US Team Cruising on Top Boards in Batumi

The tournament has crossed the halfway mark on an overall happy note for the US delegation at the World Cadets in Batumi, Georgia. Going into round seven, we have Americans on top boards in nearly all sections: Open Under 8:

Board 3- Farid Orujov (Azerbaijan)- Marvin Gao. Marvin has made a great comeback after his first round loss and has won five consecutive games to get within a half point of the leaders. Here is his round six victory against the Bulgarian representative.

[pgn] [Event "World Cadets Championship U8B"] [Site "?"] [Date "2016.10.24"] [White "Gao, Marvin"] [Black "Ivanov, Svetlen"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B46"] [WhiteElo "1475"] [BlackElo "1764"] [PlyCount "69"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Nxc6 bxc6 7. e5 d5 8. exd6 Bxd6 9. Ne4 Bb4+ 10. Bd2 Bxd2+ 11. Qxd2 Qxd2+ 12. Kxd2 Nf6 13. Nc5 Ke7 14. b4 Rd8+ 15. Bd3 Nd5 16. Rhb1 e5 17. Ke1 f5 18. a4 e4 19. Bc4 e3 20. Bxd5 exf2+ 21. Kxf2 Rxd5 22. Rd1 Be6 23. Rxd5 Bxd5 24. Re1+ Kd6 25. a5 g5 26. Rd1 Ke5 27. Nd7+ Ke6 28. Nb6 Rb8 29. c4 Be4 30. c5 Rb7 31. Rd6+ Ke5 32. Nd7+ Kf4 33. g3+ Kg4 34. h3+ Kh5 35. Nf6+ 1-0[/pgn]

In round 7 he takes on the talented champion of Azerbaijan in this age category. A game to watch! Open Under 10:

Board 1- Ilya Makoveev (Russia)- Jason Wang. Both players have 5.5/ 6. Jason gave up a half point in round 5, when he carefully navigated to a draw the white side of a Benko gambit gone wrong.

[pgn] [Event "World Cadets Championship U10B"] [Site "?"] [Date "2016.10.23"] [White "Wang, Jason"] [Black "Tugstumur, Yesuntumur"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A58"] [WhiteElo "1999"] [BlackElo "2150"] [PlyCount "61"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 b5 4. cxb5 a6 5. bxa6 g6 6. Nc3 Bg7 7. e4 O-O 8. Nf3 Qa5 9. Bd2 Bxa6 10. Be2 d6 11. O-O Nbd7 12. h3 Rfb8 13. Qc2 Bxe2 14. Nxe2 Qa4 15. Qxa4 Rxa4 16. b3 Ra6 17. Nc3 Ne8 18. Rfc1 Nc7 19. Rab1 Bxc3 20. Bxc3 Rxa2 21. b4 f6 22. bxc5 Rxb1 23. Rxb1 Nxc5 24. Nd2 Kf7 25. f3 h5 26. Nb3 Na4 27. Bd4 Nb5 28. Ra1 Rxa1+ 29. Bxa1 Nc5 30. Nd4 Nxd4 31. Bxd4 1/2-1/2 [/pgn]

He ground out a bishops of opposite colored endgame in round 6 (a 106 move game, although the last twenty of them weren’t necessary).

[pgn] [Event "World Cadets Championship U10B"] [Site "?"] [Date "2016.10.24"] [White "Kostolansky, Sebastian Lukas"] [Black "Wang, Jason"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B40"] [WhiteElo "1984"] [BlackElo "1999"] [PlyCount "212"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. c4 Nc6 4. Nc3 Nge7 5. d4 Nxd4 6. Nxd4 cxd4 7. Qxd4 Nc6 8. Qe3 b6 9. Be2 Bc5 10. Qg3 Qf6 11. O-O Qg6 12. Bf4 Qxg3 13. Bxg3 f6 14. Nb5 Ke7 15. Rfd1 Ne5 16. a3 a5 17. Kf1 Bb7 18. f3 g5 19. b3 Bc6 20. Be1 Bxb5 21. cxb5 Rhc8 22. b4 axb4 23. axb4 Rxa1 24. Rxa1 Bd4 25. Rd1 Be3 26. Bd3 Ra8 27. Ke2 Bf4 28. Bb1 Nc4 29. g3 Be5 30. Rc1 Nd6 31. Bd3 Ra2+ 32. Bd2 h5 33. Kd1 h4 34. f4 gxf4 35. gxh4 f3 36. h5 Bxh2 37. Rc2 Ra3 38. Rc3 Rxc3 39. Bxc3 Be5 40. Bd2 Bd4 41. Bf4 Nf7 42. Ke1 Ne5 43. Bc2 Ng4 44. h6 Kf7 45. Bd1 f2+ 46. Kf1 Ne3+ 47. Bxe3 Bxe3 48. Bh5+ Kg8 49. Be8 d6 50. Bg6 Bxh6 51. Kxf2 Kg7 52. Be8 Bd2 53. Bd7 Kf7 54. Kf3 Ke7 55. Bc8 d5 56. exd5 exd5 57. Ke2 Bxb4 58. Ke3 Kd6 59. Kf4 Bc3 60. Bf5 Be5+ 61. Ke3 Kc5 62. Bd3 Kb4 63. Kf3 Kc3 64. Ke3 Bf4+ 65. Ke2 Kd4 66. Bc2 Ke5 67. Kf3 f5 68. Bd3 Bg5 69. Bc2 Be7 70. Bd3 Bc5 71. Bc2 f4 72. Bd1 Bd6 73. Bc2 Kd4 74. Bd1 Kd3 75. Be2+ Kd2 76. Bf1 Ke1 77. Be2 Bc5 78. Bd3 Be3 79. Be2 Kd2 80. Bf1 Kc3 81. Be2 Bc1 82. Bf1 Kd2 83. Be2 d4 84. Bf1 d3 85. Ke4 f3 86. Kxf3 Kc2 87. Ke4 d2 88. Bd3+ Kd1 89. Kd5 Ke1 90. Bc2 d1=Q+ 91. Bxd1 Kxd1 92. Kc6 Be3 93. Kd5 Kc2 94. Kc4 Bc5 95. Kd5 Kd3 96. Ke5 Kc4 97. Ke4 Bd4 98. Kf3 Kxb5 99. Ke2 Kc4 100. Kd2 b5 101. Kc2 b4 102. Kc1 Kc3 103. Kb1 b3 104. Kc1 b2+ 105. Kb1 Be5 106. Ka2 Kc2 0-1[/pgn]

Board 2- Nico Chasin- Volodar Murzin (Russia). So it’s USA-Russia on both top boards! Reminiscent of the recent Olympiad, when USA faced Russia across eight boards in the eighth round (open and women’s section). Nico has 5.5/ 6 as well, coming off a couple of particularly good rounds, defeating the top seed Islombek Sindarov (2229 FIDE) and then the third seed, his fellow member of the US team- Arthur Guo (2168 FIDE). His opponent Volodar has half a point less.

[pgn] [Event "World Cadets Championship U10B"] [Site "?"] [Date "2016.10.23"] [White "Chasin, Nico Werner"] [Black "Sindarov, Islombek"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E91"] [WhiteElo "1903"] [BlackElo "2229"] [PlyCount "69"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Nf3 O-O 6. Be2 Bg4 7. Be3 Nc6 8. h3 Bxf3 9. Bxf3 e5 10. d5 Ne7 11. Be2 Nd7 12. O-O f5 13. f3 f4 14. Bf2 g5 15. b4 Nf6 16. Rc1 h5 17. c5 a6 18. a4 Qe8 19. b5 Qg6 20. b6 cxb6 21. cxd6 Nc8 22. Qb3 g4 23. hxg4 hxg4 24. fxg4 Nxd6 25. Qxb6 Ndxe4 26. Bd3 Qxg4 27. Nxe4 Rae8 28. Rc4 Nxe4 29. Bxe4 Rf6 30. Qxb7 Kh8 31. Bf3 Qg6 32. Re1 Qh7 33. Rc8 Rff8 34. Rxe8 Rxe8 35. d6 1-0[/pgn]

Note the nice positional maneuver Na7!-c6-Nb5-Nd6 in the game with Arthur:

[pgn] [Event "World Cadets Championship U10B"] [Site "?"] [Date "2016.10.24"] [White "Guo, Arthur"] [Black "Chasin, Nico Werner"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B00"] [WhiteElo "2168"] [BlackElo "1903"] [PlyCount "98"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] 1. e4 Nc6 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 Nf6 4. Nc3 Bg4 5. Be3 e6 6. Be2 d5 7. exd5 exd5 8. O-O Be7 9. Ne5 Bxe2 10. Qxe2 a6 11. Qf3 O-O 12. Rad1 Na7 13. Bg5 c6 14. Bxf6 Bxf6 15. Ng4 Be7 16. Ne2 Nb5 17. Ng3 Nd6 18. Ne3 g6 19. Ng4 f5 20. Ne5 Bf6 21. Rfe1 Qc7 22. Qf4 Rae8 23. Nd3 b6 24. c3 a5 25. a4 Rxe1+ 26. Rxe1 Re8 27. Rxe8+ Nxe8 28. Qe3 Qc8 29. Ne2 Nd6 30. b3 b5 31. Nef4 bxa4 32. bxa4 Ne4 33. Qc1 Qe8 34. Qe1 g5 35. Nh3 Kf7 36. f3 Nd6 37. Kf2 Qc8 38. Qc1 h6 39. Nc5 Qb8 40. Qc2 Qc7 41. Ng1 Qc8 42. Ne2 Nc4 43. Ng3 Kg6 44. Qb1 Be7 45. Nd3 Bd6 46. Nb2 Bxg3+ 47. hxg3 Qb8 48. Qe1 Qxb2+ 49. Kg1 Kf7 0-1[/pgn]

Open Under 12:

Board 1- Andrew Hong- Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa (India). At 5.5/ 6 Andrew is in clear second place behind IM Praggnanandhaa’s perfect score. Andrew has been having a great tournament, having scored 1.5/ 2 against the second and third seeds and gaining 57 rating points so far. He will have a big test in the Indian star who has a good chance to break the record for youngest ever GM (Sergey Karjakin at 12 years and 7 months). In round 6, Andrew made a nice exchange sacrifice to gain the initiative:

[pgn] [Event "World Cadets Championship U12B"] [Site "?"] [Date "2016.10.24"] [White "Bjerre, Jonas"] [Black "Hong, Andrew Z"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A06"] [WhiteElo "2375"] [BlackElo "2296"] [SetUp "1"] [FEN "2r3k1/pp3pp1/1b3nqp/8/1P1pPP2/P2Q3P/3N2PB/4R1K1 w - - 0 28"] [PlyCount "19"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] 28. Nc4 Rxc4 29. Qxc4 d3+ 30. Kh1 d2 31. Rd1 Nxe4 32. Bg1 Bxg1 33. Kxg1 Qb6+ 34. Kh2 Qe3 35. Qc8+ Kh7 36. Qf5+ Kg8 37. Qc8+ 1/2-1/2[/pgn]

Board 4- Renjie Huang (China)- Nikhil Kumar. Nikhil is in a group of seven players behind Andrew Hong at 5/6. He is having an excellent tournament, gaining 60 points. Girls Under 10: Board 3: Rochelle Wu- Davakhuu Munkhzul (Mongolia, obviously). Rochelle has only given up two draws, but because it’s a large section which makes it possible for multiple perfect scores to exist for a long time, she has flown under the radar so far. This is her first appearance on such a high board and a chance to finally enter the leaders group. She is a half point behind the two leaders who are facing each other. Girls Under 12: Board 4: Nastassja Matus- Dehankar Mrudul (India). Nastassja is having a fantastic tournament, gaining 90 points. Last round she drew the top ranked Bibisara Assaubayeva (2289) with Black. At the moment Nastassja is in a seven-way tie for second place, so this is a good chance to break out of the pack.

[pgn] [Event "World Cadets Championship U12G"] [Site "?"] [Date "2016.10.24"] [White "Assaubayeva, Bibisara"] [Black "Matus, Nastassja A"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C10"] [WhiteElo "2287"] [BlackElo "1815"] [PlyCount "67"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Nd7 5. Nf3 Ngf6 6. Bd3 Nxe4 7. Bxe4 Nf6 8. Bg5 h6 9. Bxf6 Qxf6 10. Qe2 a6 11. O-O Bd6 12. c3 O-O 13. Rad1 Rb8 14. Ne5 c5 15. f4 cxd4 16. cxd4 Rd8 17. Qf3 Qe7 18. Kh1 Bd7 19. b3 f5 20. Bd3 Bxe5 21. dxe5 Bc6 22. Qe3 Rd7 23. Bc4 Rbd8 24. Rxd7 Rxd7 25. Qc3 b5 26. Be2 Bb7 27. Bf3 Rc7 28. Qd3 Qd7 29. Qxd7 Rxd7 30. Bxb7 Rxb7 31. g3 Rc7 32. Rf2 g5 33. Rd2 Kf7 34. Kg2 1/2-1/2[/pgn]

The only free day we will have here was, as promised by the forecasts, rainy. Sometimes the rain was heavy, sometimes more of a drizzle, and sometimes it stopped altogether. Looking out my window in the morning, I could see a road in front of the hotel flooded, with cars making waves as they waded through it. A good portion of our delegation decided to brave the weather and try the tour the organizers provided to see the nearby scenery (they seemed to like it). Many others stayed put at the Sheraton. As I mentioned in my first report, World Youth is a time for making friends, socializing, and playing with other kids. It was disappointing to see my charge, Nura, sitting in the room doing homework all day and only socializing with myself. One of the main drawbacks of this year’s edition is the lack of opportunities for the kids to get together, play sports/games, etc. So on the free day I made a few phone calls to the parents of other girls and organized a walk to the zoo/dolphinarium (10-15 minutes away). We saw some adorable ponies, but the zoo was closed due to the weather and the dolphin show was only starting much later, so we continued walking in the city.

I had a good time shopping and the girls had a good time hanging out with each other! [mission:completed]. Photos of my purchases may be included in the next report :) At 6:30 PM, there was a team dinner for all the team members and accompanying persons at the nearby restaurant, Grill Town, sponsored by Two Sigma, who also provided the team’s beautiful uniforms. So you can imagine that that was one big dinner! (we took up their whole first floor). The food was already waiting for us when we arrived, and it was delicious, even their take on traditional American dishes like Caesar Salad with grilled chicken. Kids sat separately at their own tables, and it looked like they had a great time. You can follow our team playing live at: http://www.e2e4.ge/ and track Team USA on chessresults; it’s going to be an exciting five rounds! Also follow along on twitter, facebook & chessresults.com. Find out more about Two Sigma sponsorship here.  Also see GM Irina Krush's first piece from Batumi here.