Atreyo Mukhopadhyay
It’s tough to succeed at the higher altitudes of professional sports. Tougher is to sustain that performance level under pressure, which rises alongside the reputation of a sportsperson. After a stellar 2024, when she claimed individual and team gold at the Chess Olympiad, Divya Deshmukh has done better this year. Winning the women’s World Cup and qualifying for the Candidates, securing the Grandmaster title — she has not exactly exceeded expectations. Just that it all happened quicker than expected.
The player from Nagpur has decided to test herself in rougher waters. The best way to do it is compete in the open category, where a large majority of participants are men. She did commendably at the recent Grand Swiss Open in Uzbekistan. Next up is the World Cup in Goa. The special wild card holder is the only woman among 206 entries.
“It’s a good opportunity to play in the men’s category. It’ll help her in future,” Grandmaster Abhijit Kunte told RevSportz. As coach of the Indian women’s team, Kunte has worked with Divya. “If she has to grow to the stature of the top woman player, she has to match at least someone who is about 2600-plus (in Elo ratings). Experiences like Grand Swiss, this World Cup and more strong tournaments will give her a great opportunity to play against strong players.”
Gulf between men’s and women’s chess
The gap between men’s and women’s chess is glaring. Hou Yifan of China, women’s world No. 1, has a rating of 2617. She is ranked 117th in the world – men and women taken together. With a rating of 2497, Divya is 11th in women’s rankings and 597th in the open category. If she doesn’t look beyond the women’s circuit, there is a chance that she will not improve after a point.
“You have to play against stronger opposition. In the women’s category, you don’t have so much opportunity. That can happen only in men’s. At the Grand Swiss, she could continuously face 2600-plus players. Facing that kind of opposition every day makes you stronger. You need a lot of depth and preparation. It helps in overall development. This will help her in her bid to win the World Championship in the women’s category,” said Kunte.
Turning 20 in December, Divya tallied five points from 11 rounds at Grand Swiss. If the score wasn’t remarkable, her performance was. She was confronted by players rated at least 100 points above her. The reigning junior women’s (U-20) world champion defeated two of them and drew with six. The highlight was sharing the point with world champion D Gukesh.
Handling pressure and the special traits
Asked if Divya plays these events with a freer mind compared to the pressure she has to handle in women’s competitions, Kunte said: “When you are playing a tournament where nobody is expecting anything from you, it’s easier to play. But it’s also important that when you are a top seed, you win the tournament. When you are playing to win, you have to take that pressure. Then, I feel it’s not about pressure. It’s more about improving your game.”
The Deputy General Manager of Indian Oil based in Pune, who looks after sports, thinks there are traits that set Divya apart. She is versatile, unafraid of experimenting and has tremendous willpower. Kunte reckons the second is a “rare sign”. He expects Divya and R Vaishali to carry forward the legacy of Koneru Humpy and D Harika. On how Divya should manage this phase of her career, Kunte said: “She should aim for something bigger, like the strongest player in women’s chess. She should try to be someone like Judit Polgar (Hungarian titan).”
Divya’s journey has just begun. Like some of her peers in India in the men’s section, she prefers the path less taken and wants to chart her own course. Goa may not be a significant stop for her. It’s going to be an important one nonetheless, because a lot of people will follow the odd woman out.
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