The year 2025 will go down in the history of Chess in India as a rather mixed bag, as the mushrooming strategy-loving population was treated to the highs and lows of life on the board. From Divya Deshmukh’s incredible win at the FIDE Women’s World Cup to the rocky season World Champion Gukesh had to endure, the year shed light on the unpredictability synonymous with sport.
Divya etched her name in the annals of the sport as she became the first Indian woman to clinch the World Cup title, leapfrogging the customary norms to claim the Grandmaster Title in an unprecedented fashion. The crown also secured her passage to the Candidates tournament which promises a chair at the table opposite Women’s World Champion Ju Wenjun in the encounter for the coveted
title.
Divya’s win also signalled the coming of a new generation to continue the proud tradition of Indian women challenging at the top echelons of the sport laid down by the iconic Humpy Koneru and Harika Dronavalli.
Koneru, however, sent a message to every youngster watching that she wasn’t done serving the sport in any manner just yet with her bronze-wining showing at the World Rapid Championships in Qatar in the final week of the year.
In stark contrast to the fortunes of Divya, incumbent men’s champion Gukesh had a testing campaign as he had to endure the turbulence of the chess world as he faced early exits at the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam, FIDE Grand Swiss and the FIDE World Cup on home soil.
However, every dark cloud has a silver lining, and his win against the top-ranked Magnus Carlsen, which left the Norwegian star infuriated enough to bang the desk before exiting the venue. Gukesh also bagged the individual gold while helping his side to the summit of the European Club Cup.
India held multiple big-name events in the year including the FIDE World Cup, which turned out to be a disappointment for the hosts as Gukesh, Praggnanandhaa, Arjun Erigaisi, Nihal Sarin, P. Harikrishna, and Vidit Gujrathi all exited the event at various stages of the spectacle before Uzbeki Javokhir Sindarov ultimately clinched the crown, missing out a spot at the Candidates event.
However, Praggnanandhaa earned his ticket to the Candidates thanks to his circuit points as the Indian topped the charts to secure a place in the World Championship qualifier event.
The number of Grandmasters in India also saw an uptick as multiple promises including the likes of LR Srihari, S Rohith Krishna, Ilamparthi AR, Raahul VS and Divya Deshmukh herself earned the prestigious norm, taking the number of GMs in the nation to an awe-inspiring 91, with many more youngsters knocking on the doors and in line to clinch the coveted title in he near future.
In a manner of closing out the year on a sweet note, the top-ranked Indian in the LIVE rankings, the fifth-ranked Arjun Erigiaisi, bookended 2025 with a double-bronze showing at the FIDE Rapid and Blitz championship in Doha.
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