Asian Continental Chess Championship | Indian chess prodigy Divya Deshmukh clinches title
The Asian Continental Chess Championship's women's classical tournament was won by Indian Divya Deshmukh, with Mary Ann Gomes coming in second.
To win with 7.5 points, the 17-year-old Divya was paired in the ninth and final round with Kazakhstan's Xenia Balabayeva. Mary drew as well in the decisive round, taking second place with 6.5 points. In the previous round, Divya had soundly defeated WIM Meruert Kamalidenova (Kazakhstan).
Sakshi Chitlange of India finished seventh with 5.5 points. P V Nandhidhaa (5 points) and Aashna Makhija (5 points) placed 13th and 14th among other Indians, respectively. In the Open competition, GM Abhimanyu Puranik, who was in medal contention entering the decisive round against Azamat Utegaliyev, could only achieve a draw. His final score of 6.5 put him in fourth place.
Top-seeded Indian GM Arjun Erigaisi finished sixth with 6.5 points, followed by S P Sethuraman in seventh. Shamsiddin Vokhidov of Uzbekistan won first place.