Western Asia Youth Chess Championship:
Iran bags double golds in standard event
Iran’s Niousha Mohammadi and Kiasha Mahboubi walked away with a couple of gold medals in the standard competitions of the Western Asia Youth Chess Championship in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, on Monday.
Aihan Rahbar, meanwhile, stood runner-up to Kazakhstan’s Alimzhan Zhauynbay in the boys’ under-12 contests – the Iranian’s second silver medal in Dushanbe after his second-place finish behind compatriot Ramtin Kakavand in the blitz event.
Mohammadi collected 6.5 points to beat FIDE master Veronika Shubenkova to the top spot in the girls’ under-18 category on a superior tiebreak 2 (number of wins) after nine rounds of play.
Mahboubi notched up his second medal in the competitions – following his blitz silver – when he finished atop the boys’ under-eight standings with 7.5 points.
Earlier in Dushanbe, Mohammad-Hossein Darvishi had added a blitz gold to Iran’s haul, thanks to a 7.5-point tally in the boys’ under-16 category, while Saina Kowsari (under-12) and Taraneh Taqizadeh (under-14) had settled for a couple of blitz bronzes in their respective girls’ divisions.
Taqizadeh had also won a silver in the rapid contests, while Kakavand picked up a bronze medal.