WYCC 2014: The winners and the stories

A fine morning in Durban...

...a fine venue for a World Championship...

...Battle!

While some managed relaxed smiles, others showed the pressure of the moment

At stake were trophies, medals, and their names inscribed in the annals of chess history

See no evil, hear no evil

Aussie power

Touch Move

Naturally there were also tales of woe on the last day, but special credit must be given
to the adults who were there, and the gentle care they displayed

An official comes to see the distraught young player

Together they reassure him

The importance of the 'touch move' rule is explained

The last round had its fair share of nail biters

The officials and arbiters who helped run a smooth operation (or as smooth as can be
expected with 1000+ kids)

The collected signatures of the various arbiters and officials

The media was keen to cover the event

Final Standings Under-8 Boys

The winners of the Boys Under-8

Final Standings Under-8 Girls

The winners of the WYCC Girls Under-8

Final Standings Under-10 Boys

Dmitry Tsoi celebrates his win over Sarin Nihal on board one, and although
Nihal could not be denied the gold, this gave Tsoi the bronze medal

Sarin Nihal took the gold, helping India become the top medal winner

FM Nodirbek Abdusattorov was the clear Elo favorite, but a loss in round
three forced him to play catchup for most of the event. Though he never
managed to threaten the eventual winner, he was rewarded with silver.

Final Standings Under-10 Girls

Who could have predicted the young Indian Divya Deshmukh would run away with the
tournament despite being ranked 13th? Her main opposition was Bibbisara Assaubayeva,
rated over 300 Elo more, and who ultimately tied with 10.0/11, losing on tiebreak.

Final Standings Under-12 Boys

This was by far the most surprising result, with American star FM Liang Awonder, rated 2323
failing to make the top five, while his compatriot David Peng led but lost in the very last round.
The US sighed in relief as Rayan Taghizadeh snatched bronze, despite the surprise finish, and
four players tied at 8.5/11.

Armenian Shant Sargsyan was the one denied the podium on tiebreak. Always a tough break,
but he can at least leave knowing he scored as well as the winners.

Final Standings Under-12 Girls

The final round was just a formality for American WFM Jennifer Wu,
who had secured sole first the day before. A fantastic win.

The winners of the Girls Under-12

Final Standings Under-14 Boys

The winners of the Boys Under-14

Final Standings Under-14 Girls

The winners of the Girls Under-14

Final Standings Under-16 Boys

Argentine IM Alan Pichot arrived in the last round tied with three others
at 8.0/10, ahead of three more at 7.5/10. Of the leaders he was the
only one to win, bringing an important gold medal to Argentina.

Aravindh Chithambaram Vr. was the leader of the Boys Under-16 for
most of the tournament until he lost twice in a row in rounds eight and
nine. For many this would be it, but he got his head back together, won
his final two games, and took silver on tiebreak.

The winners of the Boys Under-16

Final Standings Under-16 Girls

Although the deepst congratulations must be given to Laura Unuk for winning the gold,
a special note must made of second place Stavroula Tsolakidou from Greece who could
have played in the Under-14

Final Standings Under-18 Boys

With a 2700+ performance, IM Olexander Bortnyck led from beginning
to end, never giving his GM rival a chance

The podium of the Boys Under-18

Final Standings Under-18 Girls

WGM Dinara Saduakassova lived up to her favoritism, and ran away with the title. German
WIM Filiz Osmanodja was part of the group fighting for silver and bronze with 7.5/10, but
she alone won, taking silver. WFM Xiao Yiyi beat WFM Polina Rodionova to take bronze.

We would like to extend special thanks to Reint Dykema who has provided wonderful pictures at the South African Chess Federation's Facebook page. The pictures presented here are but the smallest sample of his work.

About the photographer Reint Dykema has been taking photos for 24 years. He developed a passion for photography and this has lead him on the path of capturing the emotions at weddings in wedding photography, and this passion followed his children’s passions of which chess is but one. A chess player himself and Fide development trainer, this also helps him to understand the position the players are in  and trying to reflect that. Not good at waiting for hours at chess games, chess photography has become a natural outlet for a photography and chess enthusiast.

Links Official tournament site All WYCC games in PGN The 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 12 or any of our Fritz compatible chess programs.