President Droupadi Murmu Congratulates Divya Deshmukh On Women’s Chess World Cup Victory

Last Updated:July 28, 2025, 17:13 IST

Divya Deshmukh, 19, became the first Indian woman to win the FIDE Women’s World Cup, defeating Koneru Humpy in the tiebreaker. She is India’s 88th Grandmaster.

Divya Deshmukh etched her name in the history books on Monday after defeating Koneru Humpy in the FIDE Women’s World Cup in the tie-breaker. Divya’s victory came after the two classical games played on Saturday and Sunday ended in draws.

Divya became the 88th Grandmaster of the country. She is also the fourth Indian woman player to achieve the GM feat after Humpy, Dronavalli Harika and R Vaishali.

Having drawn the two classical games, it was the first set of tiebreakers that proved decisive as Humpy lost her nerves. The teenager showed steely resolve on Monday, and the bonus for the determination was the Grandmaster title, reserved for the champion of this event.

Meanwhile, reaction began to pour in on social media, congratulating the 19-year-old on her remarkable win. The Honourable President of India, Droupadi Murmu, took to the microblogging site, X, to convey her best wishes to Divya.

“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,” the Indian President wrote on X.

“Koneru Humpy being the runner up, both the finalists of the chess world championship were from India. This underlines the abundance of talent in our country, especially among women. I convey my deep appreciation to Koneru Humpy for sustaining excellence throughout her illustrious career. I am sure that both these women champions will continue to bring greater glories and inspire our youth,” she added.

Here’s how people reacted on social media.

This was Divya’s day as Humpy again ran a bit short of time and blundered in the endgame again, leading to a theoretically won position for Divya. The teenager was a bundle of energy as she kept piling pressure on Humpy in the opening tiebreaker, tiring out her illustrious opponent and then going for the kill in the second tiebreaker.

(With Agency Inputs)

Aakash Biswas

A cricket enthusiast whose dreams of playing for India paved the way for a compelling journey in journalism. With a comprehensive coverage spanning international and domestic cricket across formats, I have had …Read More

A cricket enthusiast whose dreams of playing for India paved the way for a compelling journey in journalism. With a comprehensive coverage spanning international and domestic cricket across formats, I have had … Read More

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