The 2024 World Cadet Chess Championship has passed its halfway mark, with six rounds completed. After a rest day on November 21, the competition will resume on November 22. Each age group currently has a sole leader, but with many players close behind, the remaining five rounds promise thrilling games and potential upsets. Here’s a detailed recap of Round 6:

Opening of Round 6:

Round 6 was inaugurated by Geert Bailleul of Belgium, Chairman of the European Arbiters' Council, who made the first ceremonial move in the game between David Lacan Rus and Antoni Radzimski (U-12 Open).

Under-8 Girls:

Round 6 featured a clash between the two leaders, top seed Stella Xin (USA) and Chen Zhihan (China). Xin opened with 1.d4, leading to the Queen’s Gambit Declined. She tried to attack, but a misstep on move 26 with a pawn move allowed Chen to grab the initiative. Despite time pressure, Chen played precisely and won a marathon game that lasted 112 moves, taking the sole lead in the section.

After six rounds, Chen leads the group with a perfect score, while Valeryia Zhyttkevich, Reana Kinzyabulatova (FIDE); Stella Xin, Allyson Yu (USA), Eliza-Ioana Badescu (Romania) and Defne Karaman (Turkey) are trailing her by one point with 5/6.

Under-8 Open

Round 6 began with three leaders. On Board 1, top seed Timofei Demchenko (Spain) faced Sattwik Swain (India). Playing with the white pieces, Timofei chose the Scotch Opening. Sattwik handled the attack well until he misplayed with the move 33 in the endgame, giving Timofei a significant advantage. However, on move 37, Timofei miscalculated, resulting in a draw after 47 moves.

Meanwhile, on Board 2, Li Aiden Linyuan (USA) defeated Xu Zhihan (Samuel) (Canada) to seize the lead with 6/6. Sattwik and Timofei are close behind with 5.5 points. In the next round, the leader will face Sattwik.

Under-10 Girls

Kazakhstan's Alanna Berikkyzy demonstrated her exceptional calculation skills once again. Playing with the black pieces, she opted for the Sicilian Defense against Cetin Beren (Turkey) but ended up in a difficult position. However, Cetin first missed a tactical opportunity and then declined a knight sacrifice by Alanna, which was a decisive mistake. Alanna capitalized on her pawn advantage to win in 34 moves.

With a perfect 6/6 score, Alanna remains the leader. Ider Tselmuun (Mongolia); Alisa Genrietta Yunker (FIDE); Zhansaya Sholpanbek (Kazakhstan); Angelina Nguyen Doan Bao Anh (Poland); Mehriban Ahmadli (Azerbaijan) and Pooja Shree R (India) follow with five points each.

Under-10 Open

Roman Shogdzhiev (FIDE) continued his winning streak, defeating top seed Sameh Mohamed Abdalrahman (Egypt). Playing with the white pieces, Roman countered Sameh’s Modern Defense, and after Sameh misplaced his queen on move 16, White emerged clearly better. Roman confidently converted his advantage and wrapped it up on move 39.

After six rounds, Roman leads with six points, followed by Boris Kolodziejczyk (France) with 5.5 points. Advik Amit Agrawal (India), Tsogtbileg Anand (Mongolia), Marc Llari (France), and Ling Chenxuan (USA) are on five points each.

Under-12 Girls

Khanzada Amanzhol of Kazakhstan retained her lead with a draw on Board 1 against Batpelden Buyankhishig from Mongolia, bringing her total to 5.5 points. All games on boards 2-5ended decisively.

Tatyana Mozolevskaya (FIDE); Nika Venskaya (FIDE); Batpelden Buyankhishig (Mongolia); Zahra Allahverdi (Azerbaijan) and Xue Tianhao (China) share second place on five points each.

Under-12 Open

The strongest section of the World Cadet Chess Championship saw an intense battle on Board 1. Antoni Radzimski (Poland) defeated overnight leader David Lacan Rus (France). Playing with the white pieces against the Nimzo-Indian Defence David had a chance to obtain significant advantage, but a few hesitant moves allowed Black to strike in the center and grab the initiative. Antoni’s knights became very active, leading to his victory in just 29 moves.

As many as seven players, including top seed Wiktor Golis (Poland) are tied for second place on 5/6.

Results, parings and standings

Rest Day Highlight

For the first time, the inaugural World Cadet Chess Solving Championship 2024 was organized on the rest day, attracting 247 players from 47 countries to this historic event.

Written by Niklesh Jain 

Photos: Patricia Claros Aguilar and Niklesh Jain | ChessBase India

Official website: worldcadetschess2024.com/