2012 U.S. Championships News
The action heated up today in the 2012 U.S. Junior Closed Championship as players once again demonstrated their fighting spirit. Pre-tournament favorites Conrad Holt, Darwin Yang and Marc Arnold hover near the top of the field.
Round three saw decisive action in half of the games, while the other half were hard fought draws. Matthew Michaelides chalked up his first half-point against NM Atulya Shetty. After the game, IM Marc Arnold commented that Michaelides should have been winning at some point. He won a pawn on move 28, and black’s pawn on g2 seemed doomed to fall, which it finally did just before the time control. Despite the two-pawn advantage, the game remained level thanks to Shetty’s pressure on the queenside. Michaelides real chance came when black played 44. h6?, when 45. Kd6, followed by maneuvering the knight to attack c6 should be decisive.
IM Conrad Holt squared off against FM Alec Getz, and the game seemed destined for a relatively placid draw. However, Holt tried to spice things up on the queenside, but found his kingside pawns threadbare and reached a critical position by move 36. After developing a beautiful kingside initiative, Getz misstepped just before time control and his advantage evaporated.
Will Fisher versus Darwin Yang was a fairly balanced Classical French until Fisher blundered terribly on move 38, allowing a mating attack against his exposed king. Fisher, who was on fire in the U.S. Chess League with an amazing 9.5 points out of 10 in the 2011 season, has not fared well in this tournament, losing all four rounds thus far. In chatting with him, Will mentioned being under the weather, which will hopefully turn around as he goes into the fifth round tomorrow.
Wildcard Justus Williams raked in his first point in round three with a relatively one-sided battle against NM Raven Sturt. Williams has received a great deal of attention as he quickly climbs the chess rankings. He has been featured in a documentary entitled "Brooklyn Castle" and was a star on "Xtreme Chess" – the miniseries covering top scholastic chess players throughout the country. Justus has even made MSNBC's "Top 100 Black Celebrities" list (Number 40); expect many great things from this young phenom.
In round three, Eric Rosen upset second-seed Daniel Naroditsky, who was clearly shaken after the game. Rosen sacrificed everything he could find and at one point was down a rook for a pawn. Eric kept up the pressure, and when the dust settled on move 50, he found himself up a pawn in a rook endgame, which he converted handily.
The action continued unabated in round four, with young Jeffrey Xiong defeating Will Fisher. Xiong repeated his Panov Attack in the Caro Kann from round three, but this time had something to bite on. Fisher weakened his kingside prematurely and Jeffrey’s kingside attack broke through.
The point leaders in the A-group squared off, as Alec Getz surveyed an offbeat line against Victor Shen’s Sicilian. White appeared to be in a lot of trouble, but as the tactics flew, Getz came out on top. Getz was seeded in the middle of the pack by rating, yet sits a half point ahead of his nearest rival, IM Conrad Holt as the players go into round 5 tomorrow.
Atulya Shetty versus Darwin Yang was wild from move one, with both players clearly aiming for the jugular. However, it was Yang’s attack that broke through first as he clinched the full point. This was a much-needed win for Yang, bringing him closer to the coveted first-place.
Eric Rosen scored an impressive victory over Robert Perez in the fourth round. With his perfect 2-0 score for the day, Eric jumps to equal second with Kayden Troff and Kevin Cao. Having clearly found his form, Eric will be looking to polish off Raven Sturt and Marc Arnold tomorrow.
Saint Louisan Kevin Cao routed Justus Williams on the black side of a Catalan. His 1.5/2 today was good enough to launch him into shared second in the B-group.
As the finish line draws near, the hunt for first races on. Tune in to uschesschamps.com to follow the games and enjoy the live commentary by GM Ben Finegold and FM Aviv Friedman, starting at 11am.
The 2012 U.S. Junior Closed Championship began yesterday with exciting games, excellent analysis by the commentators and a spectacular will to win amongst all competitors. After two rounds, FM Alec Getz leads group A, and there is a four-way tie for first in group B. Round one began promptly at 11 a.m. with an exciting matchup between the top-two seeds in the A-group, IM Conrad Holt and IM Darwin Yang.
The Classical Nimzo Indian was on the menu, and the players quickly reached a blocked position that seemed destined for a draw. However, after careful maneuvering and patient play, Holt traded to an endgame with two bishops versus two corralled knights. Demonstrating his excellent technique, Holt pressured the kingside, leaving Yang in zugzwang – unable to move a single piece without conceding more ground. Yang capitulated after 79 moves.
It was obvious from the start that each player had the focused determination necessary to win such a strong tournament, demonstrated by the fact that all games but one were decisive. Even the draw between Eric Rosen of Chicago and Kayden Troff of West Jordan, Utah was a nail-biting affair; Troff reached a pawn-up endgame after 25 moves but went astray just before time control, sacrificing a bishop to open lines against Rosen’s king. Sharing the pressure of the clock, Rosen failed to capitalize on his advantage and the game was drawn after 66 moves.
Round two saw similar excitement. At 11 years old, FM Jeffrey Xiong is the youngest competitor in the tournament, but was able to show some real chess maturity in his game versus top-seed IM Conrad Holt. Xiong, playing with the white pieces, transposed into a Caro Kann - Panov Attack and cruised to an easy draw. Perhaps one of the most useful themes to study in chess is how to play either side of an Isolated Queen Pawn position, and it was clear that Xiong is well-learned in such positions.
The longest game in round two was National Master Robert Perez of Texas against fellow NM Raven Sturt of New York. It was a back-and-forth battle with winning chances for both sides. After the game Sturt said he was in big trouble at some point, but fought hard to hold the draw. In fact, Perez had a winning advantage around move 82, but queen endgames are notoriously difficult, and with little time, he was unable to see the winning line. With 90. a7, Perez was no longer able to stop the perpetual check and the game ended in a draw after 112 moves.
Local master Kevin Cao racked a point on the scoreboard by defeating Eric Rosen in round two. After a sharp Taimanov Sicilian, white’s initiative had all but disappeared until Rosen blundered with 27. e5. Despite a sizeable advantage, Cao seemed to go astray and the position was roughly equal just before time control. However, Rosen made the final mistake on move 40 and Kevin coast to victory on move 71.
Round two also saw a matchup between the highest-rated players in the B-group, IM Daniel Naroditsky and IM Marc Arnold. After an irregular opening, the players reached an unclear position at move 31 and agreed to a draw. After the game, Arnold commented that he was lucky to have 30. Ne4, or else his position would be dreadful.
As always, GM Ben Finegold, who won the Junior Closed Championship in 1989, and FM Aviv Friedman, coach to many top juniors at international events, did an excellent job with commentary. Their clear analysis and witty repartee elated spectators in the club and around the world via the internet. Finegold agreed that the number of decisive games is testament to the fighting spirit and youthful energy within the field. Tune in every day, starting at 11am to follow the action live at uschesschamps.com.
SAINT LOUIS (July 11, 2012) -- Round 1 of the 2012 U.S. Junior Closed Championship begins today in Saint Louis, and the marquee match-up pits GM-elect conrad Holt against IM Darwin Yang, who recently secured his second GM norm last month at the New York International. The first round begins at 11 a.m. CT, Noon EST, and the event will feature live play-by-play from GM Ben Finegold and FM Aviv Friedman. Round two will take place today at 5 p.m. CT, 6 p.m. ET.
Access the live commentary by visiting www.uschesschamps.com/live.
Tournament play will run through July 15, and the event will feature two rounds per day. The event features an overall prize fund of $18,000.
The group of 16 players has been split into two fields of eight players each. The eight players will play one another in a round robin, and the winner of each field will play a head-to-head, two-game match for the title. If the score is tied after two games, there will be a playoff to determine the 2012 U.S. Junior Closed Champion.
Click here to find the round-by-round pairings: www.uschesschamps.com/standings-and-games.
The list of invited players and current USCF ratings is as follows:
• IM Marc Arnold (2612)
• IM Conrad Holt (2580)
• IM Darwin Yang (2562)
• IM Daniel Naroditsky (2552)
• FM Victor Shen (2532)
• NM Robert Perez (2519)
• NM Will Fisher (2436)
• FM Eric Rosen (2422)
• FM Alec Getz (2410)
• FM Jeffery Xiong (2394)
• NM Raven Sturt (2387)
• NM Atulya Shetty (2379)
• FM Kayden Troff (2368)
• NM Justus Williams (2318)
• NM Kevin Cao (2230)
• NM Matthew Michaelides (2164)
The 2012 U.S. Junior Closed Champion also will receive an invitation to the 2013 U.S. Championship and the 2013 U.S. Junior Closed Championship.
SAINT LOUIS, June 26, 2012 -- The Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis has increased both the size of the field and the prize fund for the 2012 U.S. Junior Closed Championship, scheduled from July 10 through July 16.
Organizers increased the field from 10 players to 16 due to a misunderstanding on current regulations. The U.S. Chess Federation verified some invitations, but inadvertently overlooked one qualifying tournament and one invitation by rating. Thanks to additional sponsorship by the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis, the USCF and software development company ConRadical, the prize fund for this prestigious event has been increased to a record-breaking $18,000.
To accommodate the larger field, the organizers modified the format of the Junior Championship. The group of 16 will be split into two fields of eight players each. The eight players will play one another in a round robin, and the winner of each field will play a head-to-head, two-game match for the title. If the score is tied after two games, there will be a playoff to determine the 2012 U.S. Junior Closed Champion.
The list of invited players and current USCF ratings is as follows:
IM Marc Arnold (2612)
IM Conrad Holt (2580)
IM Darwin Yang (2562)
IM Daniel Naroditsky (2552)
FM Victor Shen (2532)
NM Robert Perez (2519)
NM Will Fisher (2436)
FM Eric Rosen (2422)
FM Alec Getz (2410)
FM Jeffery Xiong (2394)
NM Raven Sturt (2387)
NM Atulya Shetty (2379)
FM Kayden Troff (2368)
NM Justus Williams (2318)
NM Kevin Cao (2230)
Matthew Michaelides (2164)
The 2012 U.S. Junior Closed Champion also will receive an invitation to the 2013 U.S. Championship, 2013 U.S. Junior Closed Championship and the 2012 World Junior Championship, scheduled to be held August 1 through August 16 in Athens, Greece.
For more information on the players, prizes, rules and tournament format, please visit http://saintlouischessclub.org/2012-us-junior-closed-championship.
| U.S. Championship Fantasy Standings | |||||||||
| Place | User | Team Name | Total Points | US Champ | USW Champ | Total Pts Guess | Longest Game | Decisive - US Champ | Decisive - US Women |
| 1 | Toby Boas | TheHeroOfAges | 66 | Nakamura | Krush | 69 | 110 | 25 | 25 |
| 2 | Evan Rabin | Rabin's Winning Team | 66 | Nakamura | Krush | 63 | 100 | 24 | 17 |
| 3 | Jim Voelker | Just Guessing | 66 | Nakamura | Krush | 54.5 | 120 | 40 | 30 |
| 4 | Carl Ahlborg | Manifested Victorious | 66 | Nakamura | Krush | 51 | 47 | 28 | 23 |
| 5 | Stephen Welt | sawelt | 65.5 | Nakamura | Krush | 68 | 85 | 42 | 28 |
The tiebreaks were 1) accurately predicting how many points your Fantasy Team would earn, 2) accurately predicting the number of moves for the longest game, 3) accurately predicting how many games in the U.S. Championship would be decisive, and 4) accurately predicting how many games in the U.S. Women's Championship would be decisive. These tiebreaks were used sequentially, and most ties were broken with the first question. The exception was determining 1st and 2nd place; both Toby Boas and Evan Rabin, who each earned 66 Fantasy Points, were off by just three points on their guess. The second tiebreak resulted in Toby Boas taking clear first, with his guess of 110 moves for the longest game (Nakamura - Lenderman was drawn after 121 moves).
The prizes for Fantasy Chess are as follows:
- Biasov Luxury Chess Table and personalized U.S. Championships poster signed by the 2012 U.S. Champion and U.S. Women's Champion
- Private lesson (in person or online) with GM Ben Finegold, a joint membership to the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis & the World Chess Hall of Fame and a signed poster from the 2012 U.S. Championship and U.S. Women's Championship
- Private lesson (in person or online) with WGM Jennifer Shahade, signed copies of Jennifer's books "Chess Bitch" and "Play Like a Girl", and a vinyl board signed by the participants in the 2012 U.S. Women's Championship
- A wooden chess board signed by the players in the 2012 U.S. Championship and U.S. Women's Championship
- A 2012 U.S. Championships polo, vinyl board & Championship poster signed by the players in the 2012 U.S. Championship and U.S. Women's Championship
Thanks to all who participated, and we hope you'll join us next year for more exciting Fantasy Chess fun!
