IM Nguyen Anh Khoi and WFM Serikbay Assel win Asian Junior 2019

by Shahid Ahmed - 09/07/2019

16-year-old IM Nguyen Anh Khoi of Vietnam won Asian Junior 2019 in open category with an emphatic 8.0/9, finishing a full point ahead of the runner-up IM Raghunandan K S of India. Anh Khoi also won Gold in Rapid format. Among the girls, WFM Serikbay Assel, despite suffering two consecutive losses in round 5 and 6, bounced back strong and finished at 7.0/9 to clinch the Gold., edging out WIM Vantika Agrawal on tie-break as she also finished with the same score. Vantika also won Silver in the Rapid format. IM Novendra Priasmoro, FM Sagita Catur Adi and WFM Sharfina Juwita Ardelia are the Silver in open Rapid, Bronze in open Standard and Bronze in girls Blitz medal winners respectively. Photo: Mulyadi R

Vietnam, Kazakhstan and Philippines share Gold, India wins maximum number of medals

IM Nguyen Anh Khoi and WFM Serikbay Assel are the Asian Junior 2019 Champions | Photo: Mulyadi R

Standard:

Top 3 in open (L tor R): Bronze - FM Sagita Catur Adi (INA, 2240), Gold - IM Nguyen Anh Khoi (VIE, 2516) and Silver - IM Raghunandan K S (IND, 2441) | Photo: Mulyadi R

Vietnam's budding talent IM Nguyen Anh Khoi delivered a performance of 2671 and gained an ELO Rating of 13 points

Top seed of the tournament Anh Khoi started out the tournament strong with five consecutive wins which gave him a full point lead over the rest of the field. In the fifth round he defeated the eventual Silver medal winner IM Raghunandan K S in King's Indian Defence.

IM Raghunandan K S (IND, 2441) - IM Nguyen Anh Khoi (VIE, 2516), Standard Round 5

Raghu had a balanced position, until he made the mistake of playing 28.Ne4. Find out why it is a mistake

Anh Khoi's best game was against Morado Jeth Romy (PHI, 2219) in the penultimate round where he completely destroyed his opponent with a devastating attack.

Anh Khoi's annihilation in round 8 | Photo: Mulyadi R

In Slav Defence, Anh Khoi's opponent lagged in development as he moved his Queen six times in just 20 moves which eventually cost him dearly.

Black has just played 26...f6 which starts a chain of reaction. Can you find the best continuation for White here?

Final Standings in Standard open

Rk.	SNo		Name	FED	Rtg	Pts.	TB1	TB2	TB3
1	1	IM	Nguyen Anh Khoi	VIE	2516	8,0	0,0	7	39,0
2	4	IM	Raghunandan Kaumandur Srihari	IND	2441	7,0	0,0	6	36,0
3	12	FM	Sagita Catur Adi	INA	2240	6,0	0,0	6	37,5
4	8	IM	Quizon Daniel	PHI	2336	6,0	0,0	5	39,0
5	7	IM	Miciano John Marvin	PHI	2355	6,0	0,0	5	38,0
6	2	GM	Karthik Venkataraman	IND	2480	6,0	0,0	5	33,5
7	3		Gholami Orimi Mahdi	IRI	2444	5,5	0,0	5	40,0
8	16		Sevillano Rhenzi Kyle	PHI	2185	5,5	0,0	5	31,0
9	14	CM	Arfan Aditya Bagus	INA	2202	5,5	0,0	4	32,0
10	5	IM	Rakesh Kumar Jena	IND	2395	5,5	0,0	3	36,0

Complete standings

Top 3 in girls (L to R): Bronze - WIM Aakanksha Hagawane (IND, 2246), Gold - WFM Serikbay Assel (KAZ, 2071) and Silver - WIM Vantika Agrawal (IND, 2243) | Photo: Mulyadi R

Assel suffered two consecutive losses in round 5 and 6. However she bounced back strong and won her last three important games

WFM Serikbay Assel did not have an ideal tournament in the Standard format as she suffered two consecutive losses, one of them against the eventual Bronze medal winner WIM Aakanksha Hagawane. It did not deter her from her path to glory. She scripted a perfect comeback and won the Gold with a score of 7.0/9. She was tied with WIM Vantika Agrawal who also finished at 7.0/9. Since the Kazakh girl defeated Vantika in round 3, that helped her tie-break score.

WIM Vantika Agrawal (IND, 2243) - WFM Serikbay Assel (KAZ, 2071), Standard Round 3

Assel's 30...Kg6 has a lot of intent which Vantika missed. Can you find out Black's plan here?

In round 4, Assel found a cute tactic against Lakshmi C (IND, 1780).

Black just played 43...Qe6. Find out the finish for White

Final Standings in Standard girls

Rk.	SNo		Name	FED	Rtg	Pts.	TB1	TB2	TB3
1	9	WFM	Serikbay Assel	KAZ	2071	7,0	1,0	7	37,5
2	2	WIM	Vantika Agrawal	IND	2243	7,0	0,0	6	39,5
3	1	WIM	Aakanksha Hagawane	IND	2246	6,5	0,0	4	40,0
4	14	WFM	Asgharzadeh Mitra	IRI	1980	6,0	0,0	5	35,0
5	17	WFM	Meghna C H	IND	1903	6,0	0,0	5	33,0
6	4	WIM	Chitlange Sakshi	IND	2168	6,0	0,0	4	41,0
7	11	WIM	Karenza Dita	INA	2046	6,0	0,0	4	31,5
8	3	WFM	Fisabilillah Ummi	INA	2226	5,5	1,0	3	36,5
9	21	WFM	Sharfina Juwita Ardelia	INA	1868	5,5	0,0	4	32,5
10	6	WFM	Singgih Diajeng Theresa	INA	2107	5,0	0,0	5	34,5

Complete standings

Rapid:

IM Nguyen Anh Khoi (VIE, 2168) again showed dominance in the Rapid format as he registered six consecutive victories, making the final round almost inconsequential for securing his gold. Both IM Novendra Priasmoro (INA, 2263) and IM Raghunandan K S (IND, 2093) finished a full point behind at 5.0/7, however since Novendra beat Raghunandan in round 4, that propelled him to secure Silver medal.

The podium finishers in open (L to R): Bronze - IM Raghunandan K S (IND, 2093) 5.0/7, Gold - IM Nguyen Anh Khoi (VIE, 2168) 6.0/7 and Silver - IM Novendra Priasmoro (INA, 2263) | Photo: Mulyadi R

Final Standings in Rapid open

Rk.	SNo		Name	FED	Rtg	Pts.	TB1	TB2	TB3
1	4	IM	Nguyen Anh Khoi	VIE	2168	6,5	0,0	6	21,5
2	1	IM	Priasmoro Novendra	INA	2263	6,0	0,0	6	20,5
3	8	IM	Raghunandan Kaumandur Srihari	IND	2093	5,5	0,0	5	21,5
4	24		David Saputra	INA	1760	5,0	0,0	5	18,5
5	3	FM	Hafiz Arif Abdul	INA	2178	5,0	0,0	5	18,0
6	10	IM	Quizon Daniel	PHI	2035	4,5	0,0	4	21,5
7	13	IM	Miciano John Marvin	PHI	1980	4,5	0,0	4	17,5
8	17		Sevillano Rhenzi Kyle	PHI	1921	4,5	0,0	4	17,5
9	6		Tarigan Gilbert Elroy	INA	2127	4,5	0,0	4	16,0
10	9	FM	Nitish Belurkar	IND	2045	4,0	0,0	4	21,0

Complete standings

WIM Mordido Kylen Joy (PHI, 1865) scored six straight wins and took a full point lead heading into the final round. A draw in the final round against the eventual Silver medal winner WIM Vantika Agrawal (IND, 1647) made her earn the Gold medal. Joy also defeated the eventual Bronze medalist WFM Nurgali Nazerke (KAZ, 1897) in round 5.

The podium finishers in girls (L to R): Bronze - WFM Nurgali Nazerke (KAZ, 1897) 5.5/7, Gold - WIM Mordido Kylen Joy (PHI, 1865) 6.5/7 and Silver - WIM Vantika Agrawal (IND, 1647) 5.5/7 | Photo: Mulyadi R

Final Standings in Rapid girls

Rk.	SNo		Name	FED	Rtg	Pts.	TB1	TB2	TB3
1	8	WIM	Mordido Kylen Joy	PHI	1865	6,5	0,0	6	23,0
2	29	WIM	Vantika Agrawal	IND	1647	5,5	0,0	5	22,0
3	6	WFM	Nurgali Nazerke	KAZ	1897	5,5	0,0	5	21,5
4	19	WFM	Singgih Diajeng Theresa	INA	1780	5,0	0,0	5	21,0
5	11	WIM	Karenza Dita	INA	1858	5,0	0,0	5	20,0
6	3	WFM	Legowo Parahita Millyena	INA	2012	5,0	0,0	4	21,0
7	5		Latifah Laysa	INA	1926	4,5	0,0	4	19,5
8	22	WFM	Elisabeth Christine	INA	1766	4,5	0,0	4	14,5
9	28	WIM	Chitlange Sakshi	IND	1668	4,0	0,0	4	19,0
10	20		Nyimas Shieta Prima Citra Maus	INA	1779	4,0	0,0	4	16,5

Complete standings

Blitz:

IM Quizon Daniel (PHI, 2140) blazed through the competition as he scored a fiery 7.0/7 to win Gold. Top seed in the open section of Blitz untitled Gholami Orimi Mahdi (IRI, 2325) scored 5.5/7 to secure the Silver. FM Nitish Belurkar (IND, 2265) scored 5.0/7 to attain Bronze medal.

The medal winners in open (L to R): Silver - Gholami Orimi Mahdi (IRI, 2325) 5.5/7, Gold - IM Quizon Daniel (PHI, 2140) and Bronze - FM Nitish Belurkar (IND, 2265) | Photo: Mulyadi R

Final Standings in Blitz open

Rk.	SNo		Name	FED	Rtg	Pts.	TB1	TB2	TB3
1	9	IM	Quizon Daniel	PHI	2140	7,0	0,0	7	28,5
2	1		Gholami Orimi Mahdi	IRI	2325	5,5	0,0	5	28,0
3	5	FM	Nitish Belurkar	IND	2265	5,0	0,0	5	29,5
4	3	GM	Karthik Venkataraman	IND	2319	4,5	0,0	4	33,5
5	4	IM	Nguyen Anh Khoi	VIE	2267	4,5	0,0	4	30,5
6	11		Morado Jeth Romy	PHI	2088	4,5	0,0	4	29,5
7	18	FM	Nguyen Dang Hong Phuc	VIE	1907	4,5	0,0	4	28,5
8	2	IM	Priasmoro Novendra	INA	2323	4,5	0,0	4	28,0
9	29	CM	Arfan Aditya Bagus	INA	1662	4,5	0,0	4	23,5
10	19		Amanzhol Sultan	KAZ	1888	4,5	0,0	4	21,5

Complete standings

In the girls section, WFM Nurgali Nazerke (KAZ, 2000) started out with a loss, then she scored six consecutive wins to win the Gold. However, WIM Aakanksha Hagawane (IND, 2023) also scored 6.0/7, due to a lesser tie-break score, Aakanksha had to settle for Silver medal. WFM Sharfina Juwita Ardelia (INA, 1803) scored 5.5/7 to secure Bronze medal.

The medal winners in girls (L to R): Bronze - WFM Sharfina Juwita Ardelia (INA, 1803) 5.5/7, Gold - WFM Nurgali Nazerke (KAZ, 2000) 6.0/7 and WIM Aakanksha Hagawane (IND, 2023) 6.0/7 | Photo: Mulyadi R

Final Standings in Blitz girls

Rk.	SNo		Name	FED	Rtg	Pts.	TB1	TB2	TB3
1	5	WFM	Nurgali Nazerke	KAZ	2000	6,0	0,0	6	20,5
2	3	WIM	Aakanksha Hagawane	IND	2023	6,0	0,0	5	22,5
3	22	WFM	Sharfina Juwita Ardelia	INA	1803	5,5	0,0	5	21,5
4	4	WFM	Legowo Parahita Millyena	INA	2004	5,0	0,0	5	20,0
5	28	WIM	Vantika Agrawal	IND	1704	5,0	0,0	5	18,5
6	21		Derotas Vic Glysen	PHI	1805	5,0	0,0	5	18,5
7	12	WCM	Nguyen Hong Ngoc	VIE	1845	4,5	0,0	4	22,5
8	18	WFM	Asgharzadeh Mitra	IRI	1824	4,5	0,0	4	17,0
9	6	WFM	Serikbay Assel	KAZ	1991	4,5	0,0	4	16,5
10	31	WFM	Lakshmi C	IND	1631	4,0	0,0	4	19,5

Complete standings

Medal Statistics:

	Standard		Rapid		Bronze
	Open	Girls	Open	Girls	Open	Girls
Gold	VIE	KAZ	VIE	PHI	PHI	KAZ
Silver	IND	IND	INA	IND	IRI	IND
Bronze	INA	IND	IND	KAZ	IND	INA

The tournament was organized by Indonesia Chess Federation from 1st to 8th July 2019 at Solo, Indonesia. Total 34 players in open and 37 players in girls participated representing 9 different countries across the Asian continent.