Abhimanyu Puranik underplays his ‘small’ role in Divya Deshmukh’s ‘otherworldly’ achievement

Indian Grandmaster Abhimanyu Puranik was taken aback a little when he received a text message from Divya Deshmukh during the FIDE Women’s World Cup last month.

“I mean, it was pretty impromptu [Divya reaching out],” said Puranik, who is currently participating in the Challengers section of the Chennai Grand Masters 2025.

The two have known each other for a while, having played together at the National Team Championship, representing the Airport Authorities team.

Divya was midway through a storming run to the World Cup final, despite entering the tournament as the 15th seed.

“Abhimanyu and I have been friends for quite a while. I thought he had very good knowledge, so I just randomly texted him, ‘Hey, do you have any ideas against this opening?’ Then he shared his ideas,” said Divya in an interview with ChessBase India.

In the final, against the experienced Humpy, the fresh perspective offered by Puranik proved to be valuable for Divya. “I actually ended up playing one of his [Puranik’s] ideas in the finals against [Koneru] Humpy.”

The 19-year-old overcame Humpy in a tense tiebreak, becoming the first Indian to win the Women’s World Cup. The triumph also secured her the Grandmaster title, making her the fourth Indian woman to earn the recognition.

RELATED | Chennai Grand Masters 2025: Keymer attains sole lead in second round

Puranik, though, underplayed his role as he lavished praise on Divya for her ‘otherworldly’ achievement.

“I just tried to do my part. I’m proud of her, the way she played. And, it was just amazing to witness. We have known each other for a long time. We were friends and teammates. It was nice working with her. What she did was just mind-blowing. Otherworldly,” added Puranik

Puranik, though, won’t be bothering Divya for a return favour as he competes in Chennai.

“Maybe she’s very tired now after the whole event. So we’ll let her rest for now,” said Puranik with a laugh.