Divya Deshmukh on Thursday added another major title to her already impressive collection by winning the World Youth Chess Championship 2024 in Gandhinagar in the U-20 category.
She defeated the Bulgarian Beloslava Krasteva in the championship. Divya and Krasteva are two of the younger girls ranked in the top 20 by FIDE out of 101 players from 27 countries competing in the tournament.
The third-placed Indian would finish first with a win. Divya had the sole advantage in the last five rounds of the Open and Girls classes. With 5.5 points, he was a definite favorite at the beginning.
She won her first Junior Girls’ World Chess Championship without winning the competition.
Divya expressed her feelings after winning the tournament. “I think the Gujarat association has organized it well. The venues are good, the hotels have been good, and I have no problems here. I hope more tournaments will be organized here.
I played well and I am happy with my performance,”. “I am very happy; the tournament was well organized and therefore it was a bit easier for me. It was difficult, some players were so good that their ratings didn’t reflect how good they were.
The family was with me through thick and thin, I have no plans for the future at the moment. I want to become a GM (Grandmaster) as soon as possible. I don’t have a specific role model, but there are people who I take inspiration from,” the junior champion added.
Gujarat CM Bhupendra Patel also congratulated the winners of the World Youth Chess Championship 2024.”It is said to me that this participated in the championship with more than 225 players from 46 countries. When the players are in front of the chessboard, you don’t just play to win, you play for your country. Congratulations to the players who won.” said Bhupendra.
In the girl’s category, Mariam Mkrtchyan came second, finishing half a point behind Divya. Azerbaijan’s Ayan Allahverdiyeva was third. In the penultimate round, the International Champion (IM) beat peer Sachi Jain, winning a total of nine points.
