FIDE WORLD CADETS & YOUTH RAPID GRAND PRIX SERIES – 3 Malaysians Qualified
MCF Secretariat 04/11/2021 0 COMMENTSMany Malaysians may not realize that three (3) of our promising Juniors in the country are currently participating in the FIDE Online World Cadets & Youth Rapid Chess Championship Grand Prix Series which kicked off on 1st November 2021. The players are WCM Sim Jia Ru – playing in the Girls U16 category, WCM Chua Jia Tien – playing in the Girls U18 Category, and Poh Yu Tian – playing in the Open U16 category. Although only 12 years old, Yu Tian has agreed to be placed in the higher age group category which will definitely be better for him to gain the experience of facing the much older and stronger opponents.
For the Girls U16 category, WCM Sim Jia Ru is doing well to hold onto the 2nd spot with 4 points after 5 rounds of play. A total of 11 players have qualified for the first tournament cycle – after which the top 6 players from the pool will advance to the second tournament cycle which is scheduled to start on 19th November 2021. A few of the more stronger players in Jia Ru’s age grouping are WFM Mariya Yakimova of Russia, WFM Amina Kairbekova of Kazakhstan and WFM Ayan Allahverdiyeva of Azerbaijan. Currently leading her age group category is My Hanh An Nguyen of Vietnam with 5 points
WCM Chua Jia-Tien had to be contented with only 1 point after 4 rounds of play in a strong field of 12 players. Seeded 9th in the group, Jia-Tien will definitely feel the strong challenges from an array of players in the form of 1st seeded WIM Ngoc Thuy Duong Bach of Vietnam, WCM Malak Ismayil of Azerbaijan, India’s WCM Mounika Akshaya Bommini and Cal Youyang of China – to name a few.
Our sole representative in the Open Category – Poh Yu Tian, will also feel the heat of facing many strong players if he were to qualify for the next tournament cycle. Ranked 10th in a field of 11 players, Yu Tian has managed to secure only 1.5 points from 5 rounds. With India’s V Pranav as the number 1 seed in the group at a FIDE Rating of 2486, FM
Khazar Babazada of Zerbaijan at 2427, and Artem Lutsko of Ukraine at 2409, it will be a tremendous feat for Yu Tian to rise to the challenge to plough his way to the next cycle.
The Malaysian Chess Federation wishes WCM Sim Jia Ru, WCM Chua Jia Tien and Poh Yu Tian all the best and success in the championship. #MalaysiaBoleh!
For chess enthusiasts who would like to follow the games of our young players, you can surf to the official website of the championship at https://youth-grandprix.fide.com/. Both Youtube and TORNELO links are available which will bring you directly to the games and the players standings.
