Divya Deshmukh (20) Chess player
2025 isn’t the first time that Divya Deshmukh has struck gold, quite literally. The 20-year-old had already announced herself on the global stage by winning two gold medals in the 2024 Chess Olympiad, the most prestigious team event in the sport. But it is her run at the FIDE World Cup—where she beat Koneru Humpy, India’s first woman Grandmaster (GM), to become the first Indian to win the title—that has made Deshmukh a household name.
“China hadn’t sent a host of their top players in the Olympiad, but most of them were competing in the World Cup. Divya had to overcome multiple hurdles and challenges before she could win the title. That’s what makes this victory so special,” says Pravin Thipsay, India’s third GM after Viswanathan Anand and Dibyendu Barua.
En route to the final of the much-vaunted tournament, Deshmukh defeated former World Champion and Chinese GM Tan Zhongyi in the semis, while she navigated a tense rapid format tie-breaker to defeat Humpy, a player many years her senior, in the final. With her victory, she also became a GM, only the fourth Indian woman to achieve the highest title in the sport.
“Winning the World Cup was a boost to my confidence, and becoming a GM was a relief,” Deshmukh tells Forbes India. “Life has changed pleasantly, albeit a bit on the busier side, but my love for the game remains as strong as ever.”
Becoming a GM was Deskhmukh’s tribute to her first coach Rahul Joshi, who passed away in 2020 and to whom she dedicated the title. “Rahul sir was my biggest influence when I was young. He wanted me to become a GM. He guided me and my parents in the right direction,” the player from Nagpur adds.
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What makes Deshmukh something of a unicorn in Indian chess is that she is one of just four women GMs in a country that has 91. “Promoting open tournaments (where both men and women compete together) right from childhood is a good way to get more women to the top. Competing with the best makes you want to work harder and aim higher,” she says.
For Deshmukh herself, the next goal is already a rung above—Candidates 2026, to which the World Cup win earned her the qualification and where eight of the most elite players will battle it out for the top slot that earns them the right to challenge World Champion Ju Wenjun. And her eyes are firmly set on that instead of mid- to long-term goals, she says. “I go from tournament to tournament. Preparation for the Candidates is on and that’s the next big target,” she adds.
The other thing she would be eyeing is to improve her rating. While the benchmark for the GM rating is 2,500, Deshmukh’s World Cup win earned her the coveted title despite a lower rating, and her current rating of 2,497 (as of December 24) ranks her No. 12 among women.
“We saw in the World Cup her brilliant opening preparation, ability to make quick decisions, courage as well as acceptance of the unpredictability of a sport. But her ratings don’t reflect how strong a player she is,” says Thipsay. “She has to try to be a World Champion within two years. It’s a tough job given that the next tournament will take place in 2026, just some months away. But, if she doesn’t win this time, the momentum should not be lost, and she should motor on for the 2028 championship.”
Deshmukh took up chess at the age of five because her mother was scared she would pick up injuries with outdoor sports. The choice may have spared her broken bones, but she ended up breaking records instead. It’s an outcome her doctor mum wouldn’t have budgeted for, but would gladly take any day.
First Published: Jan 20, 2026, 12:10
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