Asian Youth Chess C'ships: India wins eight medals at Classical event

India’s young stars ended their chess campaign in the Classical event with an impressive haul of 8 medals, consisting of one gold, two silver, and five bronze.

Narayani Umesh Marathe headlines the Indian contingent as the only Indian to clinch gold in the Classical event held in Kazakhstan.

In the Under-8 Open category, top seed Sarbartho Mani secured a silver with a score of 7/9. He defeated Mohammad Taha Malaknezhad of Iran, who earned the bronze. Second seed Rizat Ulan clinched the gold with a near-perfect score of 8/9, having outperformed Sarbartho.

In the Under-8 Girls category, Narayani Umesh Marathe won gold with a score of 7.5/9, despite losing her final game to Leyla Kim of Kazakhstan. This was made possible by her compatriot Nakshatra Gumudavelly's crucial win against the top seed, Asena Golizadeh of Iran. Nakshatra's victory was a game-changer, allowing Narayani to secure the gold while Nakshatra comfortably settled for bronze with a final score of 6.5/9.

Third seed Aaradhya Das claimed a bronze in the Under-10 Girls category with a score of 6.5/9 by defeating Milana Filippova of Kazakhstan.

In the Under-12 Open category, Siddhanth Poonja won the bronze with a score of 7/9. Although Fandi Mazen of Iran secured the same score, Siddhanth had to settle for bronze as his tie-break score was half a point less.

Meanwhile, in the Under-12 Girls category, Pratitee Bordoloi scored 7.5/9 and settled for silver after a closely-fought game with Kristina Zavivaeva of Russia. Levy Tran of Vietnam won the gold in the category.

CM Velavaa Ragavesh secured a bronze in the Under-16 Open with a score of 6.5/9, and IM Harsh Suresh won a bronze in the Under-18 Open with the same score, by winning his Direct Encounter against Eldiar of Kazakhstan.

Important results (Final Round)

Open:

Under-8 : Sarbartho Mani (Ind) 7/9 bt Mohammad Taha Malaknezhad (IRI) 6.5/9

Under-16 : CM Velavaa Ragavesh (Ind) 6.5/9 bt Kirill Gusev (FIDE) 5/9

Under-18: IM Harsh Suresh (Ind) 6.5/9 bt FM Eldiar Orozbaev (Kaz) 6.5/9

Girls:

Under-8: Narayani Umesh Marathe (Ind) 7.5/9 lost to Leyla Kim (Kaz) 6.5/9

Under-12: Pratitee Bordoloi (Ind) 7.5/9 drew with Kristina Zavivaeva (FIDE) 7/9