Danial Asaria on the HS Senior Online Rapids

--by Danial Asaria--

Going into the tournament, I was seeded seventh according to the ratings, and I wasn’t expecting much. Mostly I was immensely grateful and excited that I had the chance to compete in one last “nationalesque” tournament before my high school career was over, and I desperately hoped my lack of preparation was counter-balanced by my many hours of coaching nine-year-olds!

As I logged onto the Zoom call an anxious smile crept up my face when I saw 70 of the competitors on the opposite side of my screen. Despite the situation being less than ideal, it was great to reconnect with all of my adversaries, most of whom I only get to see during tournaments. I was surprised to find that I still felt the same blissful rush I receive before every chess tournament. Competition is competition, whether it’s across the board or across the web!

After a first round draw against David Brodsky, a very talented International Master with three Grandmaster norms, I began to gain confidence… until the second round pairings came out. I was paired with the #1 18-year-old in the country: Grandmaster Nicholas Checa.

I watched Checa dismantle the second highest-ranked player in the world, Fabiano Caruana, last year during the Pro Chess League, and now I was both petrified and honored at the thought of playing him. Unfortunately for me this directly translated into my play: after 14 moves I was down a full piece, and after move 25 I was down a second. As I hovered the mouse over the resign button I saw one final attacking chance that had the potential to create complications.

An exchange sacrifice led to a wild king chase, and 19 moves later I had somehow managed to checkmate him. I immediately leapt out of my chair and sprinted down the hall to tell my dad about my cunning trickery and my undeserving win. When I returned to my computer I was met with a stern message from the organizers about my squealing noises! This game was a refreshing reminder of one of the important life lessons I plan to take from chess into college and beyond: to never give up even in the most hopeless of situations.

[pgn]

[Event "HS Senior Online Rapid 1800+"]

[Site "Chess.com"]

[Date "2020.06.13"]

[Round "2"]

[White "SPEEDSKATER"]

[Black "tallgiraffe7"]

[Result "0-1"]

[ECO "D17"]

[WhiteElo "2072"]

[BlackElo "2218"]

[Annotator "Asaria"]

[PlyCount "88"]

[EventDate "2020.??.??"]

[EventType "rapid"]

[WhiteClock "0:03:47"]

[BlackClock "0:00:43"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. a4 Bf5 6. Ne5 Nbd7 7. Nxc4 Nb6 8. Ne5 a5 9. e3 e6 10. g4 Bg6 11. h4 Nfd7 12. Nxd7 Qxd7 13. h5 O-O-O 14. hxg6 Bb4 15. gxh7 e5 16. Bg2 exd4 17. Qxd4 Qe6 18. Qe4 Qb3 19. O-O g6 20. Ne2 Rxh7 21. Nd4 Qc4 22. b3 Qc3 23. Rb1 Bd6 24. f4 Nd5 25. Qc2 Qb4 26. Bxd5 Bc5 27. Bg2 {With two pieces down and seemingly zero counterplay my position seems hopeless. Yet after a sneaky tactical shot the game isn't so simple anymore.} Rxd4 28. exd4 Bxd4+ 29. Rf2 Qe1+ 30. Bf1 Bxf2+ 31. Kg2 { A blunder! After my next move my pieces can infiltrate the kingside and there is no stopping the attack. Better was Qxf2 allowing Rh1+ and sacrificing the queen for the rook which gives black only a slight edge.} Bg3 32. Kf3 Qxf1+ 33. Ke4 Rh2 {Here white's final chance was Be3 sheltering the king and unleashing his rook into the game.} 34. Qd3 Qh1+ 35. Ke5 Rh8 36. Qxg3 Qd5+ 37. Kf6 Qd4+ { With no escape for the white king, all black must do is force white to clear the pawns so the rook and queen can openly work together to checkmate the king. } 38. Kxf7 Qd7+ 39. Kf6 Qd6+ 40. Kg5 Qe7+ 41. Kxg6 Qe6+ 42. Kg5 Rg8+ 43. Kh5 Qg6+ 44. Kh4 Qh6# 0-1

[/pgn]

After this victory, I fell into stride and went on to win the next five games, ending with 6½/7 points. Overall, I would say the tournament was a huge success for all of the participants, and everyone else involved with very few discrepancies. I think this was a necessary and revolutionary step towards a new format of competitions as we face the current state of our global community.

[pgn]

[Event "HS Senior Online Rapid 1800+"]

[Site "Chess.com"]

[Date "2020.06.13"]

[Round "5"]

[White "tallgiraffe7"]

[Black "IAE2020"]

[Result "1-0"]

[ECO "D45"]

[WhiteElo "2451"]

[BlackElo "2323"]

[Annotator "Asaria"]

[PlyCount "55"]

[EventDate "2020.??.??"]

[EventType "rapid"]

[WhiteClock "0:06:40"]

[BlackClock "0:06:03"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 e6 5. e3 Nbd7 6. Qc2 b6 7. b3 Bb7 8. Bb2 Rc8 9. Bd3 c5 10. O-O { This was a big positional mistake, allowing black to take on f3 after dxc4 and give me double pawns.} dxc4 11. bxc4 Bxf3 12. gxf3 {Here black crucially missed cxd4 cementing my weaknesses and isolating my pawns. After my next move white enjoys a nice space advantage.} Bd6 13. d5 O-O 14. Rad1 exd5 15. cxd5 c4 16. Bf5 g6 17. Bh3 Ne5 {Black seemingly sacks an exchange on c8, but with Nf3+ Kg2 Qc8 with the idea of Qg4 it is too dangerous too even think about.} 18. f4 Nd3 19. Rxd3 cxd3 20. Qxd3 {Despite down an exhange, with two monster bishops black has to be extremely careful.} Rc5 21. Qd4 {Creating a deadly battery of the queen and bishop potentially threatening checkmate on h8 or g7.} Be7 22. Rd1 Qd6 23. Ne4 Qxd5 24. Nxf6+ Bxf6 25. Qxf6 {Despite sacrficing a rook, with no way to defend the weak dark squares after a few spite checks black resigned. } Qxd1+ 26. Kg2 Qd5+ 27. Kg3 Rc3 28. Bxc3 1-0

[/pgn]

[pgn]

[Event "HS Senior Online Rapid 1800+"]

[Site "Chess.com"]

[Date "2020.06.13"]

[Round "7"]

[White "tallgiraffe7"]

[Black "enguyen2002"]

[Result "1-0"]

[ECO "D13"]

[WhiteElo "2552"]

[BlackElo "2243"]

[Annotator "Asaria"]

[PlyCount "99"]

[EventDate "2020.??.??"]

[EventType "rapid"]

[WhiteClock "0:01:38"]

[BlackClock "0:00:16"]



1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. cxd5 cxd5 4. Nc3 Nf6 5. Bf4 Nc6 6. e3 Ne4 {A big surprise as it is the 6th most played move in the position. Despite breaking opening principles it creates and imbalance in an otherwise quiet opening.} 7. Bd3 Nxc3 8. bxc3 e6 9. Nf3 Be7 10. O-O O-O 11. Qb1 h6 12. c4 dxc4 13. Bxc4 b6 14. Qe4 $1 {Ever since Qb1 this positional maneuver was my intention. This forces blacks next move as Bb7 falls to Bd3 forcing black to give up a Pawn.} Bd7 15. Rfc1 Nb4 16. Ne5 Rc8 17. a3 Nd5 18. Bxd5 exd5 19. Qxd5 Be6 20. Qxd8 Rfxd8 21. Nc6 Rd7 22. d5 $1 {Black expected Nxe7 trading into an opposite color Bishop endgame with drawing chances, but taking advantage of the hanging rook on c8 black is forced to now give up both bishops for the rook.} Bf5 23. e4 Bf6 24. exf5 Bxa1 25. Rxa1 Kf8 26. f6 $1 {A crucial move that saves my d5 Pawn with the threat of Ne7. Rd1 falls to Rc6.} Re8 27. d6 gxf6 28. Bxh6+ Kg8 29. Bf4 Re4 30. g3 { After this move every white piece is protected and I am free to take as much time as I want to place my pieces on their ideal squares.} Rc4 31. Nb8 Rd8 32. Na6 Kg7 33. Nb4 a5 34. Nd5 b5 35. Rb1 Rc5 36. Nc7 b4 37. axb4 axb4 38. Rxb4 Rc6 39. Nd5 Ra6 40. Kg2 Rc6 41. h4 Ra6 42. Ne7 Rd7 43. h5 Raa7 44. Nf5+ Kh7 45. Rc4 Ra8 46. Rc7 Ra7 47. Rxa7 Rxa7 48. Ne7 Rd7 49. Nd5 Kg7 50. Nb6 1-0

[/pgn]

I would like to thank Dewain Barber for giving our graduating class the privilege to compete in one last tournament during such a tough time, and to experience one final “kumbaya” before we are forced to part ways. Dewain has a life history of supporting the chess community in a multitude of ways and he deserves boundless recognition for the service he has done. I still remember the euphoric feeling of Dewain congratulating me on winning my first state championship in third grade, and handing me what was at the time a life-size trophy standing only a few inches below my actual height.

As my scholastic chess cycle comes to an end, I am immensely appreciative to win this scholarship, and hope to continue to repay the chess community for every tangible and intangible benefit it has given to me. I would like to congratulate the class of 2020 and I cannot wait to see how my fellow classmates are going to make their mark and change societies around the world for the better. As we transition into this new era of our life, I am reminded of the optimistic words of Dr. Seuss as we face the future: “Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened.”

Quick links:

Complete MSA Results

HS Senior Online Open at chess.com

HS Senior Online U1800 at chess.com

HS Senior Online U1200 at chess.com