Divya Deshmukh

Divya Deshmukh
Deshmukh in 2025
Personal information
Born (2005-12-09) 9 December 2005[1]
Nagpur, Maharashtra, India
Chess career
Country India
TitleGrandmaster (2025)
FIDE rating2490 (August 2026)
Peak rating2510 (April 2026)

Divya Deshmukh (born 9 December 2005) is an Indian chess grandmaster.[2] She has won two gold medals and one bronze medal at the Women's Chess Olympiad. Deshmukh won the Women's Chess World Cup 2025 and qualified for the Grandmaster title becoming the seventh woman to obtain the title as a teenager.[3] She has also won golds at the Asian Championship, the World Junior Championship and the World Youth Championship.[4] She won the women's edition of National Premier Chess Championship in both 2021 and 2022 consecutively.[5]

Early life

Deshmukh was born in Nagpur to a Marathi family.[6] Her parents Namrata and Jitendra Deshmukh are both doctors.[7] She has an elder sister.[8] She studied at Bhavan's Bhagwandas Purohit Vidya Mandir during her schooling days.[9]

Career

Deshmukh won the 2013 National Under-9 Girls' Championship in Chennai.[10]

2020–2023: Early rise

In 2020, Deshmukh was part of the gold medal-winning Indian team at the FIDE Online Chess Olympiad.[11] In 2022, she won the National Women's Chess Championship.[12] She won an individual bronze medal at the 2022 Women's Chess Olympiad.[11]

In 2023, she won the Asian Continental Women, going undefeated with the score 7½/9 (+6-0=3).[13]

In September 2023, Deshmukh won the rapid section of Tata Steel Chess India with a score of 7/9, despite being the lowest-rated player in the field. During the tournament, she defeated Harika Dronavalli, Vantika Agrawal, Koneru Humpy, Savitha Shri B, Irina Krush, and Nino Batsiashvili. She also drew against World Champion Ju Wenjun, and suffered her only loss to Polina Shuvalova.[14][15]

2024: Olympiad double gold

In January, Deshmukh played in the Challengers-section, in the Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2024. In May, Deshmukh was the winner of Sharjah Challengers, a large open tournament win that earned her a spot in the Sharjah Masters the following year.[16]

In June, she became the 2024 World U20 Chess Champion. She became the fourth Indian to win the title after Humpy Koneru in 2001, Harika Dronavalli in 2008, and Soumya Swaminathan in 2009.[4] Needing a win in the final round, she was the victor against Bulgaria’s third seed Beloslava Krasteva in a five-hour marathon battle to secure 10 points and won the gold.[7]

At the 45th Chess Olympiad in September, Deshmukh was part of the Indian team that won gold medal in the Women's section in Budapest. She helped team India win the gold medal, scoring 9.5/11 on Board 3 with a performance rating of 2608. She also earned an individual gold medal for the best performance on her board.[17]

2025: World Cup and Grandmaster title

In January 2025 Deshmukh played, in the Challengers-section, in the Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2025. In June, she played for the Hexamind Chess Club at the World Rapid and Blitz Team Chess Championships held in London. In the blitz semifinals she defeated women’s world no. 1 Hou Yifan in a 74-move rook-vs-bishop endgame, marking her first-ever victory over the Chinese grandmaster. This was one of her 6 wins across 8 blitz games, earning her a performance rating of 2606 and the team's bronze medal finish in the blitz event. The team also won the silver in the rapid section due to her performance scoring 8 out of 12 points with a performance rating of 2420. Deshmukh also won an individual bronze.[18]

Deshmukh was seeded 15th in the Women's Chess World Cup 2025. She defeated 2nd seed Zhu Jiner 2.5–1.5 in the fourth round, 10th seed Harika Dronavalli 3–1 in the quarterfinals, and 3rd seed Tan Zhongyi 1.5–0.5 in the semifinals.[19] In the final, she defeated 4th seed Koneru Humpy 2.5–1.5 to win the tournament.[20] With this win, she earned the grandmaster title, which is directly awarded to the winner of the World Cup without requiring the usual three norms. She became India's 88th grandmaster and the fourth Indian woman to become a grandmaster.[21][22] Additionally, she qualified for the Women's Candidates Tournament 2026.[23]

Deshmukh participated in the open section of FIDE Grand Swiss Tournament 2025 as the 115th seed of 116 players.[24] She finished 81st with a score of 5/11 (+2-3=6), winning games against Bassem Amin and Velimir Ivić. She drew the reigning World Chess Champion Gukesh Dommaraju in round 8.[25]

Divya played for Cercle d'échecs de Monte-Carlo team in the European Chess Club Cup, the team won gold medal and she won the gold medal for board 2 with the score 4.5/6.[26]

Deshmukh was given a presidential nominee for the Chess World Cup 2025, She was elimanated in the first round by GM Stamatis Kourkoulos-Arditis.[27]

2026: Candidates and Invitationals

Deshmukh participated in Challenger section of Prague International Chess Festival. She finished 3rd with two wins and one loss.[28]

Deshmukh participated in Womens's Candidates Tournament, She was tied for 1st with four other players after 8 rounds, but lost 4 and drew 2 of the remaining 6 games to finish 7th with the score 5.5/14.[29]

In May-June Deshmukh participated in Norway Chess Women, She defeated Zhu Jiner in round 5 to find herself in sole lead, but lost her 6th round game to World Champion Ju Wenjun, She played leader Bibisara Assaubayeva in round 8 and had a promising position but blundered under time pressure to lose, She consecutively lost the next two rounds to finish on 5th place.[30] Deshmukh was part of the Hexamind Chess Team that won bronze in the World Rapid Team Chess Championships.[31]

In August, Deshmukh finished tied 5-7th at Cairns Cup scoring wins against Vaishali R and Alexandra Kosteniuk and losing to tournament leaders Tan Zhongyi and Alice Lee.[32]

Performance record

Women's Chess World Cup 2025[33]
Seed Name Game 1 Game 2 Tiebreaker 1 Tiebreaker 2 Total
15 India Divya Deshmukh ½ ½ ½ 1 2½
4 India Humpy Koneru ½ ½ ½ 0 1½
Legend
Classical international and national individual and team tournaments
Women's Tournaments organized by FIDE (Olympiads, World Cups, Grand Swiss, Candidates Tournaments, Grand Prix, World Championships)
Non classical (rapid, blitz and online)
Open Tournaments[a]

TPR (Tournament Performance ratings) of FIDE-rated events calculated according to FIDE.[34]

Tournament results
YearCityTournamentTime controlWinsLossesDrawsPointsPlaceTPR
2026 St. Louis Cairns Cup Classical 2 2 5 4½/9 5-7 2490
Chess.com Women's Speed Chess Championship Blitz & Bullet 21 9 4 23/34 5-8 –
Hong Kong2026 FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Team Championship, Hexamind Chess TeamRapid
Blitz		3
1
3
4½/7
3rd (Team)
4th (Team)		2422
Oslo Norway Chess Women Classical
Armageddon		 1
4		 4
1		 5
–		 10/30 5th 2427
Pegeia Women's Candidates Tournament Classical 2 5 7 5½/14 7th 2443
Prague Prague Challengers Classical 2 1 6 5/9 3rd 2601
KolkataTata Steel Chess IndiaRapid
Blitz		2
6		2
7		5
5		4½/9
8½/18		3rd
7th		2366
2324
2025
Doha Women's World Rapid Chess Championship 2025 Rapid 5 1 5 7½/11 8th 2435
Women's World Blitz Chess Championship 2025 Blitz 8 4 3 9½/15 22nd 2346
Goa Chess World Cup 2025 Classical 0 2 0 0/2 128-206 –
Rhodes [35]European Chess Club Cup, Cercle d'échecs de Monte-Carlo (Team) Team
Classical (Individual)		 6
3		 0
0		 1
3		 6½/7
4½/6		 1st
Gold (Board 2)		 –
2591
Samarkand FIDE Grand Swiss 2025 Classical 2 3 6 5/11 81st 2613
Chess.com Women's Speed Chess Championship Blitz & Bullet 16 10 7 19½/33 5-8 –
BatumiWomen's Chess World Cup 2025Classical
Rapid (15+10)		4
4		1
0		7
2		7½/12
5/6		Winner2627
London2025 FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Team Championship, Hexamind Chess TeamRapid
Blitz		5
1
6
8/12
2nd (Team)
3rd (Team)		2419
Sharjah [36]Sharjah Masters 2025 Classical 1 3 5 3½/9 68th 2408
Pune FIDE Women's Grand Prix 2024-25 Classical 4 2 3 5½/9 3rd 2533
Nicosia FIDE Women's Grand Prix 2024-25 Classical 1 2 6 4/9 7th 2441
Prague Prague Challengers Classical 2 5 2 3/9 7th 2441
Wijk aan Zee Tata Steel Challengers 2025 Classical 2 8 3 3½/13 12th 2376

Notes

  1. ↑ Includes closed tournaments with male players

References

  1. ↑ "Divya Deshmukh FIDE profile". Retrieved 8 December 2020.
  2. ↑ "Koneru Humpy vs Divya Deshmukh, Women's Chess World Cup Final Highlights: Divya Deshmukh crowned champion, becomes India's 88th GM". timesofindia. 28 July 2025.
  3. ↑ "The Youngest Chess Grandmasters In History". Chess.com. 11 May 2026.
  4. 1 2 Raghavan, R. Srinivasa (20 June 2024). "Divya Deshmukh, India's new chess star, looks set to checkmate the world". thefederal.com. Retrieved 20 June 2024.
  5. ↑ "Divya Deshmukh: Profile, Rating & Career". Shatranj Live. 7 March 2026. Retrieved 7 March 2026.
  6. ↑ "Meet Divya Deshmukh: All You Need To Know About Indian Chess Player Who Faced Sexism From Fans – In Pics". Zee News. Retrieved 20 June 2024.
  7. 1 2 "Nagpur's queen India's pride: Divya Deshmukh is world junior chess champion". The Times of India. 14 June 2024. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 20 June 2024.
  8. ↑ https://www.thehitavada.com/Encyc/2020/4/18/How-Dad-s-hobby-made-Divya.html
  9. ↑ Shekhawat, Meemansa. "Meet Divya Deshmukh, grandmaster who helped India clinch gold medal at Budapest Chess Olympiad at age of..." DNA India. Retrieved 24 December 2024.
  10. ↑ "Nihal and Divya Won National Under – 9 Chess Championships – All India Chess Federation". aicf.in. Retrieved 20 January 2026.
  11. 1 2 "Who is Divya Deshmukh? Nagpur chess prodigy bags World U-20 Chess Championship title – CNBC TV18". CNBCTV18. 14 June 2024. Retrieved 20 June 2024.
  12. ↑ Navalgund, Niranjan (5 March 2022). "Arjun Erigaisi, Divya Deshmukh Clinch Indian National Championships". chess.com. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
  13. ↑ Ahmed, Shahid (12 June 2023). "Divya Deshmukh Golden, Silver for Mary Ann Gomes at Asian Continental Women 2023 - ChessBase India". Chessbase India. Retrieved 28 July 2025.
  14. ↑ Colodro, Carlos Alberto (3 September 2023). "Divya wins Tata Steel Rapid with splendid performance". ChessBase. Retrieved 28 July 2025.
  15. ↑ Saravanan, Venkatachalam (2 September 2023). "Tata Steel Chess India Women's Rapid: Divya Deshmukh Triumphs". Chess.com. Retrieved 28 July 2025.
  16. ↑ Ahmed, Shahid (23 May 2024). "Divya Deshmukh wins Sharjah Challengers 2024". ChessBase India. Retrieved 23 June 2024.
  17. ↑ Burtasova, Anna (22 September 2024). "India triumphs at 45th Chess Olympiad, winning both Open and Women's competitions". fide.com. Archived from the original on 22 September 2024. Retrieved 22 September 2024.
  18. ↑ "Nagpur's Divya Stuns China's World Women No.1 Hou Yifan". The Times of India. 17 June 2025. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 28 July 2025.
  19. ↑ Aaditya Narayan (24 July 2025). "Teenager Divya Deshmukh slays nerves and seeded players to reach first Chess World Cup final". ESPN.
  20. ↑ "Chess | Historic! 19-year-old Divya Deshmukh crowned FIDE Women's World Cup champion, becomes India's 88th GM". The Times of India. 28 July 2025. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 28 July 2025.
  21. ↑ "At 19, Divya Deshmukh becomes Women's World Cup champion and India's 4th woman to be GM by defeating Koneru Humpy". The Indian Express. 28 July 2025. Retrieved 28 July 2025.
  22. ↑ Kumar, P. K. Ajith (28 July 2025). "FIDE Women's World Cup: Divya Deshmukh is the first Indian woman champion, becomes Grandmaster". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 28 July 2025.
  23. ↑ Levin, Anthony (28 July 2025). "2025 Women's World Cup Final Tiebreaks: Divya Wins Women's World Cup, Earns Grandmaster Title". Chess.com. Retrieved 28 July 2025.
  24. ↑ Amit Karmakar. "FIDE Grand Swiss Chess: Divya Deshmukh needs special power to make a mark". The Times of India.
  25. ↑ "FIDE Grand Swiss Tournament 2025 Open". chess-results.com.
  26. ↑ "29th club cup for women". Chessresults.com.
  27. ↑ Kamath, Amit (2 November 2025). "FIDE World Cup: Divya Deshmukh eliminated in first round; IM Aronyak Ghosh defeats grandmaster to force tiebreaks". indianexpress.com. Retrieved 31 July 2026.
  28. ↑ "Prague Challengers 2026, Divya Deshmukh". Lichess.org.
  29. ↑ "Women's Candidates 2026, Divya Deshmukh". Lichess.org.
  30. ↑ "Norway Chess Women 2026, Divya Deshmukh". Lichess.org.
  31. ↑ "Dragon Chilling narrowly win World Team Rapid Championship". Chessbase.com. Retrieved 20 August 2026.
  32. ↑ Levin, Anthony (19 August 2026). "Cairns Cup Round 9: Tan Wins, Lee Earns GM Norm". Chess.com. Retrieved 19 August 2026.
  33. ↑ "FIDE Women's World Cup: Divya Deshmukh is the first Indian woman champion, becomes Grandmaster". The Hindu. 28 July 2025. Archived from the original on 29 July 2025. Retrieved 29 July 2025.
  34. ↑ FIDE Title Regulations 1.48 and 1.49 Archived 16 May 2020 at the Wayback Machine. Fide.com
  35. ↑ European Chess Club Cup 2025
  36. ↑ Sharjah Master 2025
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