India, July 30 -- A historic campaign at the FIDE Women's Chess World Cup could easily be just about the champion Divya Deshmukh and the runner-up Koneru Humpy, but for India, it is so much more. The triumph is a sign that the chess revolution in India transcends the gender divide. This achievement by the duo stands on the shoulders of those who came before them. It includes the Khadilkar sisters (Vasanti, Jayanti, Rohini), who emerged in the 1970s and won the first 10 women's national championships among them, demanding to compete alongside men. Bhagyashree Thipsay played a role in the '80s and early '90s, but it was Humpy herself who took it up more than a few notches, by becoming India's first female Grandmaster (GM) at 15 and establishing herself as one of the strongest female players in the world. Deshmukh's rise and success are a part of the modern chapter that has already seen women become gold medal winners at the 2024 Chess Olympiad in Budapest. This is a generation that thinks differently. While some of the previous generation viewed themselves as outsiders, the younger women GMs (R Vaishali and Deshmukh) not only want to dominate the women's game, but also take on men. That, in a world which sees few women challenging the top male players, is a sign of the goalposts shifting. GM D Gukesh became the world champion at age 18, and Divya won the Women's World Cup at 19 - both are the youngest in history to do so. Most of this generation of players, regardless of gender, have grown up playing in the same academies. The confidence that they can beat anybody in the world, perhaps, comes from there. It's simply a given....