It felt nicer to deliver for the team: Divya Deshmukh

Divya Deshmukh was India’s go-to girl in Budapest.

So much so, even when she was almost unfit to play, she was fielded in India’s final round match. She won her game.

That was just another day at work for Divya at the Chess Olympiad. The Indian women’s historic gold was built around her solid show on the third board.

The 18-year-old from Nagpur played every 11 rounds at the Olympiad. And she remained unbeaten, winning eight games and drawing three.

“I was told beforehand that I would be required to play all the games, and it felt nice I could deliver for the team,” Divya told The Hindu on Monday. “We knew we had the team to win the gold. Yes, I wasn’t feeling after our match against Poland, but I decided to play on.”

She indeed was in superb form right through the tournament. That reflected in her rating performance, too. She has gained 17.5 point Elo points.

She scored 9.5 points at the Olympiad to take the individual gold on the third board. “I was expecting the individual gold, in fact,” says Divya, who was the youngest member of the women’s team. “But I was really glad that I could touch the 2500 mark in Elo points during the Olympiad; that was something I really wanted to.”

At the Olympiad, she says the women’s team took inspiration from the way the men’s team dominated in their section. “It was a brilliant performance by them, and they were so dominant,” says Divya. “And I thought D. Gukesh and Arjun Erigaisi were absolutely amazing. I was inspired by the way they played.”

Divya knew the gold was India’s after she won her game against Govhar Beydullayeva. “We all were very happy and we knew we deserved the gold,” she says. “We had worked really hard.”

Divya’s show at the Olympiad only confirmed the rapid progress she has been making in her game for the last one year or so. She had won the World junior championship with a dominant show at Ahmedabad back in June. As the top seed she was expected to win it, and that had put her under some pressure, she had said then.

Nobody had quite expected her to win the blitz title at the Tata Steel Chess India tournament last year, though. She was seeded tenth in a field of ten, headed by World champion Ju Wenjun.

Indian chess is expecting much more from Divya.