Praggnanandhaa, Divya score second successive wins in WYCC

Indian prodigies GM Praggnanandhaa R and WIM Divya Deshmukh notched up their second straight victories in the second round of the World Youth Chess Championship here on Thursday.

Chennai's Praggnanandhaa got the better of Poland's Antoni Kozak in the Open U-18 while Nagpur's Diya routed Bhagyashree Patil in the girls' U-14 event to underline their form and preparedness for the 11-round mega event -- India's biggest chess tournament in recent times.

India's second youngest GM, Praggnanandhaa, playing white, opened with the King's Indian. On the 17th move, he sacrificed his Rook for a Knight as he put pressure on Antoni's king.

The Pole soon returned the sacrifice, hoping to get away unscathed. But Praggnanandhaa was meticulous in his play and swiftly marched towards victory.

In the same group, top seed GM Shant Sargsyan of Armenia played brilliantly to knock out China's Shixu Wang.

In a complicated endgame, Sargsyan played aggressively with his pawns, which ultimately proved to be the deciding factor in his win.

India's other GM P Iniyan too had a fairly easy run, beating Ravan Aliyev of Azerbaijan.

Aditya Mittal, Srijit Paul and Luke Mendonca were the other Indians who won their matches in the morning session. Round 3 began in the evening and was expected to go late into the night.

In girls' U-14, top seed Divya Deshmukh wheeled out the Sicilian Defence in reply to Bhagyashree's King Pawn opening.

Right at the start, Divya played a string of attacking moves which her opponent couldn't cope with. The game ended on move 30 with Bhagyashree's resignation.

Rakshitta Ravi and Dhyana Patel were the other Indians in this category who scored easy wins.

Key Results (Round 2)
U-14 Girls - Divya Deshmukh (IND) bt. Bhagyashree Patil (IND); Rakshitta Ravi (IND) bt. Mariya Alekseenko (RUS)
U-16 Open - Moke Niemann (USA) bt VS Raahul (IND); Oliver Wartiovaara (FIN) drew Santiago Avila (COL)
U-16 Girls Leya Garifullina (RUS) bt. Madara Golsta (LAT); Govhar Bydullayeva (AZE) drew Svitlana Demchenko (CAN)
U-18 Open Shant Sargsyan (ARM) bt Shixu Wang (CHN); R Praggnanandhaa (IND) bt Antoni Kozak (POL)