Divya Deshmukh is an Indian chess player from Maharashtra who became the National women’s chess champion in 2022.
Contents
Wiki/Biography
Divya Deshmukh was born on Friday, 9 December 2005 (age 18 years; as of 2023) in Nagpur, Maharashtra. Her zodiac sign is Sagittarius. She did her schooling at Bhavan’s Bhagwandas Purohit Vidya Mandir, Nagpur.
Physical Appearance
Hair Colour: Black
Eye Colour: Black
Family
Parents & Siblings
Divya’s father’s name is Dr. Jitendra Deshmukh, who is a gynaecologist. Her mother’s name is Dr. Namrata Deshmukh, who is also a gynaecologist. She has a sister, Arya Deshmukh, who is studying law.
Divya Deshmukh with her family
Career
Gold Medals
- 2012: Asian School Chess Championship (two medals)
Divya Deshmukh wins Asian School Chess Championship
- 2012: National Championship, Pondicherry
Divya Deshmukh wins gold at National Championship 2012
- 2013: Asian Youth Chess Championship
- 2013: National Championship, Chennai
Divya Deshmukh posing with her trophy won at National Championship 2013
- 2014: World Under 10 Girls Chess Championship in Durban, South Africa
Divya Deshmukh posing with the trophy won at World Under 10 Girls Chess Championship
- 2014: Asian Youth Championship
- 2014: School (Games) Federation Of India Championship
- 2015: Commonwealth Games
- 2016: Asian Youth Championship (two medals)
- 2016: National School Championship
- 2017: World Cadets Chess Championship in Pocos de Caldas, Brazil
Divya Deshmukh posing with the World Cadets Chess Championship trophy
- 2017: Asian Youth Championship
- 2017: Commonwealth Games
- 2017: National U-13 Girls Championship
- 2019: Commonwealth Championships
- 2020: FIDE Online Chess Olympiad
Divya Deshmukh posing with FIDE Online Chess Olympiad certificate
- 2024: 45th Chess Olympiad, Budapest, Hungary (Individual)
Divya and other members of the team with their Chess Olympiad Gold Medal
Silver Medals
- 2014: National Chess Championship
- 2015: National Championship
- 2016: Asian Youth Championship
Bronze Medals
- 2012: National School Chess Championship
- 2014: National School Championship
- 2015: World Youth in the U- 10 girls category in Halkidiki, Greece
Divya Deshmukh posing with World Youth in the U- 10 girls category trophy
- 2016: World Youth Championship
Divya Deshmukh with her World Youth Championship 2016 trophy
Trophies
- 2024: Gaprindashvili Trophy at the 45th Chess Olympiad, Budapest, Hungary
Women and Men’s Chess Team with their trophies
Facts/Trivia
- Her FIDE rating as of February 2022 is 2301.
- Her hobbies include painting, archery, and flower breeding.
- Divya started practising chess at the age of six. Before playing chess, she used to play badminton but had to switch the game due to her short height.
- In an interview, Divya’s mother said that Divya got interested in the game by watching her father who used to play chess as a hobby. She was five years old when she won her first award.
Divya Deshmukh receiving her first trophy at the age of five
- In 2021, she became India’s 21st Woman Grand Master (WGM) after achieving her 2nd International Master (IM) at Grand Master held in Budapest, Hungary.
Divya Deshmukh playing at International Master (IM) competition
- In March 2022, she became Nagpur’s first senior national women’s chess champion after Koneru Humpy, who won it in 2003. After winning the national tournament, she shared her feelings and said,
It’s hard to believe but I have to believe it. I had zero expectations while heading to this tournament as I just wanted to play my best.”
Divya Deshmukh becomes national women’s chess champion 2022
- In March 2022, the Maharashtra Chess Association awarded her with a cash prize of Rs. 50, 000 for winning the MPL 47th National women’s Championship held at Bhubaneshwar.
Divya Drshmukh wins cash prize from Maharashtra Chess Association
- In an interview, her coach RB Ramesh talked about how intelligent Divya was and said,
Divya is a very talented and hard working girl. She has been making steady progress in her playing strength and her rating has also been increasing steadily as a result. She is very sure of herself and does not doubt her abilities at the same time very down to earth. I am very happy that she very deservingly won the world title.”
- She takes inspiration from chess player Viswanathan Anand.
Divya Deshmukh with Viswanathan Anand
- She is a passionate animal lover and often posts pictures of them on social media.
Divya Deshmukh’s pet dog
- On 28 January 2024, she took to Instagram to share her experience of witnessing sexist behaviour from the crowd at the Tata Steel Chess Tournament held in Wijk aan Zee, Netherlands. She mentioned how a majority of people were concerned about things like her hair, clothes, and accent rather than her game and skills. She further wrote,
I have faced so much judgement including hatred over the years for things that don’t even matter. I think women should start getting equal respect.”
