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‘I think I got lucky’: Divya Deshmukh drops verdict on FIDE Women's World Cup semi-final win vs ex-World Champ Zhongyi
The semi-final was a topsy-turvy encounter. But it alteast didn’t reach the tie-breakers and now Divya Deshmukh gets some rest before the final.
Divya Deskhmukh is set to face Koneru Humpy in an all-Indian FIDE Women’s World Cup, starting on Saturday. The 19-year-old reached the final after defeating former World Champion Tan Zhongyi in the semi-finals, qualifying for the Candidates 2026, and also winning her first GM norm.
The semi-final between Divya and Tan was a topsy-turvy encounter. But it alteast didn’t reach the tie-breakers and now she gets some rest before the final.
Also Read: Koneru Humpy ready for Divya Deshmukh challenge in all-Indian FIDE Women's World Cup final: ‘She has played…’
Divya Deshmukh opens up on her semi-final win
On being asked about her win, she said, “I don’t know… I think I could have played much better.”
She added, “I was winning at one point, then I messed up in the middle game. I think I should have had a much smoother win. She (Tan) put up such a good fight after a point that I was just doubting if this will end up as a draw but I think I got lucky in the end.”
Divya is also a three-time Olympiad gold medalist, and has clinched multiple golds at the Asian C’ship, World Junior C’ship and the World Youth Championship.
Divya is a Nagpur native, and became India’s 21st woman chess Grandmaster in 2021. She also won the Women’s Indian Chess C’ship in 2022.
During the 2025 World Rapid and Blitz Team Chess C’ships in London, she defeated world No. 1 Hou Yifan in the blitz semi-finals, which was also her first-ever win against the Chinese GM. She also became the FIDE World U-20 Girls Chess Champion in 2024, and was the fourth Indian to do so after Humpy (2001), Harika Dronavalli (2008) and Soumya Swaminathan (2009).
Lauding her, her childhood coach Srinath Narayanan opened up on her contribution in the Indian U-16 tema winning silver at the age-group Olympic in 2018. He told The New Indian Express, “A penchant for closing out those big games. She was considerably weaker than the boys (the format was such that each team had to have at least one girl and there were no separate boards for girls). Her start wasn't that great but her spirit was geared towards more and she played a big role in us winning the decider (to win silver).”
