KOCHI: Eleven-year-old Divi Bijesh from Thiruvananthapuram has created history by winning the FIDE World Cup Under-12 Girls Championship, held in Batumi, Georgia, from June 15 to 27.
Divi scored an impressive 9 points from 11 rounds in a field of more than 85 of the world’s strongest players in the category. She took the sole lead from Round 7 and held on to it until the end, securing the title after drawing her final-round game against Alisa Yunker of Russia.
This victory marks Divi’s third world title across 2025 and 2026. She made history in 2025 as the first-ever FIDE World Cup Under-10 Girls champion and is also the reigning World Under-10 Rapid champion.
At just 11, she has now won 25 medals, including 13 international gold medals, and has qualified for the FIDE World Cadet Championship to be held in November. A Class VI student of Alan Feldman Public School, Divi is the daughter of Bijesh and Prabha.
She trains under Sreejith G S at the Masters Chess Academy, with additional support from the Chola Chess Project, Aarthi Ramaswamy and Harshini.