Divya Deshmukh entered the prestigious FIDE Women’s World Cup 2025 with modest expectations, hoping to secure a Grandmaster norm to aid her future GM aspirations.But the 19-year-old from Nagpur accomplished three remarkable achievements in approximately three weeks: qualifying for the Candidates tournament, winning the World Cup title, and automatically earning the Grandmaster title.Becoming a Grandmaster typically requires earning three GM norms in FIDE-approved tournaments and achieving a 2500 rating. However, fortune favoured the talented player from Nagpur.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!FIDE regulations allow winners of select elite competitions to bypass the traditional norm-and-rating requirements and directly achieve GM status. The Women’s World Cup is one such event where the winner automatically becomes a Grandmaster.“I need time to process it (victory). It think it was fate me getting the Grandmaster title this way because I didn’t even have one norm (coming into the event) and all I was thinking of was ‘Oh, when can I get my norm’, and now I’m a Grandmaster so…,” said Deshmukh after the win over India no. 1 GM Koneru Humpy.Deshmukh’s mother, a doctor, was present to witness her daughter’s historic achievement.The young champion became emotional after defeating Koneru Humpy, a two-time World Rapid champion, and shared a tearful embrace with her mother.“It’s hard for me to speak right now. It definitely means a lot, but of course there’s a lot more to achieve. I’m hoping this is just the start,” she added.Deshmukh’s accomplishment makes her the fourth Indian woman to achieve Grandmaster status, following Humpy, Dronavalli Harika, and R Vaishali.
