In a landmark achievement for Indian chess, 19-year-old Divya Deshmukh has become the fourth Indian woman to earn the prestigious title of Grandmaster (GM), following her victory at the FIDE Women’s World Cup 2025.

Deshmukh clinched the title after defeating fellow Indian chess legend Koneru Humpy in a thrilling final held in Batumi, Georgia. With this win, she joins the elite ranks of Humpy, R Vaishali, and Harika Dronavalli as India’s only female Grandmasters to date.

What makes Deshmukh’s accomplishment even more remarkable is her atypical route to the title. Traditionally, earning the GM title requires achieving three GM norms and crossing the 2500 Elo rating in classical time control. However, FIDE regulations allow direct conferment of the GM title upon winners of certain elite competitions — the Women’s World Cup being one of them.

 

By triumphing in this prestigious event, Deshmukh bypassed the conventional path and secured her place in Indian chess history