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Western Asian R01+02: Arjun Gupta stuns Sri Lankan talent Thilakarathne

by Satanick Mukhuty - 07/09/2019

The classical games have begun at the Western Asian Youth and Junior Championships 2019. The first round itself saw a couple of upsets as Tanishka Kotia (2164) and Savitha Shri B (2076) suffered defeats in the hands of Vishwa Shah (1760) and Rathi Dhanashree (1631) in the under-20 girls section. While in round two of the second half it was Sankalp Gupta (2376) who fell victim to Harshal Shahi (2114) of the host city. The most emphatic performance of the day however came from the under-18 open category, where playing on board one Arjun Gupta (2024) outwitted the Sri Lankan talent Thilakarathne GMH (2397). In this report we bring you photos, analyses, and much more from the second day of the event. 

Tough loss for the Sri Lankan contingent!

Sri Lanka's Thilakarathne GMH had to suffer an upsetting loss against lower rated Arjun Gupta of India | Photo: Rupesh Kumar

Even though India is undoubtedly the favourites in this Western Asian Youth Championships but Sri Lanka, with 34 of its participants, is one country which is expected to give the hosts a very close competition. But unfortunately in round two of the event the Sri Lankan contingent suffered a big blow as their lead player in open under-18 category went down against Arjun Gupta of India. This was an Indian Game where Thilakarathne with black pieces actually had the opportunity to grab some initiative out of the opening. But he missed his chance and slowly started to slip into a worse position. Let's check out what happened.

 

Arjun Gupta - Thilakarathne GMH, Round 2

In what was otherwise a calm position White tried to stir things up with 12.e4?! but this simply weakens the center.

Black struck immediately with 12...e5 in the above position. Next, 13.dxe5 was played and now the correct way to seize the edge would have been 13...Nc5! 14.Qe3 Nfxe4 etc but in the game the rather meek 13...dxe5 was opted with which the balance was once again restored.

18.Nd5 was an interesting choice that left quite a few possibilities open for Black. In such situations where you have a plethora of options you often end up taking the worse one.

The simple 18...Nxd5 would have been the right move here. The other two options - 18...Bxd2 and 18...Bxc4 - both give White the initiative (see annotations), Thilakarathne chose the latter in the game. After 18...Bxc4?! 19.Qxb4 axb4 20.Nxe7+ Kg7 21.Nxc8 Bxf1 22.Kxf1 White's position started to look.

White's rook is nicely placed on the open d-file and furthermore his queenside pawn-structure is healthier compared to Black's. White's advantage will only grow stronger with more exchanges.

White's minor pieces are way superior than Black's. 33.f4 with the intention of opening up the position more was a logical decision.

A clearly won position for White. It is only a matter of time that Black's loose pawns on both sides will start falling.

First it is the h7 pawn that perishes!

Not long after the queenside pawns too faced their fate. It was in this position that Black resigned.

Vantika's tricky tactical trap

Vantika Agrawal registered a fine win against Kazakhstan's Sultanbek Zeinep in round 2. The victory in this case came through a nice tactical motif | Photo: Rupesh Kumar

In the second round Vantika Agrawal defeated Kazakhstan's Sultanbek Zeinep to emerge as one of the three leaders in the under-20 girls group with 2.0/2 points. Let us see the critical moment from this encounter.

 

Sultanbek Zeinep - Vantika Agrawal, Round 2

White has just blundered with 17.Ba3 ... Can you find how Vantika trapped her opponent here? (Check game below for answer)

Standings after round 2

U-20 Open

The under-20 open group is being led by Sammed Jaykumar Shete who has 2.0/2 along with four others | Photo: Amit Sharma

Harshal Shahi stunned sixth seed Sankalp Gupta in the second round with black pieces to move to 2.0/2 | Photo: Rupesh Kumar

 

Rk.SNo NamesexFEDRtgPts. TB1  TB2  TB3  TB4  TB5 w-we
13
Sammed Jaykumar SheteIND23952,00,021,02,02,000,43
10
IMVardaan NagpalIND23462,00,021,02,02,000,16
37
FMRajdeep SarkarIND23642,00,021,01,51,500,31
19
FMHarshal ShahiIND21142,00,021,01,51,500,90
511
Raahul V SIND22782,00,020,50,50,500,16
61
IMRahul Srivatshav PIND24351,50,011,52,51,75-0,11
2
FMAbdisalimov AbdimalikUZB24091,50,011,52,51,75-0,08
5
IMMendonca Leon LukeIND23851,50,011,52,51,75-0,21
9
FMPranav AnandIND23611,50,011,52,51,75-0,24
104
FMAnuj ShrivatriIND23871,50,011,52,01,25-0,11

Under-20 girls

Rk.SNo NamesexFEDRtgPts. TB1  TB2  TB3  TB4  TB5 w-we
11
WIMVantika AgrawalwIND23042,00,021,02,02,000,20
5
WIMAbdusattorova BakhorawUZB21092,00,021,02,02,000,18
38
WFMBommini Mounika AkshayawIND20552,00,021,01,01,000,16
44
WIMChitlange SakshiwIND21591,50,011,52,51,75-0,13
52
WIMAakanksha HagawanewIND22321,50,011,52,01,25-0,42
9
Bakshi RutujawIND20021,50,011,52,01,250,29
713
Shah VishwawIND17601,50,011,01,00,501,34
817
Senthamizh Yazhini SwIND16261,00,012,02,50,500,84
910
WCMSultanbek ZeinepwKAZ19331,00,012,02,00,00-0,02
11
WCMNoshin AnjumwBAN19311,00,012,02,00,000,00
15
Nanditha VwIND17381,00,012,02,00,000,82
16
Rathi DhanashreewIND16311,00,012,02,00,000,84
1312
WFMLakshmi CwIND18651,00,011,51,50,000,08

Under-18 Open

Rk.SNo NamesexFEDRtgPts. TB1  TB2  TB3  TB4  TB5 w-we
12
Srijit PaulIND23102,00,021,02,02,000,24
9
FMVatsal SinghaniaIND21592,00,021,02,02,000,28
30
Akshit Kumar JIND17862,00,021,02,02,001,72
414
Mohamed Anees MIND20382,00,021,01,51,500,17
16
Arjun GuptaIND20242,00,021,01,51,500,98
63
FMAbdurakhmonov MukhammadaliUZB22881,50,011,52,51,75-0,25
5
FMAjay KarthikeyanIND22061,50,011,52,51,75-0,13
6
FMAbdilkhair AbilmansurKAZ21891,50,011,52,51,75-0,17
26
Dubey SanchayIND18811,50,011,52,51,751,23
1015
Aakash Sharadchandra DalviIND20251,50,011,52,01,25-0,30
37
Suresh GargIND15461,50,011,52,01,251,34

Under-18 Girls

Mrudul Dehankar leads the under-18 girls along with Priyanka K and Srishti Pandey | Photo: Amit Sharma

 

Rk.SNo NamesexFEDRtgPts. TB1  TB2  TB3  TB4  TB5 w-we
11
WCMMrudul DehankarwIND21982,00,021,01,01,000,17
2
Priyanka KwIND21692,00,021,01,01,000,23
36
Pandey SrishtiwIND19282,00,020,51,01,000,16
44
WCMJyothsna LwIND19891,50,011,52,51,75-0,02
12
Rindhiya VwIND17531,50,011,52,51,751,11
65
Srimathi RwIND19721,50,011,52,01,25-0,20
713
Shriya R RevankarwIND17511,50,011,51,50,750,84
88
Toshali VwIND18231,00,012,02,50,500,00
97
Ghosh SamriddhaawIND18631,00,012,02,00,00-0,04
109
WCMJayaweera Sayuni GihansawSRI18211,00,011,52,51,00-0,20

Under-16 Girls

Bristy Mukherjee is one of the two leaders along with Bangladesh's Walijah Ahmed | Photo: Rupesh Kumar

 

Rk.SNo NameFEDRtgPts. TB1  TB2  TB3  TB4  TB5 w-we
13
WCMBristy MukherjeeIND19312,00,021,02,02,000,16
24
Ahmed WalijahBAN17202,00,020,51,01,000,00
32
Greeshma Anand DhumalIND20421,50,011,52,51,75-0,32
41
WFMSalonika SainaIND21001,50,011,52,01,25-0,34
5
WCMChinnam VyshnaviIND16681,50,011,52,01,250,61
66
Dahampriya H K T DewnethmieSRI16511,50,011,51,50,750,63
78
WCMArushi KotwalIND15901,50,011,01,51,250,25
822
Urja GoyalIND11301,50,011,01,51,001,18
920
Shreya Shree BansalIND13221,00,012,02,50,500,71
1014
Mishra RiyaIND14791,00,012,02,00,000,34

Under-14 Open

Rk.SNo NamesexFEDRtgPts. TB1  TB2  TB3  TB4  TB5 w-we
12
Sharipov DavronUZB21102,00,021,02,02,000,21
6
Gokhale Rishabh ChandrashekharIND19572,00,021,02,02,000,36
8
Ayush SharmaIND19442,00,021,02,02,000,30
412
Jain Kashish ManojIND18702,00,021,01,01,000,27
15
Chilukuri Sai VarshithIND18132,00,021,01,01,001,00
24
Jain AdiIND16752,00,021,01,01,000,81
713
Pawar HarshitIND18382,00,020,50,50,500,08
85
Karthik Sai ChIND20331,50,011,52,51,75-0,22
7
Devesh Anand NaikIND19461,50,011,52,51,75-0,21
10
Aditya Varun GampaIND19371,50,011,52,51,75-0,22

Under-14 Girls

Rk.SNo NamesexFEDRtgPts. TB1  TB2  TB3  TB4  TB5 w-we
12
Bhagyashree PatilwIND17442,00,021,02,02,000,44
21
Shivika RohillawIND17802,00,021,01,51,500,23
34
Velpula SarayuwIND16922,00,021,01,01,000,35
11
Tina CwIND14832,00,021,01,01,000,88
53
Bobomurodova MaftunawUZB17441,50,011,52,51,75-0,30
616
Premanath PrasansawSRI14001,50,011,52,01,250,54
78
Femil ChelladuraiwIND15811,50,011,02,01,50-0,09
85
Abrorova SabrinawTJK16871,50,011,01,51,000,09
14
WCMFatima Saif Al-AliwUAE14201,50,011,01,51,00-0,10
1037
Rajshree LathwIND01,50,001,52,01,25

Under-12 Girls

Rk.SNo NamesexFEDRtgPts. TB1  TB2  TB3  TB4  TB5 w-we
15
Ratnapriya KwIND14822,00,021,02,02,000,57
210
Vakcheri MohithawIND14092,00,021,01,51,500,46
311
Mythri MaddisettywIND14012,00,020,51,01,000,09
414
Falak Joni NaikwIND13412,00,020,50,50,500,81
59
WCMPallie Ehsha MishelawSRI14441,50,011,52,01,25-0,20
13
Dolisiyas DashwIND13661,50,011,52,01,250,11
78
Cera DagariawIND14451,50,011,51,50,750,03
23
Naga Laxmi SeelamwIND11131,50,011,51,50,750,91
93
Kheerthi GantawIND14901,50,011,01,51,00-0,06
4
WCMPatel Riddhi RwIND14851,50,011,01,51,00-0,15

Under-10 Open

Rk.SNo NamesexFEDRtgPts. TB1  TB2  TB3  TB4  TB5 w-we
12
Mayank ChakrabortyIND17512,00,021,02,02,000,19
6
Daaevik WadhawanIND16872,00,021,02,02,000,21
7
Md ImranIND16662,00,021,02,02,000,24
8
Aakash GIND16552,00,021,02,02,000,21
11
Nirnay GargIND15852,00,021,02,02,000,27
13
Arshpreet SinghIND14782,00,021,02,02,000,43
14
Rajveer Pinkesh NaharIND14632,00,021,02,02,000,39
815
Sparsh BishtIND14312,00,021,01,01,000,46
18
Palak MohapatrawIND14062,00,021,01,01,001,07
103
Sadbhav RautelaIND17201,50,011,52,51,75-0,29

Under-8 Open

Rosh Jain is leading the under-8 open section along with five others with 2.0/2 | Photo: Rupesh Kumar

 

Rk.SNo NameFEDRtgPts. TB1  TB2  TB3  TB4  TB5 w-we
11
Rosh JainIND16162,00,021,02,02,000,16
9
Nimay AgrawalIND11522,00,021,02,02,000,89
15
Verma VivaanIND10672,00,021,02,02,000,73
25
Mithra Kumaran J KIND02,00,021,02,02,00
54
Sakline Mostafa SajidBAN13492,00,021,01,01,000,18
12
Rishabh KumarIND11262,00,021,01,01,000,71
73
Vaz EthanIND13881,50,511,52,51,75-0,31
811
Adilkhanov AdilbekKAZ11331,50,511,51,50,750,31
95
Ishaan Singh KhanujaIND12851,00,012,03,01,00-0,71
10
Yuvanesh AIND11371,00,012,03,01,000,00
13
Prakul AIND10831,00,012,03,01,00-0,18

Under-8 Girls

Rk.SNo NamesexFEDRtgPts. TB1  TB2  TB3  TB4  TB5 w-we
11
Warsia KhusbuwBAN13342,00,021,01,01,000,00
3
Aggarwal TashnawIND11102,00,021,01,01,000,00
4
Kolagatla Alana MeenakshiwIND10662,00,021,01,01,000,00
45
Anaishaa Pinkesh NaharwIND10212,00,020,50,50,500,00
52
Prisha KesarwaniwIND11331,50,011,52,51,750,00
66
Aadhya JainwIND10181,50,011,52,01,250,00
11
Kirthika BwIND01,50,011,52,01,25
17
Samaira JainwIND01,50,011,52,01,25
98
Anwesha BanikwIND01,00,012,03,01,00
18
Sequeira JennicawIND01,00,012,03,01,00
21
Tanishka JainwIND01,00,012,03,01,00

Under-6 Open

Rk.SNo NamesexFEDRtgPts. TB1  TB2  TB3  TB4  TB5 w-we
11
Madhvendra Pratap SharmaIND10842,00,021,02,02,000,00
3
Armaan AgarwalIND02,00,021,02,02,00
18
Vivaan RudainwalIND02,00,021,02,02,00
44
Aryan BaidIND02,00,021,01,01,00
57
Hridhaan ChawlaIND01,00,012,03,01,00
10
Krishnav Mrinmoy HazarikaIND01,00,012,03,01,00
75
Darshil Krunal SutariyaIND01,00,012,02,00,00
6
Havish Kovidh TadavarthyIND01,00,012,02,00,00
8
Joshi Aditya ShripadIND01,00,012,02,00,00
9
Kakavand RamtinIRI01,00,012,02,00,00
12
Mithun PranavIND01,00,012,02,00,00

Under-6 Girls

Rk.SNo NamesexFEDRtgPts. TB1  TB2  TB3  TB4  TB5 w-we
13
Diya Digamber SawalwIND02,00,021,02,02,00
22
Aadya RanganathwIND02,00,021,01,51,50
34
Khayalvizhi KameshwIND02,00,020,51,01,00
412
Shashini PuviwIND02,00,020,50,50,50
514
Srinika SwIND01,50,010,50,50,25
69
Saanvi AggarwalwIND01,00,012,02,50,50
13
Srijita DaswIND01,00,012,02,50,50
88
Rammadugu Geethika SriwIND01,00,012,02,00,00
10
Samhita PungavanamwIND01,00,012,02,00,00
1015
Yati AgarwalwIND01,00,002,02,50,50