36th National Under 9 Open and Girls Round 8-9: Advik and Samhita take sole lead

by Himank Ghosh - 07/11/2023

Going into the penultimate 10th round of the National Under-9 Championships, the leader situation is clarified both in the Open and Girls section. In the open section, Advik Amit Agrawal (1378, MAH) was held to his first draw of the tournament by Rahul Ramakrishnan (1531, PUD). Nevertheless, he has a full-point lead over the field with 8.5/9 points. In the Girls category, Samhita Pungavanam (1345, TEL) took back the sole lead with a powerful win over Dishita Dey (1263, JHA). She now has 8/9 points, half a point ahead of her closest competitor Divi Bijesh (1170, KER). Round 10 starts today from 10 AM IST. Photos: Himank Ghosh

Rahul Ramakrishnan stops Amit Advik's unbeaten run

Advik Amit Agrawal (1368, MAH) had scored 8/8 wins till the 8th round, but was held to a draw against Rahul Ramakrishnan (1531, PUD) in the 9th round of the National Under-9 Championships.

Rahul looking confident before his 9th round game is about to start

Advik actually managed to get a great position with the White pieces, and Rahul was under serious trouble - most of his pieces were very passive. But this game once again showed that handling closed positions is very tough. Often, the computer will give an advantage to the side having a space advantage, but in reality it's not so easy!

Rahul takes some time to think while planning his response to 1.e4

Advik - Rahul, Round 9 Open

Position after 36...Rf8

It's very clear that White has a sizeable advantage here - but there is only one correct pawn breakthrough, that is - f5! gxf5 g6! Rg8 g7, and White has a completely winning position. Advik mistimed it a little bit - he played 37. Ng4 Kd8 38. f5, but now it doesn't work anymore - the Knight is not on the e3 square attacking d5. Rahul managed to hold a draw after this pretty comfortably.

Ar Saisarvesh (1207, TN) defeated his higher-rated opponent Samaksh Ashok (1425, KAR) with the White pieces, getting a huge attack on the Kingside. White's attack was actually not completely sound - but it's always harder to defend than attack. Saisarvesh managed to create a strong attack on the Black Kingside, winning a full piece and converting the endgame with ease.

Saisarvesh writing down the moves on the scoresheet as Samaksh ponders over the position

Jai Prakash Vanum (1287, AP) scored the biggest win of the day - he took down the top seed, Safin Safarullakhan (1716, KER) with the White pieces in the 8th round. He has 7.5/9 points now!

A huge win for Jai Prakash Vanum - he is playing on the top board in round 10!

Jai Prakash - Safin, Round 8 Open

Position after 21...Raf8

21...Raf8 looks like a natural move, but it is just a tactical blunder. Jai Prakash immideatly found 22.Ng5! which wins an exchange by force, as Ne6 cannot be stopped next. In the game, Safin gave up an exchange with 22...h6 23. Nxf7 Rxf7, and White went on to win the game comfortably.

Samhita Pungavanam (1345, TEL) played a virtually perfect game to defeat Dishita Dey (1263, JHA) with the White pieces in the 9th round. Thanks to this win, Samhita is now the sole leader of the tournament - going into the penultimate round with 8/9 points.

Samhita made quick work of her opponent Dishita, defeating her in just 27 moves.

Photo Gallery

The full playing hall while the 8th round of National Under-9 Championships is in progress.

The Chief guest of Round 9 makes the inaugural move in the girls top board!

All the players are excited to check out the games on the top boards!

The organizing team poses for a group photo with the chief guests of the round

For more Round 8 and Round 9 photos, please click at the respective links.

Channeling his inner Yuvraj | Advik Amit Agrawal 6/6 in National Under-9 Championships | Video: ChessBase India

7-year-old boy's astounding calculations | Sarbartho Mani | 5.5/6 at National Under 9 Championships | Video: ChessBase India

The man who became Grandmaster at the age of 36 - MS Thejkumar visits National Under-9 Championships| Video: ChessBase India

Replay Open Round 8-9 games

Replay Girls Round 8-9 games

Open Round 9 results

Bo.	No.		Name	Bdld	Rtg	Club/City	Pts.	Result	Pts.		Name	Bdld	Rtg	Club/City	No.	PGN
1	13		Advik Amit Agrawal		1368	Maharashtra	8	½ - ½	7		Rahul Ramakrishnan		1531	Puducherry	2	PGN
2	50	AFM	Ar Saisharvesh		1207	Tamil Nadu	7	½ - ½	7		Jai Prakash Vanum		1287	Andhra Pradesh	26	PGN
3	37		Joshua Mark Telles		1235	Goa	6½	½ - ½	6½		Mani Sarbartho		1418	West Bengal	9	PGN
4	16		Krithik Muthukumar		1337	Tamil Nadu	6½	0 - 1	6½		Vairaj Sogerwal		1395	Haryana	12	PGN
5	25		Advik Praveen		1289	Kerala	6	0 - 1	6		Aarit Kapil		1469	Delhi	4	PGN
6	5		Vyom Malhotra		1466	Haryana	6	1 - 0	6	AFM	Venkata Naga Karthik Malladi		1317	Karnataka	22
7	7		Samaksh Ashok		1425	Karnataka	6	½ - ½	6		Oishik Mondal		1281	West Bengal	29
8	35		Arav Vinod		1244	Kerala	6	0 - 1	6		Rishaan Jain		1412	Rajasthan	10
9	11		Abhinav Anand		1395	Karnataka	6	1 - 0	6		Kiyan Kevalkumar Patel		1275	Gujarat	30
10	15	ACM	Praneeshwar Madhavan		1345	Tamil Nadu	6	1 - 0	6		Vihaan Ravi Rao		1165	Maharashtra	64

Details

Standings after Round 9

Rk.	SNo		Name	sex	FED	Rtg	Bdld	Club/City	Pts.	TB1	TB2	TB3
1	13		Advik Amit Agrawal		IND	1368		Maharashtra	8,5	50,5	54	50,25
2	12		Vairaj Sogerwal		IND	1395		Haryana	7,5	53,5	58	46,00
3	2		Rahul Ramakrishnan		IND	1531		Puducherry	7,5	50,5	55,5	45,00
4	50	AFM	Ar Saisharvesh		IND	1207		Tamil Nadu	7,5	48,5	51,5	42,00
5	26		Jai Prakash Vanum		IND	1287		Andhra Pradesh	7,5	47	50,5	41,50
6	37		Joshua Mark Telles		IND	1235		Goa	7	49,5	51,5	37,75
7	9		Mani Sarbartho		IND	1418		West Bengal	7	49,5	51,5	37,00
8	4		Aarit Kapil		IND	1469		Delhi	7	48	51,5	37,00
9	45		Sarvesh E		IND	1222		Tamil Nadu	7	47,5	51	38,50
10	11		Abhinav Anand		IND	1395		Karnataka	7	47	49	36,50
11	10		Rishaan Jain		IND	1412		Rajasthan	7	45	48,5	37,25
12	15	ACM	Praneeshwar Madhavan		IND	1345		Tamil Nadu	7	41,5	45,5	35,50
13	5		Vyom Malhotra		IND	1466		Haryana	7	40	44	33,00
14	16		Krithik Muthukumar		IND	1337		Tamil Nadu	6,5	49,5	53,5	35,50
15	84		Rhishav Mondal		IND	1123		West Bengal	6,5	48,5	53	36,75
16	23		Nirvaan Nirav Shah		IND	1290		Maharashtra	6,5	48,5	52	34,25
17	7		Samaksh Ashok		IND	1425		Karnataka	6,5	47,5	49,5	33,00
18	3		Narendra Agarwal		IND	1505		West Bengal	6,5	46,5	51,5	35,00
19	29		Oishik Mondal		IND	1281		West Bengal	6,5	46	49	34,25

Details

Round 10 pairings

Bo.	No.	Name	Bdld	Rtg	Club/City	Pts.	Result	Pts.		Name	Bdld	Rtg	Club/City	No.
1	26	Jai Prakash Vanum		1287	Andhra Pradesh	7½		8½		Advik Amit Agrawal		1368	Maharashtra	13
2	2	Rahul Ramakrishnan		1531	Puducherry	7½		7½	AFM	Ar Saisharvesh		1207	Tamil Nadu	50
3	12	Vairaj Sogerwal		1395	Haryana	7½		7		Vyom Malhotra		1466	Haryana	5
4	4	Aarit Kapil		1469	Delhi	7		7		Abhinav Anand		1395	Karnataka	11
5	9	Mani Sarbartho		1418	West Bengal	7		7	ACM	Praneeshwar Madhavan		1345	Tamil Nadu	15
6	10	Rishaan Jain		1412	Rajasthan	7		7		Sarvesh E		1222	Tamil Nadu	45
7	18	Sidhant Rana		1334	Haryana	6½		7		Joshua Mark Telles		1235	Goa	37
8	29	Oishik Mondal		1281	West Bengal	6½		6½	AFM	Safin Safarullakhan		1716	Kerala	1
9	3	Narendra Agarwal		1505	West Bengal	6½		6½		Rishen Jilowa		1287	Rajasthan	27
10	28	Viaan Samir Makhani		1286	Gujarat	6½		6½		Samaksh Ashok		1425	Karnataka	7

Details

Girls Round 9 results

Bo.	No.		Name	Bdld	Rtg	Club/City	Pts.	Result	Pts.	Name	Bdld	Rtg	Club/City	No.	PGN
1	2		Samhita Pungavanam		1345	Telangana	7	1 - 0	6½	Dishita Dey		1263	Jharkhand	5	PGN
2	14		Divi Bijesh		1170	Kerala	7	½ - ½	6½	Sharvaanica A S		1430	Tamil Nadu	1	PGN
3	3		Aaradhya Upadhyay		1271	Rajasthan	6	0 - 1	6	Pooja Shree R		1249	Tamil Nadu	7	PGN
4	4	AFM	Waghle Bhumika		1270	Maharashtra	6	0 - 1	6	Aaradhya Das		1198	Tripura	11	PGN
5	12		Bhavanya Panchumarthi		1192	Andhra Pradesh	6	½ - ½	6	Janaki S D		1236	Kerala	8	PGN
6	16		Manya Abhishek Drolia		1161	Gujarat	5½	0 - 1	6	Narayanan Rishitha		1157	Andhra Pradesh	17
7	23		Rashi Warudkar		1081	Chhattisgarh	5½	0 - 1	5½	Kiyana Parihar		1233	Rajasthan	10
8	18		Tvesha Ashish Jain		1154	Maharashtra	5½	1 - 0	5½	Akshaya Narahari		1032	Telangana	39
9	36		Dhanyashree R		1037	Tamil Nadu	5½	0 - 1	5½	Leah R Joseph		1146	Karnataka	19

Details

Standings after Round 9

Rk.	SNo		Name	sex	FED	Rtg	Bdld	Club/City	Pts.	TB1	TB2	TB3
1	2		Samhita Pungavanam	w	IND	1345		Telangana	8	53	57,5	50,00
2	14		Divi Bijesh	w	IND	1170		Kerala	7,5	49	52	42,25
3	1		Sharvaanica A S	w	IND	1430		Tamil Nadu	7	49,5	53,5	40,00
4	7		Pooja Shree R	w	IND	1249		Tamil Nadu	7	47,5	51,5	37,00
	11		Aaradhya Das	w	IND	1198		Tripura	7	47,5	51,5	37,00
6	17		Narayanan Rishitha	w	IND	1157		Andhra Pradesh	7	44,5	48,5	37,25
7	12		Bhavanya Panchumarthi	w	IND	1192		Andhra Pradesh	6,5	51	54	36,25
8	5		Dishita Dey	w	IND	1263		Jharkhand	6,5	49,5	54	35,75
9	8		Janaki S D	w	IND	1236		Kerala	6,5	48,5	52,5	34,00
10	10		Kiyana Parihar	w	IND	1233		Rajasthan	6,5	45	48,5	31,75
11	19		Leah R Joseph	w	IND	1146		Karnataka	6,5	43	45,5	30,00
12	18		Tvesha Ashish Jain	w	IND	1154		Maharashtra	6,5	40,5	44,5	28,75
13	3		Aaradhya Upadhyay	w	IND	1271		Rajasthan	6	47	51,5	32,75
14	34		Fecilika Fiance S	w	IND	1043		Tamil Nadu	6	45	48,5	27,50
15	4	AFM	Waghle Bhumika	w	IND	1270		Maharashtra	6	44,5	47,5	27,75
16	73		Gaurangee Sharma	w	IND	0		Rajasthan	6	43,5	47,5	30,25
17	13		Yadav Sanskriti	w	IND	1189		Uttar Pradesh	6	42,5	47	30,50
18	30		Skyla Rodrigues	w	IND	1049		Goa	6	42,5	44	25,00
19	9		Aanya Gupta	w	IND	1234		Delhi	6	42	46,5	27,00
20	21		Varenya Lakshmi Vaka	w	IND	1129		Gujarat	6	40,5	44,5	28,75

Details

Round 10 pairings

Bo.	No.	Name	Bdld	Rtg	Club/City	Pts.	Result	Pts.		Name	Bdld	Rtg	Club/City	No.
1	17	Narayanan Rishitha		1157	Andhra Pradesh	7		8		Samhita Pungavanam		1345	Telangana	2
2	7	Pooja Shree R		1249	Tamil Nadu	7		7½		Divi Bijesh		1170	Kerala	14
3	1	Sharvaanica A S		1430	Tamil Nadu	7		7		Aaradhya Das		1198	Tripura	11
4	5	Dishita Dey		1263	Jharkhand	6½		6½		Bhavanya Panchumarthi		1192	Andhra Pradesh	12
5	19	Leah R Joseph		1146	Karnataka	6½		6½		Janaki S D		1236	Kerala	8
6	10	Kiyana Parihar		1233	Rajasthan	6½		6½		Tvesha Ashish Jain		1154	Maharashtra	18
7	3	Aaradhya Upadhyay		1271	Rajasthan	6		6		Skyla Rodrigues		1049	Goa	30
8	34	Fecilika Fiance S		1043	Tamil Nadu	6		6	AFM	Waghle Bhumika		1270	Maharashtra	4
9	9	Aanya Gupta		1234	Delhi	6		6		Gaurangee Sharma		0	Rajasthan	73
10	13	Yadav Sanskriti		1189	Uttar Pradesh	6		6		Varenya Lakshmi Vaka		1129	Gujarat	21

Details

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