Divya Deshmukh, the 19-year-old latest chess star from India, has revealed her team of Seconds, which helped her win the FIDE Women’s World Cup 2025. The triumph in Georgia’s coastal city of Batumi helped her become the first Indian to win this elite event; it also made her the fourth Indian female Grandmaster after Koneru Humpy, Harika Dronavalli and R. Vaishali.
Revealing her Seconds, Divya named GM Csaba Balogh and GM Abhimanyu Puranik as those who helped her train during the World Cup.
“Also, I was helped by Abhimanyu Puranik for this tournament. He was always there to cheer me on,” she further added.
In an interview with IM Michael Rahal for FIDE, Divya revealed her team. She said, “For this tournament, I was helped by Csaba Balogh. He’s from Hungary. He’s a really strong Grandmaster. He spent endless nights. I think he’s had a harder time with this tournament than I have. He’s got no sleep. He was the reason I had such good preparation.”
“Also, I was helped by Abhimanyu Puranik for this tournament. He was always there to cheer me on,” added Divya.
GM Balogh is a 2014 Olympiad individual and team silver medallist for Hungary. Having received a GM title in 2004, Balogh was a member of the Hungarian national team that won both the U-16 Chess Olympiad and the European U-18 Team Chess Championship. Meanwhile, Puranik is a 25-year-old GM, based in Mumbai. He finished second at the World Junior Chess Championship in 2018.
After returning to India, Divya dedicated her GM title to her first coach, late Rahul Joshi. Joshi, a well-known chess trainer from Nagpur, died in 2020 at the age of 40.
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“He always wanted me to be a GM. I dedicate my GM title to him,” she said.
Divya beat compatriot Humpy in the tiebreaks to win the World Cup as both players confirmed their spots in the upcoming women’s Candidates Tournament set to be played in 2026. The Candidates acts as a challenger’s tournament, which gives its winner the right to challenge the reigning World Champion.
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