Champions of Champions Crowned at 121st U.S. Open

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Five Champions of Champions were crowned alongside the 121st U.S. Open in Cherry Hill, New Jersey on Tuesday evening. 

The GM Arnold Denker (“Denker”) Tournament of High School Champions, the Dewain Barber (“Barber”) Tournament of Middle School Champions, the WIM Ruth Haring (“Haring”) National Girls’ Tournament of Champions, the John D. Rockefeller III (“Rockefeller”) National Tournament of Elementary School State Champions, and the John T. Irwin (“Irwin”) National Senior Tournament of Champions, each invited state representatives to compete through six rounds of classical chess to declare this year’s top player. 

The 2021 Champions of State Champions are: 

Denker High School Champion: GM Awonder Liang, Wisconsin 

Haring National Girls Co-Champions: WCM Ruiyang Yan, Northern California; WCM Ambica Yellamraju,Texas

Barber Middle School Champion: CM Vyom Vidyarthi, Northern California 

Rockefeller Elementary School Co-Champions: Henry Deng, Northern California; Austin Tang, Oregon; Sepehr Golsefidy, Southern California

Irwin Senior Champion: IM Igor Khmelnitsky, Pennsylvania  

The first-place finishers in each of the scholastic events receive a $5,000 scholarship to a school of higher learning, and winners also receive invitations to the 2022 US Chess national championships for their category: Liang to the U.S. Junior Championship, Yan to the U.S. Junior Girls Championship, Vidyarthi to the U.S. Cadet Championship, and Khmelnitsky to the U.S. Senior Championship. 

Additionally, the state representatives in each category combined for team scores in a State versus State Championship – which was won clear by the Northern California squad, boasting three 2021 champions. 

2021 Invitational Team standings 

Played Tuesday morning, the sixth round for each Swiss event saw several decisive results on the top boards to produce its champions. In the Irwin, Kmelnitsky finally put an end to a strong tournament run by Missouri FM Doug Eckert in a queenless Ruy Lopez Exchange. Eckert held equality all the way into a minor-piece endgame, but went astray chasing an isolated pawn – while Kmelnitsky’s knight shielded a winning passer. 

On the Irwin’s second board, Texas IM Douglas Root defeated South Carolina IM Alex Matros and finished clear second at 5.0/6, while Eckert finished clear third. For complete Irwin standings, click here.

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2021 Irwin Tournament of Senior State Champions Winner IM Igor Khmelnitsky. // photo Iredia Ekhato

[pgn][Event "Irwin Championship 2021"] [Site "Crowne Plaza Cherry Hill, Uni"] [Date "2021.08.03"] [Round "6.1"] [White "Khmelnitsky, Igor"] [Black "Eckert, Doug"] [Result "1-0"] [WhiteElo "2488"] [BlackElo "2266"] [Annotator "Tactical Analysis 4.1 (5s)"] [PlyCount "105"] {[%evp 18,105,14,9,39,9,29,-9,-6,-27,-6,-18,5,5,11,11,13,-4,0,-1,0,0,13,4,10, 17,23,22,20,18,17,17,20,17,17,19,19,17,19,19,21,15,20,13,8,0,45,46,45,45,50,47, 92,30,33,0,38,30,38,38,61,61,57,51,106,106,110,78,113,104,126,0,0,0,13,0,48,0, 96,80,80,0,53,52,148,148,394,376,1194,1194]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Bxc6 dxc6 5. O-O Qf6 6. d4 exd4 7. Qxd4 Qxd4 8. Nxd4 Bd7 9. Be3 O-O-O 10. Nc3 Re8 {C68: Ruy Lopez: Exchange Variation, sidelines.} 11. Nde2 $146 ({ Predecessor:} 11. Rfe1 Bb4 12. f3 Bxc3 13. bxc3 Ne7 14. a4 a5 15. c4 c5 16. Nb5 b6 17. Bf4 Ng6 18. Bg3 {1/2-1/2 (67) Tosic,M (2447)-Naumkin,I (2446) Cheliabinsk 2017}) 11... Ne7 12. h3 f5 {The position is equal.} 13. Ng3 fxe4 14. Ncxe4 b6 15. Rfe1 Nd5 16. Bd2 Be7 17. a3 Rhf8 18. Bg5 Bxg5 19. Nxg5 Nf6 ( 19... h6 {looks sharper.} 20. Nf3 Nf4 21. Ne5 Bf5 22. Nxf5 Rxf5 23. Nxc6 Ne2+) 20. Nf3 (20. Rad1 {feels hotter.} c5 21. f3 h6 22. Rxe8+ Rxe8 23. N5e4) 20... Rxe1+ (20... Kb7 {is interesting.} 21. Ne5 Bc8 22. f3 Rd8 23. Rad1 Rxd1 24. Rxd1 Re8) 21. Rxe1 Re8 22. Rxe8+ Bxe8 $11 {[%mdl 4096] Endgame KBN-KNN} 23. Ne5 c5 24. Nf5 g6 25. Ne3 Kd8 26. g4 Ke7 27. f4 Ke6 28. Kg2 Ne4 29. h4 Nd2 30. Kh3 Ne4 31. Nf3 (31. c4 {seems wilder.} h5 32. gxh5 gxh5 33. Kg2 Ba4 34. Kf3) 31... Bc6 (31... Kd6 $11) 32. Ng5+ $1 $14 Nxg5+ 33. hxg5 {KB-KN} Be4 34. Kg3 b5 ( 34... Bc6 $14) 35. c3 (35. f5+ $1 $16 Ke5 36. f6) 35... Bd3 $11 36. Kf3 Bb1 37. Ke2 Be4 38. Nf1 c4 39. Ke3 Bd3 40. Ng3 Bc2 (40... Kd5 $1 $14) 41. Ne4 $16 Bd1 { [#]} 42. Nf2 $1 {[%cal Rf2d1]} Bc2 {[#]} 43. Kd4 $1 Kd6 44. Ke3 (44. Ne4+ $16 Ke6 45. a4) 44... Kd5 $11 45. Kf3 a5 46. Ke3 c5 (46... c6 $11) 47. Kf3 $1 $14 b4 (47... Bd3 $11 {remains equal.}) 48. Ke3 $16 Bb1 49. Nh3 (49. Nh1 $16) 49... bxa3 (49... Be4 $11) 50. bxa3 $14 Kc6 (50... Be4 $14) 51. Nf2 $16 Kb5 $2 (51... Kd5 $16 {was necessary.}) 52. Ne4 $18 Ka4 $2 (52... Kc6 53. f5 gxf5 54. gxf5 Kd5) 53. f5 {Weighted Error Value: White=0.11/Black=0.25} 1-0 [/pgn]

The final round of the Denker had two games to watch, as both Liang and Oregon FM Shunkai Peng entered with 4.5/5, though the two had already played to a draw in the third round. Liang was paired with Massachusetts IM Carissa Yip, who lost on the spot after picking the wrong defense to 37. Qc8! and a strong mating threat by White at the end of a closed Ruy Lopez. 

On the neighboring board, California FM Robert Shlyakhtenko, paired up from the fourth-place group to play Peng, successfully played spoiler by holding his half-point. For complete Denker standings, click here.

[pgn][Event "Denker Championship 2021"] [Site "Crowne Plaza Cherry Hill, Uni"] [Date "2021.08.03"] [Round "6.4"] [White "Liang, Awonder"] [Black "Yip, Carissa"] [Result "1-0"] [WhiteElo "2674"] [BlackElo "2506"] [Annotator "Tactical Analysis 4.1 (5s)"] [PlyCount "76"] {[%evp 14,76,38,22,22,22,22,26,43,29,20,29,29,24,24,29,21,32,23,-77,0,0,0,0,0, 0,43,-33,59,-17,0,-22,52,50,85,50,46,10,42,25,55,0,0,0,0,0,17,0,20,0,0,0,0,0,0, 0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1467,1446,29985]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O b5 6. Bb3 Bb7 7. d3 Be7 8. c4 O-O {C84: Closed Ruy Lopez: Unusual White 6th moves.} 9. Nc3 bxc4 10. Bxc4 d6 {White has an edge.} 11. Be3 $5 {[%mdl 4] A promising side line.} Na5 12. Bd5 c6 {[#]} 13. Bxf7+ Rxf7 14. b4 {Black must now prevent Ng5.} Bc8 {Hoping for ...Nb7.} 15. bxa5 Bg4 16. Kh1 $146 (16. Na4 $11) ({Predecessor:} 16. Rb1 Bxf3 17. gxf3 d5 18. Ne2 Qxa5 19. Qc2 c5 20. Rb7 c4 21. d4 dxe4 22. fxe4 exd4 23. Bxd4 {1/2-1/2 (31) Geist,H (2596)-Firnhaber,I (2517) ICCF email 2014}) 16... Nh5 ({Black should play} 16... d5 $17 {...d4 is the strong threat.} 17. Bb6 Qc8) 17. Qb3 $1 $11 Bxf3 18. gxf3 Qd7 19. Ne2 Raf8 (19... Qh3 $11 {feels stronger.} 20. Ng1 Qh4) 20. Rab1 (20. Ng3 $14 Qh3 21. Rg1 ) 20... Bd8 ({Better is} 20... d5 $1 $15) 21. Ng1 (21. d4 $14) 21... Bxa5 22. Qa4 Bc3 (22... Bd8 $11) 23. Rfc1 Bd4 24. Qxc6 ({Don't play} 24. Bxd4 $6 exd4 25. Rxc6 (25. Qxc6 Qe7 $17) 25... Nf4 $11) 24... Qa7 25. Re1 Qe7 26. Qxa6 Nf4 27. Rec1 (27. Bxf4 $14 Rxf4 28. Ne2 Rxf3 29. Rb7 (29. Nxd4 exd4 30. Rb7 Qf6 $11 )) 27... Qg5 {[%csl Gf4][%cal Rg5g2]} 28. Bxf4 Qxf4 29. Rc8 h6 30. Rbb8 Rxc8 31. Qxc8+ Kh7 $1 32. Qg8+ Kg6 33. Qe8 Kh7 $1 34. Qg8+ Kg6 35. Rd8 Bxf2 36. Rxd6+ Kh5 37. Qc8 $1 {[%cal Rc8h3] Threatens to win with Qh3+.} Qg5 $2 { [%mdl 8192]} (37... Bxg1 $11 38. Qh3+ Kg5 39. Kxg1 Qe3+ 40. Kg2 Qe2+ 41. Kh1 Qe1+ 42. Kg2 Qe2+ 43. Kh1 Qe1+ 44. Kg2 Qe2+) 38. Nh3 $18 {[%mdl 64] [#] Double Attack} Qc1+ {Weighted Error Value: White=0.23/Black=0.20} 1-0 [/pgn]

Texas WCM Ambica Yellamraju did everything she could in the end, including a sixth-round stoppage to the tournament run of WCM Ruiyang Yan, who had otherwise run away from the Haring field. Yan entered Tuesday a perfect 5/5, though Yellamraju at one point behind was given the opportunity to win on demand. She made the most of it, catching Yan early in an Open Catalan, and catching her at the finish line to earn the Haring co-Championship. Yellamraju got the better of a tactically rich middlegame then slowed down for a positional endgame, harassing Yan's rook with the bishop pair and ushering White's passer to the tournament win. Yellamraju and Yan both finished at 5.0/6, with Yan taking tiebreaks and the $5,000 scholarship prize. Yellamaraju earned the $3,000 scholarship. 

For complete Haring standings, click here.

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Texas WCM Ambica Yellamraju caught WCM Ruiyang Yan in the final round of the 2021 Haring National Girls Invitational to split the title as co-Champions.// photo Iredia Ekhato

[pgn][Event "Haring Championship 2021"] [Site "Crowne Plaza Cherry Hill, Uni"] [Date "2021.08.03"] [Round "6.6"] [White "Yellamraju, Ambica"] [Black "Yan, Ruiyang"] [Result "1-0"] [WhiteElo "2097"] [BlackElo "2245"] [Annotator "Tactical Analysis 4.1 (5s)"] [PlyCount "127"] {[%evp 18,127,17,13,36,29,73,82,191,191,188,178,222,183,192,192,208,192,139, 134,149,133,133,134,168,150,154,134,181,181,187,191,282,272,340,339,442,343, 532,529,480,484,539,481,692,438,438,438,550,543,529,401,406,405,423,306,307, 301,303,301,302,301,302,304,304,301,306,309,341,301,301,253,392,379,427,274, 269,292,349,349,340,335,336,336,428,429,434,428,722,753,775,687,798,791,865, 799,808,845,822,825,1022,1014,1012,1014,1007,505,994,1001,1388,1393,2221,1702] } 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 d5 4. Nf3 Be7 5. Bg2 O-O 6. O-O dxc4 7. Qc2 a6 8. a4 {[%cal Ba2a4,Ba4a5][%mdl 32]} Bd7 9. Rd1 Bc6 10. Nc3 {10.Bg5 is more fashionable.} Nbd7 {E05: Open Catalan: 5 Nf3 Be7.} 11. e4 Nb6 (11... b5 $11) 12. a5 $16 Nc8 (12... Nbd7 $16) 13. d5 $1 $18 {[%cal Rd5c6]} exd5 14. e5 $1 Ne8 (14... Ng4 $142) 15. Nd4 Bc5 $146 ({Predecessor:} 15... Bb4 16. Nxc6 bxc6 17. Nxd5 cxd5 18. Bxd5 Ncd6 19. Bxa8 Qxa8 20. exd6 Nxd6 21. Be3 h6 {1/2-1/2 (32) Nguyen,T (2283)-Pham,L (2351) Tagaytay City 2017}) 16. Nxc6 bxc6 {[#]} 17. Nxd5 cxd5 18. Rxd5 Qe7 {[#] And now ...c6 would win.} 19. Rxc5 {[%mdl 512]} Qxc5 20. Bxa8 {Threatens to win with Bb7.} c6 21. Ra4 {[%cal Ba1a4,Ba4c4,Bc4c5][%mdl 32] } Qxe5 {next ...Ne7 is good for Black.} 22. Rxc4 Ned6 {[#]} (22... Qxa5 $16 23. Bd2 (23. Rxc6 Ne7 $16) (23. Bxc6 Nf6 $16) 23... Qe5 24. Rxc6 Ncd6) 23. Rc5 $1 { [%cal Rc5e5]} ({Not} 23. Rxc6 Na7 $11) 23... Qe1+ 24. Kg2 Re8 (24... Ne7 $142) 25. Be3 (25. Rxc6 Qxa5 26. Rc5 Qd8 $16) 25... g6 26. Bxc6 Re7 27. Ba4 h5 (27... Kg7 $142 28. Rc6 (28. Rxc8 Nxc8 29. Bc5 Qxa5 $14) 28... Rxe3) 28. Rxc8+ Nxc8 29. Qxc8+ Kh7 30. Qc5 Rb7 (30... Rxe3 $142 31. Qxe3 Qxa5) 31. Qc4 Qxa5 32. Bc6 Re7 33. Bc5 Re6 34. Bd5 Re5 35. b4 Qd8 36. Bf3 Re6 37. Qf4 Qd7 38. Bf8 { Intending Qh6+ and mate.} Kg8 39. Qh6 {[%csl Gf8][%cal Rh6g7]} Qd4 40. Bc5 Qd8 41. h4 Re8 42. Qf4 Re6 43. Qc4 Qd7 44. Qd5 Qb5 (44... Qxd5 {is a better defense.} 45. Bxd5 Re5) 45. Qa8+ Kh7 46. Qb7 Qxb7 47. Bxb7 Kg7 48. Bd5 Re8 49. Bc4 Ra8 50. Kf3 f5 51. Kf4 {White is clearly winning.} Kh6 52. Ke5 a5 (52... Kh7 $142 53. Kd5 Kg7) 53. b5 a4 54. Ba3 Rc8 55. Kd5 Rb8 56. Kc5 g5 57. Bc1 Kg6 58. hxg5 Ra8 59. b6 {[%cal Bb5b6,Bb6b7][%mdl 32]} Rc8+ 60. Kb4 Rb8 61. Kc5 { Strongly threatening Bf4.} Rc8+ 62. Kb5 f4 63. Bxf4 a3 64. b7 {Weighted Error Value: White=0.29/Black=0.46} 1-0 [/pgn]

CM Vyom Vidyarthi found an early edge and played to a two-pawn advantage – before nearly throwing it all away in an endgame with Delaware’s Terry Luo. White missed the threat on his backwards pawn at 36. … Rh3, instead pinning his hopes on creating an outside passer – which Luo was able to corral, finding equality again after 45 moves. But Luo misplayed the rook-and-pawn endgame, while Vidyarthi did not, successfully using the Lucena position to earn the Barber championship. Practice your endgames, kids! 

For complete Barber standings, click here.

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[pgn][Event "Barber Championship 2021"] [Site "Crowne Plaza Cherry Hill, Uni"] [Date "2021.08.03"] [Round "6.7"] [White "Vidyarthi, Vyom"] [Black "Luo, Terry"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [WhiteElo "2284"] [BlackElo "2232"] [Annotator "Tactical Analysis 4.1 (5s)"] [PlyCount "129"] {[%evp 9,129,16,37,31,46,29,30,29,29,14,55,1,33,22,47,44,98,96,94,20,27,20,82, 82,123,132,132,132,275,269,271,214,211,196,313,282,303,165,177,176,192,195,207, 203,220,217,218,221,214,225,225,213,211,219,218,209,209,209,209,191,225,196, 197,180,157,94,81,67,94,97,75,97,75,88,117,93,87,101,101,42,43,13,14,15,14,14, 18,0,0,0,0,0,12,6,2,12,12,12,12,0,200,227,280,340,345,317,614,681,614,337,335, 361,538,615,567,651,675,693,684,691,679,790]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nc3 d5 3. Bf4 g6 4. e3 Bg7 5. h4 O-O 6. h5 {D00: 1 d4 d5: Unusual lines.} c5 7. hxg6 hxg6 8. Qd2 { White has an edge.} Nc6 9. O-O-O Qa5 (9... Nh5 $11 {deserves consideration.}) 10. Kb1 $146 ({White should try} 10. Nf3 $14) ({Predecessor:} 10. a3 Rd8 11. Bh6 cxd4 12. exd4 Ne4 13. Nxe4 dxe4 14. Qxa5 Nxa5 15. Bxg7 Kxg7 16. d5 { 1/2-1/2 (29) Spagnoli,E (2318)-Wilson,M (2239) ICCF email 2019}) 10... Rd8 11. Nf3 Bg4 12. Be2 Bxf3 (12... Ne4 $14 13. Nxe4 dxe4 14. Qxa5 Nxa5) 13. Bxf3 $16 Rac8 14. g4 (14. Qe2 $16) 14... b5 $1 $11 15. Bh6 (15. dxc5 b4 $15) 15... Bh8 ( 15... b4 $11 {remains equal.} 16. Bxg7 Kxg7) 16. Bg5 $1 $16 ({But not} 16. dxc5 $6 b4 $11) 16... Bg7 (16... b4 $142 17. Ne2 c4) 17. Bxf6 ({Inferior is} 17. dxc5 Ne5 $11) 17... Bxf6 18. Nxd5 b4 (18... Qxd2 $16 {is a better defense.} 19. Nxf6+ (19. Rxd2 Bg7 $11) 19... exf6 20. Rxd2 cxd4) 19. Nxf6+ $18 exf6 20. e4 g5 {[%cal Rc6d4]} 21. d5 Ne5 (21... c4 {might work better.}) 22. Be2 c4 23. c3 ( 23. f4 $142 c3 24. Qe3 gxf4 25. Qxf4 (25. Qh3 Ng6 $16)) 23... Rb8 24. Rh3 bxc3 25. Qxc3 Qxc3 26. Rxc3 Rb4 27. f3 Kf8 28. Rdc1 Ke7 29. Bxc4 Rh8 30. a3 Rbb8 31. Be2 Rh2 32. R1c2 Kd6 33. b4 Rbh8 34. b5 Rh1+ 35. Kb2 Re1 36. Bc4 Rh3 {[#]} 37. a4 ({Better is} 37. Rf2 $1) 37... Rxf3 $16 38. Rxf3 Nxf3 {[%mdl 4096] Endgame KRB-KRN} 39. a5 {[%cal Ba4a5,Ba5b6,Bb6b7][%mdl 32] Strongly threatening b6.} Rxe4 40. b6 axb6 41. axb6 {Threatens to win with b7.} Re8 {[#]} 42. b7 $1 Nd4 43. Rc1 {And now Ba6 would win.} Rb8 44. Ba6 (44. Kc3 $16 Nf3 45. Rf1) 44... Kxd5 $14 45. Rc7 Nc6 46. Kc3 Kc5 47. Rxf7 Kb6 48. Rxf6 (48. Be2 {is more complex.} Ne5 49. Rxf6+ Kxb7 50. Re6 Nxg4 51. Bxg4 Kc7 52. Re5) 48... Kxa6 49. Rxc6+ Kxb7 $11 {KR-KR} 50. Rg6 (50. Re6 {with more complications.} Rd8 51. Rf6 Kc7 52. Rf7+ Kd6 53. Rf6+) 50... Ra8 51. Rxg5 Kc6 52. Kd4 Kd6 53. Ke4 Ke6 54. Rf5 Rg8 $2 (54... Ke7 $11) 55. g5 $18 {Rf6+ is the strong threat.} Rg7 56. Rf6+ Ke7 57. Kf5 Rg8 (57... Rh7 58. Kg6 Rh4) 58. Re6+ Kd7 59. Re1 Rf8+ 60. Kg6 Rf2 ( 60... Rf3 {was necessary.} 61. Kg7 Rh3) 61. Kg7 {White is clearly winning.} Rg2 62. g6 Rh2 63. Kg8 Kd8 64. g7 {White wants to mate with Re6.} Kd7 65. Re4 { [%mdl 32768] Weighted Error Value: White=0.17/Black=0.25. An unexpected result. } 1/2-1/2 [/pgn]

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