I'm an aggressive player, don't feel pressure: Chess champ Divya Deshmukh

Newly-crowned FIDE Women's Chess World Cup champion Divya Deshmukh on Thursday said she is an aggressive player for whom pressure does not matter much.

The 19-year-old became the youngest to win the Women's World Cup, held in Batumi in Georgia, on July 28 after she outwitted Koneru Humpy in the tie-breaker of an all-Indian final. The victory not just earned her the prestigious title, but also made her a Grandmaster. Interacting with the press here, the chess sensation said it is easier for her to go into tactics and aggressive positions. "Pressure does not matter much to me. What matters is my own expectations and goals," Deshmukh asserted. 

 

  Asked about frequent comparisons with the legendary former India cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, hailed for his aggressiveness and mental toughness, Deshmukh said, "I think aggressiveness was always in my play. It is easier for me to go into tactics and aggresive positions. I think it is my style."  Asked about similarities with D Gukesh, who at 18 became the youngest world chess champion in December after a victory over Ding Liren of China, Deshmukh said, "I think the fact that we both fight till the end is the biggest similarity." Queried on rise in exprectations post her stupendous win, the 19-year-old said there has been pressure on her for the last many years.  "But after a time, it doesn't matter whether there is pressure from 100 persons or a lakh. For, me what matters is my own expectation and my own goals. Obviously, pressure is always there in your head but I try not look at it or think about it," she said.