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Indian Express
2 days ago
- Sport
- Indian Express
At Chennai Grand Masters, a chance for Harika Dronavalli to give her 2-year-old daughter a peek into her life
Two days before the Chennai Grand Masters event began, Harika Dronavalli arrived at the playing venue to get a feel of it and brought with her, two-year-old daughter Hanvika. Inside the playing hall, her instincts took over as she made her daughter sit in her chair and recorded a video of her moving pieces. 'That felt good, it's been like 25 years since I started playing chess internationally. It's a nice feeling that my daughter is coming and witnessing what I'm doing in my life,' the Indian GM says. This is the first tournament where Harika has chosen to travel with her daughter. When she won the bronze in the 2022 Chess Olympiad, Harika was pregnant, in her final trimester. Then, when she won gold at the 2024 Olympiad in Budapest, she had left her daughter in the care of her mother, sister, and grandmother for three weeks. It has been her routine when she travels abroad, but with this tournament happening in Chennai, it provided her with a rare luxury, to bring her daughter along as she doesn't need to worry about food and the weather. Even if she had a change of plan, Harika revealed she didn't need to fret too much about it as Hyderabad – where she currently lives – is closer to Chennai. 'I think any mother can relate to this. Guilt happens when you leave your child behind. I would love to have her everywhere. Even now, I don't think it's easy. But this (the tournament in Chennai) is so close to my place. I'm happy she could witness my life in a way,' she says. After a brief pause, she makes it a point to remind Koneru Humpy that winning the silver at the FIDE Women's World Cup recently was no mean achievement. 'With having a kid, family, so many responsibilities, the way she fought was just amazing. This is something that people should really understand, it is much more difficult for Humpy with the circumstances to still be there and be in the final,' 34-year-old Harika says about her fellow veteran. During overseas tournaments, Humpy has been Harika's most familiar companion for a long time. Though they don't exchange many notes, she speaks about a professional relationship. 'It's a very healthy competition over the years. When we go out of the country and have only two Indians in the tournament, you relate to them more, you understand each other's journeys. Now, being mothers and having a similar path, we understand each other and have a mutual respect and a healthy competition between us. We have had many meals together. But back then, Chess didn't have the limelight that it has right now,' she says. While the emergence of Divya Deshmukh, R Vaishali has expanded the Indian contingent, Harika prefers to leave the young ones on their own and not bore them. 'I have a very good rapport with Vaishali. After being a mother, the major thing you speak about is your children, so that's not something the youngsters can relate to me with,' she says. Ask her about who she prefers to be a babysitter, she responds quickly. 'Not Arjun (Erigaisi) for sure. I have seen Gukesh in Delhi when I got my daughter to meet the Prime Minister. I was very surprised with the way he handled kids. I genuinely didn't know, so I was very surprised. So I would say Gukesh.' Speaking of the World Cup, where she lost to Divya in the quarterfinals, Harika says there are no regrets. 'Knockout, it's a format that you can't expect anything. I just tried my best. It all came down to one game, one bad day and I was out,' she says. With Humpy and Divya sealing their Candidates spot, all eyes are on Harika, who has started the Chennai event with successive losses. After losing to Diptayan Ghosh in the opening round on Thursday, on Friday, she lost to P Iniyan. 'No, no,' she says when asked about pressure to make the Candidates cut. 'I never compare with anyone. It's always about me and how to get better. I want to challenge myself and see where I am standing. I hope I give my best and learn from every tournament. I don't see one tournament as something big. I feel I have to progress gradually in each tournament. So I just concentrate on what I should do best, and I don't take results to heart too much. I am ambitious but I don't think that this is the last tournament of my career to focus on. It's fine, whatever comes my way, I will just try my best,' she says.
Indian Express
03-08-2025
- Sport
- Indian Express
Divya Deshmukh's World Cup triumph could be the catalyst to spur Indian women's chess to challenge Chinese domination
In Georgia's Batumi, the easternmost corner of Europe, Divya Deshmukh and Koneru Hump were busy battling each other for glory after dismantling China's dominant force and some world-class individuals en route to the summit clash of the FIDE Women's World Cup 202. Meanwhile, something unusual was unfolding in Western Europe. In Aix-en-Provence, 14-year-old Women's FIDE Master (WFM) Prishita Gupta was sweeping through the competition. By the time she finished the two events in France — the Paris Masters and the 2nd Dole Trophy Pasino Grand Aix Masters 2025 — her rating had soared to 2353, a staggering 135 Elo points higher than where she had begun. Prishita started July with a rating of 2218. Her performance at the Grand Aix Masters also earned her her maiden WIM norm. Prishita's rise is even more astonishing considering that back in 2022, she was barely rated 1300. For context, the lowest possible FIDE rating one can start with is 1000, though even that is rare, as initial ratings are based on performance in the first few games against rated opponents. From being a near-rookie to now the eighth-highest-rated Indian woman in chess, all in just three years, is both a monumental achievement and proof that Indian chess is a talent factory with no signs of slowing down. While the 38-year-old Humpy is enjoying a second wind in her career, Divya's World Cup triumph at 19 stresses India's growing depth in the modern era of chess. But is it enough? Talents like R. Vaishali, Vantika Agrawal, and Divya Deshmukh are promising, but can they carry the torch for the next two decades? The landscape is undoubtedly improving. For years, India relied solely on Koneru Humpy and, to a lesser extent, Harika Dronavalli, who shouldered the dual burden of personal and national expectations. But now, it is time to turn the tide. GM Abhijeet Kunte draws parallels between Divya's breakthrough and the domino effect seen in Indian men's chess after Gukesh's World Championship victory. 'Chess in India has been dominated by Humpy and Harika for nearly 20–25 years. Humpy recently became a World Rapid Champion, adding a second rapid world title to her name,' reminded Kunte, who was the captain of the Indian women's team at the Budapest Chess Olympiad 2024, where they claimed the country's first-ever team gold in the most prestigious team event in the sport. 'Both she and Harika have performed exceptionally well at the international level. However, the Women's World Championship title has always eluded Indian players until now. With Gukesh's recent triumph, we hope Divya will follow a similar path, ushering in a new generation that brings these prestigious titles home,' he added. For Divya, the World Cup title brought many firsts as she not only secured a spot in the prestigious 2026 Candidates Tournament (as did Humpy) – which will decide the challenger for the World Championship title. Divya also became only the fourth female Grandmaster from India. Her coach in the past and one of India's finest chess trainers and a Dronacharya Awardee, RB Ramesh, believes the GM title is a game-changer not just for Divya but for Indian women's chess as a whole. 'That will be a huge confidence boost for her, especially since we don't have many women players becoming grandmasters. Before her, India had only three,' Ramesh told The Indian Express. 'Hopefully, she will inspire young girls to take up chess more seriously and professionally. She will likely be one of the youngest players in the Candidates— perhaps even the youngest,' he added. While Ramesh predicts that Divya could become India's strongest female player with the potential to 'reach a 2650 rating,' he also expresses concern about the overall depth of Indian women's chess. 'This isn't a very healthy sign. On the men's side, we have players like Praggnanandhaa, Arjun (Erigaisi), Gukesh (Dommaraju), Nihal (Sarin), and Rounak (Sadhwani)—just in India, I can name five or six players who are among the world's top 20. That's not the case in women's chess. We need more young girls to take up the game seriously and pursue it professionally. Fortunately, this is already starting to happen,' Ramesh said. 'We do have some promising young girls, but it will take a few more years. I believe that in the near future, seeing players like Humpy — who is still performing exceptionally well at 38 — will help. This is good for India in the short term, as we have two strong players performing well. Now, we just need more young talent to emerge,' he added. Players like Prishita are emerging, but as for matching China's depth, that remains a distant dream for now. The top five players in the current world rankings are all Chinese. The world hasn't seen a non-Chinese player claim the throne in women's chess in the last decade, with Hou Yifan, Tan Zhongyi, and Ju Wenjun sweeping all World Championship titles since 2016. Even without the same iron grip they once held at the turn of the century, China continues to produce elite players. The next crop of talents, like Miaoyi Lu and Yuxin Song, only grows stronger with each tournament. Breaking the Great Chinese Wall in women's chess is India's next big challenge. Divya's breakthrough might just be the trigger the country needed.
Business Standard
03-08-2025
- Sport
- Business Standard
Divya Deshmukh says Chess WC triumph was stressful, needed stamina
Grandmaster Divya Deshmukh has revealed that achieving the goal of winning the FIDE Women's World Cup title was "quite stressful" but she was determined to go all the way after the tough matches in the lead-up to the title clash against Koneru Humpy in Batumi, Georgia recently. Divya, 19, overcame Humpy in the tie-breaker after two nerve-wracking classical games ended in draws to become the first Indian woman to win the prestigious title and become a Grandmaster. "It was quite stressful. Quite difficult at least because also it's such a long event. You have to keep up your stamina. You have to be resistant and you have to show up on the board every single day to give your best. Thankfully, I was never in a situation where I had to be in a must-win (situation). So, I don't know how I would have coped with that," said Divya in an interaction posted by FIDE on social media. The Nagpur player added that though she was nervous going into the final, she wanted to give it her best shot after coming this far. "I think from an emotional perspective, maybe, but the finals was incredibly difficult. The pressure, the nerves the toll that the entire tournament was taking and the feeling like you've come so far and now you cannot go back down so I would say it was quite difficult. "I think there was always some part of me that would never give up. So I always wanted to fight, but after I lost the second match I was quite disappointed or mainly because I got a good position at the opening.. Beating an opponent like GM Dronavalli Harika in a tough quarterfinals was a key motivations which helped Divya to go all the way to the final. The match went to a tiebreak after two classical games ended in draws. Divya won both tiebreak games to advance to the semifinals. "Harika was definitely quite strong, but I think because I had gone through (some tough games) already... by the time I got to Harika, I was already quite sure. Divya said she was taking it one game at a time and only started entertaining thoughts of winning the title after she had reached the final. "At least, I never had the thoughts of winning the tournament until I was in the finals. I knew that of course there's some part of you that always, you know, wants (to be) the best, but I was just trying to survive. Divya then beat Tan Zhongyi of China in the semifinals, one of the strongest players in the world. "She was a very strong player. Very strong. That was a close match. (As for Humpy), I think she's definitely quite strong, but honestly in this tournament the know you have to be calm throughout the entire tournament." On whether achieving the GM title was bigger than winning the tournament, she said, "I think Grandmaster title is something that would have eventually come definitely come. I don't know when but it would have. So can't choose. I think the fact that both of them happen at the same time makes it all the more special. "I think maybe maybe it was destiny that I got my title in one shot and the fact that I did not even have even one (GM) norm before it and now I'm a Grandmaster. That's why I think that maybe it was meant to be.". On what her mother told her following the emotional hug after winning the title, Divya said, "She told me to have confidence in myself and to manage my time. I think motivation is not a constant factor. I think sometimes there is, sometimes there isn't, but you just have to push through it. "At least that's what I've been doing. And, what I believe in is that all I can do is give my best and I don't control the results. So, that's what I've been focusing on.
New Indian Express
03-08-2025
- Sport
- New Indian Express
Win to give women wings to fly
Divya Deshmukh is on a felicitation spree, meeting ministers, celebrities and the ilk. Hours and hours of practice; travelling during weekends to Chennai for special chess classes. She has done what no other woman chess player in the country had done before—win the chess World Cup. She will spark another revolution in chess. This time for the women's game. At the beginning of the week, two Indian women, separated by a generation but united by their passion and excellence in chess, duelled in the final of the women's World Cup. As soon as Deshmukh, 19, and Koneru Humpy, 38, advanced to the final of one of the game's most prestigious events, it further entrenched what the 2024 women's Olympiad had shown. The Chinese may be the foremost practitioners of women's chess but India's barrier-shattering women have closed the gap. At the Olympiad in Budapest last year, India, purely going by seedings, didn't stand a chance of winning gold. But youth and experience (Humpy, D Harika, Deshmukh, Vantika Agarwal and Tania Sachdev) combined to devastating effect. Yet, the chess fraternity wasn't too keen on announcing a change of guard because China hadn't sent their strongest contingent. Russia couldn't send a team and China's roster lacked the stardust as both the world champion (Ju Wenjun) and the challenger (Tan Zhongyi) were absent. The top-ranked Hou Yifan hadn't travelled and Lei Tingjie (the other Chinese in last year's Candidates) was also missing. But both Zhongyi and Tingjie were present at the women's World Cup in Georgia last month. It's what makes Deshmukh's title and Humpy's run to the final all that bit more special. More importantly, the teen's victory could have a multiplier effect. 'It has the potential to inpsire a lot of girls,' says Swayams Mishra, a GM who played a big role at last year's Olympiad. 'Young kids will aim higher.' Chess, at first glance, may seem like a game suited for both genders without many differences. But it cannot be further from the truth as girls face a lot of barriers, right from the entry level till the elite level. It's why out of 88 Indian GMs, only four are women (Deshmukh became the fourth on account of winning the World Cup).
Hindustan Times
02-08-2025
- Sport
- Hindustan Times
It was quite stressful, you have have to keep up your stamina: Divya Deshmukh on title triumph
Divya, 19, overcame Humpy in the tie-breaker after two nerve-wracking classical games ended in draws to become the first Indian woman to win the prestigious title and become a Grandmaster. HT Image "It was quite stressful. Quite difficult at least because also it's such a long event. You have to keep up your stamina. You have to be resistant and you have to show up on the board every single day to give your best. Thankfully, I was never in a situation where I had to be in a must-win (situation). So, I don't know how I would have coped with that," said Divya in an interaction posted by FIDE on social media. The Nagpur player added that though she was nervous going into the final, she wanted to give it her best shot after coming this far. "I think from an emotional perspective, maybe, but the finals was incredibly difficult. The pressure, the nerves the toll that the entire tournament was taking and the feeling like you've come so far and now you cannot go back down so I would say it was quite difficult. "I think there was always some part of me that would never give up. So I always wanted to fight, but after I lost the second match I was quite disappointed or mainly because I got a good position at the opening.. Beating an opponent like GM Dronavalli Harika in a tough quarterfinals was a key motivations which helped Divya to go all the way to the final. The match went to a tiebreak after two classical games ended in draws. Divya won both tiebreak games to advance to the semifinals. "Harika was definitely quite strong, but I think because I had gone through (some tough games) already... by the time I got to Harika, I was already quite sure. Divya said she was taking it one game at a time and only started entertaining thoughts of winning the title after she had reached the final. "At least, I never had the thoughts of winning the tournament until I was in the finals. I knew that of course there's some part of you that always, you know, wants (to be) the best, but I was just trying to survive. Divya then beat Tan Zhongyi of China in the semifinals, one of the strongest players in the world. "She was a very strong player. Very strong. That was a close match. (As for Humpy), I think she's definitely quite strong, but honestly in this tournament the know you have to be calm throughout the entire tournament." On whether achieving the GM title was bigger than winning the tournament, she said, "I think Grandmaster title is something that would have eventually come definitely come. I don't know when but it would have. So can't choose. I think the fact that both of them happen at the same time makes it all the more special. "I think maybe maybe it was destiny that I got my title in one shot and the fact that I did not even have even one (GM) norm before it and now I'm a Grandmaster. That's why I think that maybe it was meant to be.". On what her mother told her following the emotional hug after winning the title, Divya said, "She told me to have confidence in myself and to manage my time. I think motivation is not a constant factor. I think sometimes there is, sometimes there isn't, but you just have to push through it. "At least that's what I've been doing. And, what I believe in is that all I can do is give my best and I don't control the results. So, that's what I've been focusing on."
