Divya Deshmukh made a huge impact at the Chess Olympiad in Budapest, Hungary. Just three months after being crowned the world junior chess champion, the 18-year-old Nagpur girl played a pivotal role and wrote India's success story at the Olympiad.
Despite India's setback against Poland in the eighth round, where Divya was the sole winner, she continued her impressive run by helping the team triumph over China in the penultimate round, bringing India back into contention for the gold, as the other three Indian players were held to draws. In the final round, Divya's victory over Beydullayeva Govhar of Azerbaijan in just 39 moves gave India the lead and brought them closer to the coveted gold medal.
Divya was the lone Indian player to play all 11 rounds, remaining unbeaten throughout. With 8 wins and 3 draws, she amassed 9.5 points and gave a performance rating of 2608 Elo to clinch the Board 3 individual gold medal.
In an exclusive with TOI, Divya expressed her happiness and pride in her performance. "Since my last Olympiad appearance as a reserve player of team B, where I won the Board-5 bronze medal, my aspiration has been to become a formidable player and contribute significantly to India's gold medal quest. I am quite happy and proud of my performance."
After winning the 11th round, Divya spoke with her mother Namrata Deshmukh in Nagpur and shared her happiness.
When asked by a FIDE presenter about her ability to maintain such high energy levels as the only player to participate in all rounds, Divya said, "When it comes to representing your country, you have to give it your all. It was almost a ride or die situation. I didn't anticipate performing this well before the event commenced, but I am quite pleased with my achievement."
Talking about the team's resilience in the face of defeat against Poland, Divya told chess24, "Every setback is tough to deal with, but I think we dealt with it in a good way. We have a supportive captain and our team spirit was pretty high. We have dinners together, we walk around the city. Especially after our loss, a team walk together was much needed and it actually helped us a lot."
Divya's phenomenal performance propelled her to No.11 in world ranking and, for the first time in her career, she surpassed the 2500 Elo mark, becoming India's No.2 female chess player. Speaking to chessbase, Divya said, "It's something I never thought would happen so quickly. I am quite proud of myself. Finally, I can indulge in the much needed rest I have been eagerly waiting for."
