NAGPUR: Divya Deshmukh was on a roll in Germany. The star city girl finished the 935-player Grenke Chess A-Open at a creditable joint third position in Karlsruhe, Germany, but missed the Grandmasters norm by just two points.
With an ELO of 2424 Divya started at the nine-round classical tournament at the 77th rank. On her way to one of the best finishes in a strong field, the 18-year-old International Master (IM) gave a performance rating of 2585 and earned a total of 19 rating points.
Divya recorded victories in six rounds, drew two boards and suffered a defeat to finish the nine-round event with seven points. Based on the tie-break score after a tie at seven points she finished at the 3rd spot.
Giving a flying start to her campaign, Divya posted three straight victories where she outclassed Germany’s Till Engemann, Vogel Johannes and Mettenheim von Johannes. The only defeat that Divya suffered in the tournament came in the fourth round when she failed to utilize her opening advantage with the white pieces against 12th seeded, 2623 Elo German GM Svane Rasmus.
Despite the defeat, Divya continued her attacking play and outclassed Hungarian FM Tancsa Tamas while defending with the black pieces. In the sixth round, Divya got the better of Germany's Wagner Benjamin and held the 37th seed, 2524 Romanian GM Gavrilescu David on the seventh turn.
In the eighth and penultimate round, Divya defended well with the black pieces to stun 25th seeded Hungarian GM Papp Gabor. In the final round, Divya played safe and held 19th seed, 2602 Elo French GM Maurizzi MarcAndria and finished the event at the joint third position.
