World Junior Chess Chmapionship 2023 Rounds 2-4 Report

INDIA AT THE WORLD JUNIOR CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP 2023 IN MEXICO: ROUNDS 2-4

Following a strong start on day 1, the Indian team continued to stay steady with some mixed results in rounds 2, 3 and 4.

Round 2: In the girls section, WGM Rakshitta (2272) beat her lower-rated counterpart WIM Diaz Charpentier, Kristel Meliss (1951) from Croatia. She landed a slightly better endgame and later converted the position. WIM Mounika (2096) won against Pantaleon Salmoran, Atzin Yaret (1347) from Mexico. She and her opponent both missed a tactic in the middlegame, after which Mounika managed to strengthen her center and create pressure. Amulya lost to a higher-rated opponent Hernandez Diaz, Paula Sofia (1796) from Mexico.

Coming to the open section, the Indian duel saw GM Pranav Anand getting the upper hand out of Najdorf defence against IM Dushyant Sharma. Pranav converted the game with a clean finish. IM Harshavardhan G B had a decent opening but made a hasty pawn push f4 which gave advantage to GM Nesterov, Arseniy who converted the advantage to a win. Vignesh B had a solid game with IM Boyer, Mahel. The game lasted close to 4.5 hours resulting in VIgnesh holding the higher seeded French IM.

Vignesh B against French IM Boyer, Mahel

Round 3: In the girls section, WGM Rakshitta was held to a draw by WCM Goraj, Barbara. Goraj played very solid opening and kept on exchanging pieces, thereby going into a drawn ending. WIM Mounika Akshaya missed a clear winning position and drew with higher rated WGM Krasteva, Beloslava. Mounika opted for the Sandipan Bd2 variation against Nimzo Indian Defence but landed into a dubious position. Inaccuracies from both sides in the middlegame gave upper hand to Mounika. However, she missed d7!! On the 44th move which would have sealed the game. Amulya registered her first win of the tournament by winning against Leal Escamilla, Emma Alizee.

In the open section, GM Pranav Anand opted for 6.f3 variation against IM Galaviz Medina, Sion Radamantys’s Najdorf. Pranav had the upper hand for most part of the opening and middlegame. However, he missed 27. Rxc7 which would have given him an easy position with heavy pieces being exchanged.Inaccuracies in late middlegame gave Black some edge but Pranav kept his cool and made a draw.

IM Harshavardhan played Classical Sicilian against lower rated Kallunki, Konsta and went into a complicated middlegame. Konsta had his chances against Harshavardhan but a few inaccuracies from white gave Harshavardhan the much needed win. Vignesh B played against IM Stearman, Josiah in the 3rd round. The Tamilnadu youngster played Symmetrical English which transposed into an Accelerated Dragon. Few inaccuracies in the middlegame and time scramble resulted in a loss for Vignesh. IM Dushyant Sharma defeated lower rated Munoz Morales, Angel Bernardo and took his tally to 2 points out of 3 rounds.

Round 4: The girls section witnessed a battle of nerves between WGM Rakshitta and WIM Mounika, who were playing against each other. While the game was roughly equal for most part, Mounika made a few mistakes right after the 40th move. Rakshitta captured key pawns that allowed her to promote her pawn in a rook vs bishop-knight ending, and eventually win the game. With this win, Rakshitta stands at 3.5/4 points while Mounika is at 2.5/4 points. Amulya won her game against Medrano Eslava, Luna from Mexico and now stands on 2/4 points.

It was a happy day for India in the open section, with all players winning their games! GM Pranav defeated IM Alonso Garcia, Aaron (2446) from Spain with the black pieces. Pranav combined his positional skills with tactical maneuvers in the double-edged game, and now stands at 3.5/4 points. IM Harshavardhan beat Mierins, Emils Janis (2149) from Latvia, after launching an attack on the opponent’s king. IM Dushyant won against May Sanchez, Andres Elias (2117) from Mexico. He made a mistake in the middlegame but his opponent couldn’t capitalize on it, turning it into a plus position for him. Vignesh defeated Rathbone-Jones, Ifan (1942) who is the only player representing Wales in the event. Round 5 will see some interesting games as the tournament is heating up. Most of the games are being broadcasted live in all major websites such as Chess.com