Mumbai, July 29 -- Amidst a galaxy of Grandmasters (GM) and women chess stars, a teenaged Indian International Master (IM) walked into the 2025 FIDE Women's World Cup as the 15th seed without a single GM norm. That teen from Nagpur walked away with the tag of a World Cup champion in Batumi, Georgia, a fast-tracked GM title and abundant tears of joy. No wonder Divya Deshmukh, moments after sealing her win and embracing her equally emotional mother, breathlessly told FIDE: "I need time to process it." There's plenty to process for this 19-year-old brand new chess star. Divya beat Koneru Humpy, a compatriot twice her age and the first Indian woman to become GM, in the second rapid game of the final that went into tie-breaks, after the classical games on Saturday and Sunday were drawn. Divya became the first Indian, and the youngest, to wear the tag of a Women's World Cup champion. She pocketed a winner's cheque of $50,000 and sealed a spot, with Humpy, in the 2026 Women's Candidates. She earned her GM title as one of the few players in history to do so by winning a major FIDE tournament while bypassing the usual route of three GM norms and the 2500 rating. Welcome to the club, India's 88th GM overall, and only the fourth woman. "I think it is fate - me getting the GM title this way," an emotional Divya told FIDE. "Before this tournament I was thinking, 'Oh, where can I get my norm?' And now, I'm a Grandmaster." It is another fine feather to Indian chess' glowing cap. Within a span of one year, the country has witnessed D Gukesh become world champion at 18, both its teams sweep the open and women Olympiad titles, Humpy reclaim her world rapid crown at 37, and Divya's World Cup success now. "It was a great celebration of Indian chess, particularly women's chess," five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand wrote on X, hailing the teenager's achievement. It is also the arrival of another young champion in Indian chess - this time a woman to share the spotlight with Gukesh, R Praggnanandhaa and Arjun Erigaisi. "This will come as a huge inspiration for other young girls playing chess," RB Ramesh, GM and coach of Praggnanandhaa who also trained a young Divya, told HT. "For some years, we've had Humpy, Harika (Dronavalli) and, to some extent, R Vaishali do well at the international stage among women. Now, we have another player who is quite young." The daughter of Nagpur-based doctors picked up chess before turning six, showing early promise. She had won age-group tournaments across levels and Ramesh could sense the belief in the girl when he began coaching her around the age of 11 for a few years. Divya would frequently travel from Nagpur to Chennai to train under Ramesh. "She projected a very confident image of herself," Ramesh said. "She was extremely talented, and was already quite successful at a young age." GM Srinath Narayanan, who trained Divya for a brief period, largely online, brings up the 2018 World Youth Under-16 Olympiad in which he was coach of an Indian team that featured Erigaisi and Divya. Paired against Iran in the final round, it needed a crucial win by Divya against Asadi Motahare in the final match for India to secure the silver medal. "One of the things that stood out for me was her big-match temperament," Srinath said. "She showed it back then, and continues to show." It was also evident during the three weeks in Batumi. Divya was clinical in her wins against three GMs - China's Zhu Jiner in Round 4, Harika in Round 5 and China's Lei Tingjie in the semi-final - to play her part in drawing up a historic all-India final. Against a more experienced and accomplished compatriot for the title clash, Divya was convincing across the two classical and rapid games. An otherwise solid Humpy playing with white "self-inflicted" a "collapse", as Anand put it in the live broadcast, in the second tie-break game on Monday while under time pressure. Divya was composed enough to pounce on it though she could hardly control her emotions in the final few seconds with the writing on the wall. Right palm covering her mouth as the tears began to trickle, the teen knew she had scripted a huge chapter in her promising career. "It's hard for me to speak right now. It definitely means a lot," Divya said. "Of course, there's a lot more to achieve. So, I'm hoping that this is just the start." A start that should give this youngster a tremendous shot of belief. "As a player, you generally believe that you're capable of certain things. But when the result comes to show you that, it only boosts that belief," Srinath said. A World Cup winner, a Grandmaster and among the challengers at next year's Candidates, this could just be the start for Divya. The Candidates winner will earn the right to take on China's reigning world champion, Ju Wenjun. "She should now compete in more open tournaments," said Ramesh, "and, aim for the women's world champion title."...