PINAKI MAJUMDAR
Jamshedpur, Sept 15: The Tata Steel Asian Junior Open and Girls Chess Championship 2023 reached its eighth round on Thursday.
Pranay Sinha, Chief, Corporate Services (Jamshedpur), Tata Steel made the ceremonial first move of the day at JRD Tata Sports Complex.
This round brought several pivotal matches to the forefront of the Open and Girls categories. In the Girls Category, Board 1 witnessed a clash between the joint leaders, Tejaswini G and Woman Candidate Master Bristy. In a roller-coaster game, Tejaswini initially held an advantage with two extra pawns, but Bristy made a remarkable comeback, promoting her pawns and reviving her queen.
However, Tejaswini’s precise play prevailed, leading to her victory. With this win, Tejaswini now claims the clear sole lead in the Girls Category with 7 points in 8 rounds. On Board 2, Nurgali faced Women International Master Bommini Mounika with the white pieces.
The game began with the Colle System, and though Bommini had a slight advantage, she couldn’t capitalize on it, leading to a draw after 33 moves. Board 3 featured Mrittika Mallick against the silver medalist in the Rapid section, Mrudul Dehankar. Mrittika initiated with a King’s Pawn opening, and Mrudul responded with a solid Caro-Kann defence. After a balanced and intense game lasting 63 moves, the players agreed to a draw.
In the Open Section, Board 1 saw Rohith Krishna facing the top seed Grebnev Aleksey with white pieces. The game began with the Queen’s Gambit, and after 11 moves, both players agreed to a draw by mutual agreement. Board 2 witnessed a similar outcome, with Manish initially having an advantage in the middle game against Aswanth.
However, Aswanth managed to hold the position, resulting in a draw by perpetual after 53 moves. On Board 3, Srihari L forcibly drew his game against Sambit by giving perpetual checks. The 4th board featured Ayush facing International Master Gilbert Elroy of Indonesia. Ayush chose an aggressive line against white, and after a misstep by Gilbert in the middle game, Ayush comfortably secured victory in 29 moves.
As the 8th round concluded, four players in the open section, namely Grebnev, Rohith, Ayush, and Aswath, share the sole lead with 6 points each.
The final round later in the day today will determine the winners based on better tie-break points. In the Girls Category, Tejaswini leads with a full point ahead, having scored 7 points in 9 rounds.
Trailing behind her with 6 points each are Nurgali, Bommini, and Bristy, who share the 2nd spot.
