15-year-old Savitha Shri bags bronze medal at World Rapid Chess

PTI

Almaty (Kazakhstan), December 28

Fifteen-year-old Indian WIM B. Savitha Shri on Wednesday won a bronze medal in the women’s event of FIDE World Rapid Championship here.

Seeded 36th, she finished with an impressive tally of eight points from 11 rounds to finish third.

The teenager, who was on 6.5 points at the conclusion of the eighth round, picked up 1.5 points to end the tournament on a high in a star-studded field.

A loss to Kazakhstan’s Zhansaya Abdumalik in the ninth round hurt Savitha’s chances of a top-two finish.

She bounced back by beating Qianyun Gong of Singapore in Round 10 and a drew with Dinara Saduakassova of Kazakhstan in the final round.

India’s top player and Asian Games gold medallist Koneru Humpy, who had come back into medal contention after a modest performance on day two, had to settle for sixth place though she logged eight points.

Though Savitha, Humpy and two others ended on eight points, the teenager took bronze on the basis of a superior tie-break score. Savitha had shone bright on Tuesday, posting four consecutive victories.

Tan Zhongyi of China won the title, defeating Saduakassova in playoff.

A total of five Indians participated in the women’s event.