Nagpur, India-  Divya Deshmukh, the city's chess prodigy and top seed, surged ahead to claim the top spot at the midway point of the ongoing World Junior Girls Chess Championship in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.

In the sixth round of the 11-round tournament organized by the World Chess Federation (FIDE), Divya demonstrated strong defensive skills with her black pieces against Thursday's joint leader, 13th-seeded WIM Allahverdiyeva Ayan from Azerbaijan.

Opting for the Sicilian Defence against Allahverdiyeva's King pawn opening, Divya navigated through the bishop, knight, and queen's endgame to secure a decisive advantage. With a clever capture on the 42nd move, she forced Allahverdiyeva's resignation within three moves.

This victory, achieved in 45 moves, propelled Divya to the top of the leaderboard with 5.5 points, ahead of three competitors tied at five points each. The tournament features 101 players from 27 countries and spans 12 days.

Earlier in the fourth round, Divya played to a draw with Switzerland's eighth seed, WIM Hryzlova Sofiia, after a 30-move struggle in an evenly-matched endgame. Along her journey to the lead, Divya secured wins against three fellow Indians and Azerbaijan's Abdinova Narmin.

In the upcoming seventh round, following a day's break, Divya, boasting a rating of 2456 Elo, will once again defend with the black pieces. She is set to face the challenge posed by the second-seeded WIM Mkrtchyan Mariam from Armenia, who holds a 2300 Elo rating, on Sunday.