The National Junior Chess Championship will come down to a final-round showdown between defending champion Kyle Couchman and Candidate Master Sachin Pitamber today at Olympic House, Liliendaal.
Couchman holds a narrow advantage with eight points. Pitamber is half a point behind on 7.5. A draw will be enough for Couchman to retain the title, but a victory for Pitamber would allow him to finish ahead of the defending champion.
The championship-deciding encounter was confirmed after contrasting results in Friday afternoon’s eighth round. Couchman defeated Woman Candidate Master Aditi Joshi, while Pitamber was held to a draw by Alexander Zhang.
Both players had won their seventh-round matches earlier in the day. Couchman defeated Alexander, while Pitamber got past Jeremy Cole.
Couchman has won all eight of his matches, having also defeated Aiden Tinnie, Javier Davenand, Matthew Singh, Nicholas Zhang, Cole and Kataleya Sam during the earlier rounds.
Pitamber won his first seven matches before dropping his first half-point against Alexander Zhang. His victories included wins over Joshi, Nicholas Zhang, Sam, Singh, Tinnie, Cole and Davenand.
Joshi remains third in the standings with 5.5 points after defeating Sam in the morning session and losing to Couchman later in the day. Alexander follows with 4.5 points.
Nicholas is fifth with 3.5 points after beating Tinnie and drawing with Singh on Friday. Singh has three points, while Cole and Sam are tied on 2.5. Tinnie and Davenand complete the standings with 1.5 points each.
Saturday’s other final-round fixtures will feature Tinnie against Joshi, Alexander Zhang against Davenand, Singh against Sam and Cole against Nicholas Zhang.
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