In a display of attacking chess, Indian Grandmaster Divya Deshmukh has secured her first win at the FIDE Grand Swiss tournament, defeating Egyptian grandmaster Amin Bassem. The victory is particularly significant as Bassem is Africa’s highest-rated player and has an ELO rating 158 points higher than the 19-year-old Indian. Despite the significant gap in their rankings, Divya's aggressive and resourceful play proved too much for her opponent.
Divya, who recently became a Grandmaster after winning the FIDE Women's World Cup, admitted that she had a "quite a rough start" to the game. She revealed to ChessBase that she "completely forgot my prep today. The opening was just bad." Despite this early lapse, the young Grandmaster managed to find moves that kept her in the game, demonstrating her resilience and ability to think on her feet.
The turning point of the match came when Divya, known for her attacking prowess, launched a fierce assault on Bassem's king. A key moment was her bold move on the 33rd turn, sacrificing her rook to capture a pawn on g4. "I loved that move!" she remarked with a smile. This seemingly risky move opened the way for an all-out attack, with her queen, rook, and bishop forming a "claustrophobic circle" around Bassem's king.
The relentless pressure from Divya's pieces left Bassem with no escape, making a checkmate inevitable. The Egyptian grandmaster, who is also a medical doctor by profession, resigned on the 47th move. At the time of resignation, Divya was up by two pawns and a rook, a testament to her tactical brilliance and ability to capitalize on her opponent's mistakes.
For her, the victory was a huge relief after a mixed start to the tournament, which included two draws and a loss in her first three games. “The victory was a relief for me, I was wondering when a win would come! I’m glad that it came today! The first game at the event was tough, but I learnt a lot. It also helped me. I just had to calculate so much in the first game! I think that training helped me in the other ones,” she said.