Divya Deshmukh Embraces Learning Over Winning at FIDE Grand Swiss

Saturday - 06/09/2025 06:03
Indian Grand Master Divya Deshmukh is participating in the FIDE Grand Swiss tournament in Samarkand. Despite an opening round defeat by her mentor Abhimanyu Puranik, the 19-year-old rebounded with a draw against Alexander Donchenko. Divya emphasizes learning over winning, stating that losses against strong players provide valuable lessons.
FIDE Grand Swiss: Divya Deshmukh ready to lose 11 rounds - 'I will be fine if I learn'
Divya Deshmukh
India Grand Master (GM) Divya Deshmukh says she won't mind losing all 11 games in the ongoing FIDE Grand Swiss tournament in Samarkand as long as she is learning.Divya was handed a defeat by her mentor Abhimanyu Puranik, who helped her win the FIDE Women’s World Cup, in the opening round. But the 19-year-old bounced back in style to hold Alexander Donchenko to a draw in round 2.
Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!
"Even if I lose all the rounds, I think I will be fine if I learn," she told ChessBase India."Every loss hurts a lot. When you play stronger players continuously, you learn so much even if you lose."You learn about yourself, you learn about what you should and should not do. For me, the result is not that important, more than what I take back from this tournament. This is definitely the strongest open tournament that I have played."I don’t want to say that I am used to getting beaten by these players,” she added.
Poll
What do you think is more important in a chess tournament?
This is the third time this year that Divya is plying her trade in the open section, after Tata Steel Challengers and the Prague Challengers events."Today I never really felt that I was in any danger at any point,” Divya said in an interview with Take Take Take.“I’m motivated enough to play here since I have to fight with these players. Yesterday was a bit of a disappointing loss, because I thought I could have won.”

Catch Lovlina Borgohain's inspiring story on Game On, Episode 5. Watch Here

Total notes of this article: 0 in 0 rating

Click on stars to rate this article

Newer articles

Older articles

You did not use the site, Click here to remain logged. Timeout: 60 second