‘These youngsters are fearless, and they have incredibly strong will to win.’
IMAGE: Divya Deshmukh is the first Indian to win the Women’s Chess World Cup, following her triumph against Koneru Humpy in the final on Monday. Photograph: Andrei Anosov/FIDE
The legendary Susan Polgar has attributed Divya Deshmukh’s stunning World Cup title triumph to her unyielding will to succeed and mental toughness after the youngster created another significant moment for Indian chess.
In an all-Indian final, the 19-year-old Divya humbled the much more experienced and higher-rated Koneru Humpy in tiebreakers in Batumi, Georgia on Monday.
Divya thus qualified for the 2026 Candidates Tournament and became the 88th Grandmaster of India after having entered the competition as a dark horse.
“First of all, congratulations to Divya for this historic feat. Well done. Secondly, even though she may not be the pre-tournament favourite to win this World Cup, or the strongest, but she had what others did not, the will to win and mental toughness,” Susan told PTI.
The 56-year-old Hungarian-American Grandmaster added, “There were games where she (Divya) was in trouble, and there were games she failed to convert. But none of it mattered. She continued to fight hard with no fear! Her strong nerves carried her through the finish line.”
The Maharashtra girl’s triumph also made her only the fourth Indian female Grandmaster after Humpy, Harika Dronavalli and R Vaishali, and the 44th woman GM in the world.
Susan, who was the women’s World chess champion from 1996 to 1999, acknowledged that Indian chess is riding a wave of success and predicted a bright future for the sport in the country with legends like Viswanathan Anand guiding the new generation of players.
“When Gukesh became a Grandmaster at 12, he was not the highest rated among the top Indian prospects,” she said.
“But I immediately picked him to go the furthest. Some (people) thought I was crazy to make such a prediction. But as a coach who trained and worked with over 50 GMs, including a number around 2700 and way above, I saw the incredible intangible qualities in him.
“Same with Divya. Even though she is not the highest rated female player in India, she also has the intangible qualities.
“These youngsters are fearless, and they have incredibly strong will to win. That makes up for some of the current deficiencies in their games, which I hope they will continue to improve with more training and experience.”
IMAGE: Divya Deshmukh’s triumph also made her only the fourth Indian female Grandmaster after Humpy, Harika Dronavalli and R Vaishali, and the 44th woman GM in the worl. Photograph: Andrei Anosov/FIDE
Susan termed this as a “golden age” for Indian chess which has a huge talent pool and qualified mentors.
“This is the Golden Age of Chess in India. What is even more special is they are all homegrown and they respect and support each other. With the continued support from the government (national, regional as well as local) and sponsors, India will be at the top for a long time.
“There are many wonderful and caring coaches who played a big role in developing these youngsters, in addition to the mentorship from Anand. The future of chess in India is very bright.”
Susan, who became the top-ranked female player at the age of 15 on FIDE’s Elo rating list of July 1984, has urged the likes of Gukesh and Divya to keep working on their game as competition is going to get stronger.
“Just as what I would say to Gukesh. Don’t stop. It is like a moving train. Ride the momentum and do not slow down. Train harder and work on improving all areas of weaknesses. There will always be players who will be more hungry. Therefore, it will be much harder once you slow down,” she said.
“Divya is no longer just an up-and-coming player. She is now a World Cup champion. She will have a bulls eye on her back. Others are coming for her. Continue to train, train, and train harder.”
Susan, one half of the legendary Polgar sisters (the other being Judit), also had words of encouragement for India No. 1 Humpy.
“Humpy is a phenomenal player. I have a lot of respect for her. She has been near the top for many years. But things are tougher with age and motherhood. She got through many tough hurdles in this Women’s World Cup.
“But yesterday (Monday) was Divya’s day. That is life. But Humpy will have her moments again and I wish her the best.”
