WGM Tatev Abrahamyan on the Denker and Haring

The 36th annual GM Arnold Denker National Tournament of High School State Champions and the 8th annual WIM Ruth Haring National Tournament of Girls State Champions took place over the weekend of July 25-26. These two prestigious scholastic events normally take place in conjunction with the US Open, but given the current circumstances, they were held on chess.com instead.

The online experience must have been a bittersweet one for the graduating seniors, but the opportunity to wrap up their youth careers with one final event must have been a welcome relief and distraction during these challenging times. The two tournaments were covered on Twitch by top American players and popular commentators GMs Hikaru Nakamura and Robert Hess and WGMs Jennifer Shahade and Katerina Nemcova, drawing in large numbers of viewers.

The Haring attracted some of our top experienced female players in the country including:

Reigning US Women’s Champion WGM Jennifer Yu,
IM Annie Wang,
WIM Rochelle Wu,
WFM Martha Samadashvili, and
11 year old defending champion Alice Lee.

Annie Wang looking up before chess game starts, Photo Lennart Ootes

Annie Wang, Photo Lennart Ootes

In the end, experience prevailed with Annie Wang sweeping the event with a perfect 6-0 score. The winner took home a $2,000 prize in scholarships and the 2020 Haring title. Finishing tied for second place were WIM Rochelle Wu, WFM Martha Samadashvili, Yili Wen, and Gauri Menon, all of whom scored 4.5/6, 1.5 points behind the winner.

While Annie’s score may suggest that the tournament was smooth sailing, she had many fighting games where she had to capitalize on her opponent’s mistakes later in the game. Her first big challenge was in round 3, when she had to grind out a win against Gracy Prasanna from Pennsylvania.

[pgn][Event "2020 Haring K-12 Girls State Champions"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2020.07.25"] [Round "3"] [White "Wang, Annie"] [Black "Prasanna, Gracy"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D10"] [WhiteElo "2457"] [BlackElo "2123"] [Annotator "Abrahamyan"] [SetUp "1"] [FEN "4r1k1/pp3p1p/4n1p1/q2B4/2P5/4Q3/P4PPP/4RK2 w - - 0 30"] [PlyCount "25"] [EventDate "2020.07.25"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "6"] [WhiteClock "0:02:28"] [BlackClock "0:00:31"] {[#] White's position feels more pleasant with the bishop parked on d5, but she has a lot of weaknesses and the Black knight has a nice potential outpost on c5} 30. Re2 b6 31. g3 Qa4 32. Kg2 Qd7 33. Qf3 Ng5 {perhaps Gracy got impatient and decided to force simplifications} (33... Re7 {with the idea of Nc7 to kick out the bishop also makes sense}) 34. Rxe8+ Qxe8 35. Qf4 Qe7 36. h4 Ne6 37. Qe5 Qd7 38. h5 {White has activated her queen and can start creating problems on the dark squares} gxh5 {Black can't allow h6} 39. Qxh5 Nc7 $2 { the knight is headed to the wrong side of the board.} (39... Nf8 {instead, the knight needs to protect the king}) 40. Qg5+ (40. Be4 f6 {the inclusion of these moves favors White as the black knight no longer will have a safe square on e6}) 40... Kf8 41. Qh6+ Ke8 $4 {an unfortunate blunder. It's hard to judge whether time trouble, a mouselip or an oversight was the culprit} 42. Bc6 (42. Bc6 Ne6 43. Bxd7+ Kxd7 44. Qxh7 Nd8 45. Qe4 Kc8) 1-0 [/pgn]

In the following round, Annie faced off against Rochelle Wu, my teammate during the 2019 World Team Championship. The youngster escaped unscathed after playing a suspicious opening, but an incorrect recapture on move 41 cost her the game.

[pgn][Event "2020 Haring K-12 Girls State Champions"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2020.07.26"] [Round "4"] [White "Wu, Rochelle"] [Black "Wang, Annie"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "E32"] [WhiteElo "2266"] [BlackElo "2457"] [Annotator "Abrahamyan"] [PlyCount "89"] [EventDate "2020.07.25"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "6"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 O-O 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. Qxc3 d6 7. Bg5 Nbd7 8. e3 b6 9. Ne2 (9. Bd3 {is the more common move}) 9... c5 10. Rd1 Qc7 11. Qc2 Ba6 12. Nc3 cxd4 13. Rxd4 h6 14. Bh4 (14. Bxf6 {has been played 4 times, including by GMs Georgiev and Bartel}) 14... d5 15. cxd5 Bxf1 16. d6 {this greedy move gives Black a lot of active play against the soon to be weak white king} Qc6 17. Kxf1 $2 {Rochelle must have missed the tactical problems this move caused} (17. Rxf1 {is a difficult move to play but White has no choice}) 17... e5 { and now the rook has to go to an uncomfortable square} 18. Rb4 (18. Rd1 Qc4+ $19 {and we see the problem with the king on f1}) 18... a5 19. Qa4 Qxd6 20. Rb5 Rac8 {technically this is a mistake because the engine finds a win for Black which takes advantage of White's awkward piece placement. Black still has the upper hand but it's no surprise that the position offers a direct win} (20... Qd3+ $1 21. Kg1 g5 22. Bg3 Rac8 23. h3 Rc4 24. Qb3 a4 25. Qa2 Rxc3 $19 { winning a piece}) 21. Bxf6 Nxf6 (21... Qd3+ {throwing in this check and worsening the king's position favors Black} 22. Kg1 Nxf6 23. h3 Rc4 24. Qb3 a4 $19 {the same idea as before}) 22. Ke2 e4 $2 (22... Qc6 {asking White how she's going to defend the g2 pawn, which turns out to be a pretty difficutl question to answer}) 23. Qd4 Qc7 24. Rd1 {White managed to consolidate and now the game starts all over} Qxh2 25. Nxe4 Rc2+ 26. Kf3 {the king is perfectly safe on f3!} Nxe4 27. Qxe4 Qc7 28. g3 Rc6 29. Kg2 Re6 30. Qd5 Rc8 31. Rb3 Qc2 32. Rd2 Qg6 33. Rbd3 Rf6 34. Qb7 Rcc6 35. Rd4 Qh5 36. Rf4 Rc1 37. Qa8+ Kh7 38. Qe4+ g6 39. Rh4 Qb5 40. Rf4 Rxf4 {[#]} 41. exf4 $4 (41. Qxf4 {and the position remains balanced albeit scary for White. It's very understandable why she didn't go for the following line} Qf1+ 42. Kf3 Qh1+ 43. Ke2 Re1+ 44. Kd3 Qf1+ 45. Kd4 $1 {the centralized king is surprisingly safe!}) 41... Qh5 $1 {the king can no longer escape} 42. f3 Qh1+ 43. Kf2 Qg1+ 44. Ke2 Re1+ 45. Kd3 0-1 [/pgn]

Rochelle Wu, Photo IM Rosen

Not one to easily become jaded, Rochelle recovered with a win over Jennifer Yu in the very next round. Jennifer was only half a point behind Annie, but this game knocked her out of contention.

[pgn][Event "2020 Haring K-12 Girls State Champions"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2020.07.26"] [Round "5"] [White "Wu, Rochelle"] [Black "Yu, Jennifer"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D31"] [WhiteElo "2266"] [BlackElo "2397"] [Annotator "Abrahamyan"] [SetUp "1"] [FEN "2rr4/1p3pRp/p3pk2/b4p2/PP2N2q/Q3Pb2/2B2P2/5KR1 b - - 0 34"] [PlyCount "36"] [EventDate "2020.07.25"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "6"] {[#] In a completely winning position, Jennifer's attempt to go for the brilliancy backfires} 34... Qxe4 $4 ({the simple} 34... Bxe4 {gets the job done. It's hard to suggest moves for White} 35. Bxe4 Rd2 $19 (35... Qxe4 { is also enough} 36. bxa5 Rd2 $19)) 35. Qa1+ e5 (35... Qe5 36. Rxf7+ Kxf7 37. Qxe5 $18) 36. Bxe4 Rd1+ $2 (36... fxe4 $3 {forces White to find accurate moves} 37. bxa5 Rd1+ 38. Qxd1 Bxd1 39. Rg8 {only move otherwise Black will play Bf3 followed by Rc1 mate} Rc5 40. Kg2 Bf3+ 41. Kg3 Rxa5 $13) 37. Qxd1 Bxd1 38. Bd5 $16 Bh5 39. Rxh7 Bg6 40. Rh4 Bd8 41. Rc4 Rxc4 42. Bxc4 Be7 43. b5 axb5 44. Bxb5 b6 45. Ke2 Bc5 46. Rc1 Bh5+ 47. Kf1 Bf3 48. a5 $18 Kg5 49. a6 f4 50. exf4+ Kxf4 51. Bd7 e4 52. Bc6 1-0 [/pgn]

Going through this game I was reminded of a funny story from the 2019 World Team Championship, where Rochelle and I were teammates. During our match against Russia, Rochelle was paired against WGM Olga Girya and was suffering in a bad position down a pawn. After Girya played her 39th move, Rochelle got up and asked our team captain for the round if she could make a draw.

This is a totally normal practice during team events such as the Olympiad or World Team, but normally the players ask if they *may* offer a draw, not if they can force one. This question came as a surprise to Alejandro, who assumed that Rochelle was simply lost. Girya herself looked confused, probably also under the impression that her position was crushing. Rochelle’s next move must have felt like an unexpected cold shower for her much higher rated opponent.

[pgn][Event "World Team Chess Championship (Women)"] [Site "Astana KAZ"] [Date "2019.03.11"] [Round "6.2"] [White "Rochelle Wu"] [Black "Olga Girya"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E34"] [WhiteElo "2120"] [BlackElo "2456"] [Annotator "Abrahamyan"] [SetUp "1"] [FEN "k7/1p3r2/pQp5/3q1rp1/3P3p/PR2P3/1P6/K1R5 w - - 0 40"] [PlyCount "7"] [EventDate "2019.03.05"] {[#]} 40. e4 $3 {the game ended in a draw in view of} Qxe4 41. Qd8+ Ka7 42. Qb6+ Ka8 43. Qd8+ {with a perpetual} 1/2-1/2 [/pgn]

The tricky youngster should not be underestimated! We still lost the match to Russia with a score of 1.5-2.5 but this game definitely lifted the team spirit.

Let’s return back to our tournament. Annie’s keen eye for tactics secured her the win against close rival Martha Samadashvili in round 5.

Martha Samadashvili (photo Hartmann)

[pgn][Event "2020 Haring K-12 Girls State Champions"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2020.07.26"] [Round "5"] [White "Wang, Annie"] [Black "Samadashvili, Martha"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E00"] [WhiteElo "2457"] [BlackElo "2340"] [Annotator "Abrahamyan"] [SetUp "1"] [FEN "r2r2k1/pq2b1pp/4pp2/1p1b4/3Bn2P/1P4PB/PQN1PP2/R2R2K1 b - - 0 23"] [PlyCount "78"] [EventDate "2020.07.25"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "6"] {[#]} 23... e5 $1 24. Be3 b4 25. Ne1 Nc3 26. Rdc1 Qb5 {Black is doing very well here with more active pieces and more space} 27. Nd3 Bf7 28. Bf1 a5 29. Bd2 Ne4 $2 (29... e4 30. Nf4 Qe5 {keeping the knight on c3 gives Black a big edge}) 30. Be1 Rac8 31. Bh3 Rxc1 32. Rxc1 Rb8 33. Qc2 {with the worst behind her, White takes control of the c file} Qb6 $4 {simply blunder a pawn} (33... Bg6 $13) 34. Nxe5 fxe5 35. Qxe4 Qd4 36. Qxd4 exd4 37. Rc7 Bd8 38. Rd7 Bb6 39. Bd2 Bc5 40. Bf4 Re8 41. Rc7 Bf8 42. Kf1 a4 43. Bd7 {Annie had no difficulties converting her two extra pawns} Rd8 44. Bxa4 d3 45. exd3 Rxd3 46. Rc8 Be6 47. Rb8 Bg4 48. Bb5 Rd1+ 49. Kg2 Be6 50. Kf3 h5 51. Ke2 Rd4 52. Be3 Re4 53. Kd2 Re5 54. Bd4 Rd5 55. Ke3 Rf5 56. Bd3 Ra5 57. Bb6 Re5+ 58. Kf4 Rd5 59. Bc4 Rf5+ 60. Ke4 Rf6 61. Bd4 Rg6 62. Bc5 1-0 [/pgn]

In her final game, Annie showed the maturity and patience of a seasoned player to grind out a win in an opposite colored bishops endgame with equal material.

[pgn][Event "2020 Haring K-12 Girls State Champions"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2020.07.26"] [Round "6"] [White "Velea, Anne-Marie"] [Black "Wang, Annie"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B51"] [WhiteElo "2013"] [BlackElo "2457"] [Annotator "Abrahamyan"] [SetUp "1"] [FEN "r5k1/6pp/4pp2/3n4/2bBB3/2P5/5PPP/1R4K1 b - - 0 33"] [PlyCount "51"] [EventDate "2020.07.25"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "6"] {[#]} 33... e5 34. Bxd5+ Bxd5 35. Be3 Ra2 36. h4 Ra3 37. Rc1 Ra4 38. g3 { White has to defend the pawn, but potentially weakening the king feels unpleasant.} Kf7 39. Kf1 Bc4+ 40. Ke1 Ra2 41. Bd2 Ke6 42. Rb1 Kd5 43. f3 e4 44. fxe4+ Kxe4 45. Bf4 h6 46. Rb7 {the big mistake of the game} ({engine suggests} 46. Rb4 Kd3 47. Rb7 g5 48. Rd7+ {and unlike in the game the king can't go to f3. This kind of subtlety is impossible to find in what I presume to be time trouble} Kxc3 49. Bd2+ Kb3 50. Kf2) 46... g5 47. hxg5 hxg5 48. Bd2 Kf3 49. Kd1 Bd3 50. Rf7 Ra1+ {White is paralyzed and Black will simply collect all the pawns} 51. Bc1 f5 52. Rd7 Be4 53. c4 Kxg3 54. c5 f4 55. Rf7 f3 56. Kd2 f2 57. Bb2 f1=Q 58. Rxf1 Rxf1 0-1 [/pgn]

Rochelle and Martha faced off in the final round, with a win guaranteeing a clear second to either player. The game saw some action but ultimately ended in a funny looking locked-in position.

[pgn][Event "2020 Haring K-12 Girls State Champions"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2020.07.26"] [Round "6"] [White "Samadashvili, Martha"] [Black "Wu, Rochelle"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B52"] [WhiteElo "2340"] [BlackElo "2266"] [Annotator "Abrahamyan"] [SetUp "1"] [FEN "r5k1/4q1b1/p2p2r1/1pp1p3/2P1Pp2/1P1P1Pp1/P1KB2P1/R2Q3R w - - 0 25"] [PlyCount "7"] [EventDate "2020.07.25"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "6"] {[#]} 25. a4 b4 26. Rh5 Rf8 27. Qh1 Qd7 28. Qh3 1/2-1/2 [/pgn]

The 44 player Denker field was headlined by GM Nicolas Checa and three IMs: Praveen Balakrishnan, Andrew Hong and Carissa Yip. Unlike the Haring, this was a much tighter event, with Checa topping the field by a mere half-point at 5.5/6.

Nicolas Checa (photo Austin Fuller)

Checa is a fierce competitor who had a spectacular event in the 2019 US Junior Championship, just missing out on qualifying for the 2020 US Championship. Here he earned the 2020 Denker title and $2,000 in scholarships. Half a point back were second place finishers Carissa Yip and Andrew Hong at 5/6.

Andrew Hong of Northern California took an early lead with four points after four rounds. His third round game against Andrew Zheng of Maryland included an interesting queen sacrifice.

[pgn][Event "2020 Denker HS State Champions"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2020.07.25"] [Round "3"] [White "Zheng, Andrew"] [Black "Hong, Andrew"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A01"] [WhiteElo "2297"] [BlackElo "2533"] [Annotator "Abrahamyan"] [SetUp "1"] [FEN "r4r2/Q3ppk1/3pbqp1/2p5/4P2p/PP3B2/2P2PPP/1R2R1K1 w - - 0 24"] [PlyCount "36"] [EventDate "2020.07.25"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "6"] {[#]} 24. Qxa8 $5 {enterprising decision by White} (24. Qb6 Rxa3 25. e5 dxe5 26. Qxc5 $13) 24... Rxa8 25. e5 Qg5 26. Bxa8 d5 $1 {material wise, White has enough compensation. Unfortunately, his bishop is locked out of the game and with a queen present, there is always a chance of an attack} 27. Re3 (27. g3 { this is an extremely difficult move to play, but White needs to defend the e5 pawn}) 27... h3 28. Rg3 Qxe5 29. c4 Bf5 30. Re3 $2 Qb8 {the queen proves her dominance} 31. Rbe1 Qxa8 $19 32. cxd5 Qxd5 33. gxh3 Bd7 34. Re5 Qxb3 35. Rxc5 Qxa3 36. Rce5 Qxh3 37. R5e3 Qg4+ 38. Rg3 Qb4 39. Rge3 Bc6 40. Rc1 Qg4+ 41. Rg3 Qe4 0-1 [/pgn]

The key matchup of the tournament was the round 4 battle between Andrew and his closest rival Nico who was trailing the leader by half a point.

[pgn][Event "2020 Denker HS State Champions"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2020.07.26"] [Round "5"] [White "Checa, Nicolas"] [Black "Hong, Andrew"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A13"] [WhiteElo "2644"] [BlackElo "2533"] [Annotator "Abrahamyan"] [SetUp "1"] [FEN "1r2r1k1/5ppp/2R1n3/4p1q1/2Qp4/1P3PP1/PBR1P2P/5K2 w - - 0 37"] [PlyCount "105"] [EventDate "2020.07.25"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "6"] {[#] White is up a pawn but the position is quite complex} 37. Bc1 Qf5 38. Qd3 e4 $1 {Andrew finds an amazing plan that require two more pawn sacrifices} 39. Qxe4 Qh3+ 40. Kg1 d3 $1 41. Rxe6 {only move!} (41. Qxd3 Rbd8 {White has back rank issues} 42. Rd6 Rxd6 43. Qxd6 Rd8 $19) (41. exd3 Nd4 {everything hangs} 42. Qxd4 $4 Re1+ 43. Kf2 Qf1#) 41... Qxe6 (41... Rxe6 42. Qxd3 {is also playable and I amnot sure how to evaluate the resulting position}) 42. Qxe6 fxe6 43. exd3 Rec8 44. Rc4 Rd8 45. Kf2 Ra8 46. a3 Rxd3 47. b4 Kf7 $13 48. b5 Rb3 49. a4 Rb1 50. Bf4 Rd8 51. g4 Rd3 52. Ke2 Ra3 53. Be5 {Black has made progress by putting the rooks behind the passed pawns, while White has managed to push the pair of pawns and has centralized the bishop} Ra2+ (53... Rbb3 $1 { threatening both the f3 pawn and the bishop with Re3+} 54. Rf4+ Ke8 55. Kf2 g5 $17 {and White can't hold on to all the pawns. If the a4 pawn falls, the b5 pawn won't survive for too long}) 54. Kd3 Rd1+ 55. Kc3 Ra3+ 56. Kb4 Rxf3 { Black still managed to win the pawn, but now the White king will assist the a and b pawns} 57. b6 Rb1+ 58. Kc5 Rfb3 59. Bc7 e5 60. Kc6 Ra3 61. Bxe5 {now White is just winning} g6 62. b7 {good enough to win the game} (62. Bd6 Ra2 63. b7 Rab2 64. Rb4 {a study like finish!} Rxb4 65. Bxb4 Rxb4 66. a5 $18) 62... Rab3 63. b8=Q Rxb8 64. Bxb8 Rxb8 65. a5 Rc8+ 66. Kd5 Rd8+ 67. Ke5 Ra8 68. Ra4 Ra6 69. Kd5 Ke7 70. Kc5 Kd7 71. Kb5 Re6 72. a6 Kc7 73. a7 Re5+ 74. Kb4 Re4+ 75. Kb3 Rxa4 76. Kxa4 Kb7 77. Kb5 Kxa7 78. Kc6 Kb8 79. Kd7 h5 80. g5 h4 81. Ke6 Kc7 82. Kf6 Kd7 83. Kxg6 Ke6 84. Kh7 Kf5 85. g6 Kg4 86. g7 Kh3 87. g8=Q Kxh2 88. Qg4 h3 89. Kh6 1-0 [/pgn]

With this win, Nico leapfrogged his opponent and sealed the deal with a quick victory in the final round.

[pgn][Event "2020 Denker HS State Champions"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2020.07.26"] [Round "6"] [White "Zheng, Andrew"] [Black "Checa, Nicolas"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C01"] [WhiteElo "2297"] [BlackElo "2644"] [Annotator "Abrahamyan"] [PlyCount "54"] [EventDate "2020.07.25"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "6"] 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Bd3 {in my experience, this line is quite popular in online chess} dxe4 4. Bxe4 Nf6 5. Bf3 c5 6. Ne2 Nc6 7. Be3 e5 8. d5 (8. Bxc6+ bxc6 9. dxe5 Qxd1+ 10. Kxd1 Ng4 {is an alternative}) 8... Nd4 9. Nxd4 cxd4 { this position looks quite pleasant for black} 10. Bg5 Qa5+ 11. Nd2 Nxd5 12. c3 (12. O-O {securing the king and threatening Re1 makes more sense in terms of fighting for long term compensation}) 12... f6 13. Nc4 {White goes all out and gets punished by his opponent's cool and calm play} Qc5 14. Qe2 Be6 15. cxd4 Qxd4 16. O-O Nf4 $19 17. Bxf4 Bxc4 18. Qc2 Qxf4 19. Rfc1 Be6 20. Bxb7 Rd8 21. Qc7 Be7 22. Ba6 Kf7 23. Qxa7 Ra8 24. Qb6 Rab8 25. Bb7 Qd4 26. Qc7 Qxb2 27. Rab1 Qxa2 0-1 [/pgn]

IM Carissa Yip

Carissa Yip played the “swiss gambit,” losing her first game which she then followed by winning the rest of her games. Her first round loss against Quinn Hudson from Arizona had a pretty spectacular finish.

[pgn][Event "2020 Denker HS State Champions"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2020.07.25"] [Round "1"] [White "Yip, Carissa"] [Black "Hudson, Quinn"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B01"] [WhiteElo "2493"] [BlackElo "2052"] [Annotator "Abrahamyan"] [SetUp "1"] [FEN "1k6/pp3p2/q2r1pp1/4p2P/n2P2P1/1pP3Q1/1P3P2/2KR3R w - - 0 30"] [PlyCount "10"] [EventDate "2020.07.25"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "6"] {[#]} 30. h6 {the pawn marches on but alas the king stands alone} Nxb2 $3 31. h7 Nc4 32. h8=Q+ Kc7 {the two queens are not enough to save the long king} 33. Qd3 Qa1+ 34. Qb1 Qxc3+ 0-1 [/pgn]

In order to avoid the wrath of my teammate in the FIDE Online Olympiad, or at the very least assuage it a bit, I will wrap up the article with one of her crushing wins

[pgn][Event "2020 Denker HS State Champions"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2020.07.26"] [Round "5"] [White "Yip, Carissa"] [Black "Grabinsky, Joshua"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C03"] [WhiteElo "2493"] [BlackElo "2315"] [PlyCount "55"] [EventDate "2020.07.25"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "6"] [WhiteClock "0:21:18"] [BlackClock "0:06:19"] 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 a6 4. Ngf3 Nf6 5. e5 Nfd7 6. c4 dxc4 7. Bxc4 b5 8. Bd3 c5 9. Be4 Ra7 10. Nb3 c4 11. Bg5 f6 12. exf6 gxf6 13. Bf4 cxb3 14. Nd2 Bb4 15. Qh5+ Ke7 16. O-O Qe8 17. Qf3 e5 18. Qxb3 Bd6 19. Rae1 Qg8 20. Bd5 Qg7 21. dxe5 Nxe5 22. Be3 Rc7 23. f4 Nbd7 24. fxe5 Nxe5 25. Ne4 Rf8 26. Rxf6 Rxf6 27. Bg5 Nf3+ 28. Qxf3 1-0 [/pgn]

Congratulations to all the winners and participants who inadvertently made history by participating in the first ever online Denker and Haring tournaments. Times are tough, but youth perseveres!