In Chess, India’s Divya Deshmukh scored her first win in the open category of the FIDE Grand Swiss 2025 in Uzbekistan, defeating Egyptian GM Bassem Amin in the fourth round last night. Playing with the black pieces, Divya, who recently claimed the FIDE World Cup title, outplayed her higher-rated opponent in a Sicilian Defence. The 19-year-old capitalised on a series of mistakes in the middle-game to transition into a winning endgame. A brilliant rook sacrifice eventually sealed the deal, handing Divya a massive and memorable victory.

 

 

Meanwhile, Indian grandmasters Gukesh Dommaraju and Arjun Erigaisi, two of the country’s strongest players, played out a draw in Round 4. The third member of India’s golden generation of chess prodigies, Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu, was also held to a draw by Indian-origin American prodigy Abhimanyu Mishra. Veteran Indian GM Vidit Gujrathi, on the other hand, was held to a draw by the legendary Ukrainian GM Vasyl Ivanchuk in a gruelling game that lasted over six hours.