​Top board: on Divya Deshmukh’s women’s chess World Cup win

Divya Deshmukh’s astonishing performance at the women’s chess World Cup has put the limelight back on Indian chess, yet again. Rarely does a week pass without an Indian player achieving a significant feat in some corner of the world. Still, what Divya did at Batumi, Georgia, on Monday, deserves attention. The 19-year-old from Nagpur won one of the most prestigious tournaments, coming through a gruelling knockout competition, outwitting rivals much stronger and more experienced. She had started out as the 15th seed. That she defeated another Indian, the fourth-seeded Koneru Humpy and reigning World rapid chess champion, in the final, underlined the country’s domination of the event. Two other Indians, D. Harika and R. Vaishali, had also advanced to the quarterfinals. The great show in Georgia does not make India a superpower in women’s chess, though. That honour belongs to China, home to the last three women’s World champions. Though the Indian women, like the men, won the Chess Olympiad last year at Budapest, China has more depth. India may now boast the world’s best young talent among men, in the form of World champion D. Gukesh, World No. 4 R. Praggnanandhaa and No. 5 Arjun Erigaisi among others, but the bench in women’s chess is not all that strong.

Divya’s — and India’s — stunning success should no doubt inspire young girls to take up chess as a career. The huge media attention that Divya has received — she has been featured on the front pages of newspapers, became breaking news on TV and got plenty of traction online — could encourage even more parents to make their daughters learn chess. And India needs more girls to move the pieces on the chessboard. Though the current Indian lineup looks good enough to retain the Olympiad gold next year, it is imperative that the country needs to spot and nurture fresh young talent. There are a few players such as Vantika Agrawal and B. Savitha Shri, but in the world’s top 100, there are only eight Indians, while China has 14, including the top three. India’s chess administrators have to make some long-term plans for women’s chess, and should implement them quickly. After identifying a fairly large group of promising girls, they need to be properly trained and provided excellent coaches. Only few families can afford the highly expensive trainers and the travel to Europe, from where the Indian players usually make their norms for their Grandmaster or International Master titles. There should also be more such tournaments in India.