World Youth Begins in Halkidiki, Greece

The annual World Youth Chess Championships kick off this weekend in Porto Karras, a coastal resort in the Halkidiki region of northern Greece.  Most Americans flew on Thursday, arriving on Friday in Thessaloniki via a stopover in western Europe.  Team USA consists of a record 129 participants, supported by a dedicated army of parents and coaches.  Overall, approximately 1600 players from more than 90 countries have registered, considerably more than South Africa in September 2014 and a modest increase over the same venue in October 2010, but less than United Arab Emirates in December 2013.

Girls and boys compete separately in six age divisions.  The largest sections are in the U10, U12 and U14 age groups, each numbering over 180 boys or 110 girls.  In a change from past years, there will be no double round.  Thus, the schedule calls for 11 rounds over 12 days, including a rest day.  Rounds begin at 3pm Greek time, 6am Pacific daylight time (5am after November 1).  Traditionally, the boards in each section will be broadcast live.

Cameron, Sam and Kayden were all smiles in 2012.

Despite stiff competition from Russia and India, the American delegation has achieved modest success in recent years.  For five straight years, Team USA has earned a gold medal!  The best team result of 4 medals came in 2012, when future GMs Troff and Sevian captured gold in U14 and U12, respectively.  In each of the past two years, the squad won a pair of medals, including one gold.


Best USA Results

• Jennifer Yu, GOLD for Girls U12 in 2014
• Awonder Liang, GOLD for U10 in 2013
• Kayden Troff, GOLD for U14 in 2012
• Sam Sevian, GOLD for U12 in 2012
• Cameron Wheeler, Silver for U12 in 2012 (tied for first)
• Awonder Liang, GOLD for U8 in 2011
• Steven Zierk, GOLD for U18 in 2010
• Sam Shankland, Bronze for U18 in 2008 (tied for first)
• Daniel Naroditsky, GOLD for U12 in 2007

Steven celebrated his 2010 gold
medal on the beach in Halkidiki.

How will Team USA fare in Halkidiki?  Players must recognize that the tournament is like a marathon, and one bad game does not mean disaster.  Indeed, 8.5 may be sufficient to win a medal!  Check out the following list of the top rated Americans in each section.  N.B.: Ratings mean little for the youngest divisions; indeed many participants do not even have an international rating yet.


Whom to Watch on Team USA

• #42 FM Chris Wu in U18
• #28 FM Cameron Wheeler in U16
• #2 FM Nicolas Checa and #25 FM Rayan Taghizadeh in U14
• #2 FM Awonder Liang, #8 David Peng and #17 Andrew Hong in U12
• #7 Arthur Guo, #9 Justin Wang and #10 Jason Wang in U10
• No rating favorites in U8 (too many FIDE unrateds)
• #32 Apurva Virkud in Girls U18
• #7 WIM Ashritha Eswaran and #17 WIM Agata Bykovtsev in Girls U16
• #11WIM Annie Wang in Girls U14
• #3 Carissa Yip in Girls U12
• No rating favorites in Girls U10 (too many FIDE unrateds)
• No rating favorites in Girls U8 (too many FIDE unrateds)

For the latest news, check out the official Twitter feed @fidewycc2015.  Dozens of photos daily at Chessdom Photo Gallery. 

Meet the Players at US Championship

The 2015 US Championship kicked off this afternoon at the posh Saint Louis chess club.  Over the next fortnight, twelve Grandmasters will compete for the national title, playing each competitor once.  Rounds begin daily at 11AM Pacific time and take about 4 to 5 hours (rest day on April 6).  The winner pockets $45,000 out of the $175,000 prize fund.  Even last place nets $4,000.  The superb playing conditions and generous prizes are possible through the continued sponsorship of club founders Rex and Jeanne Sinquefield. 

The playing field includes the top eight Americans on the current FIDE rating list, including two of the world Top 10 and six of the Top 100.  The showdowns between favorites, contenders and dark horses mark an exciting time for US chess.  I have broken down the field below, including short remarks about each of the invitees.  All ratings and rankings are FIDE.

Click for live coverage with video commentary by Grandmasters Seirawan and Ashley.

Favorites -- Guys expected to battle for the Title

• Hikaru Nakamura (2798, world #3) A 3-time US Champion and highest rated American ever, Nakamura hopes to demonstrate his superiority over rivals new and old.  Although solidly in the older half of the field, his uncompromising style endears him to many chess fans
• Wesley So (2788, world #8) The new kid on the block plans to build an impressive share of second at Wijk aan Zee, showing his talent to fans in America as well as his native Philippines.  Well prepared in openings, So strives to milk points from the tiniest of advantages.

Contenders -- Ready to jump if the Favorites slip

Sam Shankland

• Gata Kamsky (2680, world #63) The champion in four of last five years, Kamsky struggled in 2014 and plays in the twilight of a storied chess career.  Indeed, he qualified as a candidate for the world championship in 1993, before four of his fellow competitors were born!
• Sam Shankland (2661, world #84) Born and raised in the East Bay, Shanky learned his moves at the Berkeley Chess School. Gold for his board at the Tromsø Olympiad became his calling card, but hardly his only success.  He is aggressive and deadly as white, yet solid as black.

Dark Horses -- Grown up Young Stars ready to fight

Daniel Naroditsky

• Ray Robson (2656, world #94) A prodigy who grew up playing chess, Robson is now a key member of the elite Webster U team. After slumping, he recently broke into the world Top 100.
• Daniel Naroditsky (2640) Already a world champion at 12 years old, Danya grew up on the 64 squares.  Not merely a player, the incoming Stanford freshman is an author and aspiring historian.  Solid yet multidimensional, he strives to measure himself against the best.

Wily Veterans -- When Experience matters, they're the best

• Alex Onischuk (2665, world #75) The US Champion in 2006, Onischuk has spent a decade as one of the Top 5 Americans.  He already transitioned to coaching and works at Texas Tech.
• Varuzhan Akobian (2622) After years playing in the US Championship and Olympiad, Akobian has become a seasoned veterans. With inspiration and luck, he can still derail anyone.

Young Stars -- Not yet Contenders, but can beat anyone

• Sam Sevian (2548) Bay Area chess fans will recall just a few years ago, this precocious kid rubbed elbows at local tournaments.  Now the youngest Grandmaster in US history, Sevian has bigger fish to fry.  What he may lack in experience, he makes up in energy and enthusiasm.
• Kayden Troff (2544) The strongest chess player from the state of Utah continues to improve.  Already a Grandmaster, Troff dominated the 2014 US Junior to earn his invitation.

Pretenders -- Only need a kick in the rear and a little Luck

• Timur Gareev (2599) The free-wheeling and outgoing Grandmaster of blindfold exhibitions brings plenty of flair to Saint Louis.  While erratic, he is capably of brilliance in every game.    
• Conrad Holt (2525) Winner of the 2014 US Open, the UT Dallas student is the lowest rated participant this year.  Thunder Holt prefers insanely complicated positions and rarely draws.

The concurrent 2015 US Women's Championship features a defending champion aiming to win her fourth straight crown against a 12-player field that welcomes five newcomers.  Top rated GM Irina Krush (2477 FIDE) is the overwhelming favorite as she pursues her sixth national title.  In the absence of chief rival IM Anna Zatonskih, the next highest rating belongs to IM Nazi Paikidze (2333), a recent immigrant from the country of Georgia.  Other challengers include two experienced competitors: IM Rusudan Goletiani (2311) and WGM Tatev Abrahamyan (2301).  The youngest invitees are 13-year old  WFM Jennifer Yu and 12 year old WIM Annie Wang, a pair of gold medalists at international youth championships last year.  A first place award of $20,000 highlights the record $75,000 ladies prize fund.

Tata Kicks Off At Wijk aan Zee

Amateurs play in same big room as elite Grandmasters in Wijk aan Zee.

Dating back to the 1970s, the beginning of each new calendar year promised a pair of elite chess tournaments: one in the coastal Dutch town of Wijk aan Zee and the other in the Andalusian city of Linares.  Both attracted the strongest Grandmasters on the planet, e.g. Kasparov, Kramnik, Anand and Carlsen.  Unfortunately, the Spanish financial crisis claimed Linares as a casualty in 2011.  However, the steel conglomerate Tata maintained the tradition at Wijk, despite a shrinking budget that reduced the number of participants this year to 12 (from 14) and the number of Top 10 players to merely 5.

The small decrease in size does in no way signify a decrease in the relevance of Tata Steel Chess.  Ten players rated over 2700 will battle over the next fortnight (through January 26).  These Grandmasters will author many thrilling games for audiences around the world to enjoy.

Indeed, these games yield worthwhile study material for any serious chess master (or wannabe master).  Any young or aspiring player rated over 1800 should take the time each day to review the latest games (up to 13 per round, counting the Challengers section).  Check out your favorite players or openings.  Try to learn from the middlegame maneuvers and endgame technique.  Ask yourself if you could play like the Grandmasters.  At the Internet Chess Club, go to the Events list under the Window menu or in the Activities console to find the games and daily videos.  Or visit the official website, which features instant analysis by the Houdini 2 engine.     

Hikaru Nakamura

Tata Masters (A section)

• Titles: 12 Grandmasters, including 5 of the Top 10
• Average Rating = 2743 FIDE
• Favorites: Aronian, Nakamura, Caruana and Karjakin
• Americans: Nakamura, Caruana (Italy-USA) and Wesley So (Philippines-USA)
• Comment: Despite the conspicuous absence of World Champion Carlsen plus ex-Champs Kramnik and Anand, the competitive field still features #2 ranked Aronian and #3 Nakamura. 

Tata Challengers (B section)

• Titles: 10 Grandmasters plus 4 International Masters (norms are possible)
• Average Rating = 2579 FIDE
• Favorites: Wojtaszek, Jobava, Yangyi Yu and Saric
• American: Kayden Troff (Utah)
• Comment: There is no clear favorite as several young (and underrated) wolves try to make their name.  Indeed, 2 of top 3 seeds lost in the very first round!

Exciting Finish at US Junior Invitational

Bay Area U12 World Champions IM-elect Sevian versus IM Naroditsky.

 Final Standings

• 6.5 Daniel Naroditsky
• 6.0 Sam Sevian and Luke Harmon-Vellotti
• 5.5 Victor Shen 
• 4.5 Kayden Troff and Yian Liou
• 4.0 Robert Perez and Jeffery Xiong
• 3.5 Atulya Shetty
• 0.5 Sarah Chiang

(All photos have been borrowed from CCSCSL.)

---

The surprise of the tournament: FM Harmon-Vellotti.

Round 9:  The 2013 US Junior closed on a high note for the three talents from the San Francisco Bay Area.  The top seed and favorite Daniel eliminated all suspense by calmly obtaining a pleasant position as black in the KID.  On move 32, his opponent Robert blundered his queen--for the third time in the tournament.  Congratulations Danya!  Luke could have shared first with a win, but his monarch was stranded in the center in a French.  Just as it appeared Jeffery might even score an upset, the Idahoan forced a perpetual.  The precocious IM-elect Sam left nothing to chance versus tail-ender Sarah, picking up a swift point with the Nimzo-Indian.  Sam shared 2nd place with Luke, an impressive performance for a 12 year old!  The match-up of the second and third seeds Victor and Kayden went in favor of white in a positional Gruenfeld.  And on the last board, California kid Yian beat Atulya in a game that meant little more than pride and rating points.    

---

FM Yian Liou

Round 8:  The pressure mounts as the tournament nears its end.  The most important game involved two California boys, white sitting in first place and black struggling to get back to 50%.  Daniel obtained a pleasant position in the "Spanish Torture," but Yian held on with creative and resourceful defense.  The inevitable draw allowed Luke to once again move into a tie for first.  He calmly pushed Robert off the board in the Najdorf, advancing passed pawns on both rook files.  Victor essayed the Berlin defense against Sam, and they split the point after move 40.  The Texas youngster Xiong tested Kayden in the Benko gambit, earning an easy 30 move draw.  On the last board, Shetty sacrificed a piece for three pawns in the Queen's Gambit exchange variation and slowly asserted the power of his connected passers.

US Junior Middle Rounds

IM-elect Sam Sevian

IM Daniel Naroditsky

FM Yian Liou

Current Standings

• 5.0 Daniel Naroditsky
• 4.5 Luke Harmon-Vellotti, Sam Sevian
• 4.0 Victor Shen, Kayden Troff, Robert Perez
• 3.0 Yian Liou, Jeffery Xiong
• 2.5 Atulya Shetty
• 0.5 Sarah Chiang

(All photos have been borrowed from CCSCSL.)

---

Round 7:  Friday turned out to be a California day!  Yian, who struggled all week, crushed the leader Luke in 27 moves, snaring the black queen in a gambit line of the French Tarrasch.  Top rated Daniel took care of business against bottom rated Sarah, thereby occupying the lead with only two rounds left.  Can he overcome the curse on first place?  The wizard Luke remains in second place just 0.5 behind, joined by 12 year old whiz kid Sam.  In a battle of World Youth gold medalists, Sam sacrificed both knights on consecutive moves to rip open Kayden's defenses in a topical Najdorf.  Victor outplayed Atulya from the white side of a semi-Slav while Robert and Jeffery played a peaceful middlegame from the Chigorin variation.  Any of six players could win or tie for first place depending on how the chips fall in the final two rounds.  Stay tuned!

Round 6:  After a day of relaxation and basketball, Luke the Magician struck to seize the lead again.  He overcame a dangerous passed pawn and three pawns down to play a decisive combination.  While objectively losing, the wizard from Utah cherishes complicated positions and never gives up.  The other joint leaders after round 5 were unable to keep pace.  Daniel seemed content to force a draw after some adventures against the Taimanov essayed by fellow IM Victor.  Robert lost his queen and eventually the game out of a Benoni-like opening, allowing his young opponent Kayden to move into a share of second with Daniel.  Sam won the exchange versus Atulya's English opening, and played energetically to bring home the point.  The last board saw a short but tense Ruy Lopez draw between Jeffery and Yian.

---

Round 5:  For the first time in three days, the leader(s) did not lose.  Daniel defended the black side of the Ruy Lopez against fellow Northern California native Sam.  Although white won a pawn, black's activity and bishop pair provided compensation. The draw allowed two competitors to catch up to the lead, although both can thank their lucky stars.  Luke got outplayed in a Queen's Indian, but kept fighting for counterplay until Victor blundered.  Robert lost a pawn in the middlegame, but managed to activate his king when Yian went astray.  Jeffery converted two connected passers into a win against fellow Texas native Sarah.  In the last game, Kayden had an advantage as black in the English, but Atulya found enough weaknesses to save half a point.

---

Round 4:  The musical chairs continue in the US Junior Closed.  Yesterday's hero Luke fell victim to 12 year old Sam's superior piece activity against the Worrall Attack, facing checkmate after just 30 moves.  A few feet away, Daniel took care of business with white in a French Tarrasch, first picking off the IQP and then winning the exchange.  At 3.0 out of 4, the top rated International Master now occupies the pole position.  Three would join Luke in second place with 2.5 points.  Kayden nursed an advantage against Yian, and eventually cashed in the rook endgame.  Sarah showed her attacking skills by nearly upsetting Robert from the black side of a Nimzo, but the tables turned and the MIT student escaped with a full point.  Jeffery and Victor danced for nearly 80 moves in a queen endgame with 7 pawns each before shaking hands peacefully.

---

Commentary by GMs Ben Finegold and Yasser Seirawan.

The biggest chess news today did not involve the US Junior.  The Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis announced a four player super Grandmaster event this September.  The participants will be World #1 Magnus Carlsen and World #2 Levon Aronian against USA #1 Hikaru Nakamura and USA #2 Gata Kamsky.  All four are currently ranked in the Top 10 overall.  W-O-W!!!

Important links for the 2013 US Junior:

• Pairings and Results
• Live Games with GM Commentary (GM Seirawan + GM Finegold)
• Live Relay on ICC (below the Tal Memorial on events list)
• Replay or Download Games (Java viewer)
• Daily Reports
• Photo Gallery

US Junior Early Rounds

Daniel wears light blue shirt in foreground. Sam plays white vs Yian in the back.
Photo credit: Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis.

Current Standings

• 2.5 Luke Harmon-Vellotti
• 2.0 Daniel Naroditsky, Victor Shen, Atulya Shetty
• 1.5 Kayden Troff, Robert Perez, Yian Liou
• 1.0 Sam Sevian
• 0.5 Jeffery Xiong, Sarah Chiang

---

Round 3: The co-leaders Victor and Atulya both won with black yesterday and, predictably, they promptly lost with white today.  Victor and Robert played a back-and-forth Najdorf, where two knights proved more important than a second queen.  Speaking of the black cavalry, Atulya seemed fine in the English until one of Luke's knights landed on e3.  The sudden change in fortunes allows Luke to climb to the top of the leaderboard.  The three California boys found themselves uncomfortably close to losing, but all managed to split the point.  The highly anticipated pairing of favorites Daniel and Kayden saw black dominate the center, but the veteran Daniel escaped into a double rook endgame.  The two 12 year old IM-elects Sam and Jeffery battled in a French, and Sam should count his lucky stars as his king escaped certain demise.  Finally, bottom-rated Sarah got on the board by drawing against Yian.

---

Round 2: After four white wins in round 1, black achieved a plus score today.  The early leaders at 2-0 both triumphed with the black pieces.  Atulya won when Jeffery failed to find the critical moves after sacrificing a queen in a French.  And Victor took full advantage of an inopportune moment of blindness by Yian.  The other two first round winners, Luke and Danya, drew after white got exactly nowhere against the Nimzo.  Robert and Sam blitzed out 25 moves of theory in the Botvinnik, then drew by repetition just a half dozen moves later.  Kayden found himself in a scintillating battle worthy of a James Bond film, and the 007 predictably escaped with a subtle combination to force a pawn promotion.

---

Round 1: The tournament kicked off with a bang.  All five games ended decisively, and two California boys won.  The most exciting game of the day was the Najdorf battle between Luke and Kayden that saw white milk an endgame win out of a small middlegame advantage.  Yours truly closely watched the pairing of Bay Area talents Sam and Yian, which ended in favor of black after a positional struggle in the Accelerated Dragon.  Top seed Daniel punished Jeffery's unusual treatment of the Bogo Indian while Victor showed no mercy to bottom rated Sarah, the US Junior Open qualifier.  Robert gifted a free point to National High School champion Atulya by blundering his queen out of the blue.  Friday saw four white wins and one black win on a day of youthful fighting chess.

---

The San Francisco Bay Area has become one of the premiere locations in America for talented young chess players.  Indeed, 6 of the 10 participants in the US Junior have sharpened their skills in regional tournaments.  In addition to the three local residents (Daniel Naroditsky, Yian Liou and Sam Sevian), the two Mountain Time Zone stars (Kayden Troff and Luke Harmon-Vellotti) and one from Texas (Jeffery Xiong) traveled here to play.  Indeed, Jeffery earned an IM norm at the Golden State Open five months ago.

Important links for the 2013 US Junior Closed:

• Overview and Schedule
• Pairings and Results
• Live Games with GM Commentary (GM Seirawan + GM Finegold)
• Live Relay on ICC (below the Tal Memorial on events list)
• Replay or Download Games (Java viewer)
• Daily Reports
• Photo Gallery

Kayden Troff is the 007

If you are a fan of James Bond or the royal game, this 8-minute video is a must-watch! 

IM Kayden Troff, the World U14 gold medalist who turned 15 three days ago, stars as Britain's top spy in the production by the intrepid youth music group TLC Trio.  The live chess game reenacts Garry Kasparov's Immortal Game, played against Veselin Topalov at the Wijk aan Zee tournament in 1999.  Most of my private students will find this double rook sacrifice familiar.

Rated PG-13 for mild violence and blood.

World Youth Medal Ceremony

This 12-minute long video shows the start of the final round and then highlights from the medal ceremony.  Great stuff!  Watch the 13th World Champion steal the show.

• 3:32 - Remarks by Garry Kasparov.
• 5:43 - Christopher Shen got bronze in U8.
• 8:09 - Sam Sevian won gold and Cameron Wheeler earned silver in U12.
• 9:33 - Kayden Troff won gold in U12.

Congratulations once again to the champs.  Here they smile together for the candid camera.

From l to r: Cameron, Sam and Kayden. The future of USA chess?

Hail to the Champions!

Sam Sevian, gold in U12

Kayden Troff, gold in U14

Team USA earned four World Youth Chess Championship medals!  

The 13th World Champion Garry Kasparov conferred the honors.
Photos from Facebook.  

Hail to the Champions!

And thanks to the organizers and sponsors in Slovenia. 

Christopher Shen, bronze in U8

Cameron Wheeler, silver in U12

Climax of World Youth (Updated)

Cam vs Sam in Rd 10. Sam won to retake lead. (Photo: Rob Wheeler)

Good luck to Team USA in the last round at 2012 World Youth!  Watch the top boards Live on Sunday early morning starting at 1:00am PST.  FM Kayden Troff (needs a win in U14) and SM Sam Sevian (needs only a draw in U12) go for the gold!!   NM Cameron Wheeler in U12, WFM Annie Wang in G10 and Christopher Shen in U8 can bring home a medal!

 Sunday AM Update: FINAL RESULTS

• FM Kayden Troff -- GOLD MEDAL in U14
• FM Sam Sevian -- GOLD MEDAL in U12 (4-way tie for 1st)
• FM Cameron Wheeler -- SILVER MEDAL in U12 (4-way tie for 1st)
• Christopher Shen -- BRONZE MEDAL in U8

Several people have asked me if this is the strongest U12 section ever?  Without a doubt, this year's group is the strongest USA delegation in U12.  Back in his days competing in U10 and U12, local prodigy Daniel Naroditsky faced Illya Nyzhnyk of Ukraine (now a 2600+ GM), Ivan Bukavshin of Russia (also a GM), Srinath Narayanan of India (IM) and American Ray Robson (another 2600 GM).  It certainly seems possible that there are several future GMs and IMs lurking in U12; indeed, Sam Sevian already has two IM norms.

USA room with GM Benjamin (middle) + GM Finegold (back).

Northern California Scores
Sunday AM Update: FINAL RESULTS

• U12 - FM Sam Sevian 9.0 -- GOLD MEDAL and FM title (4-way tie for 1st)
• U12 - FM Cameron Wheeler 9.0 -- SILVER MEDAL and FM title (4-way tie for 1st)
• U12 - Vignesh Panchanatham 8.0 -- 11th place (tied for 6th)
• U12 - Siddharth Banik 7.0
• U12 - Kevin Moy 4.5 
• G12 - Ashritha Eswaran 7.0 -- 14th place (tied for 12th)
• U10 - Rayan Taghizadeh 7.0
• G10 - Joanna Liu 7.0 -- 15th place (tied for 15th)
  
• U8 - Ben Rood 8.0 -- 9th place (tied for 4th)
• U8 - Balaji Daggupati 6.5
• U8 - Kelvin Jiang 5.5
• U8 - Milind Maiti 5.0
• G8 - Zhiyi Wang 5.5

Team USA After 7 Rounds

A melting pot of civilization outside the Dras Center in Maribor, Slovenia.

After a day of rest and sightseeing on Tuesday, the American youngsters at the 2012 World Youth returned to the task at hand: winning chess games against highly ranked opponents from around the globe.  Round 7 proved very difficult and for the first time, Team USA scored under 50% as a whole.  On the bright side, the average score of 89 players remains a solid 4.2 out of 7, or almost 60%.  The number with 5.0 or more (23) exceeds those under 50% (14).  With four rounds left, 15 contenders rank in the top 12 for their age and gender, including 4 from Northern California.  Go U-S-A!!

Alas, all is quiet indoor.  Shhh, chess games in progress!

All eyes remain fixed on the U12 section, where four Americans will play on the top 3 boards on Thursday at 6:00am PST.  Highest rated SM Sam Sevian (NCal) assumed the lead at 6.5 with a crushing Sozin Sicilian win against his teammate and second seed, FM Jeffery Xiong (Texas), who now has 5.5.  Also in the mix at 6.0 are underrated Bryce Tiglon (Washington) and NM Cameron Wheeler (NCal).  Four more Americans have 5.0 and could still end up in the top 10 with a strong finish.

The U12 section is not the only one with Americans prowling among the leaders.    Four girls in G10 stand in the top 11, led by Jennifer Yu (Virginia) with 5.5.  Aasa Dommalapati (also from Virginia) is second in G8 with an undefeated 6.0.  For the boys, Aravind Kumar (New Jersey) and Christopher Shen (Ohio) have 5.5 each in U10 and U8, respectively.  Best among the teenagers, Kayden Troff (Utah) and Agata Bykovtsev (SCal) have 5.5 each in U14 and G14, respectively. 

Team USA Leaders After Round 7
Full Results

• U8 - 5.5 Christopher Shen; 5.0 Tan Nguyen and Balaji Daggupati
• G8 - 5.5 Aasa Dommalapati
• U10 - 5.5 Aravind Kumar; 5.0 Trung Nguyen and Praveen Balakrishnan
• G10 - 5.5 Jennifer Yu; 5.0 Joanna Liu, Emily Nguyen and Annie Wang
• U12 - 6.5 Samuel Sevian; 6.0 Bryce Tiglon and Cameron Wheeler; 5.5 Jeffery Xiong; 5.0 Vignesh Panchanatham, John Ludwig, Roland Feng and Jonathan Chiang
• G12 - 5.0 Ashritha Eswaran
• U14 - 5.5 Kayden Troff; 5.0 Christopher Gu
• G14 - 5.5 Agata Bykovtsev
• U16 - 4.0 Sean Vibbert and Michael Brown
• G16 - 4.5 Sarah Chiang
• U18 - 4.5 William Fisher
• G18 - 3.5 Anna Matlin

Shankland Takes First at NorCal International

Fifth seed GM Sam Shankland won the 2012 Northern California International with an undefeated score of 7.0 out of 9. Rounds 6 and 7 turned out to be critical, when Sam defeated the early leader, IM Greg Shahade, and the top seed, GM Georg Meier of Germany, both in under 30 moves! A trio of Americans shared second place at 6.5: GM Alejandro Ramirez, GM Josh Friedel and IM Marc Arnold.

The tournament attracted 60 competitors to Fremont on January 2-8, including 8 Grandmasters and 16 International Masters. Players arrived from around the World, representing Georgia, Mongolia, Peru, Zimbabwe, and 9 other countries. The many flags hanging from the ceiling at the playing hall underscored the international flair.
One goal of any such event is to offer GM or IM norms to players who perform above 2600 or 2450, respectively. Three norms are required to earn a title. Kudos to Azeri master Faik Aleskerov for earning an IM norm with 5.0/9! IM Arnold and IM Shahade were among the leaders, but missed GM norms in the final round. C'est la vie! Unfortunately, the number of foreign participants (18) was less than expected (at least 20) due to multiple last minute dropouts, decreasing the norm opportunities. WGM Tatev Abrahamyan and 13-year old FM Kayden Troff both played very well to finish at 5.5/9, but alas, neither faced the requisite number of foreign opponents. Tragic!

• Final Standings
• Chess Life Online Article (by FM Kostya Kavutskiy)
  
• Games in Java Viewer OR Download PGN
• Brillancy Prize (judged by GM Vinay Bhat)
• Photos
  

Many thanks to organizers Arun Sharma and Ted Castro for hosting the tournament. By all accounts, people enjoyed a week of chess and mild weather in the Bay Area. For local participants, this was a chance to play against strong masters without traveling far. And the nine players under the age of 16 received an invaluable face-to-face learning opportunity. Given the high level of enthusiasm, hopefully the Bay Area will host many future Internationals!

(Photos courtesy of Inga Gurevich and Ted Castro.)

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.

Team USA Captures One Gold and Two Silvers

Congratulations to the three medal winners for Team USA at the 2010 World Youth!

• IM Steven Zierk of Los Gatos, CA (at left of top photo) won GOLD in Under 18
• NM Kayden Troff of Utah (middle of bottom left photo) won SILVER in Under 12
• Jeffrey Xiong of Texas (middle of bottom right photo) won SILVER in Under 10

Finally, make sure watch the last 4-minute long highlight video produced by Chessdom. I saw all three medalists plus the last round game between Samuel and Vignesh.

Round 8 Interviews with Zierk and Troff

Check out twin interviews with FM Steven Zierk and NM Kayden Troff starting at 4:13 in the round 8 video below. Rock on Steven and Kayden! And thanks once again to the Bulgarian chess news website Chessdom.

Kayden Troff and Steven Zierk Rock at World Youth

(The World Youth website includes literally hundreds of photos taken by Chessdom.)

NM Kayden Troff of Utah rocks the entire world in Halkidiki, Greece! He has scored an amazing 7.5 out of 8 and leads the U12 section by a full point with three rounds left. Kayden's pairings have certainly been difficult enough; counting tomorrow's round, he has played five of the top eleven seeds, for a performance rating of 2525 FIDE. Make sure to check out his interesting chess blog.













Bay Area FM Steven Zierk has an undefeated 6.5/8 in the U18 section, good enough for clear 2nd place. He already drew with the leader and his performance of 2649 easily exceeds the GM norm threshold. Unfortunately, Steven has faced only two of the required three Grandmasters; the other GMs all struggled to score even 5.0. What a big shame!

Bay Area Standings at World Youth (after 8 of 11 rounds)

• U18: FM Steven Zierk 6.5 -- 2nd place
  
• U12: Kesav Viswanadha 4.0
• U12: Allan Beilin 3.5
• U10: Cameron Wheeler 6.0 -- 6th place
• U10: Samuel Sevian 5.5 -- 13th place
  
• U10: Vignesh Panchanatham 5.5 -- 19th place
  
• U8: Rayan Taghizadeh 5.0
  
• Girls-U8: Joanna Liu 5.0 -- 18th place

Three Foot Tall Chocolate Chess Set

The family of Utah chess prodigy Kayden Troff hires a chocolate shop to make a giant chessboard with 3-foot pieces. The store owners use more than 1,100 pounds of chocolate while attempting their biggest project ever. After days of hard work, they deliver the board with 32 solid chocolate pieces at a chess camp run by 11 year old master Kayden, his family and their friends.

Little Chocolatiers is an American reality television series on TLC that airs Tuesday evenings. The show is based on Steve Hatch and his wife Katie Masterson's chocolate shop in Salt Lake City and how they make their chocolate.

• Part I on YouTube
• Part II on YouTube (or click on the video player at top)