Harika wins gold in World Youth Chess
Sify, India
Nov 14 2004
Heraklion (Greece): Dronavalli Harika’s virtuous performance in the
Under 14 girls section of the World Youth Chess Championship won her
the gold medal at Creta Maris Hotel in Heraklion.
Thanks to her last round draw with Guramishvili Sopiko of Georgia,
Harika ensured the gold to add one more feather to her cap.
Like Harika, Anna Muzychuk of Slovenia also scored nine points out
of a possible 11 but her inferior tiebreak score was enough only to
get her the silver medal.
Another Indian medal came in the Under 12 boys section as former Asian
(Under-10) Champion Parimarjan Negi crashed through the defences of
Ter Sahakyan Samvel of Armenia in quick time.
The Under 12 section was one of the most interesting of all the 10
championships organised simultaneously and eventually the gold went
to 120th seed Zhao Nan of China while his compatriot Ding Liren got
the silver after both had scored 9.5 points apiece, half a point more
than Negi.
Poland was the biggest gainer from these championships as they pocketed
three golds, one silver and one bronze in the overall haul of five
medals out of 30 at stake.
Closely behind were China and Georgia, who won two gold medals each
while India, Russia and Israel bagged one gold each.