 "Divya Deshmukh had become India's 88th Grandmaster after winning the FIDE Women's World Cup in July. Image credit: FIDE")
After her heroics at the FIDE Women’s World Cup in Georgia, where she defeated three players ranked among the women’s top-10 including compatriot Koneru Humpy in the final, Indian Grandmaster Divya Deshmukh has been added to the ‘Open’ section of the upcoming FIDE Grand Swiss event.
Divya part of a field comprising Gukesh, Pragg and Arjun
The teenager thus finds herself in a stacked field that comprises leading names such as reigning world champion D Gukesh as well as Indian No 1 R Praggnanandhaa and Arjun Erigaisi.
“So, the news I posted yesterday about was that I will be participating in the open Grand Swiss this year,” Divya wrote in a post on Instagram, confirming her wildcard entry into the event that takes place in Samarkand, Uzbekistan from 3 to 15 September.
Besides Divya, who became India’s 88th Grandmaster after defeating Humpy in the historic all-Indian Women’s World Cup final last month, Russia’s Aleksandra Goryachkina has also been added to the ‘Open’ section.
“Both Deshmukh and Aleksandra Goryachkina, who have already qualified for the FIDE Women’s Candidates, chose to request wild cards for the FIDE Grand Swiss Open rather than compete in the FIDE Women’s Grand Swiss,” FIDE said in a statement.
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The event also features other top names such as Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Alireza Firouzja, Anish Giri, Ian Nepomniachtchi among others.
The 2025 FIDE Grand Swiss will be crucial for those hoping to challenge Gukesh’s reign as the world champion, for it offers two spots for next year’s Candidates Tournament. Only one player – world No 3 Fabiano Caruana – has confirmed his place in the next Candidates as the 2024 FIDE Circuit winner.
After her heroics at the World Cup, where she qualified for next year’s Women’s Candidates along with Humpy and third-placed Tan Zhongyi, Divya had competed at Women’s Speed Chess Championships, where she fought a pitched battle againsst world No 1 Hou Yifan in the quarter-finals, losing in the tie-breaks after the scores stood level at 9.5-9.5.