It doesn’t surprise that Padmini Rout is one of the most medal-decorated girls in the Age Categories of world chess.
On Tuesday, the 20-year-old Woman Grandmaster was among the quickest finishers in Round 2 of the World Junior Chess Championships at the Hotel Hyatt, in Pune.
India’s best bet to win the girls title, she has two points from as many games.
- Viswanathan Anand - The King
The petite, curly haired Orissa-based player, wielding White, latched onto an early inaccuracy in the Sicilian defence adopted by Tihana Ivekovic of Croatia and launched a whirlwind attack. Her King-side pawns were pushed aggressively and her queen, knight , bishop and rook were soon swarming around her opponent’s King, threatening to weave a check-mating net.
Tihana could avert check-mate by managing the exchange of queens and other pieces, but left Padmini with a winning ending, one which the Indian had no difficulty in converting into victory after 43 moves.
"She allowed me too many attacking possibilities in the opening and thereafter things were easy," Padmini, who won the World Under-14 girls' championship in 2008, later revealed.
Also breezing through on Tuesday were third seed Daria Pustovoitova of Russia, who beat Mila Zarkovic of Serbia, and third seeded Chinese GM Yi Wei, who beat Ider Borya of France.
The event has garnered lot of attention as it is one of the toughest ones ever in terms of rating strength.
In the Open section, second seed and strong contender GM Van Kampen Robin of the Netherlands was held to a draw by Jinshi Bai of China.
The players battled it out in a Sicilian defence for 26 moves and sealed the draw by repetition of moves.
Prince Bajaj of India also performed creditably to draw against sixth ranked Polish GM Karen Duda Jan-Krzysztof (2599).
