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The World Junior Championship is being held in Gaziantep, located at the Syrian border. It is the sixth largest city in Turkey, populated by around 1,560,000 which puts it at number one in Turkey’s Southeastern Anatolia Region. It is one of the major economic centers in Turkey. There are two central districts within the Centrum, Sahinbey and Sehitkamil. The municipality of Sehitkamil hosts and sponsors the 2008 World Junior Championship.
The World Junior Championship is taking place in Gaziantep from 2 to 16 August with a very strong and youthful field with 195 players from 60 countries. The course of the tournament is somewhat repetitive, but with different characters each and every day. In the World Junior Championship it is almost impossible to defend the lead for more then one round, as you will see from the wrap-ups below. Since we haven’t reported for a while maybe it would be nice to do some round-by-round summaries.
David Howell was the one to halt the Azerbaijani grandmaster Eltaj Safarli’s perfect score, while Chao Li won against Ante Brkic to catch up with the young British player. The two players shared the first place with 4.5 out of 5.
In the Girls’ Championship, the early leader Tatev Abrahamyan from the United States drew with Harika Dronavalli and secured her half-point lead since all the other top boards shared the full point as well.
Birthday girl Turkan Mamedyarova. Turkan is the youngest member of the Mamedyarov
clan
In the clash of two Asian grandmasters Chao Li won against Le Quang to take the sole lead with 5.5 points out of 6. He is followed by David Howell, who managed to hold against the Chinese super girl Hou Yifan, while Arik Braun defeated the Belarussian international master Kirill Stupak to share the second place with Howell.
The seventh round was the final one before the disco party and the free day. You would be justified to think that fatigue would show itself as a factor, and there might be less fighting chess. That was not the case and the hale youngsters forced each other to many exciting games. This round produced a brand new joint leader, Arik Braun from Germany, who won against Chao Li. David Howell stopped Costa Rican grandmaster Alejandro Ramirez’s march from behind to the top.
WFM Adriana Nikolova, 2242, of Bulgaria
In the Girls’ section, Harika Dronavalli took the lead thanks to her win against Guliskan Nakhbayeva from Kazakhstan. Harika has an almost perfect 6.5 points out of 7, followed by Mariya Muzychuk, who drew with Miranda Mikadze and Adriana Nikolova who won a nice game against Ivakhinova in a Sicilian with a sacrifice on b5.
Chao Li did not give up his campaign for the top spot and in a thrilling marathon which lasted over six hours and 15 minutes he ground down David Howell. In a very complex queen, rook , bishop vs. queen, rook, knight endgame with several pawns, Chao Li risked losing but managed to win in continuous zeitnot. Arik Braun drew Eltaj Safarli after a more or less balanced game. After round 8, Chao Li and Arik Braun share the first place followed by David Howell, Eltaj Safarli, Hou Yifan, Ivan Popov and Maxim Rodshtein.
GM Maxim Rodshtein, rated 2605, from Israel
In the Girls’ section Harika Dronavalli secured her lead after a victory over Adriana Nikolova and has 7 points. Mariya Muzychuk beat Kübra Öztürk, the great hope of the hosting country. After round 8, Harika had 7 points and was being chased by Mariya Muzychuk, just half a point behind. Third place was shared by Miranda Mikadze, Guliskan Nakhbayeva, and Swaminathan Soumya.
In Round 9 of the World Junior Championship, the fighting spirit of the youngsters continued and the leader changed hands again. Maxim Rodshtein crowned his comeback with a victory over one of the joint leaders Chao Li. However, the new sole leader is Arik Braun who scored a vital win against Hou Yifan with the white pieces. David Howell, the player who always has the longest and most thrilling games, defeated Ivan Popov. Arik Braun leads with 7.5 points followed by David Howell with 7, while the next places go to Chao Li, Eltaj Safarli and Wesley So.
China's top junior talents Chao Li and Hou Yifan (background)
After Round 7 with intense fight, the players relaxed with the disco party at the nearby Grand Hotel. At first there was nobody there except the organizers and some Turkish males. But the party started to catch fire after midnight.
On the free day there was an excursion organized by the Şehitkamil Municipality. The first destination of the excursion during the free day was the Citadel of Gaziantep. As opposed to many castles and citadels, the actual history is not well-known. However, it is supposed to be built on sites which are prehistoric (6000 year ago). It was mainly used during the Roman time and revised during the Byzantine rule. Dulkarir and Ottomans also used the castle occasionally as a keeper. There are many archeological artifacts found inside the citadel and the inspections still continue together with the ongoing restoration.
According to a myth the citadel was built by a rich woman who met a funeral one day when she was walking in the street. She asked her servant to find out what the funeral was. The servant replied "Your majesty, people die and are carried in coffins to the place where they are going to be buried under the soil. There is a dead human being inside the coffin..." The woman turns back to the citadel and the called the builders to say "I have never thought of death. Leave the citadel, you may not finish building it". However, the story of the citadel historically is far from being clear.
Hou Yifan and her mother at the Citadel
Turkey is the third largest pistachio producer in the world after Iran and –
the United States. Most of Turkey's fresh pistachios come from Gaziantep. They
are a magnet for many players.
WFM Marsel Efroimski of Israel listens to Turkish music played on the gramophone
The Gaziantep Medusa Glass Arts Museum displays glass blowing and sufflation
In the Gaziantep Archeology Museum we had a chance to see the mosaics from the huge city of Zeugma which was built at the times of the Emperor Alexander the Great. In 1999 the museum staff uncovered a Gypsy Girl Mosaic, which has become one of the emblems of the city.
WFM Adriana Nikolova with the mosaics. Adriana lives in Sofia, Bulgaria
and is a student of the Chess Department at the Sofia University Sports Academy
led by Radoslav Atanasov.
Rank |
SNo. | Title | Name | Rtg | FED | Pts |
Fide |
1 |
23 | IM | BRAUN Arik | 2533 | GER | 8½ |
53½ |
2 |
14 | GM | HOWELL David | 2561 | ENG | 8 |
52½ |
3 |
28 | GM | SAFARLI Eltaj | 2527 | AZE | 8 |
51½ |
4 |
2 | GM | RODSHTEIN Maxim | 2605 | ISR | 8 |
49 |
5 |
9 | GM | NGUYEN Ngoc Truong Son | 2579 | VIE | 8 |
46½ |
6 |
19 | GM | GUPTA Abhijeet | 2551 | IND | 8 |
46 |
7 |
26 | GM | NEGI Parimerjan | 2529 | IND | 8 |
45½ |
8 |
11 | GM | SO Wesley | 2577 | PHI | 7½ |
47½ |
9 |
6 | GM | LI Chao B | 2590 | CHN | 7 |
51½ |
10 |
16 | WGM | HOU Yifan | 2557 | CHN | 7 |
48½ |
11 |
25 | GM | BRKIC Ante | 2530 | CRO | 7 |
46½ |
12 |
29 | IM | MELKUMYAN Hrant | 2507 | ARM | 7 |
45 |
13 |
17 | IM | KRAVTSIV Martyn | 2555 | UKR | 7 |
44 |
14 |
10 | GM | LE QUANG Liem | 2577 | VIE | 7 |
43½ |
24 | GM | RAMIREZ Alejandro | 2531 | CRC | 7 |
43½ | |
16 |
8 | GM | ZHIGALKO Sergei | 2583 | BLR | 7 |
43 |
13 | GM | AMIN Bassem | 2561 | EGY | 7 |
43 | |
18 |
3 | GM | ANDREIKIN Dmitry | 2604 | RUS | 7 |
42 |
19 |
36 | IM | BOROS Denes | 2472 | HUN | 7 |
41½ |
20 |
1 | GM | MAMEDOV Rauf | 2627 | AZE | 7 |
41 |
IM Arik Braun, who is leading in the World Junior Championship with 8.5
out of 11
Rank |
SNo. | Title | Name | Rtg | FED | Pts |
Fide |
1 |
1 | IM | HARIKA Dronavalli | 2461 | IND | 9 |
56 |
2 |
2 | WGM | MUZYCHUK Mariya | 2413 | UKR | 8½ |
54 |
3 |
18 | WIM | MIKADZE Miranda | 2258 | GEO | 8 |
50 |
4 |
33 | WFM | NAKHBAYEVA Guliskhan | 2170 | KAZ | 7½ |
48½ |
5 |
10 | WIM | SOUMYA Swaminathan | 2293 | IND | 7½ |
44½ |
6 |
38 | KAZIMOVA Narmin | 2148 | AZE | 7½ |
40 | |
7 |
31 | WFM | OZTURK Kubra | 2188 | TUR | 7 |
46 |
8 |
7 | WIM | GOMES Mary Ann | 2316 | IND | 7 |
43 |
9 |
8 | WFM | SEVERIUKHINA Zoja | 2300 | RUS | 7 |
42 |
10 |
4 | WGM | NEMCOVA Katerina | 2372 | CZE | 7 |
40½ |
11 |
3 | WFM | BODNARUK Anastasia | 2394 | RUS | 7 |
37 |
60 | ALAVI Hour Homa | 1723 | IRI | 7 |
37 | ||
13 |
14 | WFM | PAIKIDZE Nazi | 2277 | GEO | 7 |
36½ |
14 |
13 | WFM | ABRAHAMYAN Tatev | 2277 | USA | 6½ |
47½ |
15 |
23 | WFM | NIKOLOVA Adriana | 2242 | BUL | 6½ |
44½ |
16 |
12 | WGM | MAMEDJAROVA Turkan | 2284 | AZE | 6½ |
42 |
17 |
25 | WIM | NADIG Kruttika | 2241 | IND | 6½ |
41½ |
18 |
48 | GUO Qi | 2048 | CHN | 6½ |
40 | |
19 |
5 | WGM | FOISOR Sabina-Francesca | 2337 | ROU | 6½ |
37½ |
20 |
16 | WIM | POURKASHIYAN Atousa | 2269 | IRI | 6½ |
35 |
21 |
34 | WFM | SGIRCEA Silvia-Raluca | 2167 | ROU | 6½ |
32½ |
IM Harika Dronavalli, rated 2461, from India
Close behind: WGM Mariya Muzychuk, 2413, from Ukraine
Links
A selection of games is being broadcast live on the official web site and on the chess server Playchess.com. If you are not a member you can download the free PGN reader ChessBase Light, which gives you immediate access. You can also use the program to read, replay and analyse the PGN games. |
GM Chao Li, 2590, one of the major contenders for the title
Penholder grip: Chao Li is great at other games as well
Russian grandmaster Dmitry Andreikin, 2604, who shared 3-4.places last year
GM Ivan Popov, 2549, runner-up in the last edition of World Junior Championship
and winner of U18 World Junior Chess Championship which was held in Kemer, Turkey
in 2007.
Alejandro Ramirez, the first ever GM of Costa Rica
A Latin American grandmaster summit before the round, with Manuel Leon Hoyos,
Eduardo Iturrizaga and Alejandro Ramirez
Georgian players Tornike Sanikidze, Nodar Lokrtkipanidze protesting the
conflict
Miranda Mikadze of Georgia pleading for the cessation of the war
Turkish WFM Kübra Öztürk, 2180, is doing well and looking for a WGM norm
Another Turkish talent: WIM Betül Cemre Yildiz, rated 2236
WFM Marsel Efroimski from Israel, former World Under-12 Champion
Kazakh participants Gulmira Dauletova and Guliskan Nakhbayeva
WIM Gulmira Dauletova, 2267 is a student of International Relations and lives
in Shymkent
German WFM Sarah Hoolt, 2298, learned how to play chess from her mother.
She studies Business Administration at the University of Essen, Germany. Sarah
also likes volleyball and plays the oboe.
Tina Bukovec from Slovenia, rated 1929
WIM Atousa Pourkashiyan (2269) from Iran, who won the 2008
national Champion for Women. She is a student of Physical Education and
Sport Sciences in Tehran University.
WFM Akter Shamima (2099) from Bangladesh
WIM Katerina Nemcova (2372) hails from Czech Republic and is a student
of a nursing school in Prague
WFM Sona Pertlova, 2217 from the Czech Republic
Marie Boyarchenko from Luxemburg
WGM Anya Corke from Hong Kong
Preethi Rajkumar of India
Joanna Majdan, 2323, the Polish junior girls champion
Joanna already had many national medals, with a bronze medal at the U18 Girls World Junior Championship in Belfort 2005. In 2006, she won her first junior national title, represented her country in the Olympiads at Turin, scoring the best individual result for her team. She was also runner-up in the Polish Championship for Women. She is a student in Koszalin University of Technology.
GM Parimarjan Negi, 2529, 15-year old chess prodigy, the second youngest
ever to become a grandmaster, one of the numerous stars of India
FM Homayoon Toufighi, 2425, hails from Iran
Group photo: Fatih Ekinci, one of the masterminds of this organization,
the Vice-Mayor of Şehitkamil Municipality Bekir Öztekin, the Honorary President
of FIDE Florencio Campomannes, FIDE Continental President of Americas Jorge
Vega and Nuri Öcal, Youth and Sports Director of Gaziantep.
All pictures by Özgür Akman