After Gukesh stunned Carlsen, India No 4 Divya upsets women's World No 1 Hou Yifan

Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised young Indian International Master Divya Deshmukh for defeating World No. 1 women's player Grandmaster Hou Yifan for the first time in her career.

"Her success highlights her grit and determination. It also inspires many upcoming chess players. Best wishes for her future endeavours," posted PM Modi on social media. Divya scored her big win in the second leg of the World Team Blitz Championship semifinal in London.

Though it was a personal triumph for Divya, the win was not enough for her team, Hexamind, as they could only draw 3-3 against WR Chess Team, which had posted a crushing 5.5-0.5 win in the first leg. Yifan had defeated Divya in the first leg.

WR, which also comprised Hikaru Nakamura, Alireza Firouzja, Maxime-Vachier Lagrave, Jan-Krzysztof Duda, and Alexandra Kosteniuk, among others, clinched the title by defeating KazChess 4-2 in the final.

China's Yifan, 31, is the strongest active women's chess player with a rating of 2633 Elo points. Divya, on the other hand, is World No. 18 and India No. 4. The 19-year-old from Nagpur was not the favourite going into the game. Still, she controlled the tie brilliantly and went into the end game with a significant advantage.

However, Divya slipped up a bit, giving Yifan strong drawing chances. The three-time World Champion had a bishop against Divya's rook, which, if played accurately, can lead to a draw. But with just seconds remaining, Yifan made a fatal blunder by leaving her bishop undefended and immediately resigned.

Divya's win rekindled memories of World Champion D Gukesh's first classical win over World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen in Norway Chess earlier this month. Like Yifan, Carlsen blundered in the end game and lost. The Norwegian's defeat to Gukesh became more popular after the game because of his infamous table-slam.

Yifan's domination in women's chess is much like Carlsen's in the open category. Carlsen has been World No. 1 since 2011, while Yifan has been the World No. 1 in women’s chess since 2015, when she hit a peak rating of 2686. Just like the legendary Judit Polgar, who rarely competed in women’s only events, claiming it wasn’t challenging enough, Yifan has not competed in women's world championships since 2018. Instead, she prefers to play in the open category against stronger male players.