World Junior 2023 Report | Rounds 8 and 9

As the World Junior Chess Championship matches are down to the final days, the pressure is mounting up for all the players. Indian boys and girls continue to face strong opposition and try their best on the board each day. After 9 rounds, WIM Mounika Akshaya is at 6.5 points, WGM Rakshitta Ravi is at 6 points, and Amulya Guruprasad is at 3.5 points. GM Pranav Anand is at 6.5 points in the open section, followed by IM Dushyant Sharma at 6 points, IM Harshavardhan G B at 5.5 points, and Vignesh B at 4.5 points. The round reports are as follows:

Round 8: In the girls section, WIM Mounika (2096) drew with the black pieces against the 5th seed of the event, WIM Hryzlova, Sofiia (2228) from Switzerland. The initial part of the game witnessed Mounika getting the edge, but it soon turned into a plus position for Sofiia after she launched the h-pawn on the kingside. However, she could not convert the game into a win, and it ended in a draw. WGM Rakshitta (2272) had to settle for a draw against WIM Sultanbek, Zeinep (2022) from Kazakhstan as her opponent did not give any chances to gain advantage. Amulya (1633) lost to a higher rated opponent, WCM Castillo Beitia, Ashley Alexandra (1870), who is the only player representing Panama in the tournament.

It was a solid day in the open section with one win and three draws. IM Dushyant (2339) won with the black pieces against IM Koellner, Ruben Gideon (2485) from Germany. Koellner opted for the London system in which Dushyant managed to launch an interesting attack on the kingside. He sacrificed his knight and later captured it back, landing into a winning endgame with two pawns up. GM Pranav (2509) was also playing against an IM from Germany, Koelle, Tobias (2458). Pranav was pushing in a double-edged position for most part of the game, but missed some winning chances towards the end, after which the game ended in a draw.

IM Harshavardhan (2397) drew against GM Vignir Vatnar Stefansson (2484) from Iceland. The position was equal throughout the course of the game and both players did not give any real opportunities to their opponent. Vignesh B drew against IM Alonso Garcia, Aaron (2446) from Spain with the black pieces. His opponent tried to create chances at various instances but Vignesh held his ground and found solid responses.

Round 9: The girls section witnessed excellent games by both WGM Rakshitta and WIM Mounika. WIM Mounika (2096) initially gave slight chances to her opponent, WCM Goraj Barbara (2135) from Poland, but later continued with the kingside offensive and won the game in style with 33. f5 and 34. Bf6! WGM Rakshitta (2272) won against her lower-rated opponent, Djidjeli, Sarah (2058) from France. Her opponent missed a tactic that allowed her to grab a pawn, after which she converted the knight ending. Amulya (1633) was held to a draw by        Hurtado Montiel, Citlalli (1300) from Mexico.

In the open section, GM Pranav (2509) won against IM Haring, Filip (2441) from Slovakia with the black pieces. He gained initiative on the queenside and advanced his a-pawn to a2, crushing white’s position! IM Dushyant (2339) lost against GM Subelj, Jan (2492) from Slovakia after missing some drawing chances under time pressure. IM Harshavardhan (2397) lost to the 5th seed of the open section, IM Makarian, Rudik (2548). Rudik was pressing in the middlegame with good advantage and piece-play, but the ending was round-about equal until Harshavardhan made a mistake on the 50th move. He played e3, which is a mistake as it does not give black the time to cut off white’s king. Instead, he could have played 50… Kb7 and later played Rf6 to prevent white’s king from grabbing any more pawns than the one on e-file. Vignesh also lost his game, against IM Fromm, Marius (2472) from Germany.

The last two rounds are very crucial, with certain players still in the medal race. GM Pranav is playing on the 4th board, against top seed GM Hans Neimann in the 10th round. WIM Mounika is also playing on the 4th board in the girls section against IM Obregon Garcia, Roxangel from Cuba.