Top Juniors in the World Born Since 2000

An interesting chess fact for today.  

The top four rated juniors in the World born since January 1, 2000 all represent the USA.  Grandmasters Jeffery Xiong and Sam Sevian, both now rated over 2600 FIDE, clearly comprise the class of the millennium to date.  How far can they go? 

Also surprising is that three of the next five represent Iran.  Watch out for the untitled Alireza Firouzja, who earned his second IM norm by winning his national championship in January.  He is just 13, two years younger than anyone else on this list.

Finally, note that only one Russian junior managed to squeeze into this Top 10, and nobody from traditional youth powers India and China. 

Data obtained from the 2700chess website and based on the May 2016 FIDE rating list.

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. 

Follow the World Cup in Baku

The 2015 Chess World Cup begins on September 11 in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan and the birthplace of the 13th World Champion Garry Kasparov.  A total of 128 participants have been paired much like college basketball's March Madness, with the top seeds facing the lowest rated in the first round.  Each round consists of two classical games (40/90, G/30, inc/30) followed by a third day of rapid and blitz tiebreaks (if necessary).

At the end of 7 rounds over 26 grueling days, the champion earns $96,000 and, perhaps more significantly, the top two qualify for the 2016 Candidates Tournament to determine the official challenger to Magnus Carlsen, the reigning World Champion.  Can former World Champion Vladimir Kramnik win two World Cups in a row, or will one of the young superstars finish on top?

• Official Website
• Watch Live Games (start at 3:00am Pacific)
  
• World Cup Odds (match by match)

View from hotel in Baku. Credit: Caruana

Top 16 Seeds (with Live ratings)

• #1 Veselin Topalov (BUL) 2813
• #2 Hikaru Nakamura (USA) 2816
• #3 Fabiano Caruana (USA) 2796
• #4 Anish Giri (NED) 2798
• #5 Wesley So (USA) 2760
• #6 Vladimir Kramnik (RUS) 2777
• #7 Alexander Grischuk (RUS) 2774
• #8 Ding Liren (CHN) 2782
• #9 Levon Aronian (ARM) 2784 eliminated in round 2
• #10 Dmitry Jakovenko (RUS) 2748
• #11 Sergey Karjakin (RUS) 2762
• #12 Evgeny Tomashevsky (RUS) 2758
• #13 Boris Gelfand (ISR) 2741 eliminated in round 1
• #14 Pentala Harikrishna (IND) 2737 eliminated in round 2
• #15 Michael Adams (ENG) 2742
• #16 Peter Svidler (RUS) 2727

On one hand, three of the Top 5 seeds represent the USA.  On the other hand, there are six Russians among the Top 16 participants.  N.B.: The seeds reflect the August rating list, not the more current September list.

Nine Americans 

• #2 Hikaru Nakamura 2816 advanced to round 3
• #3 Fabiano Caruana 2796 advanced to round 3
• #5 Wesley So 2760 advanced to round 3
• #41 Ray Robson 2680 eliminated in round 1
• #47 Gata Kamsky 2680 eliminated in round 1
• #54 Alexander Onischuk 2662 eliminated in round 2 by #11 Karjakin (RUS)
• #63 Sam Shankland 2656 eliminated in round 2 by #2 Nakamura (USA)
• #79 Varuzhan Akobian 2635 eliminated in round 1
• #112 Sam Sevian 2556 eliminated in round 1 by #17 Radjabov (AZE)

The format of the World Cup favors many upsets, starting as early as the first round!  Even one miscalculation could mean a premature flight home.  Four years ago, local star Sam Shankland scored the upset of his life by eliminating the Hungarian super-GM Peter Leko!  The following young players are poised to defeat higher seeded opponents in Baku.

Fpawn Upset Watch List

• #22 Yu Yangyi (CHN) 2721 (age 21) advanced to round 3
• #24 Wei Yi (CHN) 2734 (age 16) advanced to round 3
• #45 Vladislav Artemiev (RUS) 2675 (age 17) eliminated in round 2
• #46 Hou Yifan (CHN) 2671 (age 21) eliminated in round 2
• #64 Ivan Bukavshin (RUS) 2657 (age 20) eliminated in round 1
• #78 S.P. Sethuraman (IND) 2640 (age 22) advanced to round 3
• #80 David Anton Guijarro (ESP) 2628 (age 20) eliminated in round 1
• #90 Alexander Ipatov (TUR) 2625 (age 22) eliminated in round 2
• #97 Lu Shanglei (CHN) 2599 (age 20) advanced to round 3

Sam Sevian Plays in Armenia

Sevian begins his game against Petrosyan. (Photo: Armen Sevian)

What has former Bay Area resident GM Sam Sevian been up to lately?  Readers of my blog may have noticed that he declined to participate in the US Junior Closed.  Apparently, America's youngest Grandmaster ever has bigger fish to fry these days.

Instead of Saint Louis, Sam chose to play in a category XV (average of 2618) invitational at Lake Sevan in Armenia.  The 10 players include 5 of the top 20 juniors in the world: Vladislav Artemiev (2660, RUS), Jan Krzysztof Duda (2632, POL), David Anton Guijarro (2632, ESP), Hovhannes Gabuzyan (2611, ARM) and Sam Sevian (2578, USA).  The older half of the field hopes experience will overcome youthful enthusiasm.  Incidentally, one name jumps out: Tigran Petrosyan may be strong at 2630, but he is not the 9th World Champion by the same name!

Lake Sevan International

• Pairings and Results
• Live Games

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.

Popular Chess Video Passes Milestone

This hilarious chess video comes from the US Chess School in December 2010.  The precocious lad was, at that time, the youngest chess master in the country at 10 years old.  He destroys overconfident teacher IM Greg Shahade in both the blitz game and the kibitzing, all the while sipping 7-Up.  The video resurfaced in the summer of 2013 on the Top 50 rankings at Reddit.com.  Today, four years after upload, it surpassed one million views on YouTube!

Whether you have seen it before or not, this video is definitely worth another look.    

Starting tomorrow, Sam Sevian, now a full-fledged Grandmaster, participates in the prestigious Tata Steel Tournament at Wijk aan Zee (Netherlands).  Many can remember him from Bay Area events as an 8 or 9 year old, already a dangerous opponent.  He certainly has come a long way, and his future appears very bright!

Happy New Year 2015!!

Bright winter day in the Austrian Alps.

Wishing Everyone Many Brilliant Moves for 2015!

The first Bay Area chess event of 2015 is in the books.  The New Year Championship drew 180 players to the San Francisco Airport Hyatt for $13,000 in prizes.  Elite Chinese Grandmaster Xiangzhi Bu dominated the strong Open section, finishing a full point ahead of the other two GMs.  Yours truly finished with a respectable but unsatisfying performance.  Click here for USCF rated results.

The largest local adult tournament of the year is just 10 days away!  The Golden State Open, which attracted almost 300 participants a year ago, guarantees a $25,000 prize fund.  Note that this event moved 25 miles south from Concord to the Dublin-Pleasanton Holiday Inn, near BART.  Register soon and view the advance entries at ChessAction.com.      

If you enjoy following top level international chess festivals, then you're in luck!  The Tata Steel Tournament at Wijk aan Zee (Netherlands) begins this weekend.  The Masters section features World Champion Magnus Carlsen of Norway plus four more of the Top 10: Italian-American Fabiano Caruana, defending champion Levon Aronian of Armenia, Dutch-Russian Anish Giri, and the young American immigrant (from the Philippines) Wesley So.  The Challengers include the Czech David Navara, the young Chinese star Wei Yi, and a pair of American Grandmasters with strong ties to the Bay Area: Orinda native Sam Shankland and the now 14-year old prodigy Sam Sevian.  Each section is a 14-player round-robin, meaning 13 rounds, beginning on Saturday at 4:30am PST.  Make sure to check out the live internet coverage when you wake up (especially Twitter and Instagram).

Happy New Year to All!

Sam Sevian Chases GM Title

Sevian at Bay Area International in January.

Now a fully fledged International Master, 13 year old Sam Sevian aspires to the highest title in chess: Grandmaster.  If he completes the requirements before December 2015, he would break the record for the youngest American GM, currently held by Ray Robson at 14 years and 351 days old.  After earning his first GM norm for a 2nd place result at Foxwoods Open in January, Sam appears well on track to shatter the record.

The following article about Sam's quest appeared in the Boston Globe on March 30.

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In many ways, Sam Sevian resembles a typical American teenager. Just a touch stocky, with a mop of brown hair, a round face, and wire-framed glasses, he’s slightly awkward, especially around adults he doesn’t know that well. He likes to watch sports, specifically the NHL and the NBA — he roots for the Bruins and the Golden State Warriors. And he does his best to avoid household chores, having recently managed to wriggle his way out of one particular task. ("He was supposed to do vacuuming," says Armine Sevian, Sam’s mother. "It was very ... not good," she says with a laugh.)

Sam Sevian receives the U12 gold medal from
Kasparov at the 2012 World Youth in Slovenia.

What makes Sam Sevian different from his peers is that he can play chess better than any other 13-year-old in American history. Last November, a month before his birthday, the Southbridge resident earned the title of International Master. He’s the youngest American player ever to attain that second-highest ranking in chess, besting the mark set in 2008 by Ray Robson, then 13. Bobby Fischer, the gold standard of American chess, didn’t reach the International Master level until he was nearly 15. ...

"We’ve been watching him for two and a half years," Garry Kasparov writes of Sam via e-mail. "He’s a very hard-worker and has all the talent needed to become a top player as he matures and gets his emotions under control."

Read the full article at this link.

NorCal Kids Take on the World!

American stars from 2012: Cameron Wheeler (Silver U12), Sam Sevian
(Gold U12) and Kayden Troff (Gold U14 from Utah)

The Bay Area once again fields a significant percentage of Team USA at the World Youth in United Arab Emirates.  Out of 94 Americans, I counted 19 children from Northern California (20%) with 13 boys and 6 girls.  Quite a few local participants bring experience, having weathered previous editions of these annual Championships.  All of the American youngsters dream of following in the footsteps of five Bay Area champions over the past six years.

U12 Champ Naroditsky
Photo: Dujiu Yang

• Daniel Naroditsky, GOLD for U12 in 2007
• Sam Shankland, Bronze for U18 in 2008 (tied for first)
• Steven Zierk, GOLD for U18 in 2010
• Sam Sevian, GOLD for U12 in 2012
• Cameron Wheeler, Silver for U12 in 2012 (tied for first)

Unfortunately, the initial reports from UAE describe an organization unprepared for 1800+ players and 4000+ delegates, including parents, siblings, team coaches and officials.  For everyone's sanity, we can only hope the conditions improve quickly.  On a positive note, the Pairings & Results have been finally been posted online (presumably without additional errors).

The following list includes the entire Northern California contingent.  Ratings are first USCF, then FIDE (for most kids, USCF is significantly higher than FIDE).  If I overlooked someone, please post a comment or email me..

• U-18 GM Daniel Naroditsky 2614, 2531 2-0!
• G-16 Taylor McCreary 1886, unrated
• U-14 NM Kesav Viswanadha 2300, 2142
• U-14 NM Vignesh Panchanatham 2272, 2097 2-0!
• U-14 NM Colin Chow 2266, 2138



Playing hall (Photo: Sarah McCarty

• U-14 NM Siddharth Banik 2196, 1974
• G-14 Ashritha Eswaran 2183, 1948
• G-12 Joanna Liu 1833, 1777 2-0!
• U-10 Josiah Stearman 2090, unrated 2-0!
• G-10 Chenyi Zhao 1738, unrated
• U-8 Balaji Daggupati 1871, 1737 2-0!
• U-8 Milind Maiti 1815, 1458
• U-8 Rishith Susarla 1762, unrated 2-0!
• U-8 Maurya Palusa  1705, unrated
• U-8 Advait Budaraju 1703, unrated
• U-8 Callaghan McCarty-Snead 1702, 1587
• U-8 Chinguun Bayaraa 1555, 1609
• G-8 Annapoorni Meiyappan 1336, unrated
• G-8 Aksithi Eswaran 1130, unrated

After 2 rounds, the Bay Area contingent has 6 perfect scores and an overall 67% against tough competition..  Keep up the good work!  Good luck!!

Local Stars on USCF Top 100 U21

Garry Kasparov presents first place trophy to Ashritha Eswaran!
Photo from GM Dejan Bojkov's blog

The vibrant San Francisco Bay Area chess community continues to cultivate the talents of its youth, as witnessed by reviewing the USCF Top 100 lists (which now come out monthly).  Take the Under 21 list for example: 9 boys and 6 girls ranked among the country's best juniors.

Top 100 U21 - July 2013

• #5 GM-elect Daniel Naroditsky (age 17) rated 2558 USCF
• #12 FM Yian Liou (16) 2469
• #13 SM Greg Young (18) 2467
• #15 IM-elect Sam Sevian (12) 2464
• #52 NM Hayk Manvelyan (19) 2311
• #55 FM Cameron Wheeler (12) 2306
• #84 NM Vignesh Panchanatham (13) 2254
• #85 NM Kesav Viswanadha (13) 2253
• #86 NM Colin Chow (13) 2252

The top local stars have been hard at work this summer.  High school senior Daniel Naroditsky earned his final Grandmaster norm last week at the Villa de Benasque Open in Spain.  Congratulations to the GM-elect!  After narrowly missing two consecutive chances for his final IM norm in Washington DC, high school junior Yian Liou will represent the USA next week at the World Youth (U16) Olympiad in Chongqing (China).  Readers may still remember that Daniel, Yian and 12-year old IM-elect Sam Sevian all participated in the US Junior Closed last month in Saint Louis, where Danya finished clear first and the precocious Sam shared second. 

At the lower end of the U21 list, the next generation of Bay Area stars has begun making their mark.  Not yet a teenager, FM Cameron Wheeler already won the CalChess High School Championship to go along with his silver medal from World Youth U-12 last year.  But Cameron faces stiff competition from a trio of National Masters just one year older.  Indeed, Colin Chow of Sacramento shared 2nd at World Open U2400 and will be officially rated over 2300 next month.

Top 100 Girls U21 - July 2013

• #8 Ashritha Eswaran (age 12) rated 2121 USCF
• #37 Taylor Mccreary (16) 1937
• #54 Alekhya Nandula (17) 1845
• #67 Joanna Liu (11) 1790
• #75 Audrey Zhao (15) 1764
• #89 Samyukta Bhat (18) 1721

Not to be outdone by the boys, the top two local girls have made strides over the past six months.  Ashritha Eswaran won All Girls Nationals U14 and gained an incredible 187 points between the January and July rating lists!  She hasn't slowed down yet, and is unofficially rated 2163 after World Open U2200, narrowly outside the Top 20 Women in the country (including adults).  Although rated lower, 16-year old Taylor Mccreary has made waves too, going undefeated against stiff opposition at the aforementioned CalChess High School Championship.

Reddit: 10 y/o Beats IM While Drinking 7 Up

Some readers may remember this hilarious video from the US Chess School in December 2010.  Never one to be shy, Sam Sevian, then the youngest chess master in America at just 10 years old, challenged IM Greg Shahade to a friendly blitz game.  Nobody would have predicted that, almost three years later, this video surfaces on the Top 50 rankings at reddit.com.  Do I see a potential sponsorship?

Be yourself. Be refreshing. Be 7 Up.

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.)

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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.    

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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.)

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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

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!

2013 US Championship Begins

The most prestigious annual event in America kicks off on Friday.  The US Championship brings 24 of the best chess players in the country to the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis for a 9-round swiss.  The winner earns $30,000 and five players punch their ticket to the FIDE World Cup in August.  Does that sound exciting?  You betcha!  Make sure to watch live video coverage starting at 11am PDT daily through May 12th (except the rest day on Wednesday).

• Click Here for Pairings and Standings
• Live Coverage from St. Louis
• Broadcast on Internet Chess Club

Gata Kamsky

The heavy favorites are the top three seeds: Grandmasters Gata Kamsky, Timur Gareev and Alexander Onischuk.  Each spent a different way preparing for this important event.  Kamsky (age 38) participated in the elite FIDE Grand Prix in Switzerland until Tuesday.  He somehow beat Sergey Karjakin (2786) from the black side of a sharp a6 Slav in the penultimate round to finish at 50%. On the other hand, the energetic Timur Gareev (age 25) took on a superhuman challenge: taking on St. Louis club members in a 33 board BLINDFOLD simul!! 

Timur Gareev

Over 10 hours, he beat 29 opponents, drew with 4 and lost none, all the while seated and wearing a heavy black blindfold!!  By comparison, the third seed Onischuk (age 37) took it easy, studying in his office at Texas Tech University and giving this interview. Regretfully, the country's higher rated player and defending champion GM Hikaru Nakamura chose to skip this year's event to challenge Magnus Carlsen, Viswanathan Anand and many other Top 10 Grandmasters at the spectacular Norway Chess event beginning on Monday.

Northern California chess fans will want to cheer for two local players.  GM Sam Shankland (age 21) grew up in Orinda and learned the moves at the Berkeley Chess School.  The other, IM-elect Sam Sevian, is the tournament's youngest (age 12) and lowest rated (2467 USCF) invitee, although he made quite a name for himself by winning the World Youth U12 last fall.  Good luck to Sam and Sam!

Participants in 2013 US Championship

Ranked by May FIDE Rating

1. GM Gata Kamsky 2741 Seeded (by USCF Rating)
2. GM Timur Gareev 2674 Seeded



Alex Onischuk

3. GM Alex Onischuk 2666 Seeded
4. GM Ray Robson 2620 Seeded
5. GM Varuzhan Akobian 2616 Seeded -- CA/S
6. GM Sam Shankland 2612 Seeded -- CA/N
7. GM Robert Hess 2595 Seeded
8. GM Gregory Kaidanov 2593 Seeded
9. GM Larry Christiansen 2579 Seeded
10. GM Yury Shulman 2570 Seeded
11. GM Alexander Stripunsky 2570 Seeded
12. GM Alejandro Ramirez 2551 Seeded
13. GM Alexander Shabalov 2544 Seeded
14. GM Marc Arnold 2538 Junior Champ
15. GM Joel Benjamin 2534 Seeded
16. GM Aleksandr Ivanov 2529 Senior Champ
17. GM Melikset Khachiyan 2518 Wildcard -- CA/S
18. GM Conrad Holt 2513 Wildcard
19. GM Ben Finegold 2505 Wildcard
20. FM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun 2463 Seeded
21. IM-e Yaacov Norowitz 2451 Seeded
22. FM John Bryant 2442 US Open Winner -- CA/S
23. IM Kayden Troff  2421 Wildcard
24. IM-e Sam Sevian 2371 Wildcard -- CA/N

Ten of the country's top female players compete in the concurrent US Women's Championship, vying for a first place prize of $18,000 in a Round-Robin format.  The two overwhelming favorites are IM Irina Krush (2470 FIDE) and IM Anna Zatonskih (2466 FIDE).  Between them, they have captured the past seven titles (4-3 edge to Zatonskih, but Krush won last year).

Chess Events Around the World

Alexander Alekhine

Mikhail Tal

One of the best ways to improve in chess is to play through master games.  I strongly encourage any student rated 1800+ to regularly review the games of recent elite Grandmaster tournaments.  Watch the world's top rated players or pick your own favorites.  Bay Area fans often follow American stars Hikaru Nakamura and Gata Kamsky or local prodigies Sam Shankland, Daniel Naroditsky and Sam Sevian.  Chinese families, for example, may cheer for Wang Hao, Ding Liren or rising star Wei Yi, who currently leads the national championship at just 13 years old.

What should you pick up from these games?  If you're an A player, you will want to learn from the positional strategies and tactical creativity of the super Grandmasters.  As you improve, you should imitate the style of your superiors.  Chess experts and masters will concentrate on their favorite openings, picking up new moves based on the latest trends.

In some sense, growth of the internet has diminished the importance of studying collections of games by the champions of yesteryear.  Nonetheless, any disciple of Caissa should read a few classics, e.g. Alekhine's Best Games of Chess (2 volumes), Life and Games of Mikhail Tal and My Sixty Memorable Games by Bobby Fischer.  The internet offers an expanding wealth of information to supplement the foundation presented in these books.  The modern chess student benefits from the resources at his fingertips, but must stay dedicated to keep up with an evolving body of theory.

My favorite website to watch tournaments is, of course, the Internet Chess Club.  You can also find quality chess reports, analysis, photos and videos elsewhere on the net, including Chessbase, Chessvibes, Chessdom, and The Week in Chess.  The MonRoi game database covers the top boards at major American tournaments.  (Hint: add these to your bookmarks.)

The international chess calendar is filled with exciting events over the next two months.

Magnus plays on "The Pulpit Rock" 2000 ft above a fjord to promote Norway tournament.

• 3rd FIDE Grand Prix in Zug, Switzerland (thru April 30) - 12 players including 11 of Top 20; favorites = Karjakin, Topalov, Nakamura; dark horse = Giri
• Alekhine Memorial in Paris (the Louvre) and St. Petersburg (thru May 1) - 10 players all 2700+; favorites = Aronion, Kramnik, Anand; dark horses = Adams, Ding Liren
• US Championships in St. Louis (May 2-13) - 24 players including 19 GMs; favorites = Kamsky, Gareev, Onischuk, Robson, Shankland; dark horses = Shabalov, Ramirez 
• Norway Chess in Stavanger (May 7-18) - 10 players including 7 of Top 10; favorite = World #1 Carlsen; dark horses = anyone except Hammer could win!
• 4th FIDE Grand Prix in Madrid (May 22 - June 4) - 12 players including at least 9 of Top 20; favorites = Caruana, Topalov, Nakamura; dark horse = TBA
• Tal Memorial in Moscow (June 12-24) - 10 players including 6 of Top 10; favorite = World #1 Carlsen; dark horses = two Russians: Kramnik and Morovezich

New Masters Panchanatham and Chow!

Vignesh Panchanatham

Colin Chow

It came to my attention that the long list of talented Northern California juniors to achieve the rank of master grew by two in the past month.  Indeed there are now nine local kids in K-12 with USCF ratings of 2200 and higher, including five who have yet to start high school!  I would like to take this opportunity to recognize four of them.

12 year old Vignesh Panchanatham achieved the milestone at the Bay Area Chess Winter Open on December 21-23.  He broke 2200 in style, by beating experienced NM Mike Splane.  I have watched his progress for several years, ever since he wove a clever mating net to checkmate me--as an 8 year old!  Vignesh scalped many more masters since then, including IMs Elliott Winslow and Odondoo Ganbold.  At the recent World Youth in Slovenia, he played well to share 6th place in a competitive U12 division.  Check out his chess blog for round-by-round insights and a great poem at the end.

13 year old Colin Chow reached 2200 by picking up the final three rating points at the Burger G/45  at Mechanics' Institute on January 12.  He already distinguished himself as one of the elite players at the Sacramento Chess Club, and now he lays claim to being the youngest master in the club's 75+ year history.  I first saw Colin's budding talent at the Larry Evans Memorial in Reno last April, where he turned heads by scoring 3.5 against 5 masters, including wins against IMs Vladimir Mezentsev and Ed Formanek.

Congratulations to Master Panchanatham and Master Chow on their achievements!

In other news, the international federation FIDE finally awarded World U12 co-champions Sam Sevian and Cameron Wheeler the automatic FM title.  Woot!  For Sam, however, this honor will be short-lived,  Just last weekend, FIDE approved his IM title on condition of breaking 2400 FIDE rating.  His current rating is 2385 (before dropping a few points at North American Open).  Hey Sam, how does IM-elect sound?

NORCAL JUNIOR MASTERS
(K-12 Only, USCF Rating)

1	IM Naroditsky, Daniel	2553
2	IM-elect Sevian, Sam	2471
3	FM Liou, Yian	2469
4	SM Young, Greg	2467
5	FM Wheeler, Cameron	2279
6	NM Viswanadha, Kesav	2257
7	NM Panchanatham, Vignesh	2206
8	NM Chow, Colin	2200
9	NM Liu, Daniel	2199