Learning from the Best: 44th U.S. Chess School

(From left to right): Jason, Eric, Davis and Merric taking a moment of silence at Ground Zero

A thick coat of shouting filled the room as if mocking the earlier silence portrayed during an exhausting puzzle. “Knight wins queen!”, my partner reiterated as he joyfully slammed the clock, and even it seemed to laugh in joy as chess pieces went flying like boomerangs around the seemingly endless array of black and white squares. I could still remember my debut at the 39th U.S. chess school at the Marshall Chess Club, where I was a member, right after the World Open, a tournament that “cannot be missed”. I would say that the USCS camp could also be referred by one as “cannot be missed”, as it brought together the best chess kids in the country to learn from the best coaches and from each other. I was delighted to receive the invitation to the 44th U.S. chess school again this year. This camp was especially special to me, as I won the amature section at Marshall Chess Club in June and made National Master this week in the World Open. It was thus my debut as a master in chess life. I was eager to introduce New York to my friends and learn from the best. One thing that is unique about the U.S. chess school is that the venue may be different for each camp, but IM Greg Shahade is almost always there, spreading the love of chess across the country. This year, we also had GM Josh Friedel. GM Friedel repetitively suggested to stop and pause between calculations as to avoid going too fast and missing resources for you or your opponent. Although that may seem rather straightforward and useless at first sight, it actually comes in use in a lot of positions. The one below is a great example.

White to move and win.

Show Solution

This position was cleverly given before anything else as a warmup. I remember that upon first look, I calculated 1. Ra8 at least 5-6 moves deep before giving up, and many other kids also told me that they made the same mistake. If one pauses and checks better resources for white, 1. Qd8/Qe8 would be found. The black king is back-rank mated on the spot. 1. Qf8!, as suggested by Eddy, also worked. As John quotes, “youngsters sac their queen at every chance!”

[pgn][Event "USCS 44 article 1"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1911.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "White to Play"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "Davis"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "6k1/R3Qpp1/8/3R3p/P7/8/KPr2q1P/6r1 w - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "9"]
[EventDate "1911.??.??"]{[#]} 1. Qd8+ $1 {Black's king has no say about his fate.} (1. Qe8+ $1 {
similar variation.}) (1. Qf8+ $1 {actually, the queen is immune on f8 because
Ra8 immediately is mate.}) 1... Kh7 2. Qh8+ $3 Kxh8 (2... Kg6 $5 3. Qxh5+ Kf6
4. Rd6#) 3. Rxh5+ Kg8 4. Ra8+ Rc8 5. Rxc8# 1-0[/pgn]

We were also honored to have a really special guest that was none other than the U.S. Champion, GM Sam Shankland. Listening as Sam teaches us is both intimidating and motivating because there are many instances where one would spend a long time calculating a variation only to be immediately refuted by a simple looking variation Sam only spent five seconds on. He also advised that, in a worse position, one should look at all the steps of the opponent to win and try to interfere with one of the steps to obtain the best chances for a draw. Interestingly, the U.S. Champion is also an alumni with U.S. Chess School. He showed us a position where the young Sam, as black, resigned. Could he have done better?

Black to move.

Show Solution

Many students were thinking about 1...Kg7 immediately, but after that, g5 and Bd4+ decides. 1...Be2 forces white to bring his king farther from critical territory with Kh4. The solution lies in the fact that white’s king is cutoff by the edge of the board, meaning that black need not sacrifice his bishop for two pawns. The step being prevented is Kg5. 1...Be2!! 2. Kh4 Kg7 3.g5 Kf7 4.g6+ Kf6 5.Bd4+ Kf5, and the white king cannot support his pawns, (due to absence of i file) meaning black will guarantee a blockade against the white pawns.

[pgn][Event "USCS 44 article"]
[Site "Chongqing/Shanghai CHN"]
[Date "2018.07.17"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Study"]
[Black "Shankland, Samuel"]
[Result "1-0"]
[BlackElo "2100"]
[Annotator "Davis"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/7k/8/1pB4P/1Pb3P1/6K1/8/8 b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "13"]
[EventDate "2018.??.??"]{[#]} {"Steps to win for white 1. Kh4 2. g5 3. g6 4. Kg5 5. h6 6. h7 7.
Bd4 8. h8=Q, 1-0 Black only can prevent Kg5, so he should aim for just that"
-Shankland} 1... Be2 $3 (1... Kg7 $4 2. g5 $1 Be2 3. Bd4+ $1 Kh7 4. Kh4 Bd1 5.
g6+ Kh6 6. Be3+ Kg7 7. Kg5 Bc2 8. h6+ Kg8 9. h7+ Kg7 10. Bd4+ $18) 2. Kh4 Kg7
3. g5 Kf7 $3 4. g6+ Kf6 $3 5. Bd4+ Kf5 $3 $11 6. g7 Bc4 $1 7. Bb2 Bb3 $11 1-0[/pgn]

Learning from such games must have helped Sam to become U.S. Champion!

Here’s another position taught by GM Josh Friedel.

White to play and win.

Show Solution

This was actually given to the whole class to solve in groups of 4-5. Many teams analyzed 1. a6 Ra1 2. Bg1+! Rxg1, but got stuck on lines such as 3. a7 Ra1 4. d7 Rxa7 and 3. d7 Rd1 4. a7 Rxd7+, both winning for black. The correct move is the pretty 3. Kh8!! The idea is that white gains a tempo by escaping the pressure on rank 7. Now, white will push the pawn not attacked by the rook. A sample line is 3...Rd1 4. a7 Ra1 5. d7 Rd1 6. a8=Q; the pawns play a deflecting role as the rook can’t deal with both.

[pgn][Event "USCS 44 article"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2018.07.17"]
[Round "?"]
[White "White to Play"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "joshf"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/7K/3P4/P7/8/4k3/7B/5r2 w - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "9"]
[EventDate "2018.??.??"]{[#]} 1. a6 $1 Ra1 2. Bg1+ $1 (2. d7 $2 Rd1 3. a7 Rxd7+ $11) 2... Rxg1 3. Kh8
$3 (3. d7 $4 Rd1 4. a7 Rxd7+ $19) (3. a7 $4 Ra1 4. d7 Rxa7 $19) 3... Rd1 4. a7
Ra1 5. d7 $18 1-0[/pgn]

The studies were so beautifully subtle and motivating that a 9-year-old kid Ronan even created his own study the next day. Pretty nicely composed, I must say.

Ronan’s problem

White to move and win.

Show Solution

Many kids see the puzzle and frantically find ways to trap and win the queen, but the real solution is a sudden mate attack. The queen is only a target, not the final jackpot. Some answers were even Rb8, Rb6, Rb8, with a repetition. Just like the studies that stood the test of time, this one is real subtle! 1.Rb8 Qa6 2.Kg5!! (2.Kf5?? With “Zugzwang” runs into Qc8+!, when white has no more than stalemate.) Ke6 3.Re8+ Kd5 4.Nc4, and Re5 mate is coming no matter what, even after Kxc5.

[pgn][Event "USCS 44 article"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2018.07.17"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Ronen's Problem"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "joshf"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "q7/4k2p/2p4P/2P1N3/p2p2K1/P2P4/P7/1R6 w - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "7"]
[EventDate "2018.??.??"]{[#]} 1. Rb8 Qa6 2. Kg5 $3 Ke6 3. Re8+ Kd5 4. Nc4 $18 1-0[/pgn]

When you force a ketchup lover to eat a mustard hot-dog, the results are not cool. When we were given a position that required lots of maneuvering, we were searching for all the possible premature pawn breaks so persistently that Josh, frustrated in our lack of positional knowledge, made all the students write (in capital letters), “I WILL NOT TRADE OFF MY OPPONENT’S WEAKNESSES!” in their notebooks or on paper.

(WARNING: This is NOT a tactic)

Black to play.

Show Solution

When given a position to “solve”, moves like d5, f5, and even Bxe4, spring to mind. However, none of those are even close to correct! The game proceeded 1...a5 2. f3 h5 3. h4 Ne5 (forcing white to deal with Nc4) 4. b3 Bb5 (giving white a decision about evicting the bishop) 5. c4 Bc6. All the weaknesses were made by white, and e4 is still there. Yet we still consider moves like f5 over such choices. That is probably what makes youngsters youngsters, people who always don’t like to sit and wait.

[pgn][Event "USCS 44 article"]
[Site "Chicago USA"]
[Date "2017.05.28"]
[Round "6.8"]
[White "Vibbert, Sean"]
[Black "Friedel, Joshua E"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C72"]
[WhiteElo "2316"]
[BlackElo "2528"]
[Annotator "joshf"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "4r3/1ppnrpkp/p1bp2p1/8/4P3/2P1R1NP/PPB2PP1/4R1K1 w - - 0 24"]
[PlyCount "80"]
[EventDate "2017.05.25"]24. Nf1 a5 25. f3 h5 (25... Ne5 26. Nd2 f5 27. f4) 26. h4 (26. Kf2 h4) 26...
Ne5 27. b3 (27. Nd2 f5) 27... Bb5 28. c4 Bc6 29. Bd1 (29. Rc3) 29... a4 30. f4
(30. Bc2 axb3 31. axb3 Ra8) 30... Nd7 (30... Ng4 31. Bxg4 hxg4 32. Ng3) 31. Bf3
axb3 32. axb3 Ra8 33. Nd2 Ra2 34. R1e2 Nc5 35. e5 Bxf3 36. gxf3 dxe5 37. fxe5
Rd7 38. Ne4 Rxe2 39. Rxe2 Nxe4 (39... Nxb3 40. Kg2 Rd3 41. Rb2 b6) 40. Rxe4 Rd3
41. Kg2 Rxb3 42. Rd4 Kf8 (42... Rc3 43. e6 fxe6 44. Rd7+ Kf6 45. Rxc7 b5 46. c5
Ke5 $19) 43. Rd7 c5 44. Rc7 b6 45. Kg3 Rb4 46. Rb7 Rxc4 47. Rxb6 Rc1 48. Rb7 c4
49. Kf4 c3 50. Rc7 c2 51. Rc8+ Ke7 52. Rc7+ Ke6 53. Rc5 g5+ (53... f6 54. exf6
Kxf6 55. Rc6+ Ke7 56. Rc8) 54. hxg5 h4 55. Rc6+ Kd5 56. Rd6+ Kc4 57. e6 (57.
Rc6+ Kd3 58. Rd6+ Ke2 59. e6 fxe6 60. Rxe6+ Kf2 61. Rc6 h3 62. g6 h2 63. g7
h1=Q 64. g8=Q Qxf3+) 57... fxe6 58. Rc6+ Kb5 59. Rc8 h3 60. Kg3 Rg1+ 61. Kxh3
c1=Q 62. Rxc1 Rxc1 63. Kg4 Kc5 0-1[/pgn]

A thin coat of sadness filled the room as gradually the campers began to leave, one by one, saying their farewells. Every time I meet my friends or one of the coaches again, I would re-envision the magnificent projector, dishing out positions of all kind and the triumphant smile upon salvation. I would say that the USCS camp could also be referred by one as “cannot be forgotten”, as it brought together the best chess kids in the country to learn from the best coaches and best positions in the country, always filling them with new knowledge, fun, and mysteries. Lastly, I would like to thank U.S. Chess School, IM Greg Shahade, GM Josh Friedel, GM Sam Shankland and Marshall chess club for making this wonderful experience for all. Thank you!