On a rainy Saturday night, Divya Deshmukh’s narrative at the National Library had a very fairytale conclusion. R. Vaishali’s last-minute withdrawal from the Tata Steel Chess India event was the sole reason she was able to compete. She started as the 10th seed in a field of 10 in the women’s fast segment. And she came in first place. Scroll down to read Tata Steel Chess: Divya Deshmukh emerged as the champion.
Tata Steel Chess: Divya Deshmukh emerged as the champion
The 17-year-old from Nagpur created one of the most amazing stories in recent Indian chess history—and there have been many—to win the title. Her tale also had a spectacular conclusion. Deshmukh used black pieces to upset second-seeded Koneru Humpy in the last round. She was still awaiting the outcome of the match between top seed and reigning champion Anna Ushenina of Ukraine and China’s Ju Wenjun.
Ushenina helped Divya keep Ju tied. She outscored Ju by 0.5 points, putting her in first place while Ju had to settle for second. Thus, Divya was declared the winner in every way.
Despite not expecting to participate in the event, she commented, “I was nervous going into today’s games, even though I entered the tournament with no pressure.”
She had incredible composure. Given that the blitz event starts on Sunday, she should now desire to write the sequel to her story.
The standings (Indians unless specified):
1. Divya Deshmukh 7;
2. Ju Wenjun (Chn) 6.5;
3. Polina Shuvalova (FIDE) 5.5;
4. Dronavalli Harika 4.5;5-7. Vantika Agrawal, Koneru Humpy and Anna Ushenina (Ukr) 4; 8-9. B. Savitha Shri and Irina Krush 3.5; 10. Nino Batsiashvili (Geo) 2.5.
The results (ninth round)
Humpy lost to Divya; Ju drew with Ushenina; Krush lost to Savitha; Vantika bt Batsiashvili; Shuvalova drew with Harika.
R. Vaishali’s last-minute withdrawal from the Tata Steel Chess India event was the sole reason she was able to compete. In the women’s fast segment, she started as the 10th seed in a field of 10.
Eighth round: Divya lost to Shuvalova; Harika bt Vantika; Batsiashvili bt Krush; Savitha lost to Ju; Ushenina lost to Humpy.
Seventh round: Ushenina drew with Divya; Humpy bt Savitha; Ju bt Batsiashvili; Krush drew with Harika; Vantika drew with Shuvalova.
