Newly-crowned Women's Chess Champion Divya Deshmukh's aunt couldn't control her pride at the 19-year-old's achievement as she won the Chess World Cup on July 28, Monday after defeating Koneru Humpy. Deshmukh reflected that it's the collective effort of hers and the coaching staff alongside everyone's blessings that has broken a 34-year streak.
The match proved to be a classical one as it went down to the wire and eventually resulted in tiebreaks. The first rapid game of the tie-break was a straightforward draw and the second culminated into the same, making it seem like it would end in another stalemate. However, Deshmukh's opponent Koneru Humpy crumbled under time pressure, thereby handing out the advantage to the 19-year-old. Deshmukh took full toll and went on to become the 88th Chess grandmaster.
Speaking to PTI, she said:
"Dekhiye hamaare liye toh yeh bahut bhaagya ki baat hai ki Divya ne hamaare parivaar ka naam roshan kiya hai. Bharat ka naam roshan kiya hai. 34 years ke baad bharat ko yeh trophy mili hai aur Divya ke haathon se yeh kaam hua hai. Main kahungi ki yeh Divya ki mehnat se, unke coaches ki mehnat se, unke parents ke mehnat hai. Aur saare bhaartiyon ke aashirvad, blessings Divya ke liye bahut maine rakhte hain."
(This is a moment of great pride for us. Divya has brought glory to our family and to India. After 34 years, this trophy has come to the country, and it happened through Divya’s efforts. It’s the result of her hard work, her coaches’ dedication, and the encouragement she received from the family. All the blessings from everyone matter a lot to Divya.)
"It was fate" - Divya Deshmukh after winning the Chess World Cup
An emotional Divya Deshmukh reacted to their win by saying the below, as quoted by IANS:
"It was fate. Before the tournament, I was thinking that I could maybe earn a Grandmaster norm here. And at the end, I became a Grandmaster."
The Nagpur-born teenager had also played a crucial role in India's golden run during the 2024 Chess Olympiad in Budapest, Hungary, clinching a gold in the event. She is also the fourth Indian woman to win the Chess World Cup title and it was the first time two Indians competed for the crown.
