
Atreyo Mukhopdhyay
The ‘live ratings’ help understand the task Divya Deshmukh will be facing after winning the women’s chess World Cup in Georgia two days ago. These are unofficial, real-time calculations of a player’s rating based on the results of their games in major tournaments. They reflect the rating changes after each game. The current list shows that the top five women in the world are from China.
It has been seen that the live ratings are fairly accurate. What they calculate is what is seen in the official list when it is released by FIDE every month. The live list shows that Divya has moved to world No. 15 from 18. Despite the World Cup setback, the Chinese have expanded their territory, after having occupied the top three spots in the official list of July. This means that the winner of the second-biggest tournament in the world remains out of the top 10.
This is not surprising. Of the four higher-rated players Divya defeated in Georgia, only Tan Zhongyi (No. 8 in July list) was beaten in normal time control. The wins against Koneru Humpy (No. 5), Zhu Jiner (No. 6) and D Harika (No. 12) came in tie-breakers. In such cases, the classical games that were drawn are counted for ratings. It’s possible that even after her dream run, Divya stays out of the top bracket.
Young child with dreams
She clearly has a long way to go to become a formidable force at the highest level. Humpy is the lone Indian woman to have done that. Harika did too, to a lesser extent. However, this doesn’t mean Divya is not in contention. She is not yet 20 and she is ambitious. In an interview with FIDE in May, she said that she believes she can be the world champion. She has taken the first step by qualifying for the Candidates and that assignment next year will be the toughest of her life.
The encouraging part is the girl from Nagpur thrives under challenges. Even at this age, Divya has what it takes to win the pressure moments. Be it the gold medal on the third board at the Olympiad, world junior girls’ championship and the World Cup — she has mixed her ability and powers of calculation with courage and tenacity. As she says, “fighting till the end” is her biggest strength.
The Chinese contingent experienced this in Georgia. Tan is a former world champion, the losing finalist in this year’s world championship bout and No. 4 in live ratings. Zhu is No. 5 in that list and she had already qualified for the Candidates by finishing first in the FIDE Women’s Grand Prix Series. An underdog like Divya knocking out two such players was the highlight of the World Cup for those who follow the distribution of power in the women’s game.
New face in challenger pool
China has ruled women’s chess since the turn of the century. They produced six world champions in this period and have not let go of the world crown since 2016. Both participants in the last two championships were from their country. Their domination of the women’s game is reminiscent of the era of Chinese reign in table tennis and badminton. Humpy, Ukraine’s Anna Muzychuk, Russians Aleksandra Goryachkina and Kateryna Lagno, along with Bibisara Assaubayeva of Kazakhstan, are their main competitors. Humpy and Goryachkina have also made it to the Candidates.
Divya makes that pool bigger. Despite their aura and everything else, the Chinese had not won the World Cup in the last two editions. The Indian has made it three. Humpy played her part, by eliminating No. 3 Lei Tingjie in the semi-finals. It was a harsh reality check for the undisputed leaders and Divya was the one mainly responsible for such a turn of events.
In badminton in 2013, an Indian teenager had caused a stir by scalping two Chinese heavyweights on her way to a World Championship bronze. Later on, PV Sindhu was among the players who eventually broke the Chinese hegemony. Comparisons are unfair, but there are similarities in a vastly different sport. The eyes of the chess world won’t be off Divya in a hurry.
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