Aakanksha clichés gold!

Aakanksha clichés gold!
By TT Lakshmipriyaa

The final round of the World Youth Chess Championship 2016 at Khanty Mansiysk concluded with Pune girl Aakanksha grabbing gold in the Under 16 Girls category. Round 11 started with two of our team members Aakanksha Hagwane and Vantika Agarwal requiring a win in the last round to grab their medals. Though the colour of the medal was dependent on a few other results for Vantika due to Tie break norms, a medal was rest assured with a win for both players.

As the games progressed Aakanksha played strong and outwitted her Polish opponent Sliwicka Alicja.with white pieces. She gained advantage very much within the first time control and subsequently converted the advantage to a win a long played endgame. Aakanksha confirmed and sealed her championship victory with this win.

Things were different for Vantika. One, it was a ‘must win’ situation for her to look at medal options; two, it was dependent on a few other results as well. The Delhi girl, confronted Chinese star Zu Jiner on the top board. Both Vantika and Zhu Jiner do not have major difference in rating, but alas, it was not Vantika’s day. Opening progressed smoothly, however in the middle game following some passive move choices from Vantika with white pieces, black gradually started gaining advantage. After the first time control, Black’s play strengthened. Vantika surrendered in a minor piece ending when Black’s victory was inevitable.

At her maiden World Championship victory, Aakanksha was interviewed at the Official Champions’ Press Conference where she shared her elation of winning the tournament. She also mentioned that actually did not come with any specific expectation for this tournament and that she tried to give her best in every round.

Two weeks of nail biting and eventful matches concluded on Oct 3rd with a Valedictory function that was entertaining as the inauguration, at the Ugra Classic Concert Theatre Centre. The Chief Arbiter of the championships Carlos Oliveira Dias was the first to address the gathering to who presented an update on the progress of the tournament, congratulated winners and thanks the arbiters’ crew for their support; followed by a quick address by the President of Ugra Chess Federation Vasily Filipenko and some officials from FIDE.

The Prize distribution started with a lot of enthusiasm. Organizers awarded top 10 players in each category as appreciation. Top 3 players received Gold, Silver and Bronze medals respectively and players finishing 4th to 10th received special prizes.
Aakanksha was the sole medal for India in the Championship. Aakanksha’s hattrick wins not only earned her the gold medal, a 90+ points rating increase but also the International Women Master title as a bonus!

Other prize winners from our team include, Iniyan Pannerselvam :7th in U 14 Open; Priyanka K: 8th in U16 G; Vantika Agarwal: 5th& Saina SaloniKa: 10th in U14 G.

The program concluded with fascinating music and dance performances concluding the championship in a positive and soothing note.

The championship was conducted extremely well and the organizing team at Khanty-Mansiysk indeed deserve an applause for the brilliant hospitality and support they provided throughout the championship.

As Alan Parsons once said ‘The Dark Side of the Moon has flash – the true flash that comes from the excellence of a superb performance.’ Here are few players who need a special mention for their outstanding performance in this tournament.

Tarun V Kanth who played in Under 14 Open category for his brilliants wins against highly rated opponents in the earlier rounds placing him at a tournament performance rating of 2234 and an whopping 146 ELO points increase (approx.) from his current rating of 1954.
Vantika Agarwal for putting up a performance rating of 2190 and an increase of 103 ELO points (approx.) from her current rating of 2012
Aakanksha Hagwane ofcourse for her calm composed and fantastic victory of the championship at a performance rating of 2362 and an ELO increase of 97 points(approx.) to her current rating of 2183.

Final Standings of Team India:

Group Name Rtg FED Pts. Final Standing.
O14 Iniyan P 2368 IND 7.5 7
O14 Bharambe Bhavik C 2104 IND 6 27
O14 Neelash Saha 2020 IND 6.5 22
O14 Tarun V Kanth 1954 IND 6 28
G14 WCM Salonika Saina 2093 IND 7 10
G14 Priyanka Nutakki 2070 IND 7 12
G14 Vantika Agrawal 2012 IND 8 5
G14 Makhija Aashna 1830 IND 6 23
G14 WFM Mishra Anwesha 1819 IND 6 25
O16 IM Raghunandan Kaumandur Srihari 2451 IND 7 12
O16 FM Mitrabha Guha 2286 IND 6 32
G16 Priyanka K 2205 IND 7 8
G16 Aakanksha Hagawane 2183 IND 9 1
O18 FM Rajdeep Sarkar 2347 IND 6 25
O18 WIM Vaishali R 2295 IND 5 38
O18 IM Krishna Teja N 2268 IND 5.5 33
G18 WIM Mahalakshmi M 2221 IND 6.5 11
G18 Toshali V 1766 IND 4.5 40

Indian Delegation at Khanty Mansiysk after the Valedictory Function at Ugra Classic Concert Center, Khanty Mansiysk

Results of Indian Players for the day: Round 11
Under 18 Open:
15. IM Krishna Teja N (2268) IND 5 Drew with 5 FM Wu Christopher (2377) USA; 16. FM Rajdeep Sarkar (2347) IND 5 Beat 5WIM Vaishali R (2295) IND

Under 18 Girls:
6. WIM Mahalakshmi M (2221) IND 6 Drew with 6WIM Heinemann Josefine (2242) GER; 20. Toshali V (1766) IND 4½ Lost to 4 WFM Auvray Honorine (1961) FRA

Under 16 Open:
7. FM Makhnyov Denis (2375) KAZ 6½ Lost to 6IMRaghunandan Kaumandur Srihari (2451) IND; 24. FM Mitrabha Guha (2286) IND 5 Beat 5Garbowski Jakub (2030) POL

Under 16 Girls:
2. Aakanksha Hagawane (2183) IND 8 Beat 6½ WFMSliwicka Alicja (2092) POL; 5. Nguyen Hong Ngoc (1807) VIE 6½ Drew with 6½ Priyanka K (2205) IND

Under 14 Open:
5. FM Quirhuayo Chumbe German Gonza (2255) PER 6½ Lost to 6½Iniyan P (2368) IND; 12. Bharambe Bhavik C (2104) IND 5½ Drew with 5½FMMiyasaka Marcus M (2269) USA; 17. Neelash Saha (2020) IND 5½ Beat 5½ Yeritsyan Aram (2117) RUS; 22. Tarun V Kanth (1954) IND 5 Beat 4½ Haring Filip (2099) SVK

Under 14 Girls:
1. Vantika Agrawal (2012) IND 8 Lost to 7½Zhu Jiner (2024) CHN; 7.Aciu Malina-Andreea (1876) ROU 6½ Lost to 6WCM Salonika Saina (2093) IND; 9. Priyanka Nutakki (2070) IND 6 Beat 6 WFM Zahedifar Anahita (2081) IRI; 11. WFM Gomez Barrera Javiera Belen (2027) CHI 5½ Beat 6 WFM Mishra Anwesha (1819) IND; 13. Makhija Aashna (1830) IND 5½ Drew with 5½ WFMSerikbay Assel (1996) KAZ

(Picture Courtesy : http://wy2016.fide.com/)