Grandmaster Vidit Gujrathi won the bronze medal in the world junior chess championship after settling for a quick draw with winner Yu Yangyi of China in the final round.
With Yangyi winning the gold, the silver went to Alexander Ipatov of Turkey, who defeated Aleksander Indjic of Serbia in the final round.
Gujraied tied for third spot along with Peruvian Grandmaster Jorge Cori and had the better tiebreak for his bronze medal.
Playing the black side of a Caro Kann, Gujrathi had little to do with black pieces as Yangyi was satisfied with a draw ensuring him the first place. On the second board Ipatop played it tough and defeated Indjic in a one-sided affair.
“It’s my best effort since winning the world Under-14 a few years back,” said Gujrathi after his medal-winning performance.
S.P. Sethuraman needs to win to be in contention of a medal and Jorgi Cori was not relenting as white. It was a Grunfeld defence wherein the Indian spurned down chance to repeat and draw and eventually ended on the losing side after gifting a handful of queen side pawns.
Grandmaster Sahaj Grover lost his second game in a row when he could not handle the complexities of a French Winawer against A.R. Saleh Salem of UAE.
Debashish Das will have to wait for the confirmation of his grandmaster title till the next tournament after he drew the final round game. Needing a victory to complete his GM title, the Indian was held to a draw by Radoslav Dmitrov of Bulgaria.
In the girls’ championship that concluded simultaneously, Aleksandra Goryachkina of Russia won the gold while the silver went to Zhansaya Abdumalik of Kazakhstan. Alina Kashlinskaya of Russia took bronze.
Padmini Rout ended as the best Indian girl ending on eighth spot.
