Woman International Master Divya Deshmukh snatched the sole lead with 4.5 points after the sixth round of the Velammal-AICF Woman Grandmaster round robin chess tournament held at Hotel Abu Sarovar Portico, Chennai on Thursday.
Two wins on a double-round day against V. Varshini and Franco Valencia Angela propelled the Nagpur girl to sole lead. Following Divya behind at four points were Osmak Iulija and Babiy Olga (both from Ukraine) and Michelle Catherina (India).
Former World U-12 champion Divya Deshmukh consolidated her WGM Norm prospects with a fine win over Woman International Master Franco Valencia Angela of Columbia. Giving up her queen for two rooks, Divya swung her pieces with elan, catching the back-rank with a vice-like grip. Facing mate and multiple piece loss, Angela resigned on the 37th move.
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In another interesting game, overnight leader P. Michelle Catherina went down to Kazakh girl Nakhbayeva Guliskhan.
| Round 4 on 2019/01/30 at 10.00 am | |||||||||||
| Bo. | No. | FED | Rtg | Name | Result | Name | FED | Rtg | No. | ||
| 1 | 12 | UKR | 2394 | IM | Osmak Iulija | 1 – 0 | WIM | Sapale Saloni | IND | 2198 | 8 |
| 2 | 9 | MGL | 2428 | IM | Munguntuul Batkhuyag | 1 – 0 | WIM | Divya Deshmukh | IND | 2168 | 7 |
| 3 | 10 | IND | 2171 | WIM | Varshini V | 0 – 1 | WIM | Michelle Catherina P | IND | 2175 | 6 |
| 4 | 11 | COL | 2107 | WIM | Franco Valencia Angela | 0 – 1 | WIM | Chandreyee Hajra | IND | 1925 | 5 |
| 5 | 1 | KAZ | 2336 | IM | Nakhbayeva Guliskhan | 0 – 1 | WIM | Aakanksha Hagawane | IND | 2259 | 4 |
| 6 | 2 | MGL | 2314 | WGM | Uuriintuya Uurtsaikh | 1 – 0 | WGM | Babiy Olga | UKR | 2275 | 3 |
| Round 5 on 2019/01/31 at 09.30 am | |||||||||||
| Bo. | No. | FED | Rtg | Name | Result | Name | FED | Rtg | No. | ||
| 1 | 3 | UKR | 2275 | WGM | Babiy Olga | ½ – ½ | IM | Osmak Iulija | UKR | 2394 | 12 |
| 2 | 4 | IND | 2259 | WIM | Aakanksha Hagawane | ½ – ½ | WGM | Uuriintuya Uurtsaikh | MGL | 2314 | 2 |
| 3 | 5 | IND | 1925 | WIM | Chandreyee Hajra | 0 – 1 | IM | Nakhbayeva Guliskhan | KAZ | 2336 | 1 |
| 4 | 6 | IND | 2175 | WIM | Michelle Catherina P | 1 – 0 | WIM | Franco Valencia Angela | COL | 2107 | 11 |
| 5 | 7 | IND | 2168 | WIM | Divya Deshmukh | 1 – 0 | WIM | Varshini V | IND | 2171 | 10 |
| 6 | 8 | IND | 2198 | WIM | Sapale Saloni | ½ – ½ | IM | Munguntuul Batkhuyag | MGL | 2428 | 9 |
| Round 6 on 2019/01/31 at 04.00 pm | |||||||||||
| Bo. | No. | FED | Rtg | Name | Result | Name | FED | Rtg | No. | ||
| 1 | 12 | UKR | 2394 | IM | Osmak Iulija | 1 – 0 | IM | Munguntuul Batkhuyag | MGL | 2428 | 9 |
| 2 | 10 | IND | 2171 | WIM | Varshini V | ½ – ½ | WIM | Sapale Saloni | IND | 2198 | 8 |
| 3 | 11 | COL | 2107 | WIM | Franco Valencia Angela | 0 – 1 | WIM | Divya Deshmukh | IND | 2168 | 7 |
| 4 | 1 | KAZ | 2336 | IM | Nakhbayeva Guliskhan | 1 – 0 | WIM | Michelle Catherina P | IND | 2175 | 6 |
| 5 | 2 | MGL | 2314 | WGM | Uuriintuya Uurtsaikh | 1 – 0 | WIM | Chandreyee Hajra | IND | 1925 | 5 |
| 6 | 3 | UKR | 2275 | WGM | Babiy Olga | ½ – ½ | WIM | Aakanksha Hagawane | IND | 2259 | 4 |
SNA Seminar & Exam at Amity University, Near Chandigarh Airport, Airport Road, Mohali, Punjab on 03 & 04 October 2026. 
SNA Seminar & Exam at Chenduran college of Engineering , Lenavilakku, Pudukkottai District ,Tamil Nadu on 31 October & 01 November 2026 
FIDE World Championships U7, U9, U11, U13, U15 & U17 – 2026 in Roquetas de Mar, Spain from 13th to 21st October 2026 
Certificate: SNA Seminar & Exam held in Jammu on 17 & 18 July 2026 
Asian Amateur Chess Championships – 2026 (Men & Women U2300 – U2000 – U1700) in Bangkok, Thailand from 20th to 30th November, 2026. 
Final report :Asian Junior Open & Girls Chess Championships 2026 in Mumbai from 16-26 August 2026