Batumi (Georgia): Woman Grandmaster D Harika shot into sole lead after scoring a resounding victory over Tatev Abrahamyan of US in the girls under-18 section of the World Youth Chess Championships.

Harika was a class act with her black pieces against Tatev who found the Sicilian Sveshnikov of the Indian a tough nut to crack.

Harika is leading solely on 5 points from as many rounds and a medal looks a certainty.

In under-12 boys category India’s Fenil Shah is sharing the lead with compatriot and defending champion N. Srinath. Last year’s world under-10 champion Sahaj Grover is also not far behind on 4 points and currently stands joint third.

In under-12 girls’ section, Padmini Rout is also in the lead on 4.5 points while in the under-8 boys category Ch Mohneesh is in top form with a 100 per cent score after five rounds.

In the under-10 boys’ section India’s Girish Kaushik and Y.V.K. Chakravarthy are sharing the lead with 5 points from as many rounds.

Six rounds remain of the championships that will conclude on July 29.