NEW DELHI: The stage is set in Batumi, Georgia, and the curtain rises on Saturday for the grand finale of the FIDE Women’s World Cup. By Sunday, we may witness the crowning of a new queen unless the drama spills over to the tiebreak on Monday. One thing, however, is certain: India will walk away with a gold and silver medal.Women’s chess has long been the playground of Chinese grandmasters, who currently occupy five of the top seven places in the world rankings. Yet, for the third straight time since the inception of the Women’s World Cup, there will be no Chinese player in the final, thanks to India’s International Master (IM) Divya Deshmukh and Grandmaster (GM) Koneru Humpy, who defeated China’s GM Tan Zhongyi and GM Lei Tingjie, respectively.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!“This is one of the happiest moments for Indian chess fans. The title is coming to India for sure,” said 38-year-old Humpy, after her nerve-wracking semi-final victory over Lei on Thursday.For Humpy, the reigning World Rapid Champion, this is her maiden World Cup final appearance and a confirmed spot in the 2026 Candidates Tournament, a new chapter in a career that’s already spanned over 25 years.

Sitting across from her on the board will be a rising force: 19-year-old Divya Deshmukh.As she entered the tournament as the 15th seed, very few would have predicted this storming run to the final. But the teenager from Nagpur has knocked down every higher-ranked obstacle with fearless, focused play.Humpy brings a calm forged by decades at the top. Divya plays with the fire of youth. What happens when ice meets fire?“Humpy is a legend, of course. She’s calm and composed, as cool as a cucumber, even in time trouble. She stays calm right from move one till the game gets over. That’s one of her biggest strengths,” GM Shyam Sundar Mohanraj, who has been with the women’s national team as a coach and mentor since 2021 and is currently in Batumi as head of delegation for the Indian team, told TimesofIndia.com on the eve of the grand finale.“Let it be coming up with opening ideas, bouncing back from a loss, saving a bad position, she has been quite resourceful. Her technique is at its peak.”Divya, meanwhile, has impressed with her preparation too.“She doesn’t feel like an inexperienced candidate,” said Shyam. “She’s a confident little kid. Her opening preparation, especially with the white pieces, has been top-notch. In the tiebreaker against Harika, she played extremely well, even in severe time trouble. She defended precisely for quite a long time.”While some see this as a generational clash, Shyam believes experience isn’t necessarily an advantage. “Being young relatively matters… it’s a long event, almost a month, and younger players usually don’t have responsibilities like family. In Humpy’s case, she’s also a mother, so staying away from her child for that long is tough. I’m sure she’ll be eager to return home as soon as the match ends. So yes, it’s a bit tricky,” he explained.

“This format is quite tricky as well and of course pretty much exhausting for the players,” the Chennai-based coach described. “It’s not like a Swiss system where you win today, lose tomorrow, and there’s always a next game. It’s a knockout, and each game is critical. So understandably, players are visibly tired.”So, who has the edge?“It’s about youth and experience,” Shyam noted. “It’s a toss-up. Humpy has faced many critical matches in her life. Divya has the momentum. Whichever player has a clear head and is more motivated will be the favourite.”Given Humpy’s World Rapid title last year, would Divya try to avoid the tiebreaks?“I don’t think Divya will go in thinking she must finish it in the classical games,” he said. “She beat Harika, who is also very good in shorter formats. Yes, Humpy might be a slight favourite in rapid, but Divya won’t overthink it. She’ll just try to play good chess.”The first game of the final, with Divya holding the white pieces, could be decisive. But beyond the result, Indian women’s chess has never looked brighter.“We have only three women full GMs right now: Humpy, Harika and Vaishali. If Divya wins, she becomes the fourth,” added the 33-year-old Grandmaster.Whether the crown rests on a veteran’s brow or a teenager’s head, Indian chess wins either way. And as Shyam summed it up: “Gold and silver, of course, now belong to the Indian team, to our Indians — two Indians in the Candidates. I hope a few more Indians join the Candidates and eventually become World Champion, or at least play for the World Championship match. It’s a great moment for Indian chess.”