NEW DELHI: Top seed Divya Deshmukh maintained her sole lead by defeating fellow Indian Sachi Jain in the 10th round of the World Junior Girls' Chess Championship in Gandhinagar on Wednesday.
Divya's attacking play ensured a podium finish with nine points from 10 games, half a point ahead of Armenia's Mariam Mkrtchiyan, who beat Sri Lankan Oshini Gunawardhana Devindya.
Indian GM Rakshitta Ravi kept her medal hopes alive by winning against Azerbaijan's Narmin Abdinova. Rakshitta shares third place with Ayan Allahverdiyeva of Azerbaijan, both having 7.5 points.
Divya showcased her superiority in a near-flawless victory over Sachi. Playing with the white pieces in Queen's Gambit, Divya gained an advantage in the middle game and launched a successful king-side attack.
Sachi was left defenseless as Divya's rooks dominated the seventh rank, leading to a decisive win in just 26 moves.
The final round will see Divya facing Bulgaria's Krasteva Beloslava, while Mkrtchiyan will play against Rakshitta.
In the open section, Armenia's Mamikon Gharabyan took sole lead after defeating Russia's Rudik Makarian. Makarian, with eight points, is followed by Daniel Quizon (Philippines), Nogerbek Kazybek (Kazakhstan), Emin Ohanyan (Armenia), and Luka Budisavljevic (Serbia).
Aditya Samant is the highest-ranked Indian in this section with seven points, while top-rated local player Pranav Anand drew again, reaching 6.5 points.
Top results round 10 open (Indians unless specified): Rudik Makarian (Fid, 7) lost to Mamikon Gharibyan (Arm, 8); Daniel Quizon (Phi, 7.5) drew with Nogerbek Kazybek (Kaz, 7.5); Jose Gabriel Cardoso Cardoso (Col, 7) lost to Emin Ohanyan (Arm, 7.5); Aleksey Grebnev (Fid, 6.5) lost to Luka Budisavljevic (Srb, 7.5); Artiom Stribuk (Fid, 6.5) drew with Pranav Anand (6.5); Ozenir Ekin Baris (Tur, 7) beat Siddharth Jagadeesh (Sgp, 6); Prraneeth Vuppala (6) lost to Shawn Rodrigue-Lemieux (Can, 7); Davtyan Arsen (Arm, 6.5) drew with L R Srihari (6.5); Bodrogi Bendeguz (Hun, 6) lost to Tobias Koelle (Ger, 7); Aditya Samant (7) beat Ethan Vaz (6); A R Ilamparthi (6) lost to Anuj Shrivatri (7); Pham Tran Gia Phuc (Vie, 6.5) drew with Manish Anto Cristiano (6.5) Tarun Kanyamarala (Irl, 6) lost to L Srihari (6.5); Dudin Gleb (Hun, 6) drew with Shahil Dey (6); Avila Pavas Santiago (Col, 6.5) beat S Harshad (5.5).
