Latest news with #WorldBlitzTeamChessChampionship
Time of India
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Who is Divya Deshmukh? Indian star congratulated by PM Modi after win over world no. 1 Hou Yifan
Divya Deshmukh and PM Modi (Agency Photos) N EW DELHI: Divya Deshmukh, one of India's brightest young chess talents, is making waves on the global stage, and now, she's caught the attention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The 18-year-old rising star OF Indian chess stunned the chess world by defeating Chinese legend and World No. 1 Hou Yifan in the World Blitz Team Chess Championship held in London. Yifan, representing the WR Chess Team, had defeated Divya in the first leg of their round-robin semifinal clash. Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW! But Divya, showing remarkable resilience and tactical sharpness, bounced back strongly in the second leg. Playing with the white pieces, she capitalised on her opening advantage and managed her clock superbly, a critical skill in blitz chess, to dominate the game. The achievement earned widespread praise, including from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who posted on X (formerly Twitter): "Congratulations to Divya Deshmukh on defeating the World No. 1, Hou Yifan in the 2nd leg of Blitz semifinal at the World Team Blitz Championships, London. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Concentrated Siberian Ginseng Extract 2oz Superior Ginseng Undo Her success highlights her grit and determination. It also inspires many upcoming chess players. Best wishes for her future endeavours. " Who is Divya Deshmukh? Born on 9 December 2005 in Nagpur, Maharashtra, to doctor parents Jitendra and Namratha, Divya Deshmukh discovered chess at five. Initially drawn into the sport when her sister enrolled in badminton, she fell in love with the game downstairs and quickly advanced. She won the Under-7 National Championship at age seven in 2012, followed by world youth titles in the U‑10 (Durban, 2014) and U‑12 (Brazil, 2017) categories. Divya became a Woman FIDE Master early on, and by October 2021 had earned her Woman Grandmaster (WGM) title, becoming Vidarbha's first and India's 22nd under that rating. She then secured her International Master (IM) title in 2023 Known as World Junior No. 1, Divya shone by winning the World Junior Girls' U‑20 Championship in 2024, finishing with a dominant 10/11 score. 'Cricketers Aren't Cattle... ': Harish Thawani on the IPL and Business of Indian Cricket She also contributed to India's team gold at the 45th Chess Olympiad (2024) in Budapest and earned individual honours, achieving a performance rating over 2600 in the blitz segment of the World Team Rapid & Blitz Championship. To date, she holds multiple medals: three golds at the Olympiad, multiple Asian and World Youth titles. Trained under GM R.B. Ramesh at Chess Gurukul in Chennai, Divya is praised for her sharp tactical vision, unshakeable composure, and creative flair. Game On Season 1 kicks off with Sakshi Malik's inspiring story. Watch Episode 1 here
Time of India
3 days ago
- Sport
- Time of India
Divya Deshmukh stuns chess world No. 1 Hou Yifan at World Team Blitz Championship
NAGPUR: World Junior No. 1, Divya Deshmukh, stunned world No. 1 Hou Yifan of China on Monday to fiish the World Team Rapid, Blitz Championship on a high with three medals. Yifan faced Nagpur girl Divya in the second leg of the semifinal round in the World Blitz Team Chess Championship, which concluded in London. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now This clash in the shortest format of chess had similarities to the classical game played recently between World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen and world champion D Gukesh. While Yifan was representing WR Chess Team, Divya was playing for Hexamind Chess Club. Yifan had defeated Divya in the first leg of the round-robin semifinal, but the Indian came back stronger in the following leg. Divya utilised her opening advantage with the white pieces well and made her moves faster to take control of the clock.
Time of India
4 days ago
- Sport
- Time of India
Nagpur's Divya Stuns China's World Women No.1 Hou Yifan
Nagpur: World Junior No.1, Divya Deshmukh, stunned the World Women's No.1 Hou Yifan of China, on Monday, and finished the World Team Rapid, Blitz Championship on a high with three medals. In the second leg of the semifinal round in the World Blitz Team Chess Championship, which concluded in London, the best women chess player Yifan faced off with her junior counterpart Divya, of Nagpur. The face-off between Yifan and Divya in the shortest format of chess had similarities to the classical game played recently between World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen and the youngest world champion D Gukesh. While Yifan was representing WR Chess Team, Divya was playing for Hexamind Chess Club in the shorter version of the World Team Championships, played in both the rapid and blitz formats. Though Yifan had defeated Divya in the first leg of the round-robin semifinal, Nagpur's chess queen came back stronger in the following leg. Divya utilised her opening advantage with the white pieces well and made her moves faster to take control of the clock. In the dying stage of the rook vs bishop endgame 74-move thriller, Yifan made a blunder with her king and was left with no option but to resign. Realising her mistake, Yifan offered the handshake, and Divya became a bit emotional — reacting as if in disbelief, happily surprised to register her first victory over the world's best women chess player. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 5 Books Warren Buffett Wants You to Read In 2025 Blinkist: Warren Buffett's Reading List Undo Though there was no drama as such, considering the recent 'Oh My God' moment of Magnus Carlsen, when the world no. 1 was surprised by world chess champion D Gukesh, the game between Yifan and Divya saw an emotional reaction from the Nagpur girl. Without much drama, Yifan laughed at her mistake and left the arena. Divya closed her eyes for a moment, made small chat with the arbiters, looked at the other results of her teammates, and went to prepare for the next round. Of the eight games that the 2343 Elo Divya played in the blitz event, she registered victories in six rounds, drew a board, and lost just one game while performing at a rating as high as 2606. Divya's heroics in the fastest format helped her register second rank. Later, in the third-place playoff, Divya won both the rounds as Hexamind Chess Club defeated the squad of Uzbekistan in both matches with 3.5:2.5 to clinch the bronze medal. Earlier, in the rapid format of the world championship, Divya played a pivotal role and helped Team Hexamind to clinch the silver medal. Of the 12 games she played in the rapid format, the 2386 Elo Divya won five games, drew six rounds, and lost just one game to score eight points with a performance rating of 2420. She also won the individual bronze medal for her play on board 6. With the three medals that she won, Divya posted, "Finally, what seemed like an eternity is over, world rapid and blitz team championships! Team finished second in rapid and third in blitz. Had an amazing experience with the team."
