2026 chess season tracker

[Mariyam]

15 hours ago, rangeelaraja said:

Wow....Koneru wins it in style. 

 

So I got what i wished for - an all India final.

 

I have a soft corner for Divya because she is a fellow Nagpuri. 

 

But have a softer corner for Koneru -she is of the same vintage as me and has been around for a while - never been a classical world chess champion - she so richly deserves this world cup glory. 

 

 

Aren't you a Mumbai Gujju?

[Mariyam]

Interesting tidbit

 

Koneru Hampi became a GM ( full fledged GM, not WGM) in 2002. That was before Divya Deshmukh was born!

[rangeelaraja]

6 hours ago, Mariyam said:

Aren't you a Mumbai Gujju?

Yes, grew up in Mumbai since I was a toddler. But Nagpuri by birth. My maternal side is from Nagpur. Vidharbh in general and Nagpur in particular has a sizable Gujarati population ( textile traders ) 

[rangeelaraja]

6 hours ago, Mariyam said:

Interesting tidbit

 

Koneru Hampi became a GM ( full fledged GM, not WGM) in 2002. That was before Divya Deshmukh was born!

She was also the 2nd woman in the history of women’s chess to cross 2600 after the legendary Judith Polgar. Since then I believe only 2 others have crossed 2600 - Hou Yifan and Ju Wenjun - both world champions in classical chess. Humpy also has a totally dominating score against 5 time world champion Ju Wenjun in classical chess. 
 

Now that she is in candidates, if she manages to win and become a classical chess world champion too in addition to being a World Cup champion- it will be an amazing way to end her career. 

[Gollum]

Humpy is the greatest woman to never become world champion. Judit stayed out and competed only against men, that is different.

 

In men's side we have Keres, Kortchnoi, Bronstein, Rubinstein, Chigorin, Ivanchuk, Aronian (Caruana still in the mix but time may have passed for Levon) the eternal crown princes. 

[Gollum]

1 hour ago, rangeelaraja said:

She was also the 2nd woman in the history of women’s chess to cross 2600 after the legendary Judith Polgar. Since then I believe only 2 others have crossed 2600 - Hou Yifan and Ju Wenjun - both world champions in classical chess. Humpy also has a totally dominating score against 5 time world champion Ju Wenjun in classical chess. 
 

Now that she is in candidates, if she manages to win and become a classical chess world champion too in addition to being a World Cup champion- it will be an amazing way to end her career. 

Anna Muzychuk also hit 2600. Another great player who never became world champion, her sister did become one, a lesser player but more clutch. 

 

Humpy though stands out. Brilliant career, top 10 of all time IMO, deserves to win a classical world championship before she retires. That is why I will root for her, Divya has enough time to do great things. I want Humpy to win, then Harika, then Divya/Vaishali/Vantika gen. 

[Gollum]

Humpy hasn't yet won Padma Bhushan. I really don't understand how these awards work. Like Anand for overall Indian chess, Humpy has been a trendsetter and idol for so many budding girls.....I rate her in the class of PV Sindhu in terms of career achievements and legacy. 

[Vickydev]

Going to tiebreaker after both games ended in draw between Humpy and Divya

[Tillu]

Divya is the new world cup champion. So many blunders from both the players in the final game.

 

Divya now becomes the 88th Grandmaster from India.

Edited July 28, 2025 by Tillu

[Vickydev]

Divya in tears after the win. She has beaten so many top players, Humpy in this format was a big favourite. 

[rangeelaraja]

Congratulations to Divya ! She deserved the win. She held her nerve, while her opponent made the last mistake.

 

Feel bad for Humpy. If we see her best in the candidates, she would easily win that and have a shot at the world classical champion title. Rooting for her. 

[Mariyam]

Divya is the champion.

if that weren’t enough:

She has also qualified for the candidates.

And she is also India’s 88th GM now.

Making her only the 4th woman from India to achieve the title.

 

[Tillu]

Didn't understand the immense hate Hampi received on all the final games in the CBI chat window.

[Gollum]

3 hours ago, Tillu said:

Didn't understand the immense hate Hampi received on all the final games in the CBI chat window.

Missed that, but those are clowns, not fans. 

[Gollum]

Hope Nihal too achieves great things, no reason he can't be a 2750+ and part of our Olympiad winning teams in coming years. 

[Gollum]

3 hours ago, Mariyam said:

Divya is the champion.

if that weren’t enough:

She has also qualified for the candidates.

And she is also India’s 88th GM now.

Making her only the 4th woman from India to achieve the title.

 

This is the most important part for me, I have been keeping count of that since 62/63, just before pandemic. Last 1.5 years we have slowed down, we should become undisputed #2 by end of this decade and hunt down the Russians after that. We need more classical events in India, closed, open swiss, doesn't matter. We should host a top level tournament every month. Graph must rise exponentially.

[Gollum]

Mixed feelings about this one. Chuffed for Divya, heartbroken for the veteran Humpy, we don't know how many years she has left as an elite player. 

[Gollum]

 

Georgia is famous for some legendary female players. 2 Indians contesting for the top prize there, proud. 

[Vickydev]

1 hour ago, Gollum said:

Hope Nihal too achieves great things, no reason he can't be a 2750+ and part of our Olympiad winning teams in coming years. 

Bro Divya has that "staring into your soul" kind of gaze in every picture. Even here in her childhood

[Lord]

Noob question : Why do they have seperate categories for men/women in chess.  There are no different physical requirements