Woodward, Atwell Perfect After Two in National Championships

As the National Championships (U.S. Junior, Girls’ Junior, and Senior Championships) entered their second round, the intensity was amplified. Following seven decisive games (out of 15) on Tuesday’s opening round, players continued vying to set a strong rhythm for the early rounds.

Photo courtesy of Crystal Fuller/SLCC

While Woodward maintained his sole lead in the Junior, it was Atwell who jumped out to an early lead in the Girls’ Junior, with her over-five-hour game being the last one to finish in the tournament. Since the result puts her at 2/2, she surely didn’t mind the extra work. Meanwhile, the leaders in the Senior remained solid, with GM Gregory Kaidanov joining the trio on 1½/2 in a share of the lead.

Juniors: Woodward maintains lead amidst a bloodbath round

After a relatively peaceful first round, the juniors sharpened their knives for round two, with four out of five games ending decisively. We saw two different games feature the tricky two-pieces-versus-rook imbalance, multiple deadly opening novelties erupting like landmines, and the precarious dangers of opposite-colored bishops.

Although GM Andy Woodward – IM Grayson Rorrer started off as a Closed Catalan, the resulting middlegame opened up quickly. Rorrer's peculiar side-pawn push on move eight already set off alarm bells in the commentary booth, seemingly wasting an unnecessary tempo for nothing, but both the commentators and the players knew that Black had some ideas prepared. In the words of commentator IM Nazi Paikidze, "In the modern development of openings, I've seen so many h6 and a6 in unexpected positions that I would actually not be that happy to see it as White, because there's probably a reason behind it."

After neutralizing a piece of deep preparation from Grayson Rorrer, Andy Woodward improved to 2/2 in the Junior (Photo courtesy of Crystal Fuller/SLCC)

The innocuous h-pawn would prove useful over 10 moves later with a strong … g7-g5 thrust, resulting in a dynamic imbalance of White's activity and bishop pair versus Black's extra pawn. Despite being out of prep, Woodward uncorked an audacious pawn push in front of his king, loosening his bishop but opening up the black monarch. Rorrer was up two pawns for a brief moment, but Woodward's bishop pair and open files were enough to crash through, winning two bishops for a rook and eventually the game. With this victory, Woodward maintains his sole lead with a perfect 2/2.

Also ending in a white win was IM Nico Chasin – FM Sharvesh Devisaprath, which also featured the two pieces versus rook material imbalance. Devisaprath offered to dive into the sharp trenches of the Hyper-Accelerated Dragon variation of the Sicilian Defense, but Chasin opted for a more positional approach, playing in the spirit of the Alapin with c2-c3 and d2-d4.

Nico Chasin is a half-point behind Woodward after converting the better side of a material imbalance (Photo courtesy of Crystal Fuller/SLCC)

An early bishop pair and extra space promised a comfortable advantage for the first player, and Chasin's overwhelming c-file activity forced Devisaprath to give up bishop and knight for rook. Though the pawn count was equal in the ensuing endgame, the duo of minor pieces outshined the rook and escorted the passed d-pawn all the way to touchdown.

In GM Abhimanyu Mishra – IM Justin Wang, both players surprised the other with crafty opening choices, with Mishra forcing an early bishop-for-knight trade in the Nimzo Indian with a side pawn nudge and Wang moving his e-pawn twice to set the stage for a closed game of long-term maneuvering. Although Wang found a safe home for his king with a creative king walk behind his pawn cover, Mishra crashed through with brute force, pushing a pawn into the attack of two enemy pawns with just three minutes on the clock.

The young Mishra went for an old line against Justin Wang's Nimzo Indian Defense, scoring a full point (Photo courtesy of Crystal Fuller/SLCC)

The action simplified into an opposite-colored-bishop endgame, but contrary to myth, not all of them are drawn, especially when there are three connected passed pawns. Wang was just a few moves away from promoting his own pair of pawns, but Mishra's faster kingside soldiers allowed him to win the pawn race and the game.

The game IM Evan Park – GM Kirk Ghazarian was another example of the hidden perils of opposite-colored bishops. After a strong opening pawn sacrifice by Park, the first player emerged with a strong dark-squared bishop, inhibiting castling and viciously eyeing the weak dark squares. Ghazarian untangled efficiently, though, and in just a few moves, he freed his pieces, castled on the opposite side and was whipping up a ferocious attack with his own bishop.

Ghazarian had to dial in after opting for a razor-sharp Scheveningen Sicilian with the black pieces, and it got him a full point (Photo courtesy of Crystal Fuller/SLCC)

Both kings started opening up, but the second player’s light-squared bishop, which was entombed behind pawns just a few moves ago, proved to be the star of the show, posing irresistible mating threats and netting Ghazarian a piece and the game.

The last game of the section, GM Brewington Hardaway – IM Sandeep Sethuraman ended peacefully after Sethuraman whipped up strong counterplay in a pawn-down rook endgame. Sethuraman promoted a pawn, but with Hardaway’s pawn on the seventh rank, a perpetual check was the best result for both players.

After two rounds in the Junior Championship, Woodward leads the field with 2/2, with Mishra, Ghazarian, and Chasin close on his tail with 1½/2. Next round, chasers Ghazarian and Mishra will face off, while Devisaprath will take on the tournament leader with the white pieces.

Graphic courtesy of SLCC

Girls: Atwell takes sole lead after marathon game

The Girls’ Junior saw two games ending decisively: Atwell’s marathon match and the battle of the two youngest players. Although both Atwell and FM Megan Paragua won in endgames with two pieces and very few pawns on the board, they got there in very different ways.

Megan Paragua was victorious in the clash of the 12-year-olds (Photo courtesy of Crystal Fuller/SLCC)

WFM Laurie Qiu – FM Megan Paragua seemed to be fizzling out to a quick draw after Paragua initiated mass central trades in the Triangle Slav, but the action started to heat up when Qiu courageously grabbed a pawn on the queenside. With Paragua’s active pieces and counterplay against the first player’s king, one passed pawn was enough to maintain the balance against Qiu’s two passed pawns. The engine still read 0.00, but one inaccurate knight move from the first player was all Paragua needed to close in and weave a deadly knight-rook mating net.

WGM Rochelle Wu – FM Rose Atwell was a rollercoaster of a game, with the nature of the position changing from one moment to the next. Wu showed her ambitious plans early, surprising her opponent with the London and inviting a sharp pawn race with opposite-side-castling. Wu’s attack struck first, her h-pawn pushing all the way to h7, but Atwell defended stubbornly, using the pawn as a shield and slowly but surely pushing away White’s advanced pieces.

Rose Atwell (R) improves to 2/2 after winning a rollercoaster of a game against Rochelle Wu (Photo courtesy of Crystal Fuller/SLCC)

When Atwell’s own attack crashed through, it seemed all but over for the first player, but Wu demonstrated resilience, winning back her lost queen and transitioning into a rook endgame with one pawn each. A miraculous save was available for Wu in what followed, combining side- and back- checks to buy enough time, but it was incredibly hard to spot under time pressure. Both pawns ended up queening simultaneously in the ensuing race, but the second player’s queened with check, and that’s all that Atwell needed to conduct a deadly mating attack with her last two major pieces.

In WGM Zoey Tang – WIM Iris Mou, Tang’s central passed pawn gave her the opening and middlegame edge, but resilient defense by Mou simplified the position into a drawn rook endgame. WFM Rachael Li – Jasmine Su and WIM Chloe Gaw – FM Ruiyang Yan also ended peacefully, all four players playing near perfect games with over 97% accuracy.

After two rounds in the Junior Girls Championship, Atwell emerges as the sole leader with 2/2. Closely trailing her are FM Ruiyang Yan, WIM Iris Mou, and FM Megan Paragua, all with 1.5/2. Next round, Tang will take on Atwell with the black pieces, and Paragua and Gaw will clash in a battle of New Yorkers.

Graphic courtesy of SLCC

Seniors: Peaceful day leaves no more perfect scorers

In the Senior, solid openings and resilient defense led to four of five games drawing, with three games featuring over 97% accuracy from both players and remaining almost level from start to finish.

Kaidanov scored the fourth victory in this year's Senior Championship, but the first one for the white pieces (Photo courtesy of Crystal Fuller/SLCC)

Amidst the sturdy openings and relentless defenses, it was GM Gregory Kaidanov who scored the full point against GM Maxim Dlugy in the third two-minor pieces-versus-rook endgame of the day. After acquiring the better share of the center in a Scheveningen Sicilian, Kaidanov won an early pawn and established control over the open e-file. Stirring up counterplay, Dlugy pointed his forces towards the enemy king and went for the simplifications with the knight sacrifice, banking his chances on the endgame. However, Kaidanov’s bishop and knight coordinated harmoniously, first eliminating the passed pawn and ultimately winning another pawn on the kingside and the game.

Although the final result was a draw, defending champion GM Vladimir Akopian must have breathed a sigh of relief after his narrow escape against GM Alexander Shabalov. After his minor pieces got tangled the wrong way in a Reti, the first player found himself in dire straits as his knight was stranded deep in enemy territory. Shabalov stacked his rooks on the third rank, ready to deliver the deadly blow, but then, like a super-fueled spaceship, the white knight found a burst of energy. The cavalry jumped out of danger, threatened mate, and jumped back in to deliver perpetual two pawns down and secure the half point for Akopian.

IM Timothy Taylor continued with his style of gambits, creating confusion right out of the opening. After a King’s Gambit yesterday, he opted for the Albin Counter-Gambit with the black pieces against GM Larry Christiansen. After winning the pawn back, he was able to consolidate, and a few trades later, the players shook hands in a drawn rook endgame. GM Joel Benjamin – GM Igor Novikov ended in repetition after an early queen trade out of the Alapin, and even though the rook endgame was drawn the whole time, the two Alexanders decided to play until bare kings in GM Alexander Goldin – GM Alexander Fishbein.

After two rounds, Christiansen, Goldin, and Novikov stay in the lead, and Kaidanov joins them with his round two victory, on 1½/2. Next round, co-leaders Novikov and Goldin will face off, with Novikov taking the white pieces, Taylor will take on defending champion Akopian with the white pieces.

Graphic courtesy of SLCC

Will Woodward and Atwell continue their win streaks? Will a leader emerge in the Senior Championship? What new material imbalances will we see? All pairings can be viewed here, and tune in today, July 17, at 12:20 p.m. CDT to follow the action live!

Quick Links: