WJCC Round 11+12: Xiong becomes the Champion with a round to spare

by Priyadarshan Banjan - 21/08/2016

Jeffery Xiong of the USA scored a comfortable victory with the black pieces to become the World Junior Chess Champion 2016 with a round to spare. The girls' section saw the Kazakh WGM Dinara Saduakassova take the sole lead in the tournament just in the nick of time. Check out our illustrated report.

Xiong becomes the Champion with a round to spare

Round 11:

The USA's GM Jeffery Xiong maintained a point's lead over his nearest rival, moving his score to 9.0/11, as he drew with Russian GM Vladislav Artemiev.

The game was an Exchange Slav where nothing spectacular happened at any point before the players finally calling it a day. Artemiev reached 8.0/11.

Joining Artemiev at the second position is Polish IM Nasuta Grzegorz.

He played a sharp Moscow Variation of the Sicilian Defence, where his opponent was playing all the right moves, until in the late middlegame, when he made critical mistakes while approaching the time control.

32...Nc5 proved to be inaccurate. The prophylactic 32...Kg8 would have served black well.

Nasuta made full use of his chances and won, also moving to 8.0/11.

[Event "World Junior Chess Championship 2016"]
[Site "Bhubaneswar"]
[Date "2016.08.19"]
[Round "11.3"]
[White "Nasuta, Grzegorz"]
[Black "Ivekovic, Bozidar"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B52"]
[WhiteElo "2442"]
[BlackElo "2351"]
[PlyCount "103"]
[EventDate "2016.08.19"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "13"]
[EventCountry "IND"]
[SourceDate "2003.06.08"]
[TimeControl "6000+1295"]
[WhiteClock "0:09:43"]
[BlackClock "0:25:00"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bb5+ Bd7 4. Bxd7+ Nxd7 5. O-O Ngf6 6. Qe2 e6 7. d4 cxd4
8. Nxd4 Be7 9. c4 O-O 10. Nc3 a6 11. b3 Qb6 12. Be3 Qa5 13. Rac1 Rfe8 14. Rfd1
Bf8 15. Qd2 Qh5 16. Nde2 Rad8 17. f3 Kh8 18. Na4 b5 19. Nf4 Qe5 20. Nd3 Qh5 21.
Nf4 Qe5 22. Nb2 d5 23. Nbd3 Qb8 24. exd5 e5 25. Nh3 e4 26. Ne1 bxc4 27. bxc4
Bb4 28. Qf2 exf3 29. Bf4 Qc8 30. Nd3 Ba3 31. Qxf3 Bxc1 32. Rxc1 Nc5 33. Ne5 Kg8
34. Nc6 Rd7 35. Nf2 Qb7 36. Be5 Qb6 37. Kh1 Rb7 38. Bxf6 gxf6 39. Rf1 Qb1 40.
Nh3 Ne4 41. Rxb1 Rxb1+ 42. Ng1 Nd2 43. Qg3+ Kh8 44. d6 Ne4 45. Qf3 Rd1 46. Ne7
Rxd6 47. Qxe4 Re6 48. Qd4 R8xe7 49. h3 Kg7 50. Nf3 Rc7 51. Qg4+ Kf8 52. Nh4 1-0

The second board game between two untitled but extremely strong players -- Xu Yinglun and Parham Maghsoodloo -- ended in a fitting draw after a fighting game.

Maghsoodloo seemed to be pushing in the endgame, but nothing came of it. Both remain stranded on 7.5/11.

[Event "World Junior Chess Championship 2016"]
[Site "Bhubaneswar"]
[Date "2016.08.19"]
[Round "11.2"]
[White "Xu, Yinglun"]
[Black "Maghsoodloo, Parham"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A05"]
[WhiteElo "2516"]
[BlackElo "2576"]
[PlyCount "166"]
[EventDate "2016.08.19"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "13"]
[EventCountry "IND"]
[SourceDate "2003.06.08"]
[TimeControl "6000+1955"]
[WhiteClock "0:17:51"]
[BlackClock "0:27:50"]

1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. Qb3 Nb6 6. d4 Be6 7. Qa3 Bc4 8.
b3 Ba6 9. Be3 Nc6 10. Qb2 Bg7 11. Rd1 Nd5 12. g3 O-O 13. Bg2 Nxe3 14. fxe3 e5
15. d5 Ne7 16. e4 Nc8 17. O-O Nd6 18. Rfe1 Qe7 19. e3 f5 20. exf5 gxf5 21. Bf1
Bxf1 22. Rxf1 b5 23. Qa3 Rfb8 24. Qc5 Bf6 25. Rc1 Kh8 26. Kh1 a6 27. Nd1 Rb7
28. Nf2 Rg8 29. e4 fxe4 30. Nd2 e3 31. Qxe3 Bg5 32. Qe2 b4 33. Rcd1 Bxd2 34.
Rxd2 Rb5 35. Ne4 Rf8 36. Rdd1 Rxf1+ 37. Rxf1 Rxd5 38. Nf6 Rb5 39. Qg4 Rb8 40.
Nd5 Qg7 41. Qxg7+ Kxg7 42. Nxc7 a5 43. Rd1 Nb5 44. Rd7+ Kg6 45. Nd5 h5 46. Kg2
Kf5 47. Rh7 Nc3 48. Nxc3 bxc3 49. Rc7 Rd8 50. Rxc3 Rd2+ 51. Kf3 Rxh2 52. a3 Ra2
53. b4 a4 54. b5 Rb2 55. Rc4 Rb3+ 56. Ke2 Rxa3 57. Rb4 Rxg3 58. b6 Rg8 59. Rxa4
Rg2+ 60. Kf3 Rb2 61. Rh4 Rb3+ 62. Ke2 Rxb6 63. Rxh5+ Ke4 64. Rh4+ Kd5 65. Ra4
Rb2+ 66. Ke3 Rb3+ 67. Ke2 Rh3 68. Rb4 Ke6 69. Ra4 Kf5 70. Rb4 Rg3 71. Ra4 Rg4
72. Rxg4 Kxg4 73. Ke3 Kf5 74. Kf3 e4+ 75. Ke3 Ke5 76. Ke2 Kd4 77. Kd2 e3+ 78.
Ke2 Ke4 79. Ke1 Kf4 80. Ke2 Ke4 81. Ke1 Kd3 82. Kd1 e2+ 83. Ke1 Ke3 1/2-1/2

In the girls' section, there were a handful of novel results. The leader Frayna Janelle Mae failed to defend with the black pieces against IM Andrea Rodriguez.

[Event "World Junior Girls Chess Championship"]
[Site "Bhubaneswar"]
[Date "2016.08.19"]
[Round "11"]
[White "Rodriguez Rueda, Paula Andrea"]
[Black "Frayna, Janelle Mae"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D46"]
[WhiteElo "2321"]
[BlackElo "2292"]
[PlyCount "119"]
[EventDate "2016.08.19"]
[EventRounds "13"]
[EventCountry "IND"]
[SourceDate "2003.06.08"]
[TimeControl "6000+1305"]
[WhiteClock "0:32:55"]
[BlackClock "0:21:02"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e3 e6 5. Bd3 Nbd7 6. O-O Bd6 7. Nc3 O-O 8. e4
dxc4 9. Bxc4 e5 10. Bg5 h6 11. Bh4 Qc7 12. Rc1 exd4 13. Nb5 cxb5 14. Bxf7+ Rxf7
15. Rxc7 Bxc7 16. Nxd4 Nxe4 17. f3 Ng5 18. Nxb5 Bb6+ 19. Bf2 Nf8 20. h4 Ngh7
21. Bxb6 axb6 22. Qd8 Rd7 23. Qxb6 Ra6 24. Qc5 Rc6 25. Qb4 Nf6 26. Na7 Rcc7 27.
Re1 Rd8 28. Qa5 Rcd7 29. Qc3 Rd1 30. Qb3+ Be6 31. Rxd1 Bxb3 32. Rxd8 Bxa2 33.
Nb5 Kf7 34. Nc3 Bc4 35. Rc8 Ba6 36. b4 b6 37. Rc7+ Kg6 38. b5 Ne6 39. Rc6 Bxb5
40. Nxb5 Nf4 41. Rxb6 N4d5 42. Rb7 h5 43. Nd4 Ne8 44. Nc6 Kf6 45. Nb4 Nf4 46.
Rb6+ Kf5 47. Rb5+ Kg6 48. Nd5 Ne6 49. Kf2 Kh7 50. Rb7 Nd4 51. Re7 Nd6 52. Rd7
N4b5 53. Nc7 Nxc7 54. Rxd6 Ne8 55. Rc6 g6 56. Ke3 Kg7 57. Kf4 Nf6 58. g3 Nh7
59. Rc7+ Kh6 60. Rf7 1-0

In the second table, WIM Pv Nandhidhaa managed to defeat WIM Alina Bivol with the white pieces.

[Event "World Junior Girls Chess Championship"]
[Site "Bhubaneswar"]
[Date "2016.08.19"]
[Round "11"]
[White "Nandhidhaa, Pv"]
[Black "Bivol, Alina"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A01"]
[WhiteElo "2151"]
[BlackElo "2362"]
[PlyCount "115"]
[EventDate "2016.08.19"]
[EventRounds "13"]
[EventCountry "IND"]
[SourceDate "2003.06.08"]
[TimeControl "6000+1180"]
[WhiteClock "0:19:24"]
[BlackClock "0:49:44"]

1. b3 e5 2. Bb2 Nc6 3. e3 d5 4. Bb5 Bd6 5. Nf3 Qe7 6. c4 Nf6 7. c5 Bxc5 8. Nxe5
Qd6 9. O-O O-O 10. d4 Bb4 11. a3 Ba5 12. Bxc6 bxc6 13. Qc2 Ng4 14. b4 Bb6 15.
Qxc6 Nxe5 16. Qxd6 cxd6 17. dxe5 dxe5 18. Bxe5 Ba6 19. Rc1 Rfe8 20. Bb2 f5 21.
a4 Rac8 22. Na3 Bc4 23. a5 Bd8 24. Bd4 Be7 25. Nxc4 dxc4 26. b5 Bf6 27. Bxf6
gxf6 28. b6 axb6 29. axb6 c3 30. g3 c2 31. Ra2 Re6 32. b7 Rb8 33. Ra8 Ree8 34.
Rxc2 Rxa8 35. bxa8=Q Rxa8 36. Rc5 f4 37. gxf4 Kg7 38. f5 Kh6 39. Kg2 Rg8+ 40.
Kf3 Rg1 41. Rc7 Rg5 42. e4 Rh5 43. Rf7 Rxh2 44. Rxf6+ Kg5 45. Rf8 Rh3+ 46. Kg2
Rh4 47. f3 Kf4 48. Re8 Rh6 49. Re6 Rh5 50. f6 Rg5+ 51. Kf2 Rg3 52. f7 Rxf3+ 53.
Ke2 Kg3 54. Re7 Rf2+ 55. Ke1 h5 56. e5 h4 57. e6 h3 58. Re8 1-0

On the third table, the top seed WGM Dinara Saduakassova managed to outwit Vaishali R.. Thus, Saduakassova, India's Nandhidhaa, and Rodriguez joined Frayna in the lead with 8.0/11 each. Also, WIM Michelle Catherina brought cheers to the host country as she beat WGM Nataliya Buksa with the white pieces. Michelle moved to 7.5/11, half a point behind the leaders.

Round 12:

Jeffery Xiong of the USA scored a comfortable victory with the black pieces to become the World Junior Chess Champion 2016 with a round to spare.

Filipino IM Paulo Bersamina

In a Sicilian Defence, Grand Prix Variation, his opponent IM Paulo Bersamina went slightly wrong in the early middlegame, allowing Xiong to roll over his opponent in the endgame. With 10.0/12, Xiong has taken an unassailable 1.5 point lead over his nearest opponents. At 16, Xiong is amongst the youngest World Junior Champions in chess history.

[Event "World Junior Chess Championship 2016"]
[Site "Bhubaneswar"]
[Date "2016.08.20"]
[Round "12.1"]
[White "Bersamina, Paulo"]
[Black "Xiong, Jeffery"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B23"]
[WhiteElo "2402"]
[BlackElo "2633"]
[PlyCount "155"]
[EventDate "2016.08.20"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "13"]
[EventCountry "IND"]
[SourceDate "2003.06.08"]
[TimeControl "6000+1215"]
[WhiteClock "0:21:05"]
[BlackClock "0:12:02"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 d6 3. f4 Nc6 4. Nf3 g6 5. Bb5 Bd7 6. O-O Bg7 7. Bc4 Na5 8. Be2
Nf6 9. Qe1 Nc6 10. Bc4 Nd4 11. Qh4 b5 12. Nxd4 cxd4 13. Nxb5 Qb6 14. a4 a6 15.
a5 Qc6 16. Na3 Nxe4 17. d3 Nf6 18. Nb1 d5 19. Bb3 Qc5 20. Re1 Ng4 21. Re2 Ne3
22. h3 O-O 23. Qe1 Rab8 24. Ra3 Rfc8 25. Kh1 Bf5 26. Bxe3 dxe3 27. Rxe3 Bxb2
28. Ra2 Bd4 29. Rf3 h5 30. Nd2 Bc3 31. Qf2 e6 32. Qxc5 Rxc5 33. Nf1 Rxa5 34.
Rxa5 Bxa5 35. Kh2 Bc3 36. g3 a5 37. Ne3 Rb4 38. g4 hxg4 39. hxg4 Bxd3 40. Ng2
a4 41. Bxa4 Be4 42. Rxc3 Rxa4 43. Ne1 Ra1 44. Re3 Rc1 45. Re2 Kf8 46. Kg3 Ke7
47. g5 Kd6 48. Kf2 Bf5 49. Nd3 Rh1 50. Ne5 Rh2+ 51. Ke3 d4+ 52. Kd2 Rxe2+ 53.
Kxe2 Kd5 54. Kd2 Ke4 55. Nxf7 Kxf4 56. c3 d3 57. Nd6 e5 58. Nc4 e4 59. Ne3 Kxg5
60. Ke1 Bg4 61. Nd5 Kf5 62. Kd2 Ke5 63. Ne7 g5 64. Ke3 Bf3 65. c4 g4 66. Ng6+
Kd6 67. Nh4 Kc5 68. Nf5 Kxc4 69. Kd2 Kd5 70. Ke3 Ke6 71. Ng3 Ke5 72. Nf1 Kf5
73. Ng3+ Kg5 74. Nf1 Kh4 75. Kf2 Kh3 76. Ke3 g3 77. Nd2 g2 78. Kf2 0-1

The second board game between IM Nasuta Grzegorz and the top seed GM Vladislav Artemiev of Russia ended in a draw. Both the players are tied for the second spot at 8.5/12.

The third board game between Iran's Parham Maghsoodloo and India's GM Aravindh Chithambaram was an interesting affair, where Parham amassed a huge advantage.

Nevertheless, despite being an exchange for a pawn up, he could not convert and the game ended in a draw.

[Event "World Junior Chess Championship 2016"]
[Site "Bhubaneswar"]
[Date "2016.08.20"]
[Round "12.3"]
[White "Maghsoodloo, Parham"]
[Black "Aravindh, Chithambaram Vr"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A05"]
[WhiteElo "2576"]
[BlackElo "2543"]
[PlyCount "144"]
[EventDate "2016.08.20"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "13"]
[EventCountry "IND"]
[SourceDate "2003.06.08"]
[TimeControl "6000+1280"]
[WhiteClock "0:22:25"]
[BlackClock "0:08:48"]

1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. g3 b6 5. Bg2 Bb7 6. O-O c5 7. Re1 O-O 8. e4
Nc6 9. d3 d6 10. Rb1 Nd7 11. a3 e6 12. h3 a6 13. Be3 Nd4 14. Qd2 Nb3 15. Qd1
Nd4 16. Ne2 Nxf3+ 17. Bxf3 b5 18. Bg2 Qc7 19. cxb5 axb5 20. d4 Nb6 21. b3 Nd7
22. Nc3 Bc6 23. a4 bxa4 24. Nxa4 Qa5 25. dxc5 Bxa4 26. bxa4 Nxc5 27. e5 Rad8
28. exd6 Nxa4 29. Rc1 Nc3 30. Qd2 Qa3 31. d7 Na4 32. Bc6 Qb3 33. Qa5 Nb2 34.
Bb5 Nd3 35. Bxd3 Qxd3 36. Red1 Qb3 37. Bb6 Ra8 38. Qxa8 Rxa8 39. Rc8+ Bf8 40.
Rdc1 Rxc8 41. dxc8=Q Qxb6 42. Qa8 h5 43. Rc8 Qb4 44. Qc6 Kg7 45. Kg2 Bd6 46. h4
Be5 47. Ra8 Qd4 48. Qb7 Qd3 49. Ra7 Qf5 50. Ra5 Qf6 51. Ra3 Qd8 52. Re3 Qc7 53.
Qe4 Bf6 54. Rb3 Qc5 55. Rb7 Qf5 56. Qxf5 exf5 57. f4 Bd4 58. Kf3 Kf6 59. Ke2
Ke6 60. Rb3 Kd5 61. Rd3 Kc5 62. Rd2 Kd5 63. Kf3 Kc5 64. Rd1 Kd5 65. Ke2 Kc5 66.
Rd2 Kd5 67. Kd3 Bg1 68. Re2 Bc5 69. Rb2 Bg1 70. Rb7 Bf2 71. Rxf7 Ke6 72. Rh7
Bxg3 1/2-1/2

The new World Junior champion with his father Mr Wayne Xiong. An interview will follow.

Standings after Round 12:

Rank		Name	IRtg	Club	Type	Pts	Res.	BH.	BH.	BL	Vict
1	GM	Xiong Jeffery	2633	USA	U16	10	0	83	88	6	8
2	GM	Artemiev Vladislav	2665	RUS	U18	8½	½	82	88	6	6
3	IM	Nasuta Grzegorz	2442	POL	U20	8½	½	80	84½	6	6
4	GM	Aravindh Chithambaram Vr.	2543	IND	U18	8	0	83	89	6	5
5	GM	Sunilduth Lyna Narayanan	2515	IND	U18	8	0	83	88½	6	5
6		Maghsoodloo Parham	2576	IRI	U16	8	0	81½	85½	6	5
7	IM	Mosadeghpour Masoud	2437	IRI	U20	8	0	79½	83½	6	5
8	FM	Xu Yi	2371	CHN	U18	8	0	77	82½	6	5
9	GM	Karthikeyan Murali	2514	IND	U18	7½	0	84	89	6	6
10		Xu Yinglun	2516	CHN	U20	7½	0	82½	88	6	4

Complete Standings

The girls' section saw the Kazakh WGM Dinara Saduakassova take the sole lead in the tournament just in the nick of time.

Saduakassova beat Colombian IM Andrea Rodriguez to move to 9.0/12.

[Event "World Junior Girls Chess Championship"]
[Site "Bhubaneswar"]
[Date "2016.08.20"]
[Round "12"]
[White "Rodriguez Rueda, Paula Andrea"]
[Black "Saduakassova, Dinara"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A46"]
[WhiteElo "2321"]
[BlackElo "2423"]
[PlyCount "102"]
[EventDate "2016.08.20"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "13"]
[EventCountry "IND"]
[SourceDate "2003.06.08"]
[TimeControl "6000+1230"]
[WhiteClock "0:22:51"]
[BlackClock "0:29:20"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. g3 b5 4. Bg2 Bb7 5. a3 c5 6. O-O Na6 7. Bf4 Qb6 8. Nc3
Nd5 9. Nxd5 Bxd5 10. e4 Bxe4 11. dxc5 Qb7 12. b4 Be7 13. Ne1 Bxg2 14. Nxg2 Nc7
15. Ne3 Bf6 16. Rb1 O-O 17. Bd6 Rfc8 18. Qd3 Ne8 19. Ng4 h5 20. Nxf6+ Nxf6 21.
Rfd1 Nd5 22. Qf3 f6 23. Rb3 a5 24. bxa5 Qc6 25. Qxh5 Rxa5 26. g4 e5 27. Bxe5
fxe5 28. Qxe5 Nf6 29. g5 Qe4 30. Qd6 Nh5 31. Qxd7 Rxc5 32. Qd8+ Kh7 33. Rb4 Rc4
34. Rxc4 bxc4 35. Rd4 Qf5 36. Rh4 Qxg5+ 37. Qxg5 Rxg5+ 38. Kf1 Rc5 39. Ke2 Kg6
40. Kd2 Ra5 41. Rxc4 Rxa3 42. c3 Nf6 43. Ke3 Ra1 44. Kf3 Rh1 45. Kg2 Rc1 46.
Kf3 Rh1 47. Kg2 Rd1 48. Rc8 Rd3 49. c4 Rc3 50. Rc7 Nh5 51. f3 Kg5 0-1

In another surprise, WIM Frayna Janelle Mae, who was in the lead for the most part of the tournament lost her second game on a trot, this time to India's WIM Parnali Dharia.

Black has many options, but Parnali found the most crushing way.

[Event "World Junior Girls Chess Championship"]
[Site "Bhubaneswar"]
[Date "2016.08.20"]
[Round "12"]
[White "Frayna, Janelle Mae"]
[Black "Parnali, S Dharia"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D34"]
[WhiteElo "2292"]
[BlackElo "2203"]
[PlyCount "86"]
[EventDate "2016.08.20"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "13"]
[EventCountry "IND"]
[SourceDate "2003.06.08"]
[TimeControl "6000+705"]
[WhiteClock "0:15:45"]
[BlackClock "0:17:39"]

1. c4 e6 2. g3 Nf6 3. Bg2 d5 4. Nf3 c5 5. O-O Nc6 6. cxd5 exd5 7. d4 Be7 8. Nc3
O-O 9. dxc5 Bxc5 10. Bg5 d4 11. Bxf6 Qxf6 12. Ne4 Qe7 13. Nxc5 Qxc5 14. Qd2 Bg4
15. Rfc1 Qd6 16. h3 Bf5 17. b4 Rad8 18. Rc5 Be4 19. a3 d3 20. exd3 Bxf3 21.
Bxf3 Nd4 22. Qd1 Qf6 23. Bxb7 Nb3 24. Rb1 Nxc5 25. bxc5 Qc3 26. c6 Rxd3 27. Qe1
Rfd8 28. Qe4 g6 29. Rb4 Rxg3+ 30. fxg3 Qxg3+ 31. Kf1 Rd2 32. Qe2 Qxh3+ 33. Ke1
Rxe2+ 34. Kxe2 Qc3 35. Re4 Kf8 36. Re3 Qc2+ 37. Kf3 f5 38. Re2 Qd3+ 39. Re3
Qf1+ 40. Kg3 f4+ 41. Kg4 fxe3 42. c7 Qf5+ 43. Kg3 Qe5+ 0-1

Erst-while joint leader WIM Pv Nandhidhaa too ended up losing to Mongolian WIM Uurtsaikhu Urintuya. All of them are not joint second at 8.0/12. WIM Dinara Dordzhieva managed to put it across WIM Michelle Catherina to move to the second position with 8.5/12.

The pain of losing a won game: Emily Minaud breaks down after her miss.

Standings after Round 12:

Rank		Name		IRtg	Club	Type	Pts	Res.	BH.	BH.	BL	Vict
1	WGM	Saduakassova Dinara	F	2423	KAZ	U20	9	0	80	84½	6	6
2	WIM	Dordzhieva Dinara	F	2304	RUS	U18	8½	0	83½	87½	5	7
3	WIM	Bivol Alina	F	2362	RUS	U20	8	0	85	90½	6	6
4	WIM	Nandhidhaa Pv	F	2151	IND	U20	8	0	84	89½	6	6
5	WIM	Frayna Janelle Mae	F	2292	PHI	U20	8	0	82½	87½	6	6

Complete Standings

Pairings for Round 10:

Open

Girls

Games in PGN