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The Times of India
The Times of India
Sport
Amit Sampat | TNN

Divya to face world no. 3 Aleksandra in third round of FIDE chess World Cup

NAGPUR: Seventeen-year-old Divya Deshmukh, one of the five Indian women to qualify for the pre-quarterfinals of the FIDE World Cup, will face the toughest opponent in the third round from Saturday.

In the two-game match, the 2400 Elo Divya will be up against world no. 3 and second seed Russian Grandmaster (GM) Aleksandra Goryachkina, playing under the FIDE flag. The 2557 Elo Aleksandra was once the fourth highest rated woman in chess history and a three-time Russian champion.

On her way to enter the third round and becoming the best 16 women masters of the World Cup, Divya outplayed WIM Puteri Munajjah Az-Zahraa from Malaysia, and Hungarian GM Hoang Thanh Trang - both rated almost at par with Nagpur's International Master.

Aleksandra on the other hand made light work of Ordaz Valdes Lisandra Teresa from Cuba 1.5-0.5 after getting a walkover in the opening round on her way to qualify for the pre-quarterfinals. Divya had defeated both Puteri and Hoang with identical scores of 1.5-0.5.

With Aleksandra rated 157 points above Divya, the task will be uphill for reigning continental queen of Asia. Divya's good form while making accurate moves specially in the last round of her Word Cup journey so far could be a matter of concern for Aleksandra, who was the challenger in the 2020 Women's World Championship match, while losing the rapid tie-breaks to Ju Wenjun.

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