US Takes Gold at 2019 PanAmerican Youth

The United States delegation secured the first overall (combined) place at the recently concluded 2019 PanAmerican Youth Championship in Guayaquil, Ecuador. The overall finish was powered in part by a sweep of the Girls U10 section, where Omya Vidyarthi, Crystal Gu and Abbie Wu finished first overall, second, and third respectively. Omya’s 7.5/9 score went unmatched, while Crystal and Abbie’s 7.0 was a half point ahead of the field. Other notable performances by Americans included Gus Huston’s victory in the U14 Absolute section. Gus, also scoring 7.5, secured the FIDE Master (FM) title in addition to his “gold” finish. Neeraj Harish managed a stunning 8.5/9 to run away with the U10 Absolute division, while Anh Nguyen also took clear first with an 8.0/9 score in the girls U14.

Maximillian Lu (7.5) and Roshan Idnani (7.0) went first-second in the U16 Absolute and the Velea sisters, Anne-Marie and Stephanie, took third place each in the U16 and U12 girls divisions. In the top overall category, the U18 Absolute section, FM Christopher Shen managed a second place finish on 6.5, while FM Shunkai Peng finished barely out of the podium in fourth place just a half point behind. The tournament itself was held at the Sheraton Guayaquil hotel and organized by the Ecuador Chess Federation. The American delegation met some difficulty as it was split between two hotels - the Sheraton itself and the Courtyard by Marriott. Despite the logistical problems and the difficult playing conditions - mostly associated with a very cramped playing hall - the American team kept high spirits throughout the event, convening after each round in two team rooms off the hotel lobby for game review and preparation for the next round. The coaching staff was led by Head of Delegation Aviv Friedman and Assistant Head of Delegation GM Elshan Moradiabadi and featured some of America’s top coaching talent, including previous Olympiad coach GM Alex Lenderman. In total, 52 players represented the United States across the various divisions. The next stop for the American team is in Weifang, China, for the World Cadet Championship. Team USA will look to replicate its PanAmerican success against teams from across the globe in U12, U10, and U8 Absolute and Girls divisions. Complete standings from the 2019 PanAmerican Youth, including downloadable game files: http://chess-results.com/tnr455920.aspx?lan=1&art=0&turdet=YES&flag=30 Games from the PanAms

[pgn] [Event "Pan American"] [Site "?"] [Date "2019.08.02"] [Round "8.2"] [White "Lu, Maximillian"] [Black "Mollo, Jhoan"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D11"] [WhiteElo "2090"] [BlackElo "2013"] [Annotator "Karagianis"] [PlyCount "85"] [EventDate "2019.??.??"] 1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. c4 c6 4. Qb3 Qb6 5. Qc2 {Voluntarily blocking in the c8 bishop doesn't seem ideal here. Preferable was maybe ...Bg4 or even ...g6, to develop f8 in a different way. (Karagianis)} e6 6. g3 Nbd7 7. Bg2 Qb4+ { A check with unclear purpose. (Karagianis)} 8. Nbd2 Be7 9. O-O O-O 10. e3 Qb6 11. e4 Nxe4 12. Nxe4 dxe4 13. Qxe4 Nf6 14. Qc2 c5 15. dxc5 Qc6 (15... Bxc5) 16. a3 (16. b4 {b4 immediately was playable, thanks to the queen's especially bad choice of square.} a5 17. Nd4 Qd7 18. Rd1 (18. Be3 axb4 19. c6 {is also quite unpleasant for black (Karagianis)})) 16... Qxc5 17. b4 Qc7 18. Bb2 Rd8 19. Rac1 Bd7 20. Ne5 Rac8 21. c5 Bc6 22. Bxc6 bxc6 $14 23. Nc4 Rd5 24. Rfe1 Rcd8 25. Be5 Qd7 26. Qe2 {White needed to attempt something more concrete here to avoid letting the advantage slip away. (Karagianis)} Ne8 27. a4 Bf6 28. Bxf6 Nxf6 29. Na5 Rd3 30. Rb1 Qd5 31. Qf1 {Draw offered by black, but Max asked him to make a move.} Ne4 {This was the move ax was expecting but he of course asked his opp to move before conisdering the draw. Max felt he was worse here. He considered the draw offer but his only chance to play for first place in the tournament was to win this game, so he decided to gamble and play on with a worse position. Both players had 2 minutes on the clock.} 32. Qg2 Nd2 33. Qxd5 cxd5 $2 {The move that allowed Max to turn the tables. Max expected ...Rd8xd5, but the game continuation was clearly favorable to him, allowing him the passed pawn.} 34. Nc6 $1 Nf3+ 35. Kf1 Ra8 36. Red1 Ra3 37. b5 Rc3 38. Rbc1 Rxc1 39. Rxc1 Nd2+ 40. Ke2 Nc4 41. a5 Kf8 42. b6 axb6 43. axb6 {1-0 Black resigns.} 1-0 [/pgn]

[pgn] [Event "Pan American Girls Under 14"] [Site "?"] [Date "2019.08.02"] [Round "3"] [White "Anh Nhu Nguyen"] [Black "Figueroa Bernal Julia Dennis"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B48"] [Annotator "Karagianis"] [PlyCount "61"] [EventDate "2019.??.??"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6 5. Nc3 Qc7 6. Be3 a6 7. f4 b5 8. Nb3 d6 9. Bd3 Nf6 10. Qf3 Bb7 11. O-O h5 12. Kh1 Rd8 13. Rae1 d5 {Willingly opening the center with her king in the center. Still, choosing it as his place of residence was not black's best option.} (13... Be7 {seemed more than reasonable.}) 14. exd5 Nb4 {Black was banking on this move to secure the center, but white has a stunning, though surprising, counter-punch:} 15. Qh3 ( 15. Nxb5 {The knight probably should not be taken in light of:} axb5 16. Bxb5+ Rd7 {is the most stubborn.} (16... Ke7 17. Bc5+) (16... Nd7 {And now the real fun begins:} 17. dxe6 Bxf3 18. exd7+ Rxd7 19. Bb6+ {White regains the queen with a winning position.}) 17. dxe6 {Works, similarly to below.} Bxf3 18. exd7+ Kd8 (18... Nxd7 19. Bb6+) 19. Bb6 $1 Bc6 (19... Qxb6 20. Re8+) 20. Bxc7+ Kxc7 $16) 15... Nbxd5 16. Nxd5 Bxd5 17. f5 e5 18. Bg5 Bd6 (18... Be7 {again felt the most natural}) 19. Qh4 Rg8 20. Nd2 Rd7 21. c4 {Opening lines and causing trouble.} Bc6 22. cxb5 axb5 23. Bxf6 (23. Nf3 {Also looked quite strong.}) 23... gxf6 24. Be4 Bc5 25. Qxf6 Bxe4 26. Nxe4 $16 Be7 27. Qa6 Qa7 28. Qc8+ Rd8 29. Qc6+ Qd7 30. Nf6+ Bxf6 31. Qxf6 {1-0 Black resigns.} 1-0 [/pgn]

[pgn] [Event "Pan American U10"] [Site "?"] [Date "2019.08.02"] [Round "9"] [White "Morales Risco, Hugo Alexander"] [Black "Harish, Neeraj"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C45"] [WhiteElo "1090"] [BlackElo "1395"] [Annotator "Harish"] [PlyCount "66"] [EventDate "2019.??.??"] {Neeraj had been leading the tournament since round 4 and was a full point ahead of the field. However in the last round, should he lose, he will not win first due to the first tie break between the direct encounter. That meant, Neeraj needed at least a draw in this game playing black which is always tricky. In the game, Neeraj found a good tactic and although it temporarily sacrifices the queen and looked risky, it finished off the game in a clean way clinching him clear first.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Bc5 5. Nb3 Bb6 6. Nc3 Nf6 7. Bg5 O-O 8. Bb5 Re8 9. f3 {Thou shalt not move thine f-pawn!} (9. O-O {was perfectly playable (Karagianis)}) 9... Nxe4 $1 10. Nxe4 Qxg5 11. Be2 Qxg2 12. Rf1 Qxh2 13. Qd2 Qh4+ 14. Kd1 d5 15. Nc3 Bf5 16. a4 Be3 17. Qe1 Qxe1+ 18. Rxe1 Nb4 19. Bd3 Nxd3 20. cxd3 Bxd3 21. Nxd5 Bg5 22. Rg1 Be2+ 23. Kc2 h6 24. f4 Bh4 25. Nd4 Rad8 26. Nf5 Bd3+ 27. Kxd3 Rxd5+ 28. Nd4 Bf6 29. Rae1 Rxd4+ 30. Kc2 Rxe1 31. Rxe1 Rxf4 32. Re8+ Kh7 33. Rb8 Rf2+ {0-1 White resigns.} 0-1 [/pgn]

[pgn] [Event "Pan American"] [Site "?"] [Date "2019.08.02"] [Round "6.1"] [White "Varillas Jimenez, Ivan"] [Black "Huston, Gus"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A34"] [WhiteElo "1760"] [BlackElo "2139"] [Annotator "Karagianis"] [PlyCount "80"] [EventDate "2019.??.??"] 1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 c5 3. g3 g6 4. Bg2 Bg7 5. e4 Nc6 6. Nge2 O-O 7. O-O Ne8 8. a3 Nc7 9. Rb1 Ne6 {A well-known and strong knight maneuver, aimed at permanent control over the d4 square.} 10. f4 Ned4 11. g4 {Ground control to c1 bishop... } d6 12. Ng3 {White plays with apparent aggressive intent, but his kingside activity has no clear direction as yet.} Rb8 13. b4 cxb4 14. axb4 b5 15. c5 dxc5 16. bxc5 b4 {The preceding sequence of queenside pawn play has left black with a comfortable position: he now has two connected passers on the a and b files.} 17. Nd5 Ne6 18. e5 Ba6 19. d3 Nc7 20. Nxc7 Qxc7 21. d4 {White rushes to move his central pawn mass, but the exchange sacrifice was unnecessary.} ( 21. Rf2) 21... Bxf1 22. Nxf1 e6 23. Ne3 Rfd8 24. Bb2 Bf8 25. Rc1 b3 26. d5 exd5 27. Nxd5 Qa5 28. Qe2 Bxc5+ 29. Kh1 Bd4 {A nice and well-calculated move. Black intends to maximize the strength of his b3 pawn and rooks.} 30. Nf6+ Kh8 31. Bxc6 Bxb2 32. Qxb2 Rd2 33. Qb1 Qa2 34. Rf1 Qxb1 35. Rxb1 b2 36. Be4 Rc8 { There is nothing to be done.} 37. Rg1 Rc1 38. f5 Rd4 39. Bb1 Rxg1+ 40. Kxg1 Rd1+ {White Resigned} 0-1 [/pgn]

[pgn] [Event "Pan American"] [Site "?"] [Date "2019.08.02"] [Round "9"] [White "Huston, Gus"] [Black "Loja Sombrano, Diego"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B10"] [WhiteElo "2139"] [BlackElo "1511"] [Annotator "Karagianis"] [PlyCount "101"] [EventDate "2019.??.??"] 1. e4 {In his final round encounter, new FIDE Master Gus Huston manages a nice positional grind until his opponent errantly takes a pawn that cannot safely be captured.} c6 2. d3 d5 3. Nd2 g6 4. g3 Bg7 5. Bg2 Nh6 6. Ngf3 O-O 7. O-O e5 8. Re1 d4 9. b4 Be6 10. a4 b6 11. b5 c5 12. Nc4 f6 13. a5 Nd7 14. Bd2 Qc7 15. Qe2 Nf7 16. Ra4 $6 Nd6 17. Nxd6 Qxd6 18. Rea1 Qc7 19. c4 dxc3 20. Bxc3 Bf7 21. Bh3 bxa5 22. Rxa5 Nb6 23. Nd2 Rfd8 24. Nc4 Bxc4 25. dxc4 Qf7 26. Bf1 Rd7 27. Bd2 Rb8 28. Be3 Bf8 29. h4 Rbb7 30. Bh3 Rdc7 31. Rc1 Rb8 32. Ra2 Rd8 33. Rd2 Rxd2 34. Qxd2 Nxc4 35. Qa2 f5 36. Qxc4 Qxc4 37. Rxc4 Rf7 38. exf5 gxf5 39. Bg2 e4 40. f3 Rb7 41. fxe4 fxe4 42. Bxe4 Rxb5 43. Bd5+ Kh8 44. Rg4 Bg7 45. Re4 Bf8 46. Re8 Kg7 47. Bf4 Rb1+ 48. Kg2 Rd1 49. Be5+ Kh6 50. Re6+ Kh5 51. Bf3# { 1-0 White wins by checkmate.} 1-0 [/pgn]

[pgn] [Event "Pan American"] [Site "?"] [Date "2019.08.02"] [Round "5"] [White "Jimena Velasquez Romero"] [Black "Wu Abbie"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B54"] [Annotator "Wu"] [PlyCount "78"] [EventDate "2019.??.??"] 1. e4 c5 {The coaches were impressed with Abbie Wu's handling of the material imbalance - 3 pieces against a queen - during her fifth round encounter with Jimena Velasquez Romero, of Peru.} 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. f3 Nc6 6. c4 e6 7. Nc3 Be7 8. Be3 O-O 9. Qd2 a6 10. Be2 Qc7 11. O-O Bd7 12. Rfd1 Rac8 13. Rac1 Rfd8 14. Nd5 exd5 15. cxd5 Nxd4 16. Rxc7 Nxe2+ 17. Qxe2 Rxc7 18. Bb6 Rdc8 19. Bxc7 Rxc7 20. e5 Ne8 21. Qe4 dxe5 22. Qxe5 Bd6 23. Qe1 Nf6 24. Qa5 Rc8 25. Kh1 Bc7 26. Qb4 b5 27. d6 Bb6 28. Qh4 h6 29. g4 Nxg4 30. Rb1 Nf2+ 31. Kg2 Rc2 32. Kg3 Nh1+ 33. Kf4 g5+ 34. Ke4 Rc4+ 35. Ke5 Rxh4 36. Rxh1 Be6 37. f4 Rxf4 38. Rd1 Bd8 39. h4 Bf6# {0-1 Black wins by checkmate.} 0-1 [/pgn]