Danya 6.0/11 at Young Stars!

Our local star FM Daniel Naroditsky played the final round of the Young Stars of the World (also called Somov's Memorial) invitational today in Kirishi, Russia. Check out the list of invitees here or read my report after round 3 at Chess Life Online.

After a topsy-turvy two weeks, Danya finished at "plus 1" or 6.0 out of 11 with 4 wins, 3 draws and 3 losses. While the 2406 FIDE performance was not enough meet the strict requirements for an IM norm, Danya proved worthy of competing among some of the best young chess masters in Russia and the World. In fact, he drew against both of the co-champions, FM Daniil Dubov (2372) and GM Aleksandr Shimanov (2519), both from the host country. I wonder how many of the players in this tournament will become Grandmasters, perhaps even 2700+!?

IM John Donaldson accurately describes the way the event progressed in his weekly newsletter for the Mechanics' Institute. "He started off well scoring two and a half points from his first three games before castling queenside (three straight defeats). Daniel then showed excellent character by not losing another game in the event, closing with three and a half from five against the higher rated players in the competition."

The turning point of the tournament came in round 7 when, after three straight losses, Danya faced the top rated GM Shimanov with black. He trusted his pet Najdorf and earned a solid 20 move draw to stop the bleeding. With renewed confidence, he essayed his most spectacular win in the very next round against FM Vladimir Belous (2414). Danya was especially pleased after finding the tactic 35.Ng4!! with merely seconds on his clock. (Click on the hyperlinks to play through the games on java game viewer by Chess Publisher.)

Check out all of the tournament games at the official website or play through Danya's wins and draws in my ICC library. (Type /liblist fpawn and start at #70.)

Danya Wins Round 1

(Danya is on the left in the first photo and third from left in second photo. Click on each thumbnail for a clearer image.)

FM Danya Naroditsky won his first game at the Young Stars of the World invitational. His central pressure on the black side of the Sicilian Najdorf was just too much for his opponent Ganichev. Readers may check out all of the games at the official website.

Sunday update: Danya also won round 2 and is now the only player at 2-0. I uploaded Danya's games to my ICC library (type: /liblist fpawn) starting at game 30.

Young Stars of the World

Several readers of this blog remarked at the absence of two-time CalChess High School champion FM Danya Naroditsky from last weekend's festivities in San Jose. No, he was not boycotting the state championship; instead he was preparing to fry bigger fish.

This week, Danya flew to St. Petersburg, Russia to play in the Somov's Memorial, better known as the Young Stars of the World tournament. Recent winners include Aleksandr Shimanov (2008), Ivan Popov (2006) and Sergey Karjakin (2005). This year's event isn't quite as strong as 2005, but still it is a strong Category 5 with IM norm possibilities. Like Danya, many of the participants are former World Youth champions. The format will be a 12-player round-robin at a time control of G/90 plus 30 second increment.

• GM Shimanov, Aleksandr (Russia 1992) ELO 2519 -- Defending Champion
  
• IM Ipatov, Alexander (Spain 1993) ELO 2486 -- 2nd place at 2008 LeMans Open
  
• Belous, Vladimir (Russia 1993) ELO 2414 -- 2009 Russian U16 Champ
  
• IM Narayanan, Srinath, (India 1994) ELO 2381 -- 2005 World U12 Champ
  
• FM Stukopin, Andrey (Russia 1994) ELO 2380
• FM Chan, Yi-Ren Daniel (Singapore 1994) ELO 2375 -- played in 2008 Olympiad
  
• FM Dubov, Daniil (Russia 1996) ELO 2372
• FM Bukavshin, Ivan (Russia 1995) ELO 2365 -- 2006 European U12 Champ
  
• FM Naroditsky, Daniel (USA 1995) ELO 2335 -- 2006 World U12 Champ
  
• FM Kovalev, Vladislav (Belarus 1994) ELO 2320
• FM Fedoseev, Vladimir (Russia 1995) ELO 2318
  
• Ganichev, Alexander (Russia 1994) ELO 2154

Danya faces a very stiff challenge in this talented field. He already played against Narayanan and Bukavshin at World Youth. Here's wishing him good luck!

Good news from Russia: Danya won in round 1 of Young Stars on Saturday morning! Check out all of the games online.