Tucson’s Carlos Boteo Wins 2019 Amateur West Championship

The 2019 Amateur West Championship was held at the Tucson Woman’s Club in Tucson, Arizona, over Memorial Day Weekend, and was sponsored by the Southern Arizona Chess Association. The tournament was directed by Chief Tournament Director Robby Adamson, Pairing Chief Michelle Martinez, and tournament directors Renee Lamphear and Jonathan Martinez. While the Amateur West is one of the longest-running tournaments in Tucson, exactly when it was first held is somewhat in dispute. Steve Ostapuk, a local player and coach, believes that the Amateur West Championship came to Tucson in the ‘70s, and may have initially been called the Desert Open. Robby Adamson maintains that the tournament was first held in Tucson in the late 80’s or early 90's. Regardless of when the Amateur West Championship first came to Tucson, it has carved out its place in Arizona’s chess history and is a favorite among locals. The 2019 edition of the Amateur West featured 67 players in total, including three players over 2000 and nine players over 1800. The six-round tournament was played over three days and was divided into 3 main sections, Championship, Reserve, and Booster. Players from five states made the journey to participate. The scholastic side event, for players in grades K-6 and rated under 1000, ran two separate events on Saturday and Sunday. Many of the 15 scholastic players chose to compete both days and played eight rounds of chess over the weekend! One of the highlights of the Amateur West Championship is the upset prize, awarded before play begins in rounds two through six. Winners receive a SACA gift certificate that can be used at the chess store or towards a future tournament. Upset winners are highly revered during the tournament, and when an upset prizewinner is announced, a full round of applause could be heard throughout the room. Jenny Qiang upset a 1600 rated player in the fifth round, with the gap in rating being nearly 600 points! Tyler Forrester stayed on the first board of the Booster Section for the entire tournament. Despite losing in the last round, Forrester attained first place with 5/6 points. Forrester and his college team came from Shippensburg, Pennsylvania to play in the tournament, stopping to visit the Grand Canyon on the way. Forrester found his 5th round game against Gregory Allen to be the most interesting, because it was full of tactical ideas and active play.

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[Event "Amateur West Championship 2019"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2019.05.26"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Allen, Gregory"]
[Black "Forrester, Tyler"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B30"]
[WhiteElo "1110"]
[BlackElo "1133"]
[Annotator "Martinez,J"]
[PlyCount "44"]
[EventDate "2019.??.??"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. Nf3 d6 4. Bb5 Nf6 5. Bxc6+ bxc6 6. h3 g6 7. b3 Bg7 8.
Bb2 Ba6 9. a4 O-O 10. d3 Qa5 11. Qd2 Rab8 12. O-O Qc7 13. Ne2 d5 14. Ng3 dxe4
15. Be5 Qd7 16. Bxb8 Rxb8 17. Qc3 {A mistake because 17... exf3 is fatal} Bxd3
(17... exf3 18. gxf3 Nh5 19. Qd2 Nxg3 20. fxg3 Bxa1 21. Rxa1) 18. cxd3 (18. Ne5
Qc7 19. Nxd3 Nd7 20. Qc4 Bxa1 21. Nxe4 {Would have been a better approach})
18... exf3 19. gxf3 Rb4 20. Qd2 Qxh3 21. Qe3 Rd4 22. Rfe1 Nd5 0-1

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In the last round of the Reserve section, Annie Allen played against a player who was around 300 points higher rated. Winning the last round meant tying for first place with her brother, Spencer Allen, and losing meant getting nothing. Allen had already drawn her brother, who outrates her by 200 points, in the 5th round. Allen sacrificed a knight in this magnificent finish, beating her opponent and securing the second place title, losing only on tiebreaks to her brother. After the final round Allen remarked with a smirk, “I know I still had a better tournament than my brother.” Sure enough, after the rating report was published, she jumped almost 150 points!

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[Event "Amateur West Championship 2019"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2019.05.27"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Allen, Annelise"]
[Black "Kuo, Evan"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C50"]
[WhiteElo "1384"]
[BlackElo "1541"]
[Annotator "Martinez,J"]
[PlyCount "71"]
[EventDate "2019.??.??"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. Nc3 Nf6 5. d3 O-O 6. O-O h6 7. a3 a5 8. h3 d6
9. Kh1 Qe7 10. Qe2 Be6 11. Bxe6 Qxe6 12. Be3 Bxe3 13. fxe3 Rfe8 14. Nh4 Kh7 15.
Qf2 Ne7 16. Ne2 Neg8 17. Nf3 Ne7 18. Qh4 Kg8 19. Qf2 b5 20. b3 c5 21. Nh4 Kh7
22. Nf5 Neg8 23. g4 g6 24. Nfg3 Kg7 25. Rg1 Rf8 26. Nf5+ $1 {A stunning way to
open up the king! If Evan doesn't comply, he will have to soon, because h4, g5
is coming} Kh7 (26... gxf5 27. gxf5+ $1) 27. h4 gxf5 28. exf5 Nxg4 29. Rxg4 Qf6
30. Ng3 d5 31. Nh5 Qc6 32. f6 Ra6 33. Qf5+ Kh8 34. Rg7 Nxf6 35. Nxf6 Qxf6 36.
Qh7# 1-0

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Of couse the most coveted title at the Amateur West is victory in the Championship section, with free entry to the 2019 National Open on the line. Top seed Carlos Boteo had a full point lead going into the last round, and was paired with the talented junior Jayden Xu. Boteo knew that his opponent played the Queen’s Gambit Declined, so he prepared well before the game started. But Boteo took an early draw, explaining that he did not want to lose and wanted to secure the first place title. His round six game against twelve-year-old Xu, with accurate opening and middlegame play from both sides, is shown below:

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[Event "Amateur West Championship 2019"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2019.05.27"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Xu, Jayden"]
[Black "Boteo, Carlos"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D60"]
[WhiteElo "1734"]
[BlackElo "2043"]
[Annotator "Martinez,J"]
[PlyCount "58"]
[EventDate "2019.??.??"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 {A very popular opening. Jayden is
attempting to play a solid Queen's Gambit Declined.} Be7 {This is the most
common reply to Bg5, breaking the pin.} 5. Nf3 (5. e3 O-O 6. Nf3 h6 7. Bh4 {
Is another way to play. The position almost transposes to the game, but with
one important difference: Jayden has not played Be2! This means that Carlos is
not up a tempo when dxc4 and Bxc4 is played, whereas Jayden plays Be2 in the
game and allows Carlos to gain a tempo.}) 5... Nbd7 6. e3 O-O 7. Be2 h6 8. Bh4
dxc4 9. Bxc4 c5 10. O-O Nb6 11. Be2 Bd7 12. dxc5 Bxc5 13. Ne4 Be7 14. Bxf6 Bxf6
15. Nxf6+ Qxf6 16. Qd4 Qe7 (16... Qxd4 17. Nxd4 e5 18. Nb5 Rac8 $11) 17. Ne5
Rfd8 18. Qe4 Be8 19. Rfd1 Nd5 20. Bc4 Nf6 21. Qc2 Rac8 (21... Rxd1+ 22. Qxd1
Qc5 23. Qd4 Qxd4 24. exd4 {Black is slightly better in this position beacuse
White allows an isolated queen pawn to be created. Black is only slightly
better because White has the bishop that controls the square in front of the
isolani, which gives White more of a chance to play d5! and get rid of his
isolani.}) 22. Qe2 Qc5 23. Rxd8 Rxd8 24. Nf3 b5 25. Bb3 a5 {Carlos has the
initiative: an important thing to have in games. Carlos is calling the shots
and constantly gaining tempi. The tempi allow Carlos to gain space on the
queenside.} 26. Qc2 Qb6 27. a4 {Jayden prompts ...b4, which weakens the light
squares on the queenside. This is helpful to Jayden because his bishop can
easily control many of the squares on the queenside. The only problem is
Carlos' bishop. The e8-bishop is surprisingly helpful, attacking a4 and the
outpost b5.} b4 28. Rc1 Qa6 29. Qc4 Qa8 1/2-1/2

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The Amateur West Championship is one of Boteo’s only tournaments each year. Even though first place earned him a free entry to the National Open (in addition to a plaque and a clock), he’s still unsure if he can go, as he may not be able to afford the trip. He’s still overjoyed because the Amateur West is what Boteo calls “the event of the year.” His goal is to become a National Master, but he says that money is a hindrance to his dreams. Xu found the Amateur West Championship because his mother was looking for a strong tournament that he could play in. Xu also struggles with time pressure, so they wanted to try a tournament that featured a 30 second increment. The Amateur West Championship seemed like a good fit due to its time control, so Jayden and his mom came to Tucson from Sunnyvale, California to compete for the first place title. Xu also dyed his hair blue before the event to “intimidate [his] opponents.” It must have worked, because he had five upsets (four wins, one draw) in six rounds! Jayden’s goal is to reach 2000 by the end of the year. The Amateur West Championship brought players from all around the country to participate, as well as many locals. While the origins of the Amateur West may be a mystery, this year’s tournament produced many interesting and stunning games, and certainly added to the Amateur West’s rich history!

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Final results here: https://sazchess.blogspot.com/2019/05/2019-amateur-west-championship-final.html Rating report here: http://www.uschess.org/msa/XtblMain.php?201905279412 Scholastic rating report here: http://www.uschess.org/msa/XtblMain.php?201905268792 All photos courtesy Michelle Martinez