Nagpur: “I’m sure it will happen soon.” Divya Deshmukh, fresh off becoming the World Junior Girls Chess Champion, had instilled confidence in the candidates to play. It was June 2024.Last July, Divya qualified for the 2026 Contenders by becoming India’s first women’s World Cup winner by clinching the Grandmaster title. Thirteen months later, you could say the future has arrived.
In the eight-player double-round-robin World Championship Candidates for Chess, starting on Sunday in Cyprus, Divya, making her debut at 20, will be the youngest of the lot.Of her seven opponents in Cyprus, six are highly rated, and with nothing to lose, Divya (Elo 2497) will play her weapon aggressively using better opening preparations. The Nagpur girl can prove to be a formidable contender as she likes to make aggressive moves on the board while handling complex situations with a cool mindset.Divya opens her campaign against 36-year-old Anna Mozichak, who qualified after India’s No. 1 Konero Hampi withdrew citing security concerns in West Asia. They faced each other three times, Divya lost once and drew twice against 2522 Allo Ukraine.In the second round, Divya will face 24-year-old Vaishali Ramesh Babu, against whom she enjoys a better classical record.
Alexandra Gurichkina will be next in line for Divya and has a modest record against the highest-ranked Russian woman in history.It is in the fourth and fifth rounds that India No. 2 looks to score the most points. Although she has a losing record against both of her top-ranked Chinese GMs — Zhou Jin and Tan Zhongyi — Divya’s success against them at the World Cup will give her confidence to squeeze out the all-important points.Kazakhstan’s talented GMB Besara Isaubaifa will be the toughest test for Divya. After the sixth round with the three-time reigning world blitz champion, Divya will face 22-year-old Bibi Sara again in the final and 14th event.Before the return leg begins, Divya will face two-time European women’s champion, 36-year-old Katerina Ligno of Russia. 2508 Allu Katrina can spoil Divya’s party like she did in Kolkata this year by winning back-to-back games in the fastest format.On March 18 last year in Cyprus, Divya defeated Mozychak in 66 moves to become the Ukrainian Women’s Grand Prix champion. If Divya avenges her loss to Mozychic in the opening round of Candidates, she can maintain confidence in the remaining 13 rounds.About handling pressure, the once-shy now outspoken Divya told TOI, “I’ve been dealing with pressure for many years, so honestly, after a point, it doesn’t matter. Obviously, the pressure will be there, it comes to your mind, but I don’t look at it and think about it.”
