'This is just the start': Confident Divya Deshmukh sets sights on more success after FIDE Women's World Cup history

Divya Deshmukh became the first-ever Indian champion at the FIDE Women's World Cup tournament on Monday as she defeated compatriot Grandmaster Koneru Humpy in the final at Batumi in Georgia.

The 19-year-old from Nagpur, Divya, also earned the Grandmaster title as a result of winning the World Cup. She is the 88th Grandmaster from India and only the fourth female GM from the country.

Also Read | How Divya outfoxed Humpy, scripted history by winning FIDE Women’s Chess World Cup

Divya's victory over Humpy came after they ended three matches in a draw. After the two Classical games failed to produce a result, the all-Indian final moved to the tiebreak on Monday. The first Rapid tiebreak also ended in a draw after 81 moves as Divya failed to capitalise on White pieces advantage.

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In the second Rapid tiebreak, Humpy lost control of her game and the White pieces' advantage after committing a couple of blunders under time pressure, handing over the edge to Divya, who clinched the final in 75 moves.

How Divya defeated Humpy in tiebreak:

As a result of her historic win, Divya was awarded the Grandmaster title and she would not be required to earn the three GM norms, which are needed to attain the title.

Divya sets sights on more success after World Cup history

Divya was naturally very emotional after the win as she ran to her mother. She broke down in tears and was consoled by her mother before gathering herself and giving a quick interview to FIDE.

"I definitely need to learn endgames,” was one of her initial reactions.

Reflecting on the massive achievement of becoming a Grandmaster, Divya said, “I think it was fate, me getting the grandmaster title this way. Before the tournament, I didn’t even have one norm. I was thinking that I could maybe earn a grandmaster norm here. And at the end, I became a grandmaster.”

She added that the World Cup victory is just the start of what hopefully would be a long and successful career.

“This means a lot, but there’s a lot more to achieve. I’m hoping this is just the start.”

Besides Humpy, Divya defeated three other GMs in the World Cup, including China’s Zhu Jiner in the pre-quarterfinal, India’s D Harika in the quarter-final and China’s Tan Zhongyi in the semi-final.

Divya earned a prize money of $50,000 (Rs 41.6 lakh) by winning the World Cup, while Humpy will be rewarded home $35,000 (Rs 29.1 lakh).