Youth Chess Championships: Mahalakshmi in lead

M. Mahalakshmi snatched the sole lead from fellow-Indian V. Varshini in the sixth round of the World Under-18 girls’ chess championship in Halkidiki, Greece. With five rounds left, she has 5.5 points, half-a-point more than Varshini.

In the Under-14 event, top seed R. Vaishali was joined in the lead by Olga Badelka of Belarus; they have 5.5 points apiece. Akanksha Hagawane is the best-placed Indian in the Under-16 section, at the 17th position with four points, 1.5 behind the leader Bakhora Abdusattorova of Uzbekistan.

In the Under-12 event, Saina Salonika was in the third spot with five points, one point adrift of the leader Carissa Yip of the United States. In the Under-10 championship, Divya Deshmukh (5.5) shared the lead with Bat-Erdene Mungunzul of Mongolia.

In the Under-8 event, B. Savitha Shri maintained her lead with six points. Another Indian, Prathivya Gupta was in the second place, with 5.5 points.

In the Under-10 boys’ championship, Raunak Sadhwani and R. Pragnananda were in the lead with 5.5 points each. In the Under-8 event, Dev Shah was in sole lead with six points, while H. Bharath Subrahmaniyam was in the second position with 5.5.

In the Under-12 championship, Nihal Sarin was in the fifth slot with five points, half-a-point behind the leader Nodirbek Abdusattorov of Uzbekistan.

In the Under-14 section, Raja Harshit was placed 12th with 4.5 points, one point behind the leader Sergei Lobanov of Russia. Al Muthiah was in the 12th position in the Under-16 section with 4.5 points, one behind the leader Adham Fawzy of Egypt. In the Under-18 championship, top seed Vaibhav Sury was in the 16th position with four points, two behind the sole leader Masoud Mosadeghpour of Iran.