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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."
