'She had the will to win': Former Women's World Chess champion Susan Polgar on Divya Deshmukh’s stunning achievement

Hungarian-American chess grandmaster and former Women's World Chess champion (1996-1999), Susan Polgar, credited Divya Deshmukh’s remarkable World Cup triumph to her relentless will to win and exceptional mental strength, as the young prodigy wrote another golden chapter in Indian chess history. In a thrilling all-Indian final in Batumi, Georgia, on Monday (July 28), the 19-year-old outclassed the experienced and higher-rated Koneru Humpy in the tiebreaks to lift the coveted title.

With this win, Divya qualified for the 2026 Candidates Tournament and also became the 88th Grandmaster of India. "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 was quoted saying in an interview to PTI Videos.

“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,” Susan added.

The Maharashtra girl's victory also made her just the fourth Indian woman Grandmaster after Humpy, Harika Dronavalli and R Vaishali, and the 44th woman GM in the world.

Susan, the women's world chess champion from 1996 to 1999, recognised that Indian chess is on a roll and envisioned a bright future for the game in India with legends such as Viswanathan Anand leading 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."

Susan described this as an "Indian golden age" with a vast pool of talent and experienced 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."

The 56-year-old has urged the likes of Gukesh and Divya to continue practicing as competition is going to get tougher. "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," she signed off.