Divya Deshmukh enters top-10 in women’s live ranking for first time after third-place finish in Prague
India’s Divya Deshmukh broke into the top 10 in live rankings in women’s classical chess for the first time in her career, after a credible third-place finish at Prague Chess Challengers 2026.
Divya’s live rating now sits at a career-high 2509.3, lifting her two spots to 10th in standings.
In Prague, the 20-year-old Grandmaster claimed two wins and six draws from nine games to finish with five points.
Women’s classical chess – Live Ratings
1. Hou Yifan (China) – 2596.0
2. Lei Tingjie (China) – 2566.0
3. Ju Wenjun (China) – 2559.0
4. Zhu Jiner (China) – 2554.5
5. Koneru Humpy (India) – 2535.0
6. Tan Zhongyi (China) – 2535.0
7. Aleksandra Goryachkina (FIDE/Russia) – 2534.0
8. Anna Muzychuk (Ukraine) – 2522.0
9. Bibisara Assaubayeva (Kazakhstan) – 2516.0
10. Divya Deshmukh (India) – 2509.6
As of March 6, 2026.
On Friday, in the final round, Divya bettered Hrbek Stepan of Czech Republic with black pieces to close off an impressive tournament.
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Finek Vanclav of Czech Republic scored 6.5 points to win the event, half-a-point ahead of Daniel Yuffa of Spain.
Divya is next expected to be in classical chess action in the Candidates tournament, which she qualified for by winning the Chess World Cup title in 2025.
Published on Mar 06, 2026