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.)

World Youth In Al Ain Draws To Close

David Peng (left) and Awonder Liang stand next to the FIDE President.
For hundreds of more photos, check out South Africa on Facebook

Happy New Year!  Before we continue with 2014, let me wrap up the final results of the 2014 World Youth Chess Championships in Al Ain, United Arab Emirates.  GM Ben Finegold reported on Chess Life Online and this post merely provides supplemental material.  Another report on ChessBase website includes photographs from the awards ceremony.

On the bright side, Team USA brought home two medals, both in the U10 division.  Kudos to FM Awonder Liang (10-1) of Wisconsin and CM David Peng (9-2) of Illinois for earning the gold and silver medals, respectively!   Total domination!!  Bay Area youngster Josiah Stearman (7-4) found himself in contention after 8 rounds, but ran out of energy down the final stretch.

Outside of the Playing Hall

On the other hand, the American delegation had hoped to win more hardware.  Six more children finished in the Top 10 for their age.  A pair of girls, Jennifer Yu (U12) of Virginia and Carissa Yip (U10) from Massachusetts, took home 4th place honors, only a tiny bit short of a medal.  In the U18 section, GM Daniel Naroditsky knew his tiebreaks were inferior and played aggressively in a valiant yet unsuccessful attempt to complicate the last game as black against a fellow Grandmaster.  C'est la vie!

Click here for the complete results of Team USA.

Danya

• U18 - Open
• GM Daniel Naroditsky 7.5 (CA-N)
• FM Atulya Shetty 6.5
• U18 - Girls
• WFM Jessica Regam 6.5
• Rochelle Ballantyne 5.5
• U16 - Open
• FM Michael Bodek 7.5
• NM Safal Bora 7.0
• NM Michael Brown 7.0
• NM Christopher Wu 7.0
• U16 - Girls
• WCM Ellen Xiang 6.5
• WCM Apurva Virkud 6.0
• Taylor Mccreary 6.0 (CA-N)
• Margaret Hua 6.0
• U14 - Open
• NM Edward Song 8.0 (7th)
• NM Colin Chow 7.0 (CA-N)
• U14 - Girls
• Agata Bykovtsev 7.5 (9th) 
• Ashritha Eswaran 7.5 (CA-N)
• U12 - Open
• NM Albert Lu 7.5
• NM Ruifeng Li 7.0
• U12 - Girls
• WFM Jennifer Yu 8.5 (4th)
• WFM Annie Wang 8.0 (8th)
• Priya Trakru 7.0
• U10 - Open



Awonder

• FM Awonder Liang 10.0 (1st)
• CM David Peng 9.0 (2nd)
• Josiah Stearman 7.0 (CA-N)
• Christopher Shen 7.0
• U10 - Girls
• Carissa Yip 8.5 (4th)
• WCM Vittal Sanjana 7.5 
• Shreya Mangalam 7.0
• Martha Samadashvili 7.0
• U8 - Open
• Maximillian Lu 8.5 (5th)
• Logan Wu 7.5
• Kevin Chor 7.5 
• Maurya Palusa 7.5 (CA-N) 
• Balaji Daggupati 7.0 (CA-N)
• Advait Budaraju 7.0 (CA-N)
• Rithik Polavarem 7.0
• U8 - Girls
• Maggie Ni 7.5
  
• Anh Nhu Nguyen 7.0
• Annapoorni Meiyappan 7.0 (CA-N)

Closely following the round-by-round results from the tournament, I observed some trends.  Frankly, I was shocked by the sizable role of momentum.  The American kids were remarkably streaky!  One young man won his first three games, then lost the next three!  An unfortunate lady won three straight, then lost the next four!  A boy in youngest division won the first four rounds, but somehow ended up under 50%.  On the other hand, a teenager lost twice to lower rated opponents in the first three rounds, yet finished with a respectable 7-4.

Aside from wavering confidence and difficult competition, the young players faced a variety of challenges off the board.  They slept in a foreign country, in a dorm room, and had to adjust to the 9 to 12 hour time difference.  Many faced unbearably long lines (60 minutes or more!) at the cafeteria.  Towards the end of the fortnight in the Arabian desert, exhaustion and homesickness took its toll on some.  No doubt a few children (and their parents) battled minor illnesses.  Hopefully, most will look back at this journey as an adventure.

US Junior Kicks Off on Friday

IM Daniel Naroditsky

FM Yian Liou

IM-elect Sam Sevian

For yet another year, the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis will generously host many of the top juniors in the country, including a trio from Northern California.  The 2013 US Junior Closed returns to its traditional format of a 10-player round-robin at the leisurely pace of one round each day.  The players compete for a $10,000 prize fund and a coveted spot in the next US Championship.

The 10 invitees comprise quite a competitive field, with average rating of 2469 USCF and 2361 FIDE.  Three hold the International Master title, plus another 2 are IM-elect after fulfilling the norm requirements without the minimum 2400 FIDE rating.  The top 9 players are separated by only 120 points, meaning that literally anyone could catch fire and finish first.  Recent history even supports that possibility, since NM Greg Young dominated in 2011 as the eighth seed.

Participants in 2013 US Junior Closed

1. IM Daniel Naroditsky (CA-N, age 17) 2558 USCF, 2494 FIDE
2. IM Kayden Troff (UT, 14) 2528, 2443
3. NM Robert Perez (FL, 17) 2521, 2359
4. IM Victor Shen (NJ, 20) 2511, 2411
5. IM-elect Jeffery Xiong (TX, 12) 2496, 2370
6. FM Yian Liou (CA-N, 15) 2469, 2385 
7. FM Atulya Shetty (MI, 17) 2465, 2320
8. IM-elect Sam Sevian (CA-N, 12) 2464, 2390
9. FM Luke Harmon-Vellotti (ID, 14) 2441, 2340
10. WFM Sarah Chiang (TX, 16) 2234, 2101

This championship features a diverse crop of young chess masters.  Two attend prestigious universities (Robert at MIT and Victor at Columbia) and a third (Luke) has been admitted to UCLA for the fall.  Two more (Daniel and Atulya) will begin their senior year of high school.  On the other hand, the two 12-year old prodigies (Jeffery and Sam) have yet to start high school.  Of course, age and education make little difference once the games begin.

Three Bay Area stars were invited for this national championship.  Top ranked Daniel Naroditsky brings vast experience to the board for every round.  Two GM norms leave him on the cusp of the highest title in professional chess.  Incredibly, 17-year old Daniel also authored two chess books, which have received positive reviews on both sides of the Atlantic.  Yian Liou begins his first US Junior in the middle of the field, both by age and rating.  He won the 2010 US Cadet and, more recently, earned his second IM norm at North American Open last December (scoring 50% against 4 GMs and 2 IMs).  The youngest California representative, Sam Sevian, has amassed experience far beyond his years.  In addition to winning World Youth U12 last November and completing all three IM norms, Sam participated in the US Championship itself just a month ago!   Will one of the local boys bring home the Bay Area's second Junior title in three years (after Greg in 2011).

The tournament kicks off with an Opening Ceremony on Thursday evening and round 1 on Friday.  All rounds begin at 11:00am Pacific time, except the last one on Sunday, June 23.  The organizers plan to offer live coverage with commentary by Grandmasters Yasser Seirawan and Ben Finegold.  Stay tuned for plenty of crazy tactics and even some subtle positional play!

Bay Area Stars at US Junior

For the second summer in a row, the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of St. Louis has hosted and sponsored the U.S. Junior Invitational for 10 of the top American juniors under age 21. This club, generously funded by Rex Sinquefield, has quickly grown into the most exciting new venue in the nation. The past two U.S. Championships were held here, attracting most of the elite players of the country. No doubt, many of the juniors attending this week dream to join the big boys in the near future. In fact, the U.S. Junior champion earns an invitation to both the World Junior and next year's U.S. Championship!

Previous winners of the U.S. Junior include GM Bobby Fischer, GM Larry Christiansen, GM Patrick Wolff, IM Joshua Waitzkin, GM Tal Shaked, GM Hikaru Nakamura, GM Robert Hess, GM Ray Robson and last year's winner, GM Sam Shankland. Bay Area talent Shankland made the most of his opportunity at this spring's U.S. Championship, reaching the semifinals before being knocked out by the repeating champion GM Gata Kamsky.

The field of the 2011 Junior features 8 of the top 16 rated on the June Top 100 list for U21. However, the three Grandmasters ranked at the top (Hess, Robson and Shankland) all declined their invitations, perhaps because they each won at least once before. That left 15 year old IM Daniel Naroditsky, rated 2536 USCF, as the top seed. In a bizarre twist, one of the bottom half players actually tied for 1st in the 2008 U.S. Junior (see photo at top of post). The lucky guy holding the trophy was my longtime student NM Gregory Young, now 16 years old. Please join me in cheering loudly for the two Bay Area representatives in St. Louis, Danya and Greg!

My two former students face eight competitors from across the country: three from NY/NJ, two from Texas, plus one each from Utah, Kansas and the host state Missouri. One of the Texans is #2 seed FM John Bryant, formerly from Southern California, but now attending college. One of two Midwestern players, #3 seed Conrad Holt of Kansas, officially became an IM merely two weeks ago. And the youngest participant is 13 year old NM Kayden Troff of Utah, who picked up his first IM norm recently.

Check out the tournament schedule. The rounds begin at 11am Pacific time and are broadcast live on the chess club website using the MonRoi system. Also make sure to listen to the live broadcast by GM Ben Finegold and FM Aviv Friedman. Unfortunately, there is no coverage on ICC.