Overview

• FIDE and CEO Emil Sutovsky confirmed that Deshmukh received a presidential invite to the Open knockout in Goa.
• The slot opened after a last-minute withdrawal, with Sutovsky noting there was otherwise no female representation in the field.
• The World Cup runs October 30 to November 27 and features 206 players competing for Candidates qualification spots.
• Deshmukh recently scored 5.0/11 in the Grand Swiss Open, a performance FIDE cited in support of her selection.
• FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich also issued wildcards to Abhimanyu Mishra, Andy Woodward, Volodar Murzin, Kirill Alekseenko and 11-year-old Faustino Oro.