India's Divya Deshmukh clinched the World Junior Girls' Chess Championship title on Thursday, displaying her remarkable skill and strategy.
The immensely talented International Master secured her victory by outclassing Bulgaria’s Beloslava Krasteva, concluding the tournament with a commendable score of 10 points out of a possible 11.
This win placed her half a point ahead of second-placed Mariam Mkrtchyan from Armenia, at the Gift City.
Divya's triumph was the highlight of the championship, where she demonstrated consistent dominance throughout her matches. Mkrtchyan, who defeated India's Rakshita Ravi in a one-sided game, took the second spot, while the third place was claimed by Ayan Allahverdiyeva of Azerbaijan, who scored a victory over Russia's Norman Kseniya to reach 8.5 points.
In the open section, Nogerbek Kazybek of Kazakhstan emerged victorious, defeating overnight sole leader Mamikon Gharbyan of Armenia. Kazybek secured the title on better tiebreak points ahead of Armenian Emin Ohanyan, who had a strong game against Daniel Quizon but fell short on tiebreak points despite both scoring 8.5 points. Luka Budisavljevic of Serbia, with 8 points, secured the third place, edging out Tobias Koelle of Germany.
Grandmaster Pranav Anand was the best Indian performer in the open section, finishing in 10th place with 7.5 points after a win against Arsen Davtyan of Armenia. Other notable Indian performances included Aditya Samant and Anuj Shrivatri, who finished 11th and 12th respectively.
The day, however, belonged to the 18-year-old Divya Deshmukh from Nagpur. Her strategic Queen Pawn opening against Beloslava Krasteva led to a slightly better middle game, allowing Divya to exert consistent pressure and weaken her opponent's pawn structure.
In the ensuing Queen and Rook endgame, Divya’s tactical prowess shone through as she pocketed a pawn, making Krasteva's king vulnerable. A timely exchange paved the way for a completely winning king and pawns endgame, prompting the Bulgarian to concede.
Reflecting on her victory, Divya rated her win over Ayan Allahverdiyeva as the crucial moment of the tournament.
“I was not up to the mark in that game. If I had lost, I wouldn’t have been the champion,” she remarked.
Top results final round:
Open:
- Nogerbek Kazybek (Kaz, 8.5) beat Mamikon Gharibyan (Arm, 8)
- Emin Ohanyan (Arm, 8.5) beat Daniel Quizon (Phi, 7.5)
- Luka Budisavljevic (Srb, 8) drew with Jose Gabriel Cardoso Cardoso (Col, 7)
- Anuj Shrivatri (7.5) drew with Rudik Makarian (Fid, 7.5)
- Shawn Rodrigue-Lemieux (Can, 7.5) drew with Aditya Samant (7.5)
- Tobias Koelle (Ger, 8) beat Ozenir Ekin Baris (Tur, 7)
- Domalchuk-Jonasson Aleksandr (Isl, 6.5) lost to Aleksey Grebnev (Fid, 7.5)
- Pranav Anand (7.5) beat Arsen Davtyan (Arm, 6.5)
- L Srihari (6.5) lost to Avila Pavas Santiago (Col, 7.5)
- L R Srihari (7) drew with Pham Tran Gia Phuc (Vie, 7)
Girls:
- Divya Deshmukh (10) beat Krasteva Beloslava (Bul, 7)
- Mariam Mkrtchyan (Arm, 9.5) beat Rakshitta Ravi (7.5)
- Norman Kseniya (Fid, 7) lost to Ayan Allahverdiyeva (Aze, 8.5)
- Sachi Jain (7) lost to Shubhi Gupta (8)
- Mrudul Dehankar (7.5) beat Martyna Wikar (Pol, 7)
- Kaldarova Ayaulym (Kaz, 7) drew with Balabayeva Xeniya (Kaz, 7)
- G Tejaswini (7) drew with Sofia Hryzlova (Sui, 7)
- Bristy Mukherjee (7) drew with Anna Zhurova (Fid, 7)
- V Rindhiya (7.5) beat Oshini Gunawardhana Devindya (6.5)
- Sulyok Eszter (Hun, 6) lost to Narmin Abdinova (Aze, 7.5)
President of the All India Chess Federation, Nitin Narang, took to his X handle to congratulate Deshmukh on her achievement. "Congratulations @DivyaDeshmukh05 on winning the World Junior Girls Chess Championship held at GIFT City, Gandhinagar. Your dedication and skill have truly paid off. We're all incredibly proud of your achievement!" Narang stated.
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