NAGPUR: Finally, Divya Deshmukh is an International Master (IM). The 17-year-old took over four years to become the city's first, Maharashtra's third, and India's 12th IM among women players.
In the Baku Open international chess festival at Azerbaijan, Maharashtra's youngest Women Grandmaster (WGM) ended the agonizing wait of 1,559 days to clear the third and final norm, and earned the IM title on Friday.
On February 3, 2019, when Divya was 13 years old, she cleared her first IM norm. Two years later, she cleared her second norm, and during the National Women Championship Divya touched the requisite rating of 2400 Elo and was just a norm away from becoming an IM.
"I am very happy to finally become an International Master. I look forward to play more international tournaments," Divya told TOI.
In 2021, when she became WGM, the World Chess Federation (Fide) altered the criteria for chess players to earn the titles of GM and IM, and Divya was required to clear her third and final norm in any Swiss pattern tournament.
In the Baku open, the 2372 Elo Divya gave a performance rating of 2520 while finishing the nine-round event with five points. As per the average rating of her opponents, Divya was required to finish the tournament at 4.5 points while performing at 2450 Elo.
Two-time national women champion, Divya started the Baku Open as 62nd seed. On her way to clear the IM formality, Divya won four games, drew two boards and lost three rounds to finish the event at the 37th position.
With the long wait over, Divya is all set to start her journey of becoming a GM while maintaining the international rating of 2500 Elo.
