India, Aug. 4 -- Indian chess has seen a massive surge in success and popularity in recent times. D Gukesh became the World Champion in December last year and Koneru Humpy won the Women's World Rapid Chess C'ship in the same month. Then fast forward to July, Divya Deshmukh clinched the FIDE Women's Chess World Cup title, defeating Humpy in an all-Indian final.

The win saw Divya become India's 88th Grandmaster, and when she reached the final, she also qualified for the 2026 Candidates Tournament.

Speaking during an event recently, D Gukesh labelled Divya's victory as 'inspiring'. "We (Gukesh and Divya) basically grew up together. We played in the same tournaments right from when we were eight or nine-years-old. The way Divya won the Worl...