IT'S REIGNING QUEENS

Divya Deshmukh's feat demonstrates how far women's chess has come in the country but also how much farther it has to go, both in nurturing new talent, and in opportunities to compete with male counterparts

- By SUHANI SINGH

IT was billed as a clash of generations, two queens contending for the same crown: on one end, Koneru Humpy, 38, the experienced, stoic millennial who has been India's top female chess player for two decades; seated across her, the spirited 19-year-old Divya Deshmukh, a Gen Z-er who wasn't even born when Humpy became India's first female grandmaster in 2002.

And July 28 turned out to be Divya's day. In a thrilling tie-breaker of rapid games, the Nagpur native won the third edition of the FIDE Women's World Cup 2025, the 107-player tournament that took place in Batumi, Georgia. That feat earned her high praise from grandmaster Vishwanathan Anand himself, who hailed it as a "historic step... that too, at such a young age". En route, Divya slayed four grandmasters, winning the biggest title of her career, and has now achieved the coveted top honour herself.

What Divya has also done is spark a shift in the conversation. Plenty has been written about the band of boys-D. Gukesh, Ramesh Praggnanandhaa, Arjun Erigaisi, Arvind Chidambaram, Nihal Sarin-who have taken global chess by storm. It is now time to talk about the girls. Like the men, they, too, are 2022 Asian Games silver medalists and topped the 2024 Olympiad podium in the women's category. Leading the field is Humpy, from Andhra Pradesh, world-ranked #6 among women; followed by Harika Dronavalli, 34, also from Andhra, at #12; Divya, from Maharashtra, also reigning world junior girls champion, is #15; 24-year-old Vaishali Rameshbabu, from Tamil Nadu, is at #18. The quartet are India's sole female grandmasters. Tania Sachdev, 38, from Delhi, rounds off the top #50 bracket, though these days she's making waves more as a commentator. Vantika Agarwal, 23, from Uttar Pradesh, played a crucial role in India's Olympiad victory and was one of the eight players competing in the FIDE Women's World Cup.

CHESS GETS ITS 'IT GIRL'