11-year-old Divi Bijesh wins FIDE U12 World Cup after remarkable comeback from 21st place
India celebrated a notable achievement in chess on Saturday as 11-year-old Divi Bijesh won the under-12 girls title at the FIDE World Cup in Batumi, Georgia. She defeated a strong field that included top-seeded players such as Alisa Genrietta Yunker of Russia and compatriot Sharvaanica AS.
Divi's victory was notable for the manner in which she recovered after a difficult start. After three rounds of the 11-round tournament, she was placed 21st in the 90-player standings following a loss to China's Zixin Huang. Despite holding an advantage in that game, Divi was unwell with a fever and eventually lost. She cried herself to sleep that night, but responded by winning her next five games. By the eighth round, she held the sole lead and never relinquished it.
“Divi is a real fighter,” said Sreejith GS, her coach at Trivandrum’s Masters Chess Academy. “She’s done it before in open tournaments. But doing this in a FIDE World Cup shows what she’s made of.”
Among her key victories were wins over Kazakhstan’s Zhansaya Sholpanbek in round seven and fellow Indian Sharvaanica in round ten. She also drew games against Russia’s Viktoria Makhina (round nine) and Alisa Genrietta Yunker (round 11). The match with Sharvaanica is expected to become a recurring feature in elite competitions in the coming years, as both players, along with Charvi Anilkumar, are emerging as leading figures in Indian chess at the under-12 level.
Divi is currently ranked 21st in the world in the under-12 girls category and eighth in the under-11 category. Her title at the World Cup is the latest achievement in a journey supported by her family's sacrifices. At the end of 2024, her father Bijesh S quit his well-paying IT job to become a full-time chaperone for his daughter's chess career. This trend is becoming common in Indian chess: world champion Gukesh's father and Charvi's mother also made similar career changes.
Sreejith, who has coached Divi since 2022, attributes her rapid progress to her ability to learn from mistakes and her intense focus. “Most days, she spends six to seven hours on her chess. On weekdays, she’ll spend even more time,” he said. During the tournament, games would finish around 9 pm IST, after which Sreejith and Divi would hold online sessions for an hour and a half to prepare for the next day’s opponent.
Sreejith hopes that this victory will help Divi secure sponsorship. “She’s done all this based on just one single income. Some of the players she left behind to win the title play tournaments abroad regularly. If she can get someone backing her, she can rise much quicker,” he said.
