Indian teams clinch Gold and Bronze at Asian Nations Cup Online Under-14
India has a huge depth in talent and that is proved once again as India 'A' and India 'B' won Gold and Bronze medal respectively at Asian Nations Cup Online Under-14 in the Open section. India 'A' comprising of IM Bharath Subramaniyam H, CM Shahil Dey, IM Raahil Mullick, Souhardo Basak and CM Dev Shah scored 15.0/18 to win the Gold. India 'B' team scored 13.0/18 to secure the Bronze. The team consisted of CM Prraneeth Vuppala, Rohit S, Sreyas Payyappat, CM Tanmay Jain and Om Manish Kadam defeated India 'A' in the penultimate round. Photo: Various sources
Gold for India 'A' and Bronze for India 'B'
The Indian contingent has won a gold and bronze each in Asian Nations Cup Online Under-14 Open category. India 'A' scored 15.0/18 and finished a full point ahead of the runner-up Iran Open A to win the Gold. India 'B' scored 13.0/18 to secure the Bronze medal. However they beat the gold medal winning 'A' team so that's a sweet win they have in their statistics.
The Gold medal winning Team India 'A'
India 'A'
13-year-old IM Bharath Subramaniyam H scored 8.0/9 and he performed truly as the spearhead of the team at the top board.
Bharath on his team winning gold and his performance: "It is always pleasure playing for my country and I feel happy that I could contribute to the team in some way." His best game from the tournament according to him is against Reza Mahdavi of Iran Open A in Round 5.
"I am not sure what is the next tournament for me. I try to keep getting better everyday. I hope when things become normal again I might go to some tournaments." - Bharat on what's next for him.
Replay Bharat's games
Double IM-norm holder CM Shahil Dey scored 3.0/7. He scored two victories and made two draws. He is a Gold medalist in multiple events - Asian Youth 2019 Under-12 Rapid, National Under-7 and 9, National Schools Under-11 and Commonwealth Under-8 .
Replay Shahil's games
IM Raahil Mullick scored 4.0/7. He became an IM in November 2019. He has won Gold medal in Commonwealth Under-10, Asian Schools Under-7 and several open tournaments.
Raahil tweeted the following after winning the Gold.
Replay Raahil's games
IM-elect Souhardo Basak has scored an unbeaten 8.5/9 for his team India 'A'. Souhardo shared, "It feels great to win the Gold medal being a part of the Indian team."
His favorite games from the tournament are the third and ninth round game. He feels that there was a good fight in round 3 and the final round game had a good combination. Souhardo on what's next for him - "I will be looking to improve my chess skills".
Souhardo - Amgalantengis, Round 3
Find out the best continuation for white after 48...f3+
Replay Souhardo's games
IM-norm holder CM Dev Shah on winning Gold, "It feels great to win as our team dominated the tournament right from round one, and we maintained the lead throughout the tournament. Also our HOD, Mr. Praful Zaveri was very helpful and kept the team motivated." He has won Gold in World Schools Under-7, Asian Schools Under-7 Rapid, Asian Schools Under-5 Rapid and Blitz, National Schools Under-9, National Under-11 and has many podium finishes.
"I played my best game against Kazakistan A team. I won quickly and played a good attacking game." - Dev on his favorite game from the tournament. Speaking about what's next for him, "I have got one IM-norm, my next goal is to get the remaining norms and complete my IM title as soon as possible". His favorite games are against Taha Mokhtari Moghadam of Iran Open A in Round 5 and Imangali Akhilbay of Kazakhstan in Round 6.
Akhilbay - Dev, Round 6
How would you approach this position as black after 14.dxe4 ?
Replay all games of Dev
Team India 'A' and 'B' performance
Final Standings after Round 9
| Rk. | SNo | Team | Games | + | = | - | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | TB4 |
| 1 | 1 | India - 'A' | 9 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 15 | 25,5 | 0 | 545,3 |
| 2 | 2 | IRAN Open A | 9 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 14 | 25,5 | 0 | 504,5 |
| 3 | 5 | India - 'B' | 9 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 13 | 22,5 | 0 | 465,5 |
| 4 | 10 | Malaysia Avengers | 9 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 12 | 22,5 | 0 | 395,0 |
| 5 | 8 | Mongolia - Team 1 | 9 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 12 | 22,0 | 0 | 457,3 |
| 6 | 7 | IRAN Open B | 9 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 11 | 21,0 | 0 | 425,5 |
| 7 | 13 | Philippines | 9 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 11 | 21,0 | 0 | 391,0 |
| 8 | 15 | Malaysia Challengers | 9 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 11 | 21,0 | 0 | 350,3 |
| 9 | 21 | Mongolia - Team 2 | 9 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 11 | 20,5 | 1 | 372,8 |
| 10 | 6 | Kazakhstan - Team 2 | 9 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 11 | 20,5 | 1 | 365,5 |
The Indian girls team missed a medal as India 'B' team scored 11.0/15 to finish fifth while India 'A' finished with 9.0/18 to be placed 12th in the final standings.
Final Standings after Round 9
| Rk. | SNo | Team | Games | + | = | - | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | TB4 |
| 1 | 2 | Mongolia - Team 1 | 9 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 17 | 27,5 | 0 | 567,3 |
| 2 | 6 | IRAN Girls A | 9 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 15 | 25,0 | 0 | 484,0 |
| 3 | 17 | Mongolia - Team 2 | 9 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 12 | 23,0 | 0 | 408,5 |
| 4 | 13 | Sri Lanka - 'A' | 9 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 12 | 21,0 | 0 | 432,3 |
| 5 | 10 | India - 'B' | 9 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 11 | 20,5 | 2 | 386,5 |
| 6 | 4 | IRAN Girls B | 9 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 11 | 20,5 | 0 | 410,5 |
| 7 | 16 | Hong Kong | 9 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 11 | 19,5 | 0 | 313,5 |
| 8 | 3 | Bangladesh | 9 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 10 | 21,0 | 0 | 378,3 |
| 9 | 9 | Philippines | 9 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 10 | 20,5 | 0 | 336,3 |
| 10 | 7 | New Zealand | 9 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 10 | 19,0 | 0 | 266,3 |
| 11 | 11 | Malaysia Avengers | 9 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 9 | 20,0 | 0 | 337,3 |
| 12 | 5 | India - 'A' | 9 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 9 | 19,5 | 0 | 394,0 |
| 13 | 19 | Palestine | 9 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 9 | 18,5 | 0 | 231,8 |
| 14 | 8 | Kazakhstan Girls - 2 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 9 | 17,5 | 0 | 336,0 |
| 15 | 20 | United Arab Emirates | 9 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 9 | 17,0 | 0 | 191,0 |