World Junior R1-2: Sneha Halder stuns Miaoyi Lu
WFM Sneha Halder stunned the top seed, IM Miaoyi Lu (CHN) in the first round of FIDE World Junior Girls 2025. After the Chinese was unable to maximize her chances in the opening, Sneha seized her solitary opportunity in the late middlegame and went on to win the game. In the second round, Sneha drew with FM Yana Zhapova. Mrittika Mallick held the third seeded - IM Yuxin Song (CHN) to a draw in Round 1. Sarayu Velpula and WGM Savitha Shri B won both of their games. They are at 2/2 each. Sneha and WGM Rakshitta Ravi are at 1.5/2 each. In the Open event, GM Pranav Venkatesh and IM Ilamparthi A R are at 2/2 each. Sunle Gong (CHN) outplayed the top seed, GM Daniel Dardha (BEL) in Round 2. Round 3 starts today at 3 p.m. local time, 7:30 p.m. IST. Photo: Official site
Tough start for the top seeds
Both top seeds of the Open and Girls section have lost a game each in the first two rounds. Both of them were not only rating favorites, but also were in good form coming into this event. The total prize fund is €10000. The top three prizes are €3000, €2000 and €1000 in the Open and €2000, €1250 and €750 in the Girls along with a medal each.
Round 1: Miaoyi - Sneha: 0-1
IM Miaoyi Lu (CHN, 2432) got a substantial advantage out of the opening against WFM Sneha Halder (2065). However, she could not capitalize on it. Sneha in the late middlegame pounced on her opportunity when it arose.
23...Nfg4! is exactly what Black needed to play in the above position. 24.hxg4 Nxg4 25.Qa7 Bc7 maintains the upper hand for Black. 24.Qe2?? finished things in a hurry for White Bc5! 25.Rf1 Qh4 26.Nf3 Nxf3 27.Qxf3 Nxf2+ 28.Rxf2 Qxf2 29.Qxf2 Bxf2 and Black converted her advantage into a win comfortably.
First round was rescheduled to 25th February as the 23rd February flight from Istanbul got cancelled and the following day's morning flight was completely booked. Check out the official statement:
As we have been informed by multiple federations that flights through Istanbul on Sunday, February 23rd, have been cancelled and that the morning flight on February 24th is fully booked, we recognize that the arrival of numerous guests has been seriously affected. After consultations with the FIDE Events Commission and Chief Arbiter of the World Junior Chess Championship 2025 (WJCC 2025), we have made the following decisions:
• The first round of the World Junior Chess Championship will be postponed to Tuesday, February 25th.
• As a result of this adjustment, the tournament will proceed without a rest day or we can have a double round day. It will be decided at Technical meeting of event.
In our commitment to ensuring the best possible conditions for the competition and minimizing unnecessary stress for participants, we have taken this step, considering that over 150 players and guests are scheduled to travel through Istanbul.
We appreciate your understanding and look forward to welcoming you.
WJCC 2025 Organizing Committee
A total of 156 players including 12 GMs and 37 IMs are taking part from 57 countries, 98 including 2 IMs, 7 WGMs and 13 WIMs are taking part from 48 countries across the world. The eleven-day eleven round Under-20 Rating tournament is being organized by Chess Federation of Montenegro and FIDE at Hotel “Palas” in Petrovac from 25th February to 7th March 2025. The time control of the event was 40 moves in 90 minutes + 30 minutes + 30 seconds increment from move no.1.
Replay Round 1-2 Open games
Replay Round 1-2 Girls games
Round 2 Open results
Rd. | Bo. | No. | Name | Rtg | Pts. | Result | Pts. | Name | Rtg | No. | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2 | 2 | 2 | GM | Pranav V | 2615 | 1 | 1 - 0 | 1 | FM | Falkevall Axel | 2401 | 51 | ||
2 | 5 | 8 | IM | Ilamparthi A R | 2505 | 1 | 1 - 0 | 1 | FM | Belkaid Sohan | 2370 | 59 | ||
2 | 13 | 20 | IM | Razafindratsima Timothe | 2472 | 1 | ½ - ½ | 1 | IM | Manish Anto Cristiano F | 2355 | 65 | ||
2 | 20 | 30 | GM | Prraneeth Vuppala | 2442 | 1 | 0 - 1 | 1 | FM | Akhilbay Imangali | 2342 | 71 | ||
2 | 33 | 86 | FM | Nagarkatte Vedant | 2277 | ½ | ½ - ½ | ½ | GM | Petkov Momchil | 2547 | 5 | ||
2 | 34 | 6 | GM | Amar Elham | 2537 | ½ | 1 - 0 | ½ | FM | Jaiveer Mahendru | 2251 | 95 | ||
2 | 38 | 18 | IM | Rohith Krishna S | 2481 | ½ | 0 - 1 | ½ | Hou Yifan B | 2199 | 101 | |||
2 | 39 | 22 | IM | Aswath S | 2470 | ½ | 0 - 1 | ½ | FM | Baranciuc Alexandr | 2246 | 97 | ||
2 | 44 | 38 | IM | Tsvetkov Andrey | 2422 | ½ | 1 - 0 | ½ | AIM | Vihaan Dumir | 2014 | 125 | ||
2 | 47 | 12 | IM | Srihari L R | 2498 | 0 | 1 - 0 | 0 | Milovic Ilija | 2029 | 122 | |||
2 | 53 | 130 | Kaloki Hawi | 1990 | 0 | ½ - ½ | 0 | FM | Adireddy Arjun | 2315 | 81 | |||
2 | 65 | 100 | FM | Sourath Biswas | 2207 | 0 | 1 - 0 | 0 | Racic Andrej | 1691 | 143 |
Standings after Round 2
Rk. | SNo | Name | Typ | sex | FED | Rtg | Pts. | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | TB4 | TB5 | n | w | we | w-we | K | rtg+/- | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 8 | IM | Ilamparthi, A R | U20 | IND | 2505 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1,47 | 0,53 | 10 | 5,3 | ||
2 | 14 | IM | Seemann, Jakub | U20 | POL | 2494 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1,47 | 0,53 | 10 | 5,3 | ||
3 | 17 | IM | Kvaloy, Aksel Bu | U20 | NOR | 2487 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1,46 | 0,54 | 10 | 5,4 | ||
4 | 23 | IM | Mitusov, Semen | U20 | NOR | 2469 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1,49 | 0,51 | 10 | 5,1 | ||
5 | 26 | IM | Mamedov, Edgar | U20 | KAZ | 2456 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1,48 | 0,52 | 10 | 5,2 | ||
6 | 32 | Chen, Hongsen | U20 | CHN | 2439 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1,51 | 0,49 | 10 | 4,9 | |||
7 | 35 | IM | Talibov, Shiroghlan | U20 | AZE | 2431 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1,50 | 0,50 | 10 | 5 | ||
8 | 40 | IM | Chasin, Nico | U20 | USA | 2415 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1,51 | 0,49 | 10 | 4,9 | ||
9 | 48 | FM | Palczert, Matyas | U20 | HUN | 2409 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1,75 | 0,25 | 10 | 2,5 | ||
10 | 2 | GM | Pranav, V | U20 | IND | 2615 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1,5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1,62 | 0,38 | 10 | 3,8 |
Round 3 pairings
Rd. | Bo. | No. | Name | Rtg | Pts. | Result | Pts. | Name | Rtg | No. | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
3 | 1 | 40 | IM | Chasin Nico | 2415 | 2 | 2 | GM | Pranav V | 2615 | 2 | |||
3 | 2 | 43 | Meng Yihan | 2412 | 2 | 2 | IM | Ilamparthi A R | 2505 | 8 | ||||
3 | 21 | 65 | IM | Manish Anto Cristiano F | 2355 | 1½ | 1½ | IM | Suyarov Mukhammadzokhid | 2465 | 24 | |||
3 | 32 | 99 | CM | Prisacaru Stefan-Emilian | 2212 | 1 | 1 | IM | Srihari L R | 2498 | 12 | |||
3 | 36 | 29 | FM | Lavrencic Matic | 2446 | 1 | 1 | FM | Sourath Biswas | 2207 | 100 | |||
3 | 37 | 105 | FM | Qalichava Akaki | 2180 | 1 | 1 | GM | Prraneeth Vuppala | 2442 | 30 | |||
3 | 54 | 133 | Chen Lvheng | 1983 | 1 | 1 | FM | Nagarkatte Vedant | 2277 | 86 | ||||
3 | 56 | 95 | FM | Jaiveer Mahendru | 2251 | ½ | ½ | IM | Rohith Krishna S | 2481 | 18 | |||
3 | 57 | 113 | Juncosa Padros Ernest | 2088 | ½ | ½ | IM | Aswath S | 2470 | 22 | ||||
3 | 59 | 81 | FM | Adireddy Arjun | 2315 | ½ | ½ | Burns Michael | 1983 | 132 | ||||
3 | 61 | 125 | AIM | Vihaan Dumir | 2014 | ½ | ½ | FM | Dyachuk Artem | 2293 | 84 |
Round 2 Girls results
Rd. | Bo. | No. | Name | Rtg | Pts. | Result | Pts. | Name | Rtg | No. | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2 | 2 | 4 | WGM | Rakshitta Ravi | 2365 | 1 | ½ - ½ | 1 | WFM | Yakimova Mariya | 2201 | 31 | ||
2 | 7 | 36 | Abdinova Narmin | 2186 | 1 | 0 - 1 | 1 | WGM | Savitha Shri B | 2332 | 9 | |||
2 | 8 | 10 | Velpula Sarayu | 2315 | 1 | 1 - 0 | 1 | CM | Smietanska Wiktoria | 2170 | 40 | |||
2 | 18 | 50 | WFM | Sneha Halder | 2065 | 1 | ½ - ½ | 1 | FM | Zhapova Yana | 2234 | 23 | ||
2 | 26 | 52 | Mrittika Mallick | 2058 | ½ | ½ - ½ | ½ | WFM | Karacsonyi Kata | 2191 | 35 |
Standings after Round 2
Rk. | SNo | Name | Typ | sex | FED | Rtg | Pts. | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | TB4 | TB5 | n | w | we | w-we | K | rtg+/- | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 5 | WIM | Shukhman, Anna | U20 | w | FID | 2365 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1,58 | 0,42 | 20 | 8,4 | |
2 | 7 | WGM | Nurman, Alua | U20 | w | KAZ | 2336 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1,55 | 0,45 | 20 | 9 | |
3 | 11 | WGM | Toncheva, Nadya | U20 | w | BUL | 2311 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1,54 | 0,46 | 20 | 9,2 | |
4 | 12 | WFM | Zhurova, Anna | U20 | w | FID | 2307 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1,54 | 0,46 | 20 | 9,2 | |
5 | 13 | WIM | Karmanova, Olga Dm. | U20 | w | FID | 2292 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1,53 | 0,47 | 20 | 9,4 | |
6 | 15 | WCM | Mungunzul, Bat-Erdene | U20 | w | MGL | 2268 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1,51 | 0,49 | 20 | 9,8 | |
7 | 17 | WGM | Balabayeva, Xeniya | U20 | w | KAZ | 2264 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1,51 | 0,49 | 20 | 9,8 | |
8 | 18 | WIM | Hrebenshchykova, Yelyzaveta | U20 | w | UKR | 2259 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1,50 | 0,50 | 20 | 10 | |
9 | 26 | WFM | Mgeladze, Kesaria | U20 | w | GEO | 2219 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1,66 | 0,34 | 40 | 13,6 | |
10 | 8 | WIM | Kairbekova, Amina | U20 | w | KAZ | 2336 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1,5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1,57 | 0,43 | 20 | 8,6 |
Round 3 pairings
Rd. | Bo. | No. | Name | Rtg | Pts. | Result | Pts. | Name | Rtg | No. | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
3 | 4 | 9 | WGM | Savitha Shri B | 2332 | 2 | 2 | WIM | Omonova Umida | 2228 | 24 | |||
3 | 5 | 15 | WCM | Mungunzul Bat-Erdene | 2268 | 2 | 2 | Velpula Sarayu | 2315 | 10 | ||||
3 | 10 | 27 | WFM | Kirtadze Anastasia | 2218 | 1½ | 1½ | WGM | Rakshitta Ravi | 2365 | 4 | |||
3 | 12 | 19 | WGM | Kurmangaliyeva Liya | 2251 | 1½ | 1½ | WFM | Sneha Halder | 2065 | 50 | |||
3 | 34 | 88 | Guo Hanxi | 1854 | 1 | 1 | Mrittika Mallick | 2058 | 52 |