The FIDE Online Cadets and Youth Rapid Super Final is halfway through on Tornelo playing platform. Six rounds were played in all ten separate sections (Open and Girls under 10, 12, 14, 16, 18), and only four more are left before we know the winners' names. In some categories, six rounds produced clear leaders, while in others, it is challenging to be on the mark with a prediction—so close is the race. 

Despite a somewhat rocky start losing his second game, Turkish star Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus won four games in a row to become a clear leader in the Open U10 tournament. His main rival is Indian Vaz Ethan, who trails by half a point. The two will meet on the last day of the event, and this encounter will likely determine the overall winner. 

Ihor Samunenkov continues his quest for gold in Open U12. The victory over the youngest-ever grandmaster Abhimanyu Mishra in the first round inspired the Ukrainian cadet to a solid run. With 4,5 points, he is one point above his closest pursuer. 

In Round 3, Samunenkov's opponent faced an opening catastrophe. Can you find how White reacted to a blunder 6...a6?

Replay the game for the solution by clicking here.

Nothing is clear in Open U14. An early leader Aldiyar Ansat from Kazakhstan, who started from two wins, slowed down on Day 3 and let Ediz Gurel from Turkey catch him on 4,5 points. 

A similar situation emerged in Open U16. An early leader and the discovery of the event, Indian Aaryan Varshney, who was not among the initial favourites, keeps the lead with 4,5 points. However, Russian IM Volodar Murzin caught him up on Day 2. On Day 3, the two played against each other but are still on par after two draws.  

Nikolaos Spyropoulos is unstoppable in the Open U18. He is the only player in all sections to have won all six games, and most of them were very sharp! His opponents tried to break down his psyche by fierce attacks with cascades of sacrifices, but the Greek FIDE Master did not lose his cool and collected all points so far. 

In the Girls U10 tournament, there is no fear or mercy to the favourites! The results of the world's top-rated girls in this category fell short of the expectations. However, everything might change because the leaders are not far off the field. Diana Preobrazhenskaya from Russia and Le Thai Hoang Anh from Vietnam scored 4 out of 6 and are closely followed by other contestants on 3,5, and 3 points.

Girls U12 rating favourite Alice Lee (2178) from the USA, pictured above, made only one draw in Round 4, winning five games. But she must not relax as Anna Shukhman (Russia) is following just half a point behind. The two meet in Rounds 7-8 on Day 4, and if Anna embraces the moment, she can shake up the standings. 

The event continues to be a challenging journey for the rating-favourite in Girls U14, Hungarian star WIM Zsoka Gaal (2362). After a somewhat bumpy start, she won two games on Day 3 and is trailing the leader by only half a point. On top with 4,5 points is Fiorella Contreras Huaman from Peru (1931), clearly a discovery of this event. 

Try to play like Zsoka Gaal, Black to move. 

Replay the game for the solution by clicking here. 

Another surprising leader is Nguyen Hong Nhung from Vietnam (1697) in Girls U16. She has lost only one game; however, her main test is yet to come. On Days 4 and 5, she will face two young hopes of Kazakhstani chess WIM Meruert Kamalidenova (2351) and current co-leader WFM Xeniya Balabayeva (2220). 

WIM Govhar Beydullayeva (2290) from Azerbaijan recovered from a loss in the first round and reinstated herself at the top of Girls U18 standings, scoring 4,5 out of 5 in the next games. She is also a huge favourite against her next two opponents, so likely we won't see any surprises in this category.

Govhar Beydullayeva, photo: @WorldChess2019 Twitter

You can watch and replay our live streams from the event with the commentary by GM Farrukh Amonatov on FIDE's YouTube channel.  Tune in for Days 4 and 5 at 16:00 CET on December 21 and 22.

You can find the results, regulations, and other information on the official website.

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The FIDE Online Cadets & Youth Rapid Super Final is held with the support of Gazprom.