Vantika draws, Kiran and Priyanka in a must-win situation
Padmini and Nandhidhaa need a draw in Game 2 to advance to Round 2. Vantika needs a win, whereas a draw would mean, she will have to play tie-breaks. Kiran and Priyanka are in a must-win situation to force tie-breaks and avoid elimination.
Padmini - Lanlin: 1-0
IM Padmini Rout (2352) made a thematic knight sacrifice in the Sicilian Najdorf against Lanlin Zhang (CHN, 2230).
11.Nd5! is correct exd5 12.exd5 Bb7 13.Re1+ Kd8 14.Nc6+ Bxc6 15.dxc6 Rc8 16.Bg2 Nb8 17.Qe2? White soon lost the initiative for the sacrificed knight and Black gained an exchange. Padmini kept fighting, her opponent eventually misplayed, returned the exchange and arrived at a lost pawn endgame where White had five pawns, Black had a bishop and two pawns.
WGM Nandhidhaa P V (2343) made a good recovery after a difficult start against WIM Anahi Ortiz Verdezoto (ECU, 2248).
WFM Lala Shohradova (TKM, 2135) held IM Vantika Agrawal (2388) to a solid draw.
Yuxin - Kiran
WGM Kiran Manisha Mohanty (2006) made an incorrect exchange 24...Bxc4? 25.bxc4+- White gained a decisive advantage. 24...b6 25.Kd3 h3 was a better continuation for Black.
Zsoka - Priyanka
WIM Priyanka K (2090) had the upper hand against WGM Gaal Zsoka (HUN, 2391). Black has a firm grip on the position and White's pieces are lacking squares to move her pieces around. 33...Ne8 followed by Nd6 would have been the best plan. The game continued 33...Kd6 34.Ke2 Nc2? Black should not have initiated exchange of pieces especially with White's knights which are lacking decent squares to move. 35.Nxc2 alleviated the pressure Bxc2 36.Kf2 Bxb3 37.Be2 Bc2 38.Rc1 Rc7 39.e4 Nd7?? Black had to play Kd7 to avoid tactics. 40.e5++- Black is forced to lose material. White went on to win the game eventually.
Round 1 Game 1 results
| 7 | 28 | IM | Song Yuxin | 2410 | CHN | 1-0 | WGM | Kiran Manisha Mohanty | 2006 | IND | 101 |
| 15 | 36 | WGM | Gaal Zsoka | 2391 | HUN | 1-0 | WIM | Priyanka K | 2090 | IND | 93 |
| 18 | 90 | WFM | Shohradova Lala | 2135 | TKM | 0.5-0.5 | IM | Vantika Agrawal | 2388 | IND | 39 |
| 31 | 52 | IM | Padmini Rout | 2352 | IND | 1-0 | Zhang Lanlin | 2230 | CHN | 77 | |
| 34 | 74 | WIM | Ortiz Verdezoto Anahi | 2248 | ECU | 0-1 | WGM | Nandhidhaa P V | 2343 | IND | 55 |
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Prizes
The total prize fund is US$ 691250 which will be distributed among 107 players. The top three prizes are $50000, 35000 and 25000.
