The 2013 (1391 according to Iranian calender) Iran Youth Chess Championships took place in four cities – Rasht (U8 boys, U10 boys and U12 boys), Sari (U8 girls, U10 girls and U12 girls), Mashhad (U14 boys, U16 boys and U18 boys) and Zanjan (U14 girls, U16 girls and U16 girls), on 22-28th January.
The presence of 869 players from across the country, including two Fide Masters, two Woman Fide Masters, and 193 rated players, added the flavor to the tournaments.
Where possible, the competitions were held over 9 rounds of Swiss pairing system, others used different format due to the number of players.
On Monday, January 28th, the last round of the 2013 Iran Youth Chess Championship concluded. Thirty-six players won the medals, Only one group was decided before the last day, and the last round turned out to be one of the most exiting finishes ever.
Report and photos by Ali Ghaemmaghami
Ranna Hakimifard (from Tehran Province) successfully concluded the competition in Girls U18 to materialize the good play and positive attitude into a gold medal. She earned 6.5 points from 7 rounds. Nadia Bagheri Taleghani with 5,5 points landed on the 2nd place and Sanaz Esmaeili finished third.
Raana Hakimifard (U18 Girls Champion)
Farshid Azadbakhsh from Gilan Province scored six consecutive wins in the final yards with 8 points from 9 rounds to eventually catch the earlier leader in Boys U18, and be awarded the gold medal. Javidfard with 7.5 points landed on 2nd place and Alireza Agahei grabs the bronze medal on better tiebreak score.
Yegane Karimi (from Mazandaran), top-seed in her group Girls U16, snatched the title with 8.5 points. Mohadeseh Alijanzadeh, also victorious in the final game, is silver medalist, and Anahita Gholami landed on the third with just half point better tiebreak than Pegah Ghaemmaghami.
Yegane Karimi (U16 Girls Champion)
Masoud Mosadeghpour (from Khorasan Razavi Province), top-seed in the group Boys U16, claimed the title with 7.5 points. Arian Khorsandi and Farbod Pajoumtajani both finished with 7 points but with better tiebreak Khorsandi is awarded silver and Pajoumtajani got the bronze medal.
Masoud Mosadegpoor (U16 Boys Champion)
Mobina Alinasab (from Mazandaran) made a draw in her last round but with better tiebreak than Kimia Majidi earned the title in Girls U14. Majidi won the silver medal and Asana Ghazizadeh landed on the third place.
Mobina Alinasab (U14 Girls Champion)
Reza Ghanbarzadeh (from Gilan Province) just needed a draw to win the gold medal and with doing so he earned 8 points and claimed the title in Boys U14. Mohammad Reza Asgharzadeh who was top seed in this group with 7.5 points finished second with better tiebreak than Amir Hossein Badkoubi and Reza Akhgari. Amir Hossein Badkoubi finished third with better tiebreak than Reza Akhgari.
Reza Ghanbarzadeh (U14 Boys Champion)
The close competition between Atoosa Ebrahimi and Seyed Fatemeh Hashemi in the Girls U12 group was very interesting. Both won the last game but with better tie break Atoosa Ebrahimi (from Gilan Province) gained the gold medal. After Hashemi who won the silver medal, WFM Parnian Abbasi finished third and grabbed the bronze medal.
Perhaps the most exciting group was Boys U12 in which FM Arian Gholami (from Mazandaran Province) after a very pleasant race with his rivals took the title with 9.5 points from 11 rounds. Arman Pourghanbarzad finished second with 9 and Nima Fenderski landed on the third place with 8.5 points and just with better tiebreak than FM Tabatabaei and Kouchaki. Tabatabaei and Kouchaki both with draw against each other in the last round lost the medals in this tournament.
Arian Gholami (U12 Boys Champion)
In Girls U10, Anahita Zahedifar (from Tehran Province) had a fantastic display, earned the gold medal with 9 points from 9 rounds. Nikta Nadernia and Zhina Paktinat finished second and third respectively with better tiebreak than fourth and fifth players of the tournament.
Amirreza Shokrani (from Mazandaran Province) with 9.5 from 11 rounds earned the title in Boys U10 group. Mahan Saberi and Abolfazl Baheshmat with 9 and 8,5 landed on the second and third respectively.
Amirreza Shokrani (U10 Boys Champion)
In Girls U8 group Nazanin Mohammad Nezhad (from Mazandaran Province) drew in her last round and earned the title with better tiebreak. Sana Mahmood Janlo with weaker tiebreak landed on the second place.
Nazanin Mohammad Nezhad (U8 Girls Champion)
Incredible drama in the last round of the Boys U8 tournament! Both leaders, Nima Soltanlou and Amir Ali Amiri, were defeated, and eventually three players shared the first with 9 points each. Seyed Kian Pourmousavi, being the leader throughout the whole event, had a massive tiebreak score and still took the gold medal. Nima Soltanlou is silver and Amin Shabani pulls the bronze thanks to the two consecutive victories.
Seyed Kian Pourmousavi (U8 Boys Champion)
