Hunting for Medals in Greece

One of four tournament rooms in Porto Carras.  Many girls play chess!

As the World Youth Championships enters the home stretch, the battle for the trophies reached a climax.  After nine rounds, 3 players are currently in medal position and up to 11 others have a chance with a strong finish.  In most sections, a final score of 8.5 or 9.0 will be required to reach the podium.  The best hopes for Team USA lie in the U12 category, both Open and Girls.  Indeed, NMs Andrew Hong and Carissa Yip have played among the leaders throughout the championships.  Can they finish the deal?  Other medal hopes lie with WIM Agata Bykovtsev in Girls U16 and NM Justin Wang in Open U10.  Good luck to all!

The penultimate round has already begun.  The final round starts bright and early on Thursday:  10AM in Greece or midnight in California.  Check out the live games online!  Hundreds of photos are available for viewing at Chessdom and Flickr.

Unfortunately, I am traveling for the next week with little internet access.  I leave early tomorrow, before the last round begins.  Readers will need to find the final results elsewhere.  
 

Team USA Medal Contenders
(Updated after Round 9)
(Round 10 results in blue)

• Open U18
  • none
• Open U16
  • FM Cameron Wheeler 6.0 in 17th place -- drew
• Open U14
  • FM Nicolas Checa 6.0 in 16th place -- WON 
  • FM Rayan Taghizadeh 6.0 in 18th place -- drew
• Open U12
  • Andrew Hong 7.5 in 3rd place -- lost
  • Hans Niemann 7.0 in 5th place -- lost
  • CM David Peng 7.0 in 10th place -- WON
  • Aydin Turgut 6.5 in 11th place -- lost
  • FM Awonder Liang 6.5 in 12th place -- WON
• Open U10
  • Justin Wang 7.0 in 4th place -- drew
  • CM Arthur Guo 6.5 in 13th place -- drew
  • Anthony He 6.5 in 14th place -- drew
  • Rohun Trakru 6.5 in 15th place -- drew
• Open U8
  • CM Aghilan Nachiappan 6.5 in 8th place -- lost
  • Adi Murgescu 6.5 in 9th place -- WON
  • Vishnu Vanapalli 6.5 in 10th place -- WON
  • Lucas Foerster-Yialamas 6.5 in 11th place -- lost 
  • James Oh 6.0 in 17th place -- lost
• Girls U18
  • none
• Girls U16
  • WIM Agata Bykovtsev 7.0 in 3rd place -- WON       
  • WIM Ashritha Eswaran 6.0 in 11th place -- drew 
• Girls U14
  • none
• Girls U12
  • Carissa Yip 7.5 in 2nd place -- WON
  • WFM Martha Samadashvili 7.0 in 6th place -- drew
• Girls U10
  • Rochelle Wu 6.5 in 8th place -- lost
  • WCM Nastassja Matus 6.5 in 9th place -- drew 
  • Rianne Ke 6.5 in 11th place -- WON
  • WCM Aksithi Eswaran 6.0 in 19th place -- WON 
• Girls U8
  • Maya Behura 6.0 in 19th place -- WON

N.B. Includes only players in Top 20 of standings after Round 9.  Players ranked by the official tiebreaks.  Bay Area representatives in orange.

Local Kids Play for Medals

USA teammates Aydin Turgut (white) and Andrew Hong shake
hands before playing in round 9. Photo by Kerrie Utsumi.

Two rounds remain at the World Youth Championships in Halkidiki, and half of the Bay Area participants have already clinched at least a 50% final score (5.5).  Three remain in contention to earn a medal: NMs Andrew Hong and Hans Niemann in U12 plus Aghilan Nachiappan in U8.  Andrew has the strongest chances since he is currently tied for first in U12 with two others.

The championships conclude with round 10 on Wednesday (5am PST) and round 11 on Thursday (Midnight PST).  Watch the top boards in each section (except U8) LIVE!  Go U-S-A!


Bay Area Juniors at World Youth
(Updated after Round 9) 

• Open U16
  • FM Cameron Wheeler 6.0
• Open U14
  • FM Rayan Taghizadeh 6.0
• Open U12
  • NM Andrew Hong 7.5 in 3rd place
  • NM Hans Niemann 7.0 in 5th place
  • David Pan 5.0
• Open U10
  • William Sartorio 5.5
  • Balaji Daggupati 5.5
  • Christopher Yoo 5.5
  • CM Chinguun Bayaraa 5.0
  • Rishith Susarla 4.0
  • Prarthan Ghosh 3.5
• Open U8
  • CM Aghilan Nachiappan 6.5 in 8th place
  • Adrian Kondakov 4.5
  • Sriram Krishnakumar 4.5
• Girls U16
  • WIM Eswaran Ashritha 6.0
• Girls U14
  • Simona Nayberg 4.0
  • WFM Joanna Liu 5.5
  • Serafina Show 3.5
• Girls U12
  • WCM Chenyi Zhao 4.5
  • Hiya Ghosh 3.0
• Girls U10
  • WCM Aksithi Eswaran 6.0
  • Annapoorni Meiyappan 5.5
• Girls U8
  • Wong, Allyson 5.0
  • Yan Rui Yang 5.0

Teenage Mutant Chess Masters

11 y/o NM Hans Niemann (by parents)

10 y/o NM Andrew Hong (by Shorman)

The explosion of scholastic chess in the Bay Area has resulted in the proliferation of a mutant subspecies of chess master.  Most of these mental wizards mastered the relevant skills in their early teens, and a few even younger than that!  Overfeeding of adult masters forced the mutants to compete against each other, and they studied diligently merely to keep up with peers.

The net results are astonishing: no fewer than 23 local youngsters under age 18 lay claim to the distinguished title of National Master!  That's 7 more than just three months ago.  Even the legendary state High School championships of 1997 (Zilberstein, Bhat, Mont-Reynaud, Pruess, Frenklakh) and 2006 (Schwarz, D.Wang, Yap, M.Ho, Shankland, Naroditsky) cannot compare to the current tidal wave of precocious masters. 

Top CalChess Juniors (rated above 2150 on January supplement)

Rank	Age	Name	USCF	FIDE
1	17	IM Liou, Yian	2502	2417
2	15	IM Viswanadha, Kesav	2389	2404
3	14	FM Wheeler, Cameron	2383	2282
4	14	FM Panchanatham, Vignesh	2365	2303
5	17	NM Richter, Paul	2281	2220
6	14	NM Banik, Siddharth G	2274	2154
7	13	NM Wang, Michael	2269	2112
8	15	NM Chow, Colin	2265	2123
9	16	NM Zhu, Jack Qijie	2254	2092
10	12	FM Taghizadeh, Rayan	2238	2160
11	15	NM Virtanen, Teemu (FIN)	2213	1985
12	15	NM Beilin, Allan	2212	2093
13	17	NM Sun, Jerome	2211	2045
14	15	NM Nagarajan, Pranav	2202	2163
15	11	NM Niemann, Hans Moke	2200	2192
16	11	nm Stearman, Josiah Paul	2195	2007
17	10	NM Hong, Andrew Zhang*	2192	2146
18	13	FM Vasudeva, Tanuj	2190	2013
19	14	nm Jirasek, Ladia**	2190	1972
20	16	Klotz-burwell, Hunter	2188	2104
21	14	nm Iyengar, Udit	2177	2035
22	15	NM Zhao, Art***	2174	2034
23	17	nm Liu, Daniel	2159	2091
24	15	Bick, Gabriel	2156	1939
25	14	Moy, Kevin	2155	1966
26	14	nm Eswaran, Ashritha	2150	1954

nm = NM but currently rated under 2200
* Andrew broke 2200 at New Year Open
** Ladia broke 2200 at NM Lawless Champ but fell below at New Year Open
*** Art broke 2200 at North American Open

All told, there are 2 International Masters, 4 FIDE Masters, 16 rated above 2200 on January rating list.  And here's a special round of applause for the newest masters, those who broke 2200 since this post dated September 19: Teemu, Jerome, Pranav, Hans, Andrew, Ladia and Art!  (Corrected 1/20)

Who's next?

World Youth Begins in Durban

Vignesh and Rayan at the venue.

Hans strolls on the sand.

The 2014 World Youth Chess Championships kicked off today in Durban, South Africa.  Among approximately 950 players from 88 countries are 70 Americans, including 7 residing in Northern California.  The overall turnout is half of last year in United Arab Emirates, and Team USA shrunk from a record 94 participants.  No doubt, the tournament dates contributed to the lower turnout, especially compared to last year's event over the Winter Holidays.  Follow the results of Team USA at a glance using the Chess-Results website.

Life's a Beach in Durban.

The first impressions have been positive.  In a preview at Chess Life Online, GM coach Ben Finegold spoke of a great hotel with a plentiful buffet, immediately addressing one of the shortcomings last year.  In his chess chronicles, Bay Area NM Vignesh Panchanatham lauds the organization and good playing conditions.  The children will no doubt enjoy the adjacent beach, while adults can relax in the mild spring breezes off the Indian Ocean.

Of course, the primary focus is chess.  The schedule features 11 rounds through September 29, with double rounds tomorrow and on Tuesday, plus a rest day on Wednesday.  Most rounds begin at 16:00 local time, which converts to 7:00 in the morning PDT (rounds 2, 5 and 11 begin at 10:00 local).  Hopefully there will be live coverage of some of the top boards at the official website.

Three of the seven Northern California representatives already earned the USCF title of National Master, a tribute to their skill and experience competing against adults and juniors alike.  I expect them to fare well even against higher rated opposition.

Bay Area Delegation -- Scores after Round 3

• WCM Aksithi Eswaran (G8) 2.5 !
• Andrew Hong (B10) 2.5 !
• NM Rayan Taghizedah (B12) 2.0 
• Hans Niemann (B12) 2.0
• Chenyi Zhao (G12) 1.0
• NM Vignesh Panchanatham (B14) 3.0 !!!
• NM Ashritha Eswaran (G14) 2.5 - drew with #1 seed from Russia!

Extra: Check out this fun attack and checkmate by Rayan at US Chess!

Team USA maintains high hopes of earning several medals once again.  Arthur Guo (B8) and FM Awonder Liang (B12) are rated highest in their respective sections.  Alas, they're hardly the only contenders.  In particular, watch the Boys Under 12 section with seven Americans seeded in the top 20, including Rayan and Hans from the Bay Area.  Among the young ladies, the Girls Under 12 appears most promising, with Jennifer Yu and Akshita Gorti both ranked in the top 4 of the section.  Good luck to all!  Go U-S-A!!


(Photos have been shamelessly borrowed from the Facebook pages of player parents.  Credit to Siva Panchanatham, Kaimi Niemann and Ramalingam Eswaran.)

CalChess Young Masters

Kesav Viswanadha calculates.

Michael Wang concentrates.

The Bay Area has built the reputation for supporting the growth of  talented young chess stars.  Over a few short years, many of these juniors improve to Expert, Master and Beyond!  Incredibly, 11 now hold a USCF rating above 2200 on the October supplement.  Another 5 earned their National Master certificate previously, but have since dropped a few points.  That's a total of 16 CalChess young masters!  

To put these numbers in perspective, consider that zero masters played at the CalChess Scholastics in 2003, while 2006 was the first year to see more than two masters participate.

Top CalChess Juniors (rated above 2150 on October supplement)

1. IM-elect Yian Liou (age 17) 2502 USCF rating
2. FM Kesav Viswanadha (15) 2429
3. FM Cameron Wheeler (14) 2382



Josiah Stearman smiles on his birthday.

4. NM Vignesh Panchanatham (14) 2356
5. NM Colin Chow (14) 2282
6. NM Paul Richter (16) 2271
7. NM Michael Wang (12) 2240
8. NM Allan Beilin (15) 2221
9. NM Siddharth Banik (14) 2215
10. NM Rayan Taghizadeh (12) 2212
11. FM Tanuj Vasudeva (13) 2209
12. nm Josiah Stearman (11) 2185
13. Teemu Virtanen (15) 2184
14. Neel Apte (16) 2180
15. nm Jack Zhu (15) 2174
16. Ladia Jirasek (14) 2174
17. Pranav Nagarajan (14) 2172
18. nm Ashritha Eswaran (13) 2171
19. nm Daniel Liu (16) 2165
20. nm Udit Iyengar (14) 2165
21. Jerome Sun (17) 2165
22. Hunter Klotz-burwell (16) 2164
23. Joshua Cao (17) 2164
24. Kevin Moy (14) 2155

* nm = NM but currently rated under 2200

The top two players on this list both have a trio of IM norms to their credit.  Yian also achieved the required 2400 FIDE rating, while Kesav must pick up another 18 FIDE points.  We should have two new International Masters among our midst soon.

Watch out for Josiah!  The young lad spent the last month of summer on a quest for 2200.  He reached his goal in San Diego, peaking at 2215 before slipping back down.  Officially, Josiah gained 133 rating points in one month, from the August rating list to September (2066 to 2199)! 

Who will be next to make master?  Certainly anyone rated above 2150 could crack 2200 after one or two good weekends.  In addition, a pair of even younger stars, Hans Niemann (11) and Andrew Hong (9), already sport competitive ratings above 2100.

US Chess League 2014

The 10th season of the US Chess League kicks off this week!  The defending champion Miami Sharks face stiff competition from St. Louis ("Arch Bishops" feature three 2700s), New York ("Knights" star US Champion Gata Kamsky) and more than a dozen other cities around the nation. The league expanded to 18 teams, adding squads from Atlanta ("Kings") and Rio Grande ("Ospreys" from Brownsville TX).  The season stretches 10 weeks through the end of October, with 4 rounds of playoffs culminating in the Championship Match on December 3.  Teams will battle in three divisions (East, South and West), with the Top 3 in each, plus one 4th place, qualifying for the playoffs.

The San Francisco Mechanics joined the USCL in the inaugural season and have reached the playoffs in 7 out of 9 years.  Playing at the historic Mechanics' Institute, the club won the 2006 league championship, but also lost three times in the semifinals, including last year to the Sharks.  Team captain IM John Donaldson has successfully relied on one strategy while recruiting the roster each year: fill the lower boards with underrated juniors.  Case in point: the talented junior Daniel Naroditsky, who recently broke 2600 FIDE rating, will play for the 9th straight year, progressing from bottom rated in 2006 up to first board.

2014 Mechanics Roster
(Use January USCF list for official ratings.)

1. GM Daniel Naroditsky (age 18), 2675 (August), 2614* (January), +61 (gain)
2. GM Jesse Kraai, 2589, 2574, +15
3. GM Vinay Bhat, 2555, 2555, 0
4. IM-elect Yian Liou (17), 2475, 2478, -3
5. FM Andy Lee, 2361, 2314, +47
6. NM Vignesh Panchanatham (14), 2332, 2306, +26
7. FM Cameron Wheeler (14), 2368, 2300, +68
8. NM Siddharth Banik (14), 2236, 2212, +24
9. Hans Niemann (11), 2136, 1979*, +157

(* League rules count Naroditsky as 2600 and Niemann as 2000.)

The kid on board 4: Hans!

The youthfulness of the San Francisco delegation jumps right out.  If you still consider 18-year old  Daniel as a junior, then the kids comprise 2/3 of the team!  The first round lineup (1-4-6-8) is one of the youngest in league history--an average age under 16.  Incredibly, the average August rating of 2430 still ranks among the highest for Week 1.  In fact, captain Donaldson can select from an assortment of lineups ranked above 2400 by platooning the Grandmasters on board 1 and substituting on boards 3 and 4.  The Mechanics can even field two GMs, balanced out by the rapidly improving expert Hans on board 4.  The three strongest (legal) lineups appear to be (1-4-7-8), (1-5-6-7) and (1-2-5-9), each rated between 2434 and 2440 USCF.

The US Chess League returns to the Internet Chess Club (ICC) this fall, with games scheduled on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings of every week.  Good luck to the Mechanics as they face the expansion team from the Rio Grande on Wednesday, August 27 at 5:30pm.