Chandigarh boy bags gold in U-12 chess c’ship
Twelve-year-old Ayaan Garg of Chandigarh started the tournament as the third seed, played nine games and remained unbeaten throughout the tournament
Twelve-year-old Ayaan Garg of Chandigarh bagged the gold medal in the 7th Western Asian Youth Chess Championship 2024 in the U-12 open category held at Sri Lanka from July 8 to July 23. Ayaan also won the individual silver medal for India in the U-12 open category (Rapid) in the same championship. Players from 10 different countries took part in the tournament.
It’s another feather in the cap of Chandigarh’s Ayaan Garg, a student at Strawberry Fields High School. His current Fide International rating is 1885. With the triumph, Ayaan has increased his rating by 73 points. Ayaan, who started the tournament as the third seed, played nine games and remained unbeaten throughout the tournament. He won seven games and drew two games to emerge as the champion to win gold for team India in his category.
With this outstanding performance in this championship, he also earned Fide Master norm from the World Chess Federation.
In the rapid format, there were seven games, out of which he won five, drew 1, and lost 1 to clinch the silver medal.