2012 U.S. Championships News
By GM Robin van Kampen
The 7th round showed the players were fatigued but still looking to give it their all. After 4 hours of play, not a single had been decided yet which set a new record in this year’s tournament.
Bodek vs. Brown: 0-1
Michael Bodek played the English in order to sidestep Michael Brown’s Nimzo-Indian. The International Master from New Rochelle, NY is a veteran in this year’s tournament, having participated twice before, but has yet to find his form scoring only 2 draws from 7 games. Bodek got an advantage out of the opening, but Michael Brown won a pawn when he threatened to trap White’s rook. Bodek responded well and got the initiative again once the center opened up. When the players reached an ending with only heavy pieces left, Michael brown slowly but surely saw the defenses around his King being breached. What happened next was truly heartbreaking; after showing amazing technique in the endgame, the luckless Michael Bodek blundered a simple mate in time trouble. As Michael Brown pointed out after the game, the 1 out of 7 points are misrepresenting the quality of chess Bodek has displayed thus far, and one can only hope that the last two rounds can offer some reconciliation.
Li vs. Ostrovskiy: 1-0
Ruifeng Li showed no mercy to Alexander Ostrovskiy, who after beating Jeffery Xiong, lost his last two games. Li opened up with the rare b3 and played the opening creatively. A slight edge turned into an extra pawn and Ostrovskiy was destined for a long defense. The Russian-born New Yorker played tenaciously, but erred once he made it to a theoretically drawn rook endgame. After a dull start of the tournament, Ruifeng Li is back at a solid +1 score, which means he will be in the race for second place. Ostrovskiy’s ambitious play has backfired in the last three rounds, putting him in 7th place with two rounds left to go.
Liang vs. Harmon-Vellotti: 1/2-1/2
Awonder Liang got a slight advantage out of a calm English opening. In the early middle game, Luke Harmon-Vellotti showed good understanding of the position when he allowed himself a few backwards moves to improve the positioning of his Knight. The Wisconsinite who is currently in second place retained his advantage the entire game, but never got enough out of his positional edge to get the Idahoan IM in real trouble. In the endgame White won a pawn, but Black’s blockade proved to be enough to secure the draw.
Xiong vs. Checa: 1-0
Jeffery Xiong got an early opening advantage against Nicolas Checa’s Chebanenko Slav. Nonetheless, Checa’s strategy worked out well. Even though Jeffery had the Bishop pair and a space advantage, the Texas GM struggled to find a constructive plan. The players maneuvered for over 20 moves, until Jeffery opted for a central breakthrough which lead to a slightly better endgame for White. Checa counted on the opposite-colored bishops to increase his drawing chances, but erred in the late endgame after being forced to sacrifice the Bishop. As a result, Jeffery was able to increase his lead to a full point ahead of Awonder Liang.
A more detailed take on the game here:
Troff vs. Chandra: 0-1
Defending Champion Akshat Chandra quickly equalized out of the opening after Kayden Troff failed to utilize his lead in development. When Chandra managed to block Troff’s isolated pawn, the GM-elect got a slight but stable edge. Troff tried to exchange his isolated d-pawn, lost material in the tactical skirmish that ensued, but played provocatively by marching his King down the board. After a complicated time-trouble phase, the off-form Grandmaster had a chance to equalize, but lost an exchange in the complications, costing him the game. A good comeback for the defending champion, who is still in the race for 2nd place.
By GM Robin van Kampen
After 5 hard fought rounds, the participants had the Wednesday off to prepare themselves for the second half of the tournament. Whereas most players stayed in and rested up, Kayden Troff had a busy schedule. On Wednesday morning the Grandmaster from Utah was awarded the prestigious eagle scout award with festivities celebrating both his newly earned title, as well as his GM title which he achieved at the early age of 16.
Ostrovskiy vs. Troff: 0-1
The newly crowned Eagle Scout has had a rough tournament and finished with a disappointing score of 1,5/5 in the first half of the tournament. A day away from the chessboard bore its fruit as the GM found his form winning a complicated game against New-York based International Master Alexandr Ostrovskiy. Ostrovskiy was the first one to divert from his previous games against Xiong and Bodek, and got a pleasant position out of the opening. Troff decided to sacrifice a pawn, hoping to seize the initiative but soon found him on the defense when Ostrovskiy sacrificed a piece in return! A few moves later the International Master should have reconciled himself with a draw, but bravely decided to play on with only 5 minutes left for over 10 moves. Ostrovskiy got the chance he was looking for after Troff erred, but missed the golden opportunity to support his connected central passed pawns. When the players reached move 40, Troff was able to isolate the White Knight and not much later Ostrovskiy resigned as he found himself down a full rook. Not a perfect game by the 2014 U.S. Junior Champion , but the Grandmaster paved the way for a strong recovery in the second half.
Chandra vs. Xiong: 0-1
Akshat Chandra opted for a topical line in the g3 Grunfeld against Jeffery Xiong. The defending champion had a pleasant advantage out of the opening as he controlled several important dark squares, but Xiong played tenaciously. Chandra gave up his light-squared Bishop in return for a strong-looking initiative, but once the GM-elect ran out of easy moves it turned out Xiong still had everything under control. Looking for an energetic way to continue, Chandra burned up a lot of time and slowly but surely Xiong’s position improved. In time trouble the top-seed retained his opponents play in an impressive matter, which granted him a large advantage once the time control was reached. Xiong never let go of the advantage, and showed sophisticated technique, granting him the full point and the leading position in the tournament. The 15 year old Texas GM has shown great willpower by rebounding with 2 wins after his unexpected loss to Alexandr Ostrovskiy in round 4.
Checa vs. Bodek: 1-0
Michael Bodek did not find the appropriate way to develop his pieces against Nicolas Checa’s delayed Catalan set-up. As a result the 14-year-old International Master obtained a large advantage, but the White edge was lost when opting for the wrong attempt to change the Queens. What happened next was odd; instead of developing his previously restricted pieces, Bodek went right for Checa’s King but the attack turned out to be harmless. When Checa reached an ending where he could dominate Bodek’s rook with his two knights, the win was trivial.
Brown vs. Liang: 1/2-1/2
Michael Brown opted for an offbeat opening against Awonder Liang’s Grunfeld-Indian defense. The New Yorker got a slight edge, but Liang equalized by bravely thrusting his a-pawn in order to block Whites dark-squared Bishop. When the center opened up in the middle game, the youngest participant in the tournament sacrificed a pawn which discoordinated Brown’s pieces. As more pieces came off, Brown was forced to return the pawn, but the equilibrium was never truly broken. Awonder Liang seemed to be in trouble for a moment, but correctly judged a rook endgame with a pawn down to be a dead draw.
Harmon-Vellotti vs. Li 1-0
Ruifeng Li started out in his trademark style when he sacrificed a pawn as early as move 13 to make way for his pieces on the Queenside. Harmon-Vellotti reacted well and got the edge when Li opened up his own King’s position to get out of a pin. In the middle game the position remained approximately balanced, but when Harmon-Vellotti managed to exchange the Queens Black was left with several weaknesses in an ending. Harmon-Vellotti skillfully prevented Li’s counter play and slowly but surely picked up the Black pawns. Li resigned when the Idaho IM launched an attack against his King, whilst already being two pawns down. Luke Harmon-Vellotti still has good chances for a top 3 position, with a neat 3.5/6 score.
By Grandmaster Alejandro Ramirez
Achieving the grandmaster title is a huge feat. The hours spent every day studying, the days spent in airplanes, buses and airports just to travel to tournaments, the weeks spent at tournament halls, the months trying to perfect every strategy, truly are countless. There is a reason many people dedicate their entire lifetime to this sport without ever being able to reach the coveted title. Out of the millions of chess players worldwide, there are less than 1,500 grandmasters, and in America there are less than one hundred. The requirement list to achieve this title is strict: a rating of at least 2500 and earning three grandmaster norms, which means an amazingly high 2600 performance in at least three international tournaments sanctioned so by the International Chess Federation (FIDE).
Becoming an Eagle Scout is another incredible achievement. It is calculated that only four percent of Boy Scouts are ever granted their maximum rank, and the requirements necessary for this take many years to fulfill. One of the main founders of the Chess Merit Badge, Dr. Jeanne Sinquefield, explained “To make Eagle, you need 21 merit badges of which ten can be a variety of areas. Making chess a merit badge means that is one of the merit badges you can earn on the road to Eagle Scout. “
To be both is truly one of a kind. Yesterday, one of the participants of the 2016 U.S. Junior Closed Championship, an incredibly strong tournament itself with the top ten under 20 players in the entire country, became the first chess grandmaster to reach the rank of Eagle Scout. Kayden Troff, from Utah, was honored with a small, intimate ceremony at the Chess Plaza at Forest Park. Troff said during the ceremony “I started chess and scouts both at a very young age so I can definitely say both have meant a lot in my life.”
The correlation between Scout service and chess is an easy one to make. Through the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis, spearheaded by Dr. Jeanne and Rex Sinquefield, chess has already helped thousands of kids in the Saint Louis metroplex improve their skills in pattern recognition, memorization, calculation, planning, strategy and many others. Numerous studies have proven that chess is a great tool for education.
Kayden's Eagle Scout Service Project was running a chess camp for children with disabilities in Utah. Participants ranged from kindergarten to high school with a majority being in elementary school. When asked to talk yesterday in Forest Park, it was clear that Kayden is a humble and smart young man—qualities that are exemplary for both a chess player and an Eagle Scout.
The Chess Merit Badge has quickly become one of the most popular badges in the Boy Scouts of America merit badge catalogue. “Since the Boy Scouts of America started the Chess Merit Badge,” Dr. Jeanne Sinquefield stated, “we have had over 100,000 boy scouts in America earn their Chess Merit Badge.” Out of the 130+ badges available, the Chess Merit Badge is undoubtedly one of fastest-growing badges available. It, of course, was not missing from Kayden's sash.
Kayden is one of the two grandmasters at the U.S. Junior Closed Championship, and despite a rocky start, he is still in a fighting position in the tournament. The tournament is currently being led by Jeffery Xiong from Texas and Awonder Liang from Wisconsin. Make sure to follow the action live online at uschesschamps.com.
by GM Robin van Kampen
The fifth day at the U.S. Junior championship was nothing like the peaceful fourth round. With all five games delivering decisive results, It was a great game to play with the White pieces as the White players accounted for a sweet 4 out of 5 wins! The two grandmasters in the field faced off, and what the analysts expected to be a long tense battle turned, out to be the first game to finish. Jeffery Xiong described his play in the 4th round as “That of 2000 player facing his first GM” but the fifth round was a smooth comeback for the Texas Grandmaster.
Xiong vs. Troff: 1-0
Xiong battled Troff’s trademark Grunfeld by going for an Anti-Grunfeld variation. After a complicated theoretical discussion in which Kayden sacrificed a pawn, Jeffery got a slight advantage. As the queens came off Kayden seemed to be on his way to equalize. However, when the 2014 champion exposed his King, White’s rooks found their way into Black’s position creating a mate net. A more detailed take on the game here:
Bodek vs. Chandra: 0-1
Akshat Chandra was looking to score his first win after 4 disappointing draws. Michael Bodek opted for the Hungarian variation in the Sicilian, and soon the players found themselves playing a position that strongly resembled a Najdorf Sicilian. The defending champion played compromising chess, sacrificing a pawn on move 11 and a second pawn on move 13. What he did not know at the time the game was played, was that all of these moves had already been tested by nobody other than Garry Kasparov! After obtaining a large advantage, the GM-elect based out of Iselin, NJ, played a couple of inaccurate moves which allowed Bodek to set up a tough defense. After shuffling around the Queen, Chandra tried to sacrifice a pawn in order to break through. Bodek couldn’t find the right defense and his rooks ended up being dominated by the Chandra’s Queen. A well-deserved win for the 2015 Junior Champion was the result.
Liang vs. Checa: 1-0
Nicolas Checa opted for a classic Karlsblad structure against Awonder Liang. Awonder showed that he’s studied the classics and successfully launched a queenside minority attack. Nonetheless, Checa played solidly and should have defended a slightly worse ending. After missing a tactic, the Fide Master dropped a pawn which Awonder Liang convincingly converted to a win. Another nice win by youngest participant of the tournament, who once again showed to have Grandmaster level technique.
Harmon-Vellotti vs. Ostrovskiy: 1-0)
Tournament leader Alexandr Ostrovskiy surprised his opponent with the sharp French Maccutcheon variation. The middle game position promised excitement as both Kings were deprived from castling. When the queens were exchanged Ostrovskiy saw a chance to open up the position, which temporarily cost the New York-based International Master a pawn. When the wunderkind from Idaho found a way to hold on the sacrificed pawn, things started looking grim for Black. A highly complicated endgame ensued, in which the objective evaluation switched drastically move by move. When Harmon-Vellotti found a way to draw by sacrificing his rook in order to advance his passed pawns, the draw seemed inevitable. Ostrovskiy went for an all-in winning attempt, but placed his King on the wrong square which cost him the game. With a bit of luck Harmon-Vellotti managed to win his first game, where Ostrovskiy will have to come back strong after the rest day in order to get his leading position back.
Li vs. Brown: 1-0
Ruifeing Li got a slight advantage out of a trendy Ruy Lopez variation. The International Master who is part of Kasparov’s Young-stars program, bravely sacrificed an exchange in return for two connected passed pawns. Brown tried to hold on by sacrificing an exchange back, but Li played the resulting endgame to perfection, granting him his first win in the tournament.
by GM Robin van Kampen
The fourth day at the U.S. Junior Chess Championship signified a peaceful day of chess. With four draws and only one win, fairly little change took place in the overall standings. The key clash of the day was bound to be Alexandr Ostrovskiy against tournament leader Jeffery Xiong, who found himself on the wrong side of the only deceive result of the day.
Ostrovskiy vs. Xiong: 1-0
Alexandr Ostrovskiy opted for the same Sicilian sideline that he had previously used to get an opening advantage against Michael Bodek. The New York-based International master who was born in Moscow, displayed deep knowledge of the variation at hand and soon got a slight advantage. Xiong never really got into the game as Ostrovskiy brilliantly limited the top junior’s counter play and gradually increased the White advantage. The Texas grandmaster tried to confused his opponent by sacrificing a knight in the time trouble phase, but once the smoke cleared Black’s compensation was nowhere to be found. A more detailed take on the game here:
Troff vs. Bodek: 1/2-1/2
Michael Bodek challenged Kayden Troff’s 1.d4 by playing the ultra-solid Vienna variation. On move twelve the-18-year- old International master from New Rochelle, NY, introduced a novel way of dealing with a well-known pawn sacrifice. Although the arising position was bearable according to the computer engines, the commentators disapproved of Bodek’s preparation due to a lack of piece development. Not much later Kayden launched an attack and it seemed that the Utah-based Grandmaster was on his way to win his first game. Once the Grandmaster got low on time, several inaccuracies diminished White’s initiative and the game was drawn by a move repetition right before the time control.
Chandra vs. Liang: 1/2-1/2
Akshat Chandra was hoping to clinch his first victory after having played three consecutive draws. In a solid Grunfeld Indian the defending champion got a slight advantage, but it never proved to be enough for a tangible advantage. After a series of exchanges Awonder Liang got the desired draw, keeping the International Master from Madison, Wisconsin in striking distance from the tournament leader.
Checa vs. Li: 1/2-1/2
If there was one game that was pinpointed to end in a White win, it was the game between Nicolas Checa and Ruifeng Li. After the Texan opted for a questionable opening, he lost a pawn by missing an important intermezzo, leaving him with a scattered position. Nicolas Checa seemed to be on his way to converting the extra pawn once an ending was reached, but due to a series of clumsy moves Li had a chance to create a passed pawn. Once given the chance, Li played tenaciously in order to secure the draw.
Brown vs. Harmon-Vellotti: 1/2-1/2
The Nimzo-Indian opening between Michael Brown and Luke Harmon-Vellotti lead to complicated middle game position which was popularized by World Champion Boris Spassky in the 70’s. After a tactical sequence that lead to the exchange of several minor pieces, the material was still balanced, but Brown had a clear advantage due to his advanced d-pawn. When both players got low on time, inaccuracies were made on both sides which ultimately lead to a serious chance for Harmon-Vellotti to obtain a large advantage by winning a pawn right before reaching the time control. When Luke did not capitalize on this opportunity the position was roughly equal and a draw was agreed shortly after move 40.
The third day at the U.S. Junior was a day of revenge! Whilst top-seed Jeffery Xiong managed to take the sole lead after outplaying Michael Bodek, both Awonder Liang and Nicolas Checa recovered from their second round losses.
Harmon-Vellotti vs. Checa: 0-1
The players entered a sideline of the French defence that is relatively unexplored and soon found themselves both in unfamiliar territory. It was clear that it was going to be a decisive game when the players castled on opposite sides and it was actually Harmon-Vellotti who had the first chance to attack but missed it. Checa seized the opportunity to counter and never really relinquished it which allowed him his first win of the event. An exciting battle where Harmon-Vellotti must be kicking himself as he missed a big chance with the 13...Bf6
Brown vs. Ostrovskiy: 1/2-1/2
The two co-leaders had a good quality game where neither side allowed much space. It started out as a sideline of the Slav defense but it seemed both players were adequately prepared and decided to enter a balanced endgame where only a blunder could turn the tables. The game finished peacefully on move 40 where the position was completely balanced keeping both of these players in contention.
Li vs. Chandra: 1/2-1/2
The two highest rated IM's in the field clashed this round and it was very entertaining. Chandra showed very good preparation and equalized comfortably in a French Tarrasch. Struggling to find a way to make progress with the white pieces Li made a couple suspicious moves that soon left him down a pawn without full compensation and on the edge of defeat. Chandra took a second,riskier pawn that opened the game up entirely as Ruifeng used the opportunity to attack and make the position totally unclear. If time trouble wasn't a factor then Chandra may have emerged victorious but instead this see-saw game ended up in a three-fold repetition.
Bodek vs. Xiong: 0-1
Bodek chose a quiet sideline against the sicilian that was employed by Xiong. Things were balanced until Xiong decided to give up a pawn for two bishops and attacking chances. Bodek failed to trade off pieces or close off the position which allowed the bishops to slowly take over and creative serious attacking chances. Xiong handily outplayed Bodek in the complications and soon found himself up an exchange. Resignation from Bodek soon followed when it became clear that Xiong was capable of converting in the endgame. A strong performance by Xiong that puts him in clear first with 2.5/3.
Liang vs. Troff: 1-0
Liang played 1.e4 and Troff replied with his standard najdorf defense. However, he opted for a much more passive setup than usual and Awonder soon boasted a large space advantage. Troff sensed the danger and correctly fought back for some space where he balanced the game only to spoil it at the very end with a game-ending blunder in time trouble. Liang took and dealt the game-ending combination to move to 2/3. A more detailed analysis here: