Unbeaten Indian teenager rules Tagaytay chess tournament

International Master (IM) Harshavardhan G B of India ruled the Asian Juniors and Girls Chess Championships in unbeaten fashion Friday at Knights Templar Ridge Hotel in Tagaytay City.

Harshavardhan went for a routine draw—which was what the 19-year-old from Chennai needed to win the gold medal—with fellow IM Sugar Gan-Erdene of Mongolia to seal the title.

He finished the nine-round competition with 7.0 points on five victories and four draws to pocket the gold medal of the event that gathered 52 of the brightest young players from 11 Asian countries.

“I’m so very happy winning this tough and prestigious chess tournament,” said Harshavardhan, who improved on the bronze medal he clinched in last year’s Sri Lanka Asian championships.

Woman IM Ngoc Thuy Duong Bach of Thailand won the girls’ gold medal with 7.5 points. WIM Ravi Rakshitta (7.0) of India clinched silver and WIM Amina Kairbekova (6.0) of Kazakhstan settling for bronze in the competition hosted by Philippine Olympic Committee president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino.

The title-conquest gave Harshavardhan the first of three norms required for a player to earn a grandmaster title. He became an IM only two years ago.

Filipino IM Michael Concio Jr. defeated International Indian IM Saha Neelash in the battle for the silver medal. Concio, playing out of Dasmariñas City, was also unbeaten with 6.5 points he built around four victories and five draws in the tournament National Chess Federation of the Philippines Vice President Athena Bryana Tolentino, also Cavite’s vice governor, opened nine days ago.