World Junior: Swiercz and Cori take Gold in Chennai

The SDAT–RAMCO 50th World Junior & 29th Junior Girls Chess Championships 2011 This event is taking place from August 1st to 16th at the Hotel Vijay Park in Chennai, India. It is one of the strongest WJCC ever, featuring over 80 titled players among the juniors and girls. Top seeds in the Open Section are Russian GMs Maxim Matlakov (2632) and Sanan Sjugirov (2629), Spanish GM Ivan Salgado Lopez (2626) and fifteen more GMs. In the Girls' Section there are five WGMs led by Nazi Paikidze (2416, GEO), Anastasia Savina (2398, RUS), Deysi Cori (2376, PER), Olga Girya (2371, RUS) and Rout Padmini (2348, IND).

Round twelve

GM Robert Hovhannisyan (Armenia) and WGM Olga Girya (Russia) led the strong pack of juniors after the penultimate round of the World Junior & Junior Girls Chess Championships 2011. In the Open section GM Hovhannisyan defeated American medal prospect GM Ray Robson on the top board, moving to ten points with just a round to go. Half a point behind was Polish GM Dariusz Swiercz. The fight for the bronze medal and third spot will rest with Samvel Ter Sahakyan (Armenia), Vladislav Kovalev (Belarus), Vasif Durarbeyli (Azerbaijan) and Sahaj Grover (India) at 8.5 points.

The top board game between Hovhannisyan and Robson (above with Asian Zonal President R.M. Dongre making the first move) turned out to be an exciting Sicilian game, with both GM clearly playing for a win.

Hovhannisyan's fighting victory made him the clear title favorite, thanks to a half-point lead over second placed Swiercz Dariusz of Poland.

Samvel Ter-Sahakyan vs Dariusz Swiercz in round eight (Dariusz won in 44 moves)

In the Girls section Russian Olga Girya (10.5) will start the title favorite in the final round, holding a crucial half a point lead ahead of Peruvian Deysi Cori. With the Gold and Silver medals being shared among the duo, the struggle is going to be for the bronze medal. At 8.5 points top seed Nazi Paikidze (Georgia) will be eyeing the third spot with a final round victory on the morrow.

Round thirteen (final)

GM Dariusz Swiercz and Peruvian WGM Deysi Cori emerged champions in the SDAT-Ramco 50th World Junior & 29th World Junior Girls Championship organized by Tamil Nadu State Chess Association at Hotel Vijay Park, Chennai.

Dariusz Swiercz (above) caught leader Robert Hovhannisyan at the tape and finished with 10.5 points. A superior tie-break gave the Polish GM the World Junior Champion title. Dariusz (born 31 May 1994) became a grandmaster in April 2009, just days before his fifteenth birthday.

Tournament leader Robert Hovhannisyan of Armenia settled for the Silver medal, as his final round draw pulled him down from the top spot. India’s IM Sahaj Grover (9.5) from New Delhi, who scalped two successive GMs in the final two rounds, emerged a clear third. Sahaj won the Bronze medal, along with a grandmaster norm, restoring pride for the hosts, India.

Final top rankings (after thirteen rounds): Open

• Full standings here

Woman Grandmaster Deysi Cori (above), with 11 points, emerged the World Junior Girls champion. Cori owes a big thanks to India’s Padmini Rout, who defeated leader Olga Girya in the final round. Olga’s defeat enabled Cori to overtake the Russian, and emerge a clear winner. This is the first time a player from Peru has claimed the World Junior Girls title. The second place and silver medal went to WGM Girya of Russia at 10.5 points, while top seed Georgian Woman Grandmaster Nazi Paikidze, with 9.5 points, settled for Bronze and the third spot.

Final top rankings (after thirteen rounds): Girls

• Full standings here

Links Official tournament site All games in zipped PGN: Open – Girls A selection of games are being broadcast live on the official web site and on the chess server Playchess.com. If you are not a member you can download a free Playchess client there and get immediate access. You can also use ChessBase 11 or any of our Fritz compatible chess programs.

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