humpy with a score of 2.5-1.5 in the tie-breaks on Monday in Batumi.

With this win, Divya not only claimed the World Cup crown but also fulfilled her final GM norm, officially becoming India’s 88th Grandmaster. Humpy made a mistake by capturing the f pawn, which changed the tide in Divya’s favour towards the final moments of the contest.

The Indian players, who were left tied at 1-1 each after the two classical games in the Final, entered the tie-breaks on Monday to decide the ultimate winner. Divya became the fourth female Indian grandmaster, following in the footsteps of Humpy, R. Vaishali, and Harika Dronavalli.

Divya Deshmukh defeats Humpy Koneru to win the 2025 FIDE Women’s World Cup #FIDEWorldCup @DivyaDeshmukh05 pic.twitter.com/KzO2MlC0FC

— International Chess Federation (@FIDE_chess) July 28, 2025

Following her win, Divya stated that while she feels there’s much more to accomplish, she attributes her Grandmaster title to fate. “I definitely need to learn endgames. I am pretty sure at some point I messed it up. I need time to process it. I think it was fate that I get the GM title this way. Before this tournament, I didn’t even have one norm. It definitely means a lot. There’s a lot more to achieve. I’m hoping this is just the start,” Divya said as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.

Divya Deshmukh secures gold, Humpy Koneru pockets silver, while China’s sensation Tan Zhongy finished the tournament with a bronze medal.

Earlier, the opening game of the FIDE Women’s World Cup final saw two of India’s finest talents, Koneru Humpy and Divya Deshmukh, settle for a hard-fought draw. The scoreboard read 1/2 – 1/2. The second round of the FIDE Women’s World Cup also ended in a draw. Two of India’s finest talents, Koneru Humpy and Divya Deshmukh, settled for a hard-fought draw. The scoreboard read 1/2 – 1/2. (ANI)