In a landmark moment for Indian chess, 19-year-old Divya Deshmukh made history by winning the FIDE Women’s Chess World Cup 2025. She became the first Indian woman to win this title, after defeating her compatriot and veteran player Koneru Humpy in a thrilling Rapid tiebreak on Monday in Batumi, Georgia.

Tiebreak Decides the Winner

Initially, the classical round ended in a draw. Therefore, the match went into Rapid tiebreaks. The first Rapid game also had no result. However, in the second game, Divya kept her nerves and grabbed the opportunity when Humpy made mistakes. Eventually, she won the game in 75 moves with the Black pieces, forcing Humpy to resign.

Divya Achieves Grandmaster Title

Along with the title win, Divya also earned the Grandmaster (GM) title. As a result, she became India’s 88th Grandmaster and only the fourth Indian woman to receive this honour. Before her, only Humpy, R Vaishali, and Harika Dronavalli had achieved this title.

Turning Point in the Game

During the second Rapid tiebreak, both players chose a defensive style. At first, it seemed the game would end in a draw. Then, Humpy, who had the White pieces, tried to break through by sacrificing a pawn. But this move gave Divya a chance to take control.

Humpy’s major mistake came on move 54 (Rxf4). This allowed Divya’s a2 pawn to get closer to promotion. So, Humpy had to place her Rook on a1 to stop it.

After that, Divya almost gave away her advantage with 67..f4, which was a mistake. Still, Humpy responded with 67.h6, another poor move. The best option for her was Kd5, but she missed it. Under time pressure, Humpy made the same error again with 69.h7. Divya captured the pawn with her Rook.

Even though Humpy removed Divya’s advanced a2 pawn, Divya had one more pawn. Therefore, she maintained a slight edge in the Rook endgame. Finally, Humpy resigned after 75 moves.

🇮🇳 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

Anand Reacts to Humpy’s Loss

Legendary chess player Viswanathan Anand also shared his thoughts during the commentary. He said, “Dramatic. Humpy just collapsed. It was totally self-inflicted. This was one of those situations where your nerves get the better of you, and there’s nothing you can do about it.”

Prize Money for the Finalists

As a reward, Divya earned $50,000 (₹41.6 lakh) for her historic win. Meanwhile, Humpy took home $35,000 (₹29.1 lakh) for finishing second.