Nagpur chess prodigy Divya aims to become WGM and world champion

NAGPUR: Three medals, including two gold, in any international chess tournament is a great achievement. But Divya Deshmukh is not satisfied with the effort. The city chess prodigy wanted to make a clean sweep by bagging all the three gold medals - in blitz, rapid and standard formats - in the Asian Youth Chess Championship which concluded recently in Mangolia.
The ten-year-old grabbed yellow metal in the blitz and standard format.However in the rapid format, the city girl missed the gold narrowly.
"Before departing for Mangolia, I had a target of winning all the three gold medals. I prepared well for the tournament but unfortunately I failed to live up to the expectations in the rapid section," said Divya while interacting with the media during 'Meet the Press' programme, organized by the Sports Journalists' Association of Nagpur here on Monday.
After achieving so many laurels at the tender age, Divya now aims higher and bigger. "My dream is to become the first Woman Grandmaster (WGM) of the region. I also want to become world champion in the future," said a shy girl, who is preparing for the U-11 Nationals slated to be held at Raipur.
Divya was also accompanied by coach Dilip Pagay, manager of the Indian squad Manoj Itkelwar and her parents Jitendra and Namrata Deshmukh.
Lauding the spectacular feat of Divya, Indian coach and secretary of Maharashtra Chess Association Pagay said, "I have no doubt in my mind that she will become the first WGM of Vidarbha. She should have won all the three gold medals in Mangolia. She is very talented and capable of achieving more laurels in the years to come. I have been watching her right from the start. Her temperament is awesome. She is matured beyond her age."
Itkelwar also echoed Pagay's views and termed Divya as the pride of the city. "It is proud for us that Divya has achieved huge success in all three formats. She is just ten but she triumphed in the U-12 category, which is quite creditable. She is very polite in nature and was the role model at the Asian meet for the others," said Itkelwar.
Mother of Divya, Namrata Deshmukh, pointed out that early start is the key to achieve something big in life. "Divya started playing chess when she was barely four and half years old. We didn't expect that she would take chess as a profession. As parents, we have not done anything exceptional. It is normal for us to be with her. The roles of father and mother are different. We have to give her time so that she can concentrate on her game," said Namrata, who is a gynaecologist by profession.
"We have never pressurized her to make the career in chess. She will continue to play chess but at the same time education is equally important. If she continues to progress at a fast pace, then we will definitely encourage her to make chess as a career," said father Jitendra.