Danya 6.0/11 at Young Stars!

Our local star FM Daniel Naroditsky played the final round of the Young Stars of the World (also called Somov's Memorial) invitational today in Kirishi, Russia. Check out the list of invitees here or read my report after round 3 at Chess Life Online.

After a topsy-turvy two weeks, Danya finished at "plus 1" or 6.0 out of 11 with 4 wins, 3 draws and 3 losses. While the 2406 FIDE performance was not enough meet the strict requirements for an IM norm, Danya proved worthy of competing among some of the best young chess masters in Russia and the World. In fact, he drew against both of the co-champions, FM Daniil Dubov (2372) and GM Aleksandr Shimanov (2519), both from the host country. I wonder how many of the players in this tournament will become Grandmasters, perhaps even 2700+!?

IM John Donaldson accurately describes the way the event progressed in his weekly newsletter for the Mechanics' Institute. "He started off well scoring two and a half points from his first three games before castling queenside (three straight defeats). Daniel then showed excellent character by not losing another game in the event, closing with three and a half from five against the higher rated players in the competition."

The turning point of the tournament came in round 7 when, after three straight losses, Danya faced the top rated GM Shimanov with black. He trusted his pet Najdorf and earned a solid 20 move draw to stop the bleeding. With renewed confidence, he essayed his most spectacular win in the very next round against FM Vladimir Belous (2414). Danya was especially pleased after finding the tactic 35.Ng4!! with merely seconds on his clock. (Click on the hyperlinks to play through the games on java game viewer by Chess Publisher.)

Check out all of the tournament games at the official website or play through Danya's wins and draws in my ICC library. (Type /liblist fpawn and start at #70.)