Joanna Liu Wins Girls Nationals U-8!

Believe it or not, the CalChess Scholastics were not the only major chess championship held last weekend. Three Bay Area girls flew to Columbus, Ohio to play in the All-Girls Nationals, hosted by the Kasparov Chess Foundation. They competed against 210 of the best girls around the country, and even managed to bring home a first place trophy!

Congratulations to 2nd grader Joanna Liu (1410) of Weibel Elementary for taking winning the U-8 division with 5.5 out of 6! She worked hard for her trophy, facing five of the top 10 in the final standings, including a pair of challenging 1300s. Joanna's proud coach Ted Castro writes that she was "doing 4-5 hours of training every week to make sure that she gets better and better" (plus 4 hours of play and coaching at Weibel). Practice makes perfect! As the photos prove, Joanna insisted on wearing her lucky old Weibel team shirt in Ohio. (Thanks to her parents for the photos above.)

Two other local girls both scored 4.0/6 to finish in the top 10. 3rd grader Alisha Chawla, also from Weibel, played up and took home the 10th place trophy in the difficult U-10 section, losing only to the top two rated players. 2nd grader Alanna Song received the 8th place trophy in U-8. Well done!

• US Chess Online article
• Tournament standings
• Official rating report
  

Samyukta Bhat Leads Polgar Championship

Update on Thursday night: Samyukta Bhat won today and is in clear 2nd place with 4.5 out of 5! She faces top seed and tournament leader Yang Dai (2057) in Friday's final round, needing a win to become national champion. On behalf of all of Samyukta's fans back home, here's wishing you all of the best of skill!

Samyukta Bhat, winner of the CalChess Girl's Championship, remains tied for first with a perfect 3-0 score at the halfway point of the Susan Polgar National Invitational for Girls. The photo at right shows Samyukta posing with GM Susan Polgar. The two other girls sharing the lead are the top seeds: Yang Dai (2057) of Virginia and defending champion Courtney Jamison (1984) of Texas. An incoming 9th grader rated 1740, Samyukta started out ranked #9 out of 60 girls. No doubt the competition will soon become much tougher, starting tomorrow against Julia Jones (1869), also from Texas. Here's wishing her all the best of luck!

Samyukta is not the only Fremont area girl playing in Texas. 8-year old Alisha Chawla has a single point (see photo at left), competing against mostly older and higher rated opponents. No doubt she will benefit from the entire experience, including instructional lectures, puzzle contests and blitz tournament.

Watch this post and my Twitter feed for updates throughout the week. There will be one round daily through Friday. For more photos of young ladies playing chess, click on album #1 and album #2.

IM Sam Shankland Takes Bronze Medal!

The title of this post is not a misprint. It is my great honor to introduce the readers to America's newest International Master: Sam Shankland! Simply said, Sam fulfilled the unthinkable last night in Vietnam by defeating a strong young Grandmaster from the host country, Quang Liem Le (2583). Sam tied for 1st place in the World Youth U18, earning the BRONZE MEDAL on tiebreaks. Incredibly, there's more! According to FIDE regulations (see 1.21), up to three players tied for 1st shall earn the automatic IM title! (I reported incorrectly yesterday that the prize was a GM norm.) Gooooo Shankypanky!!!

Update midday Thursday: Mechanics' Institute Chess Room Director IM John Donaldson has confirmed Sam's automatic IM title through his connections within FIDE!

How did Sam do it? He faced two of the four players who tied with him, scoring 0.5/2. He played against two Grandmasters (1.5/2), two International Masters (1.0/2) and a total of seven opponents rated above 2300 FIDE (4.0/7). With a final score of 8.0/11 (+7 =2 -2), Sam's performance rating was 2552, incredibly a full 100 points above the IM norm threshold! His post tournament FIDE rating will be above 2450.

The final game was far from perfect. (Last round photos above from the official website show Sam in the black shirt.) It began as a Dragon Sicilian, but the queen trade on move 17 produced an even endgame. The draw would have no doubt been acceptable to Sam at that point, but probably not to his higher rated opponent. From then on, Sam got slowly outplayed and he was losing after 38... Nxh3 and 39... Kg5. His opponent missed the decisive blow and allowed Sam to generate tricky counterplay with 45.c5! and 46.d6! By move 53, Sam is miraculously winning despite being down a pawn! The game could have ended 53... Ke6 54.Kc4 e4 (if Rxd7 then b8Q wins) 55.Kxc5 Rh8 56.Kc6 Rd8 57.Rh1 and Black can neither capture d7 nor defend h2. Instead, Black tried the desperado 53... Rxd7 and resigned after Sam found the refutation 54.Rf1+ (to be followed by b8Q).


IM Shankland, Sam (2436) vs GM Quang Liem Le (2583)
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 6. Be3 Bg7 7. f3 O-O 8. Qd2 Nc6 9. O-O-O Nxd4 10. Bxd4 Be6 11. Kb1 Qc7 12. h4 Rfc8 13. h5 Qa5 14. hxg6 fxg6 15. a3 Rab8 16. Bd3 Bf7 17. Ne2 Qxd2 18. Rxd2 a6 19. Re1 Nd7 20. Bxg7 Kxg7 21. Nc3 b5 22. Bf1 Rc5 23. Rd4 Ne5 24. Nd5 Bxd5 25. exd5 g5 26. Re3 h5 27. g3 Rf8 28. Be2 Rf5 29. b4 Rc8 30. a4 Rh8 31. axb5 axb5 32. f4 gxf4 33. Rxf4 Rxf4 34. gxf4 Ng6 35. Bxb5 Nxf4 36. c4 h4 37. Bd7 Kf6 38. Bh3 Rg8 39. Bd7 Rh8 40. Bh3 Rb8 41. b5 Nxh3 42. Rxh3 Kg5 43. Kc2 Kg4 44. Re3 Re8 45. c5 dxc5 46. d6 e5 47. b6 h3 48. d7 Rd8 49. b7 h2 50. Re1 Kf5 51. Rb1 Rb8 52. Rd1 Rd8 53. Kc3 Rxd7 54. Rf1+ 1-0

After two weeks in Vietnam, the American delegation returns home on Halloween. That's not as scary as it sounds! Local star FM Danya Naroditsky had a disappointing result by his lofty standards, yet somehow he still finished in the top 10 (tied for 6th place). I am sure we can expect more next year when Danya returns for a second attempt to win U14. Fremont's little chess queen, Alisha Chawla, was no doubt outclassed but held her head high with 4.0/11. She finished with 50% in rounds 4-11 after losing her first three games on the international scene. Keep your head high!

Round 10:

• Sam beat IM P. Kartikeyan (2426) of India
  
• Danya drew with 2260 from Singapore
  
• Alisha beat UNR from Canada
  

Round 11:

• Sam beat GM Quang Liem Le (2583) of Vietnam
  
• Danya beat 2265 from Netherlands
  
• Alisha lost to UNR from New Zealand
  

Final Standings: (see official results online)

• IM Sam Shankland has 8.0, BRONZE MEDAL and tied for 1st, 2552 performance
• FM Danya Naroditsky has 7.5, tied for 6th place
  
• Alisha Chawla has 4.0

Six USA representatives ended the 11 day championship in the top 10 for their age group, including our own IM Shankland and FM Naroditsky. Despite struggling with 1.0 in the last three rounds, FM Darwin Yang of Texas finished 3rd in U12 and also earned a bronze medal! Young Jonathan Chiang, also from Texas, took 5th place in U8. Two young girls finished in the top 10 as well: Hannah Liu of Texas in Girls U8 and Simone Liao of Southern California in Girls U10. No doubt the future of American chess remains bright, especially in scholastic hot spots such as Texas and California!

World Youth Results

(Vung Tau lies on the coast of the South China Sea. Photo from German club website.)

The World Youth Chess Festival in Vung Tau, Vietnam invites only the best of the best from around the world. Anyone who holds their head high among this competition is a champion, even if they don't finish in the top three.

Northern California's three champions have not had it easy so far. FM Sam Shankland drew with a Grandmaster yesterday in U18, but lost to an equally strong International Master today. Still, his overall performance rating remains above the IM norm threshold. Proving that lightning doesn't strike twice, FM Danya Naroditsky has uncharacteristically struggled in U14 with two draws and a loss. Last but not least, Alisha Chawla plays the hardest event of her young life in Girls U8, but she is on the scoreboard with a win.

Results updated for round 6 on Friday morning. Danya is back on track after a rough start. Alisha won her second game. The next round is on Sunday.

I update the daily results below. Check out the games from rounds 1-5 at ChessAsia.net.

Round 5:

• Sam lost to IM Ivan Saric (2516) of Croatia
• Danya beat UNR from Finland
  
• Alisha lost to UNR from Vietnam

Round 6:

• Sam lost to 2377 from Russia
• Danya beat 2132 from Azerbaijan
• Alisha beat UNR from Kenya
  

Standings after round 6:

• FM Sam Shankland has 3.5/6, 21st place, 2410 performance
• FM Danya Naroditsky has 4.0, tied for 10th place
  
• Alisha Chawla has 2.0

Unfortunately, the playing conditions remain poor due to the tropical heat without fans, air conditioning or other means of ventilation. Danya's father, Dr. Vladimir Naroditsky collected testimonials from parents over the past two days for this summary:

• "Yesterday was very hot, my daughter said she had a headache. I felt the same way, I do not think the air conditioner was on. A lot of kids felt exhausted. I think we should complain about it."
• "The accounts are consistent with no air conditioning and all doors and windows to the arena open. I do not know the exact temperature but my wife and I are sweating just sitting in our seats watching the chess."
• "I have the same sentiment regarding the playing hall. The air condition is not working and not enough ventilation. I think this is unacceptable playing condition for our kids."
• "The playing conditions today were horrible, as it was too hot. There were no fans or AC. The rest rooms are below standard. The day got particularly tougher as there were two rounds today. If the organizers can arrange for some fans at least, that may be good."
• "I do not know how high the temperature is, but it is certainly hot and humid. I do not know what can be done; it is a big area (stadium) and is relatevely open (bad for air conditioning), but with quite bad ventilation."
• "Yes, this is absolutely correct. We went to complain and they said that they are fixing the A/C. It's been very hot there all three days but today is definitely the worst."
  

Hopefully enough coaches and parents from different countries complain so that the organizers will address this problem, either by fixing the A/C or at least installing an army of fans. If the parents suffer while just sitting and waiting, then I worry about the young chess players who try their best for 4+ hour long games in this heat.

World Youth 2008 from Vietnam!

Readers of my blog may already be aware that the World Youth Chess Festival began last weekend in Vung Tau, Vietnam. The American delegation flew between 20 and 30 hours and then endured a bumpy 2-3 hour bus trip. On one hand, the venue is a beach resort on the southern tip of the country, about 100km outside of Ho Chi Minh City. On the other hand, the weather reports give temperatures in the 90s with extreme humidity, worse than Florida in the summer!

A total of 885 participants from 73 countries arrived in Vietnam for this annual tournament. Among this crowd are 28 American youths plus parents and coaches. The players compete in 12 sections: U18, U16, U14, U12, U10 and U8 for both boys (open) and girls, with age determined as of January 1, 2008. The competition is brutal and even the strongest often finish far away from the podium. The top three in each section earn medals and other prizes, including IM norms or automatic FM titles (depending on which age).

Three Northern California residents have made the trip to Vung Tau. FM Danya Naroditsky (left photo) is a true veteran of these tournaments, winning the World U12 last year. He moved up to U14 in 2008. FM Sam Shankland (center photo) also participated last year and now competes in the strong U18 section with 3 GMs and 9 IMs. Alisha Chawla (standing next to GM Susan Polgar in right photo) is the newcomer, playing in the Girls U8 division at her first international event. I plan to follow all three players on this blog.

The schedule includes rounds on most days at 3:00pm local time, which translates to 1:00 in the morning in California. The first round was on Monday and the final round will be on October 30. Exceptions: Both rounds 3 and 4 are today while Saturday is a rest day.

Here are the results from the early rounds. All ratings are FIDE. Sam is rated 2436, Danya is 2382 while Alisha is unrated.

Round 1:

• Sam beat 2142 from Vietnam
• Danya drew 2017 from Vietnam
• Alisha lost to UNR from Bulgaria
  

Round 2:

• Sam beat 2255 from Austria
• Danya drew 2046 from China
• Alisha lost to UNR from Mongolia
  

Round 3:

• Sam beat 2263 from Iran
• Danya beat 2044 from Canada
• Alisha lost to UNR from Vietnam

Round 4:

• Sam drew GM Ngoc Truong Son Nguyen (2567) of Vietnam
• Danya lost to 2093 from Switzerland :-(
  
• Alisha beat UNR from Sri Lanka
  

Standings after round 4:

• FM Sam Shankland has 3.5, tied for 1st, 2643 performance
  
• FM Danya Naroditsky has 2.0
  
• Alisha Chawla has 1.0

In contrast to some previous editions of the World Youth, this year's organizers have a strong web presence, albeit sadly without any live games broadcast. Chess Life Online reports daily with results from the American delegation, including photos and an exciting game annotated by FM Shankland. Web portal ChessAsia.net has posted colorful photos and some stories from the tournament. They also promise to upload more games on a java viewer (only round 1 so far).

Episode 6 of Chess Diva TV Show

The latest edition of Chess Diva is now available for viewing. This TV program is the brainchild of two amateur producers and chess players: Lauren and Barbara Goodkind. The hosts hope that their show will encourage more girls and women to push wood on the chess board around the Bay Area.



The sixth episode was filmed on June 30 in the studios of the Media Center in Palo Alto. The 30 minute show has four segments, including two interviews. Check it out!

1. brief lecture on space on the chess board
2. images of chess in the community from around the world (very cool!)
   
3. interview with 7 year old champion Alisha Chawla
4. interview with top ranked blind player Jessica Lauser.

Fun quiz: In what Bay Area city is Chess Drive located? Watch the video to find out! Answer: Foster City.

Fremont Girl is a Chess Star

Check out the nice newspaper article about 7 year old star Alisha Chawla from Fremont on the local news website InsideBayArea.com. Already ranked among the top girls in the country for her age, Alisha recently tied for 1st place at the Susan Polgar World Open for Girls in Las Vegas. She now moves on to a bigger stage in Texas in the last week of July, competing against other top girls of all ages. The news article describes Alisha:

"Alisha is adorable. She's sweet and petite. Like most 7-year-olds, she's precocious at times and shy at others. ... But on a chess board, particularly wielding her favorite piece — the queen — Little Miss Chawla quickly transforms into a tiger. She moves the pieces authoritatively and thumps them hard onto the board wherever she places them."

To read the full article, please click on this link. The photo on the left of Alisha with GM Polgar was first posted on the Susan Polgar Chess and Information Blog.