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FIDE Online World Cadets and Youth Rapid: 12 Indians advance to the Quarter-Finals

by Shahid Ahmed - 20/12/2020

12 out 16 Indian players advance to the Quarter-Finals of FIDE Online World Cadets and Youth Rapid Championships. Nihal, Iniyan, Priyanka Nutakki, Jyothsna, Rakshitta, Gukesh, Pranav V, Aditya, Savitha, Anupam, Mrinmoy and Shreya Hipparagi are the twelve players who have advanced to the Quarter-Finals. Only Gukesh and Pranav will face each other in the Under-14 Open which means only one Indian player will advance to the next stage in that group. Games are played in best of two Rapid 15 mins + 10 seconds increment where a 1-1 tie will result in Armageddon. Photo: Various sources

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The Final stage of FIDE World Youth Online started on tornelo platform on 19th December. 16 Indians qualified in various age groups from Under-10 to Under-18 in both Open and Girls category to the Round of 16 stage. Out of those 12 players to advanced to Quarter-Finals. Time Control for the Final stage is 15 mins + 10 seconds increment with a best of two matches with both colors. A tie will result in Armageddon with white having 5 minutes against black's 4 minutes and black having the draw odds.

Under-18 Open: CM Johann Emil Schnabel - GM Nihal Sarin 0-2

Nihal made a quick work of his opponent in just 24 moves in the first game.

Schnabel - Nihal, Game 1

Position after 20.Rad1

Find out why 20.Rad1 is a blunder.

Nihal dominated the second game also and won in just 27 moves.

Nihal - Schnabel, Game 2

Position after 23...Rb4

Find out the winning continuation for white after 23...Rb4

Nihal advanced to Quarter-Finals with ease | Photo: Alina l'Ami / Tata Steel Chess

GM Iniyan P - FM Angel Miguel Soto 1.5-0.5

Iniyan had multiple winning chances in the endgame against Angel but he missed them all and the game ended up in a draw.

Iniyan won an 82-move marathon endgame. It was a complex double rook ending which was the majority of the game and Iniyan won it eventually.

Iniyan will face GM Shant Sargsyan of Armenia in the Quarter-Finals

Mahdmi Orimi Gholami - IM Sankalp Gupta 1.5-0.5

Sankalp lost the first game after making an incorrect decision in a difficult position in the endgame.

Sankalp - Gholami, Game 1

Position after 39...Bxd3

Which bishop should white take? b6 or d3?

Sankalp was lost in the second game too but his opponent made a draw as it was enough for him to advance to the Quarter-Finals.

Gholami got the better of Sankalp

Under-18 Girls: WIM Priyanka Nutakki - WIM Svitlanda Demchenko 1.5-0.5

Priyanka struck first by scoring a fine victory in the first game.

In the second game, Priyanka got an early advantage but her opponent turned things in her favor. Luckily for Priyanka, her opponent couldn't convert and once again she got the upper hand. Eventually the game ended up in a draw and Priyanka advanced to the Quarter-Finals.

Priyanka advanced to the Quarter-Finals | Photo: Niklesh Jain

Priyanka will take on WIM Elizaveta Solozhenkina in the Quarter-Finals | Source: BracketCloud / Official site

Under-16 Girls: WFM Ayan Allahverdiyeva - WFM Jyothsna L 0-2

Ayan misplayed early in the middlegame which allowed Jyothsna to gain the upper hand. However she managed to equalize and only blunder a rook in the endgame to allow Jyothsna to win.

Jyothsna demolished her opponent in the second game as she misplayed in the opening.

Jyothsna will face a strong challenge IM Bibisara Assaubayeva in the Quarter-Finals | Photo: Niki Riga

WCM Ema Obada - WIM Rakshitta Ravi 1-2

Rakshitta lost the first game as she defended her opponent's threat incorrectly.

Ema - Rakshitta, Game 1

Position after 21.Rxe3

White is threatening to launch a devastating attack on the kingside. How should black thwart those attempts?

Rakshitta struck back immediately by scoring a win in just 26 moves when her opponent blundered a knight after being an exchange down.

Rakshitta won the Armageddon with white pieces when her opponent blundered her queen.

Rakshitta will face WFM Gil Hernandez of Cuba in the Quarter-Finals | Photo: IA Gopakumar Sudhakaran

Both Indians Jyothsna and Rakshitta advanced to the Quarter-Finals | Source: BracketCloud / Official site

Under-16 Open: FM Jose Gabriel Cardoso - IM Raja Rithvik R 1.5-0.5

The first game was a hard fought draw.

In the second game, Cardoso was better from the early in the middle game and he converted his positional advantage into material advantage and eventually a full point.

IM Raja Rithvik R is the reigning National Sub-Junior champion | Photo: Rupali Mullick

Rithvik was the only Indian in the Under-16 Open category | Source: BracketCloud / Official site

Under-14 Open: GM D Gukesh - Michael Simpson 2-0

Gukesh won the first game with ease after his opponent gave up one pawn too many.

Gukesh - Simpson, Game 1

Position after 19...Ne8

Black must have thought of regaining the lost pawn through knight exchange at e5, but of course that's not the case. Instead 19...Qa6 would have allowed black to survive a bit a longer.

Gukesh made a quick work of his opponent in just 30 moves in the second game.

Simpson - Gukesh, Game 2

Position after 26.Re4

26.Re4 doesn't save anything for white. In fact, it only helps black. How?

Gukesh will face compatriot Pranav V in the Quarter-Finals | Photo: Niki Riga

FM Jan Klimkowski - Pranav Vijay 0-2

Pranav managed to seize advantage in the middle game after his opponent Klimkowski overstretched his center pawn. However, in the endgame Pranav landed himself in a pickle.

Pranav - Klimkowski, Game 1

Position after 37...Qe5

Find out the correct continuation for white after 37...Qe5

Pranav redeemed himself in the second game by playing fantastic positional game which forced his opponent to give up his queen to prevent checkmate.

Pranav will face Gukesh in the Quarter-Finals

Jose A Izquierdo Hernandez - IM Aditya Mittal 0.5-1.5

Aditya scored a fantastic win in the first game against Hernandez after the latter made a huge positional mistake which cost him a lot of material.

Hernandez - Aditya, Game 1

Position after 29.Rfe1

29.Rfe1 opens up a window of opportunity for black. What is it?

Aditya drew the second game in a completely winning position as draw was sufficient for him to advance to the Quarter-Finals.

Aditya will face Denis Lazavik in the Quarter-Finals | Photo: Niklesh Jain

Gukesh, Pranav and Aditya advanced to the Quarter-Finals | Source: BracketCloud / Official site

Under-14 Girls: WFM Savitha Shri B - Shriyan Santosh Priyasha 2-0

Savitha scored a fine victory in the first game after her opponent went wrong early in the middlegame.

Savitha - Shriyan, Game 1

Position after 14...Nc4

Find out why 14...Nc4 lands black in deep trouble.

Shriyan went wrong early in the opening and lost a valuable pawn in the second game. Savitha had no trouble converting her advantage into a full point.

Savitha will face WIM Rochelle Wu of USA in the Quarter-Finals

Laysa Latifah - WFM Sahithi Varshini M 1.5-0.5

Sahithi was completely winning for the majority of the first game. She also missed a simple mate in four in the endgame and the game eventually ended up in a draw.

Laysa - Sahithi, Game 1

Position after 37.g4

Find out the checkmate combination for black after 37.g4

Sahithi misjudged her opponent's attack, went passive and it completely turned things into her opponent's favor.

Sahithi is a former Asian Youth Gold medalist

Savitha will face Rochelle Wu in the Quarter-Finals | Source: BracketCloud / Official site

Under-12 Girls: WFM Samantha Edithso - Anupam M Sreekumar 0.5-1.5

The first game between Anupam and Samantha was a topsy-turvy one where both sides had plenty of opportunities to beat each other.

Anupam - Samantha, Game 1

Position after 85.Kc7

Find out the only winning continuation for black after 85.Kc7

Samantha played passively in the second game and for that she had to pay the steep price.

Anupam - Samantha, Game 2

Position after 17...Be6

What is the optimum way to continue for white here?

Reigning National Under-11 girls champion Anupam beat Samantha when it mattered the most to advance to the Quarter-Finals | Photo: IA Jitendra Chowdhury

Mrittika Mallick - Iris Mou 0.5-1.5

Mrittika was winning for the better part of the first game against Mou. However she missed them all.

Mrittika - Mou, Game 1

Position after 36...Kc4

One of the best opportunity white had in the entire game was after 36...Kc4. What is the best continuation for white here?

In the second game Mrittika went wrong early in the opening and it became difficult for her to make a comeback for the rest of the game.

Mou - Mrittika, Game 2

Position after 9...e6

Find out why 9...e6 is a mistake and what black should have played instead.

Mrittika finished second in the Asian Continental Under-12 Girls Selection | Photo: IA Jitendra Choudhary

Anupam will face Valeria Kleymenova of Russia in the Quarter-Finals | Source: BracketCloud / Official site

Under-10 Open: Aleksandr Usov - Mrinmoy Rajkhowa 0.5-1.5

Mrinmoy was completely winning against Usov (RUS) in the first game.

Usov - Mrinmoy, Game 1

Position after 37.Nxe6

37.Nxe6 is a blunder. Find out the winning continuation for black.

Mrinmoy won the second game with ease after his opponent blundered a queen in the 17th move of the game.

Mrinmoy advanced to Quarter-Final where he will face Ryo Chen of USA | Source: BracketCloud / Official site

Mrinmoy is a budding talent from Assam, he finished second in the Asian Continental Selection

Under-10 Girls: Shreya G Hipparagi - Victoria Merkulova 2-0

Shreya won both of her games against Victoria (RUS). She converted her positional advantage into a decisive advantage with ease.

Shreya - Victoria, Game 1

Position after 23...Bf6

It is evident that white has a firm control of the position. How can white increase her advantage after 23...Bf6 ?

Shreya survived a huge scare as her opponent had a good chance to level the score by winning the second game.

Victoria - Shreya, Game 2

Position after 38...Qc6

Find out the best continuation for white after 38...Qc6. White missed one more opportunity after this.

Position after 72.Kg2

Black missed a quicker victory after 72.Kg2. What was it?

Shreya will now face Omya Vidyarthi of USA in the Quarter-Finals | Source: Source: BracketCloud / Official site

Shreya G Hipparagi finished third in National Under-9 Girls 2019 | Photo: Gujarat State Chess Association

Replay the live stream

FIDE Online World Cadet & Youth Championships 2020 Round of 16 live commentary by GM Aleksandr Shimanov | Video: FIDE
Opening Ceremony of 2020 FIDE Online World Cadets & Youth Rapid Championship | Video: FIDE

Replay all Indian players' games from the Round of 16

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