Brand new BBC Two series to feature South Warwickshire chess star
A South Warwickshire chess player nicknamed 'The Patient Predator' will feature in a new BBC programme which airs next week.
Deema, from Leamington Spa, is one of 12 rising stars set to feature in 'Chess Masters: The Endgame'.
Hosted by Sue Perkins, the show will run across eight episodes, with players from all backgrounds battling it out to be crowned Chess Champion.
As the players face off over the board, UK Grandmaster and three-time British champion David Howell provides expert commentary, alongside chess coach and former Traitors contestant, Anthony Mathurin.
Having first learned to play as a child, Warwickshire's Deema played her first competitive game after the Covid-19 outbreak saying she can "escape" into a game.
And having grown up in Baghdad, Iraq, she says she hopes to one day play under the Iranian flag.
"I'm here to win. I want to win. I want to show anyone, any beginner, that you can also pick it up as an adult too," she said.
"For me, it would create incredible opportunities.
"It will create hope inside me that I can become a title chess player, that I could join the Iraqi female Chess Federation team in the next Olympiad and play for Iraq.
"I'm currently playing under the English flag, but I hope one day I'll be able to play under the Iraqi flag."
Deema says she also enjoys puzzle solving - including those shared by GCHQ on LinkedIn - describing chess as the "ultimate mentally brutal puzzle".
Explaining the decision to sign up for Chess Masters, the 27-year-old explained: "It was important for me, as someone who developed competitive chess in their adult life, to show current beginner chess players that this is a skill you can take up and if you put the effort in, you can reach a pretty advanced level.
"And from a female perspective, I go to chess tournaments, and it's often I'm the only woman there, if not 90 per cent of the audience would be men.
"So it was very important to me, especially the audience outside chess, to see a female representation.
"We're a small community and we're tightly knit, and the fact that we are so small makes us all friends."
Describing herself as a cautious and defensive player, Deema says she likes to ask questions of her opponents.
Chess Masters: The Endgame will air on Monday 10 March at 8pm on BBC iPlayer and BBC Two.
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