Former world champion Viswanathan Anand showered praise on 19-year-old Divya Deshmukh for winning the FIDE Women’s World Cup with a tie-break win over compatriot and more experienced Koneru Humpy on Monday.The victory not only earned the 19-year-old the prestigious title but also made her a Grandmaster—something that looked improbable when she started the tournament.“Congratulations to @Divyadeshmukh05 on winning the World Cup. Becoming GM and a spot in the Candidates. Amazing battle of nerves. @humpy_koneru played a very good event and showed a commendable fighting spirit. The great champion she is! It was a great celebration of Indian chess, particularly women’s chess,” Anand wrote on X.Having drawn the two classical games, it was the first set of tiebreakers that proved decisive, as Humpy lost her nerves. Except for the World Cup and the Women’s World Championship, Humpy has won everything under the sun, but as fate—or nerves—would have it, the World Cup title eluded her.Divya showed steely resolve on Monday, and the bonus for her determination was the Grandmaster title, reserved for the champion of this event.For the record, Divya became the 88th Grandmaster of the country, and if she continues to remain resolute in her endeavour, she has the ability to achieve great success.Emil Sutovsky, CEO of the International Chess Federation (FIDE), also lauded Divya’s achievement.“Divya Deshmukh wins the FIDE Women’s World Cup! What an achievement for a 19-year-old Indian player!Not only does she become the youngest Women’s World Cup winner, but also gets a GM title. Amazing feat! Bravo!” he wrote on X.Divya is now the fourth Indian woman player to achieve the GM feat after Humpy, Dronavalli Harika, and R. Vaishali.Humpy, 38, became a Grandmaster in 2002, and Divya was only born in 2005. Divya was a bundle of energy as she kept piling pressure on Humpy in the opening tiebreaker, tiring out her illustrious opponent, and then going for the kill in the second tiebreaker.
