VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnamese chess player Vo Thi Kim Phung knocked down the second seed of the U20 Asia Chess Championship, whose Elo is 2250, to rank first in the sixth round.
The girl from the central province of Thua Thien – Hue, continued to shock experts and the fans in the sixth round with the 5th win against Hakimifard Ghazal (Elo 2250). In this game, Kim Phung held the white chesspieces. She positively organized attack and gradually destroyed the opponent’s chesspieces.
The advantage belonged to the white chesspieces after 78 moves, with a rook, a knight and three pawns remaining on the chessboard. Meanwhile, the dark chesspieces remained one rook, one bishop and one pawn protected the king. With this formation, Ghazal Hakimifard had to accept defeat and dropped from the second place to the sixth in the rankings.
Another Vietnamese player, who was the biggest hope of Vietnam at this tournament, Nguyen Thi Mai Huong could not respond to the expectations of the fans. She was forced to split points with Ivana Maria Furtado and stood at the seventh position.
This win widens the gap between Kim Phung and other players. She now takes the lead with 5.5 point lead. If she can maintain good momentum in the remaining three rounds, Kim Phung can win the U20 Asia championship the second time.
Kim Phung was the champion of the U20 Asia in 2011 and ranked second last year.
In Round 7, her rival will be Saranya J (India, Elo 2152). In this tournament, Saranya J lost just a single game before Hakimifard Ghazal, who was just defeated by Kim Phung.
The rankings after the sixth round: 1 – Vo Thi Kim Phung (Elo 2193, 5.5); 2 – Saranya J (Elo 2152, 4.5 points); 3 – Rucha Pujari (Elo 2121, 4 , 5 points); 4 – Ivana Maria Furtado (Elo 2065, 4.5 points); 5 – Madhurima Shekhar (Elo 1991, 4.5 points), 6 – Ghazal Hakimifard (Elo 2250, 4 points); 7 – Nguyen Thi Mai Hung (Elo 2271, 4 points).
Nam Nguyen