KOLKATA: Divya Deshmukh is growing from strength to strength. Overnight joint leader, the 17-year-old Women’s Grandmaster, established her position on the top as the sole leader in the women’s rapid section of Tata Steel Chess India tournament by winning all the three round matches at the Bhasha Bhawan in the National Library of India campus here on Friday. Divya will go into Saturday’s final three rounds of action with 5.5 points, a 1.5-point lead over her closest rival, women’s World champion Ju Wenjun of China, who is on four.
A modest Divya said her “only goal today was not to lose all three matches! I really hope that I do not end up having a disappointing end to this (run).” However, she agreed that being a last-minute entry to the tournament, she has the luxury of “playing without any pressure”.
