Divya Deshmukh (Image source: FIDE)
Nagpur: “I’m sure it will happen sooner rather than later.” Fresh from becoming the world junior women’s chess champion, Divya Deshmukh had gained confidence in playing with the favourites.
That was in June 2024.Last July, Divya qualified for the 2026 nominees after becoming the first Indian to win the Women’s World Cup while holding the title of Grandmaster. Thirteen months later, you can say that the future has arrived.
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Abhimanyu Puranik Exclusive: Chess Journey, Helping Divya Deshmukh at World Cup, Grand Suisse, and More
In the eight-player World Chess Championship, which begins on Sunday in Cyprus, Divya, who made her debut at the age of 20, will be the youngest of the group.Of her seven opponents in Cyprus, six are rated higher, and with nothing to lose, Divya (Elo 2497) will play aggressively while using her weapon of better opening preparation.
The Nagpur girl can prove to be a fierce competitor as she loves making attacking moves on the board while handling complex situations with a great mindset.Divya opens her campaign against 36-year-old Anna Muzychuk, who became eligible after India’s No. 1 seed, Koneru Hampi, withdrew due to safety concerns in West Asia. Of the three times they have met, Divya has lost once and drawn twice against Ukraine’s 2522Elo.
In the second round, Divya will face 24-year-old Vaishali Rambabu, against whom she has a better classical record.
Alexandra Goryachkina will be next to face Divia and she has a mediocre record against the top-rated Russian woman in history.In the fourth and fifth rounds, the second-placed team in India will seek to score the highest number of points. Although she has a losing record against both top-ranked Chinese GMs – Zhou Jenner and Tan Zhongyi – Divya’s success against them in the World Cup will leave her confident of claiming the all-important points.The most difficult test for Divya will be the talented GM Bibisara Asaobayeva from Kazakhstan. After playing round six with the three-time world champion on the blitz, she will face 22-year-old Divya Bebesara again in the final and 14th article.Before the return leg begins, Divia will face two-time European Women’s Champion, 36-year-old Russian Katerina Lajno. 2508 Elo Kateryna can spoil Divya’s party as she did in Kolkata this year by winning back-to-back matches in the faster format.On March 18 last year in Cyprus, Divya suffered a 66-move defeat to Muzychuk and the Ukrainian became the women’s Grand Prix champion. If Divya avenges her defeat to Muzychuk in the opening round of favorites, she can carry the confidence into the remaining 13 rounds.On dealing with pressure, the once shy and talkative Divya told TOI: “I have been taking pressure for many years. So honestly, after a certain point, it doesn’t matter. Obviously the pressure will be there; it comes to your mind, but I don’t look at it or think about it.”