Indian prodigies Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa and Woman International Master Divya Deshmukh notched up their second straight victories as round two of the World Youth Chess Championship concluded early on Thursday in Mumbai without any major upsets.
Chennai’s Praggnanandhaa got the better of Poland’s Antoni Kozak in the Open U18 category while Nagpur’s Diya routed Bhagyashree Patil in the Girls U14 to underline their form and preparedness for the 11-round mega event, India’s biggest chess tournament in recent times.
Fourteen-year-old Praggnanandhaa was among 12 players, including four other Indians, to maintain a clean slate and pick up the maximum possible 2 points so far. The country’s second youngest Grandmaster, playing white, opened with the King’s Indian. On move 17, he sacrificed his Rook for a Knight as he put pressure on Antoni’s king. The Pole soon returned the sacrifice, hoping to get away unscathed.
But the Indian was was meticulous in his play and swiftly marched towards victory.
In the same group, top seed GM Shant Sargsyan of Armenia played brilliantly to knock out China’s Shixu Wang. In a complicated endgame, Sargsyan played aggressively with his pawns, which ultimately proved to be the deciding factor in his win.
India’s other Grandmaster P Iniyan too had a fairly easy run, beating Ravan Aliyev of Azerbaijan. Aditya Mittal, Srijit Paul and Luke Mendonca were the other Indians who won their matches in the morning session. Round three began in the evening.
In Girls U14, top seed Divya Deshmukh wheeled out the Sicilian Defence in reply to Bhagyashree’s King Pawn opening. Right at the start, Divya played a string of attacking moves which her opponent couldn’t cope with. The game ended on move 30 with Bhagyashree’s resignation. Rakshitta Ravi and Dhyana Patel were the other Indians in this category who scored easy wins.
Key results (Round 2):
U14 Open: Sreeshwan M (IND) bt. Rudolf Jun Jr (CZE); Volodar Murzin (RUS) bt. Dennis Andrijashkin (EST).
U14 Girls: Divya Deshmukh (IND) bt. Bhagyashree Patil (IND); Rakshitta Ravi (IND) bt. Mariya Alekseenko (RUS)
U16 Open: - Moke Niemann (USA) bt VS Raahul (IND); Oliver Wartiovaara (FIN) drew Santiago Avila (COL)
U16 Girls: Leya Garifullina (RUS) bt. Madara Golsta (LAT); Govhar Bydullayeva (AZE) drew Svitlana Demchenko (CAN)
U18 Open: – Shant Sargsyan (ARM) bt Shixu Wang (CHN); R Praggnanandhaa (IND) bt Antoni Kozak (POL)
U18 Girls: – Polina Shuvalova (RUS) bt. Tanishka Kotia (IND), Vantika Agrawal (IND) drew Aashna Makhija (IND)
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