By Atreyo Mukhopadhyay in Goa
The FIDE World Cup’s second game of the first round is taking place today. There is not a lot of star attraction yet because the top 50 players have got byes into the second round of this knockout competition. It’s still an important day for certain Indian players. Foremost is Divya Deshmukh. The winner of the women’s World Cup lost her first game against Stamatis Kourkoulos-Arditis of Greece. She has to win to force a tie-breaker. Even if she draws, Divya is out.
Divya is rated below her opponent. Both are Grandmasters and the Indian teenager has an ELO rating of 2505 as against the Greek’s rating of 2585. That’s not a decisive difference, but not negligible either. Since she is the only woman participant in this field of 206 players, eyes are on Divya, who is also the reigning world champion in the junior girls’ category. A defeat here will not severely dent her career prospects, but might be a minor blotch on her burgeoning career as a top chess player.
The focus will also be on India’s junior world champion V Pranav, M Pranesh and Surya Shekhar Ganguly. All three began with victories in the first game and a draw is all they need to proceed to the second round. All of them are rated above their rivals, although in the case of Ganguly, the gap is not wide. With a formidable ELO rating of 2641, Pranav is the highest-rated Indian in the first round. A lot is expected of this youngster from Tamil Nadu and so far, he has lived up to the expectations.
Among the other prominent Indian players in the first round, local GM Leon Luke Mendonca drew his game against Chinese International Master Shixu B Wang. That was a dampener of sorts for the only participant from Goa because he is rated way above his opponent. The Goan 19-year-old has a rating of 2620 and his opponent’s is 2402. That’s a significant difference and it will be an upset if the Mendonca doesn’t make it to the next round. The reward of $3500 for those losing in the first round will be handy, but not a significant consolation for a player aspiring to make it big.
Raunak Sadhwani, another Indian wild card in this competition alongside Mendonca, will also be under pressure. He drew with South Africa’s Daniel Barrish. With an ELO rating of 2284, Barrish is supposed to be no match to the Indian who has a rating of 2641. But, as it happens so often in sports, resistance comes from unexpected quarters. It’s up to this youngster to prove that he is game for it. This is going to be a day full of intriguing battles sans the big names. Before they make their entry from the second round, these players have lots to win and lose.
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