Asian Junior 02-04: S.L. Narayanan and Vaishali lead

by Priyadarshan Banjan - 07/05/2016

Four rounds of play have come to close at the Asian Junior Championship 2016 being held at Delhi. In the open section, GM S.L. Narayanan is leading with 4.0/4, while in the girls section, Vaishali R. has also maintained a perfect score. The past three round already saw some of the stronger players taking on each other, and it only promises to get more interesting here on, as we enter the middle-stage of the nine-round-tourney of Asia's bright youngsters. An illustrated report.

Asian Junior 02-04: S.L. Narayanan and Vaishali lead

Delhi has always been a magical city for both Indians as well as foreigners. In chess parlance, the Indian capital is slowly metamorphosing into the nation's chess epicentre as well. India is hosting yet another quality chess tournament — the Asian Junior Chess Championship 2016. The tournament was off to a rousing start at Hotel Park Plaza on 03 April 2016, with India's top juniors aged below twenty assembled to match wits with the foreign contenders.

103 players from 12 different countries are participating in this nine-day long prestigious championship, which is spread across in three formats — standard play, rapid and blitz.

In the second round, the top seed, GM Aravindh Chithambaram, defeated country mate Dhulipalla Bala Chandra Prasad (2280) while second seed GM Karthikeyan Murali garnered the victory over Sammed Jaykumar Shete (2253).

FM Rakesh Kumar Jena (2179) held fifth seed Iranian IM Mousavi Seyed Khalil (2425) to a creditable draw in the second round.

Playing with white pieces of London system, Jena forced his Iranian rival to sign the peace treaty after 42 moves.

[Event "Asian Junior Open Chess Championship-20"]
[Site "New Delhi"]
[Date "2016.05.05"]
[Round "2.5"]
[White "Rakesh, Kumar Jena"]
[Black "Mousavi, Seyed Khalil"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A00"]
[WhiteElo "2179"]
[BlackElo "2425"]
[PlyCount "83"]
[EventDate "2016.05.04"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "IND"]
[SourceDate "2003.06.08"]

1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 Nf6 3. Bf4 g6 4. e3 Bg7 5. Bd3 c5 6. c3 Nc6 7. Nbd2 Nh5 8. Bg3
O-O 9. O-O Nxg3 10. hxg3 Qd6 11. Qa4 c4 12. Be2 Rb8 13. e4 e6 14. Qc2 b5 15. b4
e5 16. dxe5 Nxe5 17. Rad1 Nxf3+ 18. Nxf3 Bb7 19. Nd4 Qb6 20. exd5 Rbd8 21. a4
a6 22. axb5 axb5 23. Nc6 Bxc6 24. dxc6 Qxc6 25. Rxd8 Rxd8 26. Rd1 Re8 27. Bg4
Qf6 28. Bd7 Re5 29. Qd2 h5 30. Re1 Bh6 31. Qd1 Qe7 32. Rxe5 Qxe5 33. Qf3 Bd2
34. Qa8+ Kg7 35. Qf3 h4 36. gxh4 Qe7 37. Bc6 Qe1+ 38. Kh2 Bxc3 39. Bxb5 Be5+
40. g3 c3 41. Bd3 Qd2 42. Qe3 1/2-1/2

GM S. L. Narayanan also had an easy day as he overcame his Indian rival IM Krishna Teja N. without much struggle.

Iran's IM Masoud Mosadeghpour (2481)

In the third round, Aravindh signed the peace treaty with the strong Iranian IM Masoud Mosadeghpur (2481). Meanwhile, Narayanan and Karthikeyan Murali overcame Rahul Srivartshav (2313) and Harsha Baharathkoti (2329) respectively.

In the fourth round, GM S. L. Narayanan defeated counterpart GM Karthikeyan Murali (2518).

Playing a solid game with black pieces in Najdorf variation of Sicilian defence, Narayanan gained a pawn on the twenty-third move to exert pressure on queen side of the Indian senior champion, and sensing inevitable result, Karthikeyan resigned after forty-three moves.

[Event "Asian Junior Open Chess Championship-20"]
[Site "New Delhi"]
[Date "2016.05.06"]
[Round "4.1"]
[White "Karthikeyan, Murali"]
[Black "Sunilduth Lyna, Narayanan"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A00"]
[WhiteElo "2518"]
[BlackElo "2507"]
[PlyCount "86"]
[EventDate "2016.05.04"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "IND"]
[SourceDate "2003.06.08"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. h3 e5 7. Nde2 h5 8. Bg5
Be6 9. Bxf6 Qxf6 10. Nd5 Qd8 11. Nec3 g6 12. Be2 Bh6 13. O-O O-O 14. a4 Nc6 15.
Bc4 Rc8 16. Bb3 Kg7 17. Qd3 Nd4 18. Ne2 Nxb3 19. cxb3 Bxd5 20. Qxd5 Rc2 21. Nc3
Rxb2 22. Qxb7 Qc8 23. Qxc8 Rxc8 24. Nd5 Rxb3 25. Rfb1 Rxb1+ 26. Rxb1 Rc4 27.
Rb4 Rc1+ 28. Kh2 a5 29. Rb5 Bd2 30. Rb2 Be1 31. g4 hxg4 32. hxg4 Kh6 33. Kg2
Ra1 34. Rb7 Rxa4 35. Rxf7 Rxe4 36. f3 Rc4 37. Nc7 g5 38. Ne8 Bb4 39. Nxd6 Rc2+
40. Kf1 Kg6 41. Rd7 Rd2 42. Nc4 Rxd7 43. Nxe5+ Kg7 0-1

In other important encounters in the open section, Aravindh defeated IM Chakravarthi Reddy (2254) while IM Mosadeghpour outwitted Pranavananda V. (2308) to occupy the joint second spot half a point away from the leader.

Crucial fifth round matches will be played in the fifth round with Narayanan paired against Masoud while Aravindh will face Karthikeyan.

Pairings for Round 05:

Bo.	No.		Name	Rtg	Pts.	Result	Pts.		Name	Rtg	No.
1	3	GM	Sunilduth Lyna Narayanan	2507	4		3½	IM	Mosadeghpour Masoud	2481	4
2	1	GM	Aravindh Chithambaram Vr.	2528	3½		3	GM	Karthikeyan Murali	2518	2
3	5	IM	Mousavi Seyed Khalil	2425	3		3		Rahul Srivatshav P	2313	10
4	18	FM	Rajdeep Sarkar	2217	3		3	FM	Javanbakht Nima	2417	6
5	19	IM	Krishna Teja N	2216	3		3		Arjun Kalyan	2347	8
6	17		Sammed Jaykumar Shete	2253	3		3	FM	Rakesh Kumar Jena	2179	22
7	7	FM	Karthik V. Ap	2366	2½		2½		Saurabh Anand	2065	29
8	25	FM	Harshal Shahi	2139	2½		2½		Pranavananda V	2308	11
9	31		Adhithya S	2055	2½		2½	FM	Gajwa Ankit	2288	12
10	15		Sahoo Utkal Ranjan	2275	2½		2½		Godbole Atharva	2128	26

View the complete pairings here.

In the girls section in the second round, top seed WFM Vaishali R. (2322) outwitted Jemal Oezdurdiyeva(1971) of Turkmenistan with black pieces.

But the third seed WIM Michelle Catherina (2179) had an off day as she suffered defeat against Priyanka K. (1966).

[Event "Asian Junior Girls Chess Championship-2"]
[Site "New Delhi"]
[Date "2016.05.05"]
[Round "2.2"]
[White "Priyanka, K."]
[Black "Michelle Catherina, P."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A00"]
[WhiteElo "1966"]
[BlackElo "2179"]
[PlyCount "75"]
[EventDate "2016.05.04"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "IND"]
[SourceDate "2003.06.08"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. d4 Bb4 5. d5 Ne7 6. Bd3 d6 7. Bd2 O-O 8. h3
c6 9. dxc6 bxc6 10. O-O Ng6 11. Re1 Re8 12. Ne2 Bc5 13. b4 Bb6 14. Ng3 d5 15.
Be3 Bxe3 16. Rxe3 d4 17. Re1 Qb6 18. Qd2 Nf4 19. Bc4 a5 20. a3 c5 21. Rab1 cxb4
22. axb4 Qc6 23. Nxe5 Nxh3+ 24. gxh3 Rxe5 25. Qxd4 Re8 26. Bd5 Nxd5 27. exd5
Qd7 28. Nh5 f6 29. Nf4 axb4 30. Qxb4 Ba6 31. Rxe8+ Rxe8 32. Re1 Rxe1+ 33. Qxe1
Bc4 34. Qe4 Qc8 35. Qe7 Qa8 36. d6 g5 37. d7 Qa1+ 38. Kh2 1-0

Maharashtra girl WIM Sakshi Chitlange (1928) defeated fourth seed Uuriintuya Uurtsaikh of Mongolia.

[Event "Asian Junior Girls Chess Championship-2"]
[Site "New Delhi"]
[Date "2016.05.05"]
[Round "2.3"]
[White "Uuriintuya, Uurtsaikh"]
[Black "Chitlange, Sakshi"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A00"]
[WhiteElo "2172"]
[BlackElo "1928"]
[PlyCount "80"]
[EventDate "2016.05.04"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "IND"]
[SourceDate "2003.06.08"]

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Nd7 5. Nf3 Ngf6 6. Nxf6+ Nxf6 7. Bd3 c5
8. O-O cxd4 9. Nxd4 Bc5 10. Nf3 O-O 11. Qe2 Qc7 12. c4 b6 13. Bg5 Be7 14. Rfe1
Bb7 15. Rad1 Rad8 16. a3 Ng4 17. Bxe7 Qxe7 18. h3 Nf6 19. Qe3 Qc7 20. b4 Rfe8
21. Ne5 Ba8 22. c5 bxc5 23. bxc5 Nd5 24. Qe4 Nf6 25. Qe3 Nd5 26. Qe4 Nf6 27.
Qc4 Rd5 28. c6 Rxe5 29. Rxe5 Qxe5 30. c7 Rc8 31. Rb1 g6 32. Rb8 Rxb8 33. c8=Q+
Rxc8 34. Qxc8+ Kg7 35. Qxa8 Qa1+ 36. Kh2 Qxa3 37. Qd8 Qc5 38. f4 Qd5 39. Qxd5
Nxd5 40. Kg3 a5 0-1

Vaishali and Priyanka K. both won their third round games, meaning they were pitted against each other in the fourth round.

Vaishali defeated Priyanka K. to take sole lead in the girls category with a perfect score after four rounds.

Vaishali faced tough resistance from Priyanka in a Scotch Four Knights opening but she managed her passed pawn to good effect to gain a piece on the fifty-ninth move to seal the game.

[Event "Asian Junior Girls Chess Championship-2"]
[Site "New Delhi"]
[Date "2016.05.06"]
[Round "4.1"]
[White "Priyanka, K."]
[Black "Vaishali, R."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A00"]
[WhiteElo "1966"]
[BlackElo "2322"]
[PlyCount "160"]
[EventDate "2016.05.04"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "IND"]
[SourceDate "2003.06.08"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. d4 exd4 5. Nxd4 Bc5 6. Nxc6 bxc6 7. Bd3 O-O
8. O-O Re8 9. Qf3 Rb8 10. b3 Bd4 11. Bd2 d6 12. h3 Nd7 13. Rad1 Qh4 14. Ne2 Ne5
15. Qf4 Qxf4 16. Bxf4 Bc5 17. Ng3 a5 18. Rfe1 Bb4 19. Re2 a4 20. Bxe5 Rxe5 21.
Nf1 axb3 22. axb3 Bc3 23. Nd2 Ra5 24. Nb1 Be5 25. Nd2 Bc3 26. Nb1 Be5 27. Nd2
Ra2 28. Nc4 Bc3 29. f4 g6 30. Kf2 h5 31. Kf3 Rba8 32. Rf2 Bb7 33. Ne3 Kg7 34.
g4 hxg4+ 35. hxg4 Rh8 36. Kg3 g5 37. f5 Be5+ 38. Kg2 Rh2+ 39. Kf3 Rh3+ 40. Ke2
Kf6 41. Rf3 Rh4 42. Rff1 d5 43. Rh1 Bf4 44. Rxh4 gxh4 45. Ng2 Bg3 46. Kf3 c5
47. Ne3 c6 48. Nf1 Be5 49. Ne3 Kg5 50. Rh1 Ra8 51. Ng2 Bg3 52. Ne3 Ra3 53. Rb1
Be5 54. Rh1 Ba8 55. Rd1 h3 56. Rh1 h2 57. Ke2 Ra1 58. Nf1 Rc1 59. Ng3 Rg1 60.
Rxh2 Rxg3 61. Rh7 Kf6 62. Rh8 Bb7 63. Rd8 Rxg4 64. Rd7 Bc8 65. Rd8 dxe4 66.
Rxc8 exd3+ 67. Kxd3 Kxf5 68. Rxc6 Rg3+ 69. Kd2 Bd4 70. Rc7 f6 71. Rd7 Ke4 72.
Re7+ Be5 73. Rh7 f5 74. Rh1 Rg2+ 75. Kd1 Bc3 76. Rh3 Bd4 77. Rh1 Rg1+ 78. Rxg1
Bxg1 79. Ke2 f4 80. Kf1 Bd4 0-1

WIM Nandhidhaa Pv is in the sole second spot with 3.5/4 after defeating Hamedi Nia Vesal of Iran and she will face the leader Vaishali with the black pieces in the fifth round.

Pairings for Round 05:

Bo.	No.		Name	Rtg	Pts.	Result	Pts.		Name	Rtg	No.
1	1	WFM	Vaishali R	2322	4		3½	WIM	Nandhidhaa Pv	2141	5
2	11	WCM	Chandreyee Hajra	1996	3		3	WFM	Varshini V	2223	2
3	14		Priyanka K	1966	3		3		Uuriintuya Uurtsaikh	2172	4
4	15	WIM	Chitlange Sakshi	1928	3		3	WIM	Ivana Maria Furtado	2091	6
5	25		Akshaya Nandakumar	1820	3		3		Bala Kannamma P	2040	8
6	3	WIM	Michelle Catherina P	2179	2½		2½		Hamedi Nia Vesal	1983	12
7	7		Harshita Guddanti	2052	2½		2½	WCM	Isha Sharma	1883	19
8	21		Sunyuktha C M N	1861	2½		2½	WFM	Tarini Goyal	2010	10
9	13		Ovezdurdiyeva Jemal	1971	2½		2½	WCM	Ananya Suresh	1902	18
10	9	WCM	Sapale Saloni	2025	2		2	WFM	Potluri Supreetha	1849	23

View the complete pairing here.

Muhammad Haider Ullah Khan (1381) of Pakistan is his country's lone representative in the tournament. Gens una sumus, for real!

Links:

Special thanks to IA Gopakumar Sudhakaran for the inputs and pictures