At 19, Divya Deshmukh Makes Chess History for India

It was a final like no other — two Indian women, face to face, with a world title on the line.

On one side of the board sat Koneru Humpy, one of the greats of the game. On the other, 19-year-old Divya Deshmukh, fearless and sharp. The Women’s Chess World Cup in Georgia had come down to a tense tiebreak. And in that pressure-cooked moment, it was Divya who found the winning move.

The title was hers. It was a moment of triumph and a sign of change.

This was the first-ever all-Indian final at the women’s chess World Cup. Once unthinkable, now very real. For years, China set the pace in women’s chess, just as the Soviets once ruled the men’s game. But the old power structures are shifting. Indian men have already broken into the elite. And now, the women are rewriting the script.

Guest: PK Ajith Kumar from The Hindu’s Sports Bureau
Host: Anupama Chandrasekaran
Produced and edited by: Jude Francis Weston

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