CITY’S pride, chess star and FIDE Women’s World Cup champion Grandmaster Divya Deshmukh was named for the prestigious Arjuna Award by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports as part of the National Sports Awards, on Tuesday. The 20-year-old Grandmaster, daughter of Dr Namrata and Dr Jitendra Deshmukh, has been selected for India’s second-highest sporting award following her historic triumph at the FIDE Women’s World Cup in Batumi, Georgia last year (2025) wherein she got the better of compatriot Koneru Humpy (1.5–0.5 in rapid tie-breaks). It was a triple delight for the city lass as she earned her official Grandmaster title, the World Cup crown along with a direct qualification for the 2026 Women’s Candidates Tournament.

 

She became just the fourth Indian female chess player and one of the youngest women to achieve the feat. In the same year, she actively competed in high-level, male-dominated open events such as the FIDE Grand Swiss 2025, where she scored notable upsets against strong Grandmasters like Bassem Amin and Velimir Ivic, and held reigning world-class players to tough draws. Recognising her extraordinary run of form, the current Indian No 2, was named ESPN India’s Player of the Year for 2025.

 

At the age of 13, Divya had scripted history by becoming the youngest recipient of the prestigious Shiv Chhatrapati State Sports Award in 2017-18 season. Continuing her title winning performance further, Divya was crowned the women’s Under-20 world champion in 2024 aged 18. She had also won consecutive Indian women’s premier titles in 2021 and 2022 followed by the Asian Women’s Championship in 2023. As of August 2026, Divya is ranked 13th in women’s world classical rankings, with a FIDE standard rating of 2490. Divya is presently playing in the US.