Divya Deshmukh earned the biggest success of her career by clinching the FIDE Women's Chess World Cup with a tie-break win over compatriot Koneru Humpy.
Grandmaster Divya Deshmukh was welcomed by hundreds of supporters and her family upon her arrival in Nagpur on Wednesday.
Grandmaster Divya Deshmukh has said she was not under any kind of pressure while playing the FIDE Women's World Cup final against compatriot Koneru Humpy as she had "nothing to lose".
Divya Deshmukh came to the star-studded FIDE Women's World Cup 2025 in Batumi, Georgia, as an underdog, hoping to at least win one Grandmaster norm in her journey to become a GM in the future.
'She is now a role model for the upcoming young generation. And I am sure that this victory will definitely motivate and inspire the Indian women, and those who are coming up.'
World Champion D Gukesh suffered his second straight defeat at the FIDE Grand Swiss, losing to Greece's Nikolas Theodorou in the sixth round in Samarkand, Uzbekistan on Tuesday.
In the sixth round Gukesh survived another scare before steering the game to a draw with Firouzja.
World champion D Gukesh's struggles continued as he slumped to a third successive defeat, losing to 16-year-old Turkish Grandmaster Ediz Gurel in the seventh round of the FIDE Grand Swiss in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, on Thursday.
Gukesh had another eventful game in a Queen pawn opening with black pieces.
Speaking to reporters, the CJI said his father and late KG Deshmukh were very close friends.
Grandmaster Vidit Gujrathi was just another Indian kid who dreamt of becoming a cricketer in his childhood before an accidental initiation to chess, which he feels was a 'very happy accident'.
Teen prodigy Divya Deshmukh stunned seasoned grandmaster Koneru Humpy in a tense tiebreak to win the 2025 FIDE Women's World Cup in Batumi, Georgia, rewriting Indian chess history at just 19.
Defending champion and Grandmaster R Vaishali jumped into sole lead in the women's section
'Again this year was not going well, I was working very hard but somehow the results were not going my way, this win is very crucial.'
An online chess platform has partnered with a sports promotion foundation to launch the Indian Chess League and strengthen the sport's ecosystem in the country with a slew of initiatives, including identifying and nurturing the underprivileged young talents.
Former women's World champion Susan Polgar believes Indian chess is riding a wave of success and predicted a bright future for the sport in the country.
'Last year, I messed up some good positions against him, I think I did not beat him (in classical) for almost two years now, so finally it's good to get a win.'
World No. 4 Indian Arjun Erigaisi beat compatriot Vidit Gujrathi after five hours of end-to-end action in the opening round of the Chennai Chess Grand Masters 2024 in Chennai on Monday.
Grandmaster Divya Deshmukh has revealed that navigating the pressure in a long, gruelling tournament like the FIDE Women's World Cup title was "quite stressful" but she was determined to go all the way after the tough matches in the lead-up to the title clash against Koneru Humpy in Batumi, Georgia, recently.
She has a current rating of 1551.
Grandmaster Nihal Sarin played out a quick and effortless draw with Matthias Bluebaum of Germany to share the lead with the German on six points after the end of the eighth round of FIDE Grand Swiss in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, on Friday.
Vaishali knew she had to win to remain in contention and her approach right from the start was in sync with the requirement of the tournament situation.
Indian Grandmaster Nihal Sarin's hopes of making to the Candidates tournament suffered a setback as he lost to Alireza Firouzja of France in the ninth round of the FIDE Grand Swiss, in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, on Saturday.
While only one place seems assured for the Indians in the men's section, there are already three in the women's category who have made it to the Candidates.
World number one Carlsen claimed the $250,000 top prize and saw his Team Liquid sneak ahead in the overall championship after his win over Firouzja.
Apart from Tan, top seed Tingjie Lei of China also made it to the semifinals at the expense of Nana Dzagnidze of Georgia.
Praggnanandhaa takes on a strong field at Grand Swiss, eyes Candidates berth
Women's World Cup winner Divya Deshmukh, who has also qualified for the Women's Candidates, has opted out of the women's section to compete with the best in business.
World champion GM D Gukesh finished tied sixth as Levon Aronian of USA convincingly won the St. Louis Rapid and Blitz that concluded in St Louis.
M Pranesh bagged the Challengers crown despite losing to IM G B Harshavardhan in the final round at the Quantbox Chennai Grand Masters.
In a decision that is likely to have an impact on several state chess associations affiliated with the All India Chess Federation, the AICF's ethics commission has ordered that Bharat Singh Chauhan cannot be recognised as, or continue as, president of the Delhi Chess Association.
A former school principal of newly crowned chess champion from Nagpur Divya Deshmukh remembers her as a student with calm composure who started playing the board game when she was just five and also excelled in studies.
Karthikeyan upsets Vidit Gujrathi, Vincent Keymer edges closer to maiden title at Chennai Grand Masters.
Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa kept himself in hunt for an overall top four finish in the Grand Chess Tour after a draw with Wesley So of the United States in the eighth and penultimate round of the Sinquefield Cup in St Louis (USA).
Praggnanandhaa held by Sevian; Gukesh draws with Vachier-Lagrave.
R Praggnanandhaa scored a fluent victory over Frenchman Alireza Firouzja to claim the joint lead after the seventh round of the Sinquefield Cup.
Koneru Humpy edged Chinese GM Lei Tingjie in the tiebreaks in the semis to set up an all-Indian final against compatriot Divya Deshmukh in the FIDE Women's Chess World Cup.
R Praggnanandhaa sealed his spot in the Grand Chess Tour finale after finishing runner-up at the Sinquefield Cup.
Without Carlsen, the GCT was announced and this is the culmination point wherein the players would qualify for the grand finale slated later this year.
This marks the first time that four players from a single country have reached the quarter-finals of the FIDE Women's World Chess Cup.
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