36th National Under-9 Open and Girls: Chirag topples top seed, Sharvaanica on 3/3

by Himank Ghosh - 03/11/2023

The 2nd and 3rd round of the National Under-9 Championships saw a lot of upsets. In the Girls section, the top seed Sharvaanica AS (1430, TN) managed to win all 3 of her games comfortably so far - now having 3/3 with 11 other players. However, the top seed of the Open section, Safin Safarullakhan (1716, KER) was taken down by Chirag Lahoti (1247, MAH) with the White pieces, undoubtedly the biggest result of the round. Chirag has 3/3 points along with 16 more players right now. The 4th round starts from 9:30 AM IST today, 4th November. Photos: Himank Ghosh

The 100% girl starts off with 3/3

The top seed of the Girls section, Sharvaanica AS (1430, TN) is fondly called as the 100% girl, as she won multiple tournaments with a perfect score. She has started with 3 wins in a row!

Sharvaanica gives a smile just before the start of the 3rd round.

The biggest result of the day in the Girls category was Akshaya Narahari (1032, TEL) defeating Bhumika Waghle (1270, MAH).

Akshaya en route to defeat Bhumika | Photo: Himank Ghosh

Akshaya - Bhumika, Round 2 Girls

An early mistake in the game cost Bhumika dearly - Akshaya gave no chances, kept growing her advantage and converted the game confidently into a win. After the game, Akshaya mentioned in the post-game interview that her coach is one of India's most prolific trainers, N. Ramaraju!

Samhita Pungavanam (1345, TEL) kept grinding in an equal endgame for a long time, and her opponent Leah R Joseph (1146, KAR) blundered spectacularly in their 3rd round matchup.

Samhita and Leah both in deep thought in the opening

Samhita - Leah, Round 3 Girls

Position after 87...Kxh3

...Kxh3 turned out to be the decisive error in the equal Queen ending, as Samhita managed to trade queens with 88.Qh1+. The resulting King and pawn ending is a win - check out the last few moves to see how Samhita won the game:

In the Open section, the biggest upset of the day was Chirag Lahoti (1247, MAH) taking down the tournament top seed, Safin Safarullakhan (1716, KER). Chirag had already got a slightly better position with the Black pieces, but the decisive blunder came a bit later:

The top board clash in the open section in round 3.

Safin - Chirag, Open Round 3

The Position after 25. Re5

Re5 is the just blundering material - after 25...Qxe4+ followed by Qxd3, Chirag went on to win the game with ease. In the post-game interview with ChessBase India, Chirag mentioned this is the highest-rated player he has beaten so far!

Photo Gallery

The minister of Tribal affairs of India, Arjun Munda was the chief guest for the opening of Round 2!

The top boards in action during Round 3!

The completely packed playing hall full of players, arbiters and officials!

The lighting for the playing hall is absolutely spectacular!

For more Round 2 and Round 3 photos, please click at the respective links.

36th National Under-9 Open and Girls 2023 Inauguration Ceremony and Round 1 highlights | Video: ChessBase India

Replay Open Round 1-3 games

Replay Girls Round 1-3 games

Open Round 3 results

o.	No.		Name	Bdld	Rtg	Club/City	Pts.	Result	Pts.	Name	Bdld	Rtg	Club/City	No.
1	1	AFM	Safin Safarullakhan		1716	Kerala	2	0 - 1	2	Chirag Lahoti		1254	Maharashtra	34
2	35		Arav Vinod		1244	Kerala	2	0 - 1	2	Rahul Ramakrishnan		1531	Puducherry	2
3	3		Narendra Agarwal		1505	West Bengal	2	1 - 0	2	Pratyush Kumar		1235	Uttar Pradesh	38
4	37		Joshua Mark Telles		1235	Goa	2	1 - 0	2	Aarit Kapil		1469	Delhi	4
5	39		Vyan Banchhor		1235	Karnataka	2	1 - 0	2	Avyaay Garg		1418	Maharashtra	8
6	9		Mani Sarbartho		1418	West Bengal	2	½ - ½	2	Raghav Renuk Pawade		1220	Maharashtra	46
7	41		Veer Rakeshkumar Patel		1231	Gujarat	2	½ - ½	2	Rishaan Jain		1412	Rajasthan	10
8	11		Abhinav Anand		1395	Karnataka	2	0 - 1	2	Dhruv Gupta		1191	Delhi	54
9	43		Akshaya Vignesh M		1227	Tamil Nadu	2	0 - 1	2	Vairaj Sogerwal		1395	Haryana	12
10	13		Advik Amit Agrawal		1368	Maharashtra	2	1 - 0	2	Isshaan Arun		1186	Karnataka	56

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Standings after Round 3

Rk.	SNo		Name	sex	FED	Rtg	Bdld	Club/City	Pts.	TB1	TB2	TB3
1	2		Rahul Ramakrishnan		IND	1531		Puducherry	3	4	6	6,00
2	3		Narendra Agarwal		IND	1505		West Bengal	3	4	5,5	5,50
	31		Saksham Upadhyay		IND	1266		Maharashtra	3	4	5,5	5,50
4	12		Vairaj Sogerwal		IND	1395		Haryana	3	4	5	5,00
	19	ACM	Sri Shiva Tejo Karthikeya K		IND	1333		Telangana	3	4	5	5,00
	22	AFM	Venkata Naga Karthik Malladi		IND	1317		Karnataka	3	4	5	5,00
	54		Dhruv Gupta		IND	1191		Delhi	3	4	5	5,00
	95		Mithun R		IND	1103		Maharashtra	3	4	5	5,00
9	34		Chirag Lahoti		IND	1254		Maharashtra	3	4	4	4,00
	39		Vyan Banchhor		IND	1235		Karnataka	3	4	4	4,00
11	23		Nirvaan Nirav Shah		IND	1290		Maharashtra	3	3,5	5	5,50
12	49		Sattwik Swain		IND	1208		Odisha	3	3,5	4,5	5,00
13	13		Advik Amit Agrawal		IND	1368		Maharashtra	3	3,5	4,5	4,50
14	97		Mohd Ismail Siddiqui		IND	1096		Uttar Pradesh	3	3,5	4,5	3,50
15	37		Joshua Mark Telles		IND	1235		Goa	3	3	4	4,00

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Round 4 pairings

Bo.	No.		Name	Bdld	Rtg	Club/City	Pts.	Result	Pts.		Name	Bdld	Rtg	Club/City	No.
1	2		Rahul Ramakrishnan		1531	Puducherry	3		3		Saksham Upadhyay		1266	Maharashtra	31
2	34		Chirag Lahoti		1254	Maharashtra	3		3		Narendra Agarwal		1505	West Bengal	3
3	12		Vairaj Sogerwal		1395	Haryana	3		3		Joshua Mark Telles		1235	Goa	37
4	39		Vyan Banchhor		1235	Karnataka	3		3		Advik Amit Agrawal		1368	Maharashtra	13
5	54		Dhruv Gupta		1191	Delhi	3		3	ACM	Sri Shiva Tejo Karthikeya K		1333	Telangana	19
6	22	AFM	Venkata Naga Karthik Malladi		1317	Karnataka	3		3		Sattwik Swain		1208	Odisha	49
7	58	ACM	Thavish S		1180	Tamil Nadu	3		3		Nirvaan Nirav Shah		1290	Maharashtra	23
8	97		Mohd Ismail Siddiqui		1096	Uttar Pradesh	3		3		Rishen Jilowa		1287	Rajasthan	27
9	10		Rishaan Jain		1412	Rajasthan	2½		3		Mithun R		1103	Maharashtra	95
10	6		Nidhish Shyamal		1464	Telangana	2½		2½		Shreyas Mani		1215	Tamil Nadu	47

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Girls Round 3 results

Bo.	No.	Name	Bdld	Rtg	Club/City	Pts.	Result	Pts.	Name	Bdld	Rtg	Club/City	No.	PGN
1	18	Tvesha Ashish Jain		1154	Maharashtra	2	0 - 1	2	Sharvaanica A S		1430	Tamil Nadu	1	PGN
2	2	Samhita Pungavanam		1345	Telangana	2	1 - 0	2	Leah R Joseph		1146	Karnataka	19	PGN
3	22	Deepthaashri Ravi Ganesh		1114	Tamil Nadu	2	0 - 1	2	Dishita Dey		1263	Jharkhand	5	PGN
4	6	Alankrita Sharma		1260	Jammu Kashmir	2	½ - ½	2	Rashi Warudkar		1081	Chhattisgarh	23	PGN
5	26	Aryahi Bhattacharya		1062	West Bengal	2	0 - 1	2	Pooja Shree R		1249	Tamil Nadu	7	PGN
6	8	Janaki S D		1236	Kerala	2	1 - 0	2	Sankhla Ananya		1057	Rajasthan	28
7	9	Aanya Gupta		1234	Delhi	2	0 - 1	2	Vanshika Rawat		1056	Delhi	29
8	10	Kiyana Parihar		1233	Rajasthan	2	1 - 0	2	Ankita Raj		1044	Bihar	33
9	30	Skyla Rodrigues		1049	Goa	2	0 - 1	2	Aaradhya Das		1198	Tripura	11
10	12	Bhavanya Panchumarthi		1192	Andhra Pradesh	2	1 - 0	2	Akshaya Narahari		1032	Telangana	39

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Standings after Round 3

Rk.	SNo	Name	sex	FED	Rtg	Bdld	Club/City	Pts.	TB1	TB2	TB3
1	2	Samhita Pungavanam	w	IND	1345		Telangana	3	4	6	6,00
	7	Pooja Shree R	w	IND	1249		Tamil Nadu	3	4	6	6,00
	113	Vaishnavi Anand	w	IND	0		Tamil Nadu	3	4	6	6,00
4	5	Dishita Dey	w	IND	1263		Jharkhand	3	4	5,5	5,50
	11	Aaradhya Das	w	IND	1198		Tripura	3	4	5,5	5,50
6	1	Sharvaanica A S	w	IND	1430		Tamil Nadu	3	4	5	5,00
	12	Bhavanya Panchumarthi	w	IND	1192		Andhra Pradesh	3	4	5	5,00
	14	Divi Bijesh	w	IND	1170		Kerala	3	4	5	5,00
9	10	Kiyana Parihar	w	IND	1233		Rajasthan	3	4	4	4,00
10	29	Vanshika Rawat	w	IND	1056		Delhi	3	3,5	4,5	5,00
11	8	Janaki S D	w	IND	1236		Kerala	3	3,5	4,5	4,50
12	16	Manya Abhishek Drolia	w	IND	1161		Gujarat	3	3	4	4,00
13	23	Rashi Warudkar	w	IND	1081		Chhattisgarh	2,5	4,5	4,5	3,25
14	3	Aaradhya Upadhyay	w	IND	1271		Rajasthan	2,5	4	5	3,75
15	38	Potnuru Satvika	w	IND	1033		Andhra Pradesh	2,5	4	4	2,75

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Round 4 pairings

Bo.	No.	Name	Bdld	Rtg	Club/City	Pts.	Result	Pts.		Name	Bdld	Rtg	Club/City	No.
1	1	Sharvaanica A S		1430	Tamil Nadu	3		3		Bhavanya Panchumarthi		1192	Andhra Pradesh	12
2	11	Aaradhya Das		1198	Tripura	3		3		Samhita Pungavanam		1345	Telangana	2
3	5	Dishita Dey		1263	Jharkhand	3		3		Divi Bijesh		1170	Kerala	14
4	7	Pooja Shree R		1249	Tamil Nadu	3		3		Manya Abhishek Drolia		1161	Gujarat	16
5	29	Vanshika Rawat		1056	Delhi	3		3		Janaki S D		1236	Kerala	8
6	113	Vaishnavi Anand		0	Tamil Nadu	3		3		Kiyana Parihar		1233	Rajasthan	10
7	3	Aaradhya Upadhyay		1271	Rajasthan	2½		2½		Alankrita Sharma		1260	Jammu Kashmir	6
8	23	Rashi Warudkar		1081	Chhattisgarh	2½		2½		Potnuru Satvika		1033	Andhra Pradesh	38
9	45	Aahna Ajish		0	Tamil Nadu	2		2	AFM	Waghle Bhumika		1270	Maharashtra	4
10	9	Aanya Gupta		1234	Delhi	2		2		Gyana Anwita Boddu		1029	Andhra Pradesh	40

Details

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