Gutsy Divya holds Gukesh to a draw; she even taunted him by gifting a free knight

A fearless Divya Deshmukh held World Champion D Gukesh to a draw in round 8 of Grand Swiss 2025 at Samarkand in Uzbekistan on Friday.

The result was a continuation of the remarkable run GM Divya is on, having defeated or drawn against five other significantly higher-rated opponents in the event. Divya is only the second woman in the open category, with the other being experienced Russian GM Aleksandra Goryachkina.

Goryachkina (Elo of 2528) has caused a few upsets in the event, including victory over 2648-rated Daniil Yuffa in round 8 to take her tally to 3.5 points.

Divya has 4 points, which is 0.5 more than a handful of strong Indian men, including Gukesh, Pentala Harikrishna and Karthikeyan Murali.

On a positive note for Gukesh, he has managed to put an end to a three-game losing streak. But for the 2767-rated India No 3, being denied a win by an opponent who has yet to reach 2500 Elo points, should serve as a setback.

Divya, who recently won the women's World Cup, was in total control against the reigning men's classical champion. The game was even for the most part, and Divya was so confident in her end game skills that she even let Gukesh capture a free knight for a pawn. That uneven exchange happened by move 55, leaving Gukesh with a rook and a knight against Divya's rook and a pawn.

Though the position was a theoretical draw, the players kept at it for 103 moves before agreeing to split a point.

Meanwhile, there was no change at the top of the points table, where India's Malayali GM Nihal Sarin shares the lead with German Matthias Bluebaum on 6 points each after their draw.

Eight GMs, including young American Abhimanyu Mishra, are second on 5.5 points each. Arjun Erigaisi and R Praggnanandhaa drew their respective games to be level on 5 points. S L Narayanan, the second Kerala-based player in the event, drew his eighth game in a row to reach 4 points.