Young Stars, Seasoned Veterans Kick Off First Round of U.S. Junior, Girls' Junior, and Senior Championships

Brewington Hardaway (L) and Maxim Dlugy drew a crowd during their spontaneous blitz exhibition (Photo courtesy of Crystal Fuller/SLCC)

A Midsummer Night’s Battle

Every summer, amidst the scorching heat wave of mid-July, renowned legends and future stars gather in the chess capital of the country for the U.S. Junior, Girls’ Junior, and Senior Championships. An exciting nine-game Round Robin tournament at the Saint Louis Chess Club (SLCC), the Championships are an opportunity for young players and seasoned veterans alike to show off their talent on the eight by eight world. While the player lists are sent out weeks in advance, the exact pairings and colors per round are drawn by lot at the opening ceremony, adding an element of luck to the start of the tournament.

With GM Yasser Seirawan presiding over the opening ceremony, players (here: Evan Park and Rochelle Wu) drew lots to determine the color and order of their games (Photos courtesy of Austin Fuller/SLCC)

The relentless excitement of the players radiated through the club way before the first round. “Even at dinner, when everyone sits down, you know there’s going to be blitz games,” commentator GM Yasser Seirawan remarked about the opening ceremony. The clock smashing of one-minute bullet games echoed through the hall, promising an exciting nine rounds of chess.

Rose Atwell blitz 1 — Rose Atwell was among the many blitzers following the opening ceremony (Photos courtesy of Austin Fuller/SLCC (L) and Crystal Fuller/SLCC)

Rose Atwell blitz 2 — Rose Atwell was among the many blitzers following the opening ceremony (Photos courtesy of Austin Fuller/SLCC (L) and Crystal Fuller/SLCC)

Though the players slowed down to a classical time control for Tuesday’s opening round, the tournament games kept up the same energy as the blitz and bullet, with seven games ending decisively. We saw kings stranded in the center, delicate home-baked preparation lines deep into the middlegame, and patient dead-drawn endgame conversions that would make Carlsen proud.

Junior: Woodward Jumps Out to Fast Start

The Junior Championships were the least “bloody” of the battlefields for the first round, with four of the five games ending peacefully.

Amidst several hard-fought endgames and defense masterclasses, it was GM Andy Woodward who struck with the black pieces against IM Sandeep Sethuraman after Woodward’s deep opening preparation netted him a clear advantage out of the Nimzo Indian. With two of the second player’s forces still on the back rank, it seemed Sethuraman had sufficient compensation for the pawn in the endgame, but a series of accurate preparatory moves helped Woodward consolidate his advantage. Sethuraman defended tenaciously, seeking counterplay with his space advantage and piece activity on the queenside, but a precise tactical touch left two white pieces hanging and sealed the deal for the second player.

With this win, Woodward, who was the second seed going into the tournament, takes the sole lead with 1/1.

A fast start for Woodward sees him take the sole lead with a spot in this October's U.S. Championship on the line (Photo courtesy of Crystal Fuller/SLCC)

GM Abhimanyu Mishra, the 2023 Junior Champion, was off to a strong start with the black pieces, getting the better end of a knight-versus-bishop imbalance, but stubborn defense by IM Evan Park held the draw in the rook endgame. Just as it seemed Mishra’s king was about to break through on the queenside, Park found counterplay on the kingside, creating his own passed pawn to race against Mishra’s.

Park – Mishra was yet another illustration of why not all draws are dull (Photo courtesy of Crystal Fuller/SLCC)

Although the cold silicon computer displayed nothing but zeros for the final 20 moves of the game, the action had both players (and the commentators) on the edges of their seats, with pawns racing down the board in time pressure and queening within a move of each other. Though the second player queened first, allowing him to snag the h4 pawn, Park’s queen was way too active to pose any danger to his position, allowing him to force a perpetual.

In IM Grayson Rorrer – IM Nico Chasin, Rorrer emerged up a pawn after mass liquidation, but Chasin held his own with active play in the knight endgame. FM Sharvesh Devisaprath – IM Justin Wang ended peacefully after all the pieces got traded in the four knights game, and despite early central pressure from Ghazharian in the closed Slav, Hardaway was able to neutralize the first-player advantage and secure the draw in GM Kirk Ghazharian – GM Brewington Hardaway.

Next round, top seed Mishra will face the 2024 runner-up IM Justin Wang with the white pieces, while IM Grayson Rorrer will take tournament leader Woodward with the black pieces.

Graphic courtesy of SLCC

Girls’ Junior: Three Lead, For Now

The Girls’ Junior Championship saw a diverse mix of explosive attacks and clinical grinding chess. With three decisive games, we were treated to a game with opposite-sided castling and a ferocious pawn storm, a piece getting the better of three pawns in a textbook-worthy conversion, and a knight triumphing over the bishop in a symmetrical, but nuanced, endgame.

Mou got the better side of a clash of two veterans in her first-round victory over Jasmine Su (Photo courtesy of Crystal Fuller/SLCC)

In the game between Jasmine Su and WIM Iris Mou — both returning players of the Girls Championship — Mou’s dynamic opening choice steered the game from the quiet waters of the Italian to the stormy seas of opposite sided castling. Immediately, both sides braced for a belligerent pawn race, but although Su castled her king to safety first, it was Mou’s pawns who broke through, ultimately netting her an extra piece and the game.

Although not a single piece or pawn trade happened for the first 18 moves of FM Rose Atwell – WIM Chloe Gaw, the rising central tension quickly gave way to mass captures, with Atwell trapping Gaw’s bishop and Gaw taking several pawns to maintain the balance.

Gone are the smiles from yesterday's blitz! Rose Atwell was in the zone, winning her first game after bouncing back from early middlegame difficulties (Photo courtesy of Crystal Fuller/SLCC)

Three pawns materially matches a piece, but Atwell’s activity restrained the second players’ soldiers to their starting rank, giving her ample time to coordinate her forces and round up the passers one by one.

In FM Ruiyang Yan – WFM Laurie Qiu, the game stayed mostly symmetric except for one key imbalance: Yan’s knight against Qiu’s bishop. Although barely noticeable in the middlegame, the knight showed its superiority in the endgame due to the closed position and the pawns being on the opposite color from Qiu’s bishop.

Ruiyang Yan has been relatively less active compared to prior years, but showed she is in fine form with her first-round win (Photo courtesy of Crystal Fuller/SLCC)

Yan pressed patiently, slowly advancing her pawns and circling with her king, but stubborn defense from Qiu kept the game in balance past the first time control. Then. suddenly, one innocuous-looking pawn move allowed Yan to create a zugzwang, winning her an important pawn and the game.

WGM Rochelle Wu – WGM Zoey Tang ended in a draw after stubborn defense from Tang forced Wu to cash in her attack for a draw by perpetual check, and FM Megan Paragua – WFM Rachael Li also ended peacefully, with Paragua quickly trading off queens after Li’s h-file attack grew too dangerous.

We now have three co-leaders in the Girls’ section: WIM Iris Mou, FM Rose Atwell, and FM Ruiyang Yan, all with 1/1. Next round, Mou will take on top-seeded Tang with the black pieces, and the two youngest players in the field — 12-year olds Paragua and Qiu — will square off, with Qiu taking the white pieces.

Graphic courtesy of SLCC

Senior: And Black is (More Than) Okay!

The Senior Championship, stacked with several former U.S. Champions and even more renowned players and coaches, also had an exciting start. Opening choices such as the King’s Gambit and the Wing Gambit against the Sicilian promised an exciting series of battles. In our three decisive games — all ending in Black’s favor — we saw two brilliant knight sacrifices, a clutch endgame tactic, and a series of endgame material imbalances ranging from rook-versus-bishop to three-pieces-versus-queen.

With too many championships to count between them, Larry Christiansen (R) scored a win at Alexander Shabalov's expense during Tuesday's match-up of two decorate, aggressive players (Photo courtesy of Crystal Fuller/SLCC)

Four-time U.S. Champion GM Alexander Shabalov and three-time U.S. Champion GM Larry Christiansen are both known for their aggressive playstyle, so it was no surprise that their game was full of attacking chess and riddled with tactics. Shabalov castled his king on the queenside, and, anticipating an open kingside, Christiansen didn’t even castle his own king, instead using his unpushed central pawns and kingside rook as loyal bodyguards. After a spectacular knight sacrifice to break open the queenside pawn cover, the second player grew his attack until his major pieces ran the white king out of moves. Without any stalemate tricks for the first player, and the light squared bishop firmly securing the f7-pawn, Christiansen picked up the win.

In IM Timothy Taylor – GM Alexander Goldin, the game immediately lit up the skies like the Independence Day when Taylor opted for the confrontational King’s Gambit, fighting for a large share of the center as early as move two. Goldin was prepared, however, and instead of saving his pinned queenside knight, he completely ignored it, managing to use his lead in development on the open board to win a queen and two pawns for three pieces.

Alexander Goldin kept an eye on other games while navigating the black side of a King's Gambit with great success (Photo courtesy of Crystal Fuller/SLCC)

Under many circumstances, the game could have been tilted either way, but the lack of weaknesses in the second player’s camp and the open white king strongly favored Goldin’s queen. Marching his central pawn mass forward, Goldin ultimately won a piece and the game.

Although involving an early pawn sacrifice, GM Alexander Fishbein – GM Igor Novikov started out as the quietest of the three decisive games, with the game hanging in balance until move 36. Then suddenly, the move 40 curse struck, and with just a minute on the clock and a move until the second time control, Novikov won an Exchange thanks to Fishbein’s error.

Patience! Igor Novikov kept pressing, and eventually cracked Alex Fishbein's attempted fortress (Photo courtesy of Crystal Fuller/SLCC)

The same-side pawns hinted at some chance of a fortress for Fishbein, but three pawns is too many to defend against. After careful maneuvering, Novikov found an inroad with his king, taking all the pawns and with it, the full point.

After one round, three players lead the Senior Championships: GM Larry Christiansen, GM Alexander Goldin, and GM Igor Novikov. Next round, Taylor will take on Christiansen with the black pieces, Goldin and Fishbein will clash in the tournament’s first Battle of the Alexanders, and Shabalov (the third Alexander of the tournament) will face defending champion Akopian with the black pieces.

Graphic courtesy of SLCC

Will the leaders continue their winning streak into the second round? How many king hunts and pawn promotions will we see? What new opening novelties will be uncorked? All pairings can be viewed here, and tune in today, July 16, at 12:20 p.m. CDT to follow the action live!

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