Fact check: Did Divya Deshmukh become the Women’s World Chess Champion?

19-year-old Divya Deshmukh edged past the experienced Koneru Humpy in the rapid tie-breaks to clinch the title at the 2025 FIDE Women’s World Cup held in Batumi, Georgia.

Playing with the black pieces, Deshmukh secured victory in the second 15-minute rapid game after two classical game draws and an initial rapid game draw. Her triumph marked a historic moment for Indian chess. She became the first Indian woman to win the FIDE Women’s World Cup.

Soon after her win, celebratory messages poured in from all quarters. Among them were congratulatory tweets from the President of India and the Prime Minister of India, both of whom referred to Deshmukh as the “FIDE Women’s World Chess Champion” and described the final as the “chess world championship” featuring two Indian women. The sentiment was genuine, the pride well-earned, but was the claim accurate?

The short answer: No. While Deshmukh’s victory is undeniably monumental, it does not make her the Women’s World Chess Champion.

Chess World Cup vs Chess World Championship

In the structure of international chess, the FIDE Women’s World Cup and the FIDE Women’s World Championship are entirely different events.

The World Cup is a high-stakes knockout tournament involving over 100 players, where even a single poor game can eliminate top seeds.

The World Championship, on the other hand, is a head-to-head match between the reigning Women’s World Champion and a challenger who earns her spot by winning the Candidates Tournament.

As of now, the reigning Women’s World Champion is Ju Wenjun of China, who retained her title in a match against Lei Tingjie in 2023.

Deshmukh’s World Cup victory secures her a place in the 2026 Women’s Candidates Tournament, the winner of which will challenge the World Champion in a formal title match.

In other words, Deshmukh is now part of the elite pipeline that leads to the championship crown, but she has not yet contested, let alone won, the FIDE Women’s World Championship Match.

Winning the World Cup is akin to winning a major Grand Slam in tennis or the UEFA Champions League in football, prestigious, career-defining, but not the same as being crowned the ultimate world champion.

This confusion is not uncommon outside chess circles, especially given the prestige attached to the term “world champion” and the way World Cup titles are interpreted in other sports.

However, within chess, the terminology is precise and matters deeply, particularly in official recognition and historical records.

To set the record straight: Divya Deshmukh is the 2025 FIDE Women’s World Cup Champion, the first Indian woman to achieve this feat. She is not the Women’s World Champion. That title remains with Ju Wenjun, for now.

None of this, of course, diminishes the scale of Deshmukh’s achievement. At just 19, she has joined the ranks of global elite players and added a landmark title to India’s growing legacy in the sport.