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John and Mrittika move closer to win the MPL 34th National Under-14 Open and Girls 2022

by Shahid Ahmed - 14/05/2022

John Veny Akkarakaran (KER) made a good recovery by swindling CM Mayank Chakraborty (ASM) from a completely lost position. The crucial victory earned him a sole lead. Then he drew with Koustuv Dash (ODI) to stay ahead of the pack 8.5/10 in MPL 34th National Under-14 Open Chess Championship 2022. In the Girls section, top seed Mrittika Mallick (WB) scored two important victories over Maharashtra's Sannidhi Bhat and Aanya Roy respectively to claim the sole lead 8.5/10. She needs a draw in the final round against Anupam Sreekumar (KER) to win the tournament. Final Round 11 starts today at 9:30 a.m. IST. Photo: Aditya Sur Roy

Mrittika needs a draw, John in a must-win situation

John Veny Akkarakaran (KER) overcame his toughest challenge of the tournament in the form of CM Mayank Chakraborty (ASM) in the ninth round. However, he still needs to win the last round against Abhash Roimya Saikia (ASM) as a draw will leave his fate other player's hands. John does not have the best tie-breaks. On the other hand, both a win and a draw would ensure Mrittika becoming a clear champion. Tie-breaks will then become a non-factor.

Mrittika needs a draw or a win to clinch the MPL 34th National Under-14 Girls Chess Championship 2022 | Photo: Aditya Sur Roy

Open Round 9: Mayank - John: 0-1

CM Mayank Chakraborty (ASM, 2015) got a pleasant out of the opening against John Veny Akkarakaran (KER, 1855). He made an interesting rook sacrifice in t he middlegame.

Position after 30.Rxf7!

30.Rxf7! utilizes the fact that Black has dark square weakness on the kingside. 30...Bxf7 immediately ends the game after 31.e6. Thus, 30...Kxf7 is forced. 31.Qxh7+ Ke8 32.Qh8+ Kd7 33.Qg7+ Kd8 34.Rf1 Bd7 a window of opportunity opened for White 35.e6 Qxe6 36.Be5 Rc6 37.Bxb8 e3.

Position after 37...e3

White not only managed to recover the rook but also got a completely winning position. The only concern was the e3-passed pawn which eventually played a crucial role in Black snatching the victory from jaws of defeat.

Position after 47...Kc5

Find out the winning continuation for White in the above position. It is certainly not an easy one. 48.Be5 e2 49.Bd4+ and it's all over for White after Kd5.

Mayank Chakraborty (ASM) pushed John Veny Akkarakaran (KER) to his limit | Photo: Aditya Sur Roy

John Veny Akkarakaran (KER) drew with Koustuv Dash (ODI) in Round 10 | Photo: Aditya Sur Roy

Girls Round 9: Mrittika - Sannidhi: 1-0

Mrittika Mallick (WB, 1982) missed a tactic which could have finished the game much earlier against Sannidhi Ramakrishna Bhat (MAH, 1373).

Position after 23...Nf4

24.c5 immediately costs material for Black and the win is relatively much easier. The game continued 24.Bxf4 Bxf4 25.Rxe7 Rxe7 26.g3 Bd6 and now White once again got another opportunity to play 27.c5. The effect would not be exactly the same, still the position liquidates into a completely winning rook endgame for White. Nevertheless, Mrittika persevered and managed to win the game eventually.

Mrittika Mallick (WB) beat Sannidhi Bhat (MAH) to stay in the three-way lead | Photo: Aditya Sur Roy

Round 10: Aanya - Mrittika: 0-1

In a seemingly balanced position, Aanya Roy (MAH, 1560) retreated her knight which allowed her opponent, Mrittika Mallick (WB, 1982) to complete disintegrate her opponent's position.

Position after 29.Nb4

Try to find out what White was unable to figure Black's counterplay while aiming for the a6-pawn with 29.Nb4. 29.b4 or Re3 would have held the position together.

Mrittika Mallick (WB) beat Aanya Roy (MAH) to gain sole lead 8.5/10 heading into the final round

Gujarat's top Women visited the MPL 34th National Under-14 Open and Girls Chess Championship | Photo: Aditya Sur Roy

L to R: WFM Dhyana Patel with her mother, AICF Vice President and CEO of Gujarat State Chess Association, Bhavesh Patel, WIM Vishwa Vasnwala with her father Dr. Hitesh Vasnawala, Mayur Patel and Gujarat's first WIM Dhyani Dave.

For more Round 9 and Round 10 photos, please click at the respective links.

Video Gallery

Gujarat Chess is going to reach great heights - WIM Dhyani Dave | Video: ChessBase India
Our family is the biggest support - Jaini Shah on her daughter Hanya Shah | Video: ChessBase India
The Chess Cafe | The Only Chess Themed Cafe in India | Video: ChessBase India

A total of 214 players in the Open and 107 players in the Girls tournament are taking part. It is organized by Gujarat State Chess Association. Both tournaments are taking place at Rajpath Club, Ahmedabad, Gujarat from 9th to 14th May 2022. The eleven-round Swiss league tournament has a time control of 90 minutes + 30 seconds increment from move no.1.

Replay Open Round 9-10 games

Replay Girls Round 9-10 games

Open Round 10 results

Bo.No.NameRtgClub/CityPts.ResultPts.NameRtgClub/CityNo.
113John Veny Akkarakaran1855Kerala8½ - ½Koustuv Dash1910Odisha11
221AIMVaz Ethan1792Goa70 - 17CMKadam Om Manish2144Maharashtra1
322Bagwe Gaurang1789Maharashtra71 - 07CMMayank Chakraborty2015Assam5
429Aswath S1694Tamil Nadu7½ - ½7Bharadia Yash1924Rajasthan9
520Abhash Roimya Saikia1794Assam71 - 07CMMrithyunjay Mahadevan1661Tamil Nadu31
63Ilamparthi A R2121Tamil Nadu1 - 0Dhruva Thota1743Telangana24
77AGMSahib Singh1991Delhi0 - 1Jval Saurin Patel1712Gujarat27
812Adireddy Arjun1898Telangana1 - 0Aakash G1665Tamil Nadu30
92AIMMd Imran2122Andhra Pradesh61 - 0Raihaan Zahid1457Karnataka64
104CMDaakshin Arun2016Tamil Nadu6½ - ½6Ajay Santhosh Parvathareddy1563Uttar Pradesh39

Details

Round 11 pairings

Bo.No.NameRtgClub/CityPts.ResultPts.NameRtgClub/CityNo.
113John Veny Akkarakaran1855Kerala8Abhash Roimya Saikia1794Assam20
211Koustuv Dash1910Odisha88Bagwe Gaurang1789Maharashtra22
31CMKadam Om Manish2144Maharashtra8Ilamparthi A R2121Tamil Nadu3
49Bharadia Yash1924RajasthanAdireddy Arjun1898Telangana12
527Jval Saurin Patel1712GujaratAswath S1694Tamil Nadu29
617Shankhodip De1810West Bengal77AIMMd Imran2122Andhra Pradesh2
75CMMayank Chakraborty2015Assam77AIMVaz Ethan1792Goa21
823Nirnay Garg1755Haryana77Shaik Sumer Arsh1999Telangana6
926Arpith S Bijoy1713Kerala77Chidvilash Sai Surapaneni1912Telangana10
1050Aayush Bhojak1494Rajasthan77Jaiveer Mahendru1832Maharashtra15

Details

Girls Round 10 results

Bo.No.NameRtgClub/CityPts.ResultPts.NameRtgClub/CityNo.
19Roy Aanya1560Maharashtra0 - 1Mrittika Mallick1982West Bengal1
24Anupam M Sreekumar1673Kerala½ - ½7Pragnya H G1605Tamil Nadu6
37Rajanya Datta1589West Bengal0 - 1AFMShubhi Gupta1613Uttar Pradesh5
424Bhat Sannidhi Ramakrishna1373Maharashtra1 - 0ACMNivedita V C1296Tamil Nadu37
523Pournami S1376Kerala6½ - ½6Sachi Jain1768Delhi2
63Rout Yashita1718Odisha61 - 06Yashvi Jain1362Telangana25
710Sneha Halder1557West Bengal61 - 06Krishika Garg1318Delhi33
822Debapriya Manna1384West Bengal6½ - ½6Shreya G Hipparagi1548Maharashtra11
916Jeevika S1433Puducherry6½ - ½6Arushi Srichandan1292Odisha38
1043Aashi Upadhyay1266Rajasthan60 - 16AFMSanikommu Manasvi1399Karnataka20

Details

Round 11 pairings

Bo.No.NameRtgClub/CityPts.ResultPts.NameRtgClub/CityNo.
11Mrittika Mallick1982West Bengal8Anupam M Sreekumar1673Kerala4
25AFMShubhi Gupta1613Uttar PradeshRoy Aanya1560Maharashtra9
36Pragnya H G1605Tamil NaduBhat Sannidhi Ramakrishna1373Maharashtra24
420AFMSanikommu Manasvi1399Karnataka77Rout Yashita1718Odisha3
513Arshiya Das1456Tripura7Sneha Halder1557West Bengal10
62Sachi Jain1768DelhiWCMShriyana S Mallya1353Karnataka26
728Falak Joni Naik1349GujaratRajanya Datta1589West Bengal7
811Shreya G Hipparagi1548MaharashtraElakshi Srivastava1256Rajasthan46
950Riddhika Kotia1238HaryanaJeevika S1433Puducherry16
1038Arushi Srichandan1292OdishaDebapriya Manna1384West Bengal22

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