For the second successive year, India registered a grand double triumph at the 26th Asian Junior chess championship, with Y Prathiba and P Magesh Chandran lifting the girls and boys titles respectively at Negombo, Sri Lanka, on Saturday.
Pratibha finished with 9.0 points after a quiet draw against compatriot N Vinuthna in the final round.
There was more cheer for store for the Indian camp when Magesh took the title on tiebreak ahead of fellow countrymen S Poobesh Anand and Prathmesh S Mokal.
Prathiba is an MCA student of St. Joseph and Dallas, USA.
It turned out to be a clean sweep for India in both the girls and boys' section with all three medals being bagged by its players.
In the girls' section, silver medal went to J E Kavitha, who worked hard to beat Mahima Rajmohan in her final round game. Saheli Nath got the bronze.
Last year too Indians enjoyed a double with Tania Sachdev and Deepan Chakravarthy walking away with the titles in girls and boys' section respectively.
By virtue of FIDE regulations, the champions - Prathiba and Magesh - earned Woman International Master and International Master titles along with WGM and GM Norms respectively.
Magesh, being an International Master already, stands to make a giant leap forward in his career as he was awarded a Grandmaster Norm too for his triumph.
The top two boards saw quick draws between Poobesh and Deepan and Magesh-Deep Sengupta, but a true fight emerged on the third and fourth board as three out of four players involved were in with a chance for the title.
Mokal carved out a crucial win when it mattered the most. Technically outplaying National sub junior champion Arun Prasad, he reached the magic figure of 8.0 points. Mokal also got his International Master title along with S Poobesh Anand.
In the girls' board, games were agreed to draws quickly, while Kavitha fought and won a crucial point from a knight and pawn ending against Mahima Rajmohan. The win also fetched her a slot in the World Juniors next year, along with Prathiba and Saheli Nath.
Medals:
Boys:
Gold - P Magesh Chandran - Grandmaster Norm
Silver - S Poobesh Anand - International Master title
Bronze - Prathmesh S Mokal - International Master title
Girls:
Gold - Y Prathiba - WIM title + WGM Norm
Silver - J E Kavitha
Bronze - Saheli Nath
Final standing:
Boys: 1-3: P.Magesh Chandran , S. Poobesh Anand, Prathamesh Mokal 8.0 each; 4. Deepan Chakkravarthy 7.5; 5-7: Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son, Khamzim Olzhas. S Arun Prasad 7.0 each; 8-11: Akshayraj Kore, Abhijit Gupta, Deep SenGupta, G Rohit 6.5 each
Girls: Y Prathiba 9.0; 2. J E Kavitha 8.0; 3-4. Saheli Nath, J Rajasurya 7.5 each; 5. Kurutika Nadig 7.0; 6-10 Luong Phong Hanh, Mahima Rajmohan, Mary Ann Gomes, Dronavalli Harika, N Vinuthna 6.5 each.
Final Round Results (Indians unless specified):
Boys: S Poobesh Anand (8) drew Deepan Chakkravarthy (7.5) ; P Magesh Chandran (8) drew Deep Sengupta (6.5); Prathamesh Mokal (8) beat S Arun Prasad (7); Khamzim Olzhas (7, Kaz) beat Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son (7, Vie); Abhijit Gupta (6.5) drew G Rohit (6.5); Akshayraj Kore (6.5) drew Mohammed Ali (6.5, Mas) ; D Priyadarshana (5.5, SL) lost to Hoang Canh Huan (6.5,Vie); D R N K B Dehigama (5, SL) lost to Silva Taamara (6.5, SL); I T Palawatta ( 5.5, SL ) drew Himanshu Kumar (5.5).
Girls: Y Prathiba (9) drew N Vinuthna (6.5); Saheli Nath (7.5) drew J Rajasurya (7.5); Mahima Rajmohan (6.5) lost to J E Kavitha (8); Tania Sachdev (6) drew Donavalli Harika (6.5); Kurutika Nadig (7) beat L G A Liyanagedara (5.5, SL); Konara Harshani (5.5, SL) lost to Luong Phong Hanh (6.5, Vie); H Nilavoli (5.5) lost to Mary Ann Gomes (6.5); Kathryn Ann Cruz (6, Phi) beat C Nirmala (4.5, SL).
