The DMV has a new world chess champion.
Ashburn, Virginia, middle-schooler Jennifer Yu, fresh off a fine performance at last month’s Virginia Closed Championship, is the new world girls’ under-12 champion, bringing home the gold medal at the World Youth Championships in Durban, South Africa. Nearly a thousand young players from around the globe participated in the event.
With a dominating 10-1 score, Yu was the lone U.S. player to capture a gold medal. The only other American medalist was California’s Rayan Taghizadeh, who took the bronze in the Boys Under-12 division.
Aside from a final-round crush when she had already clinched the crown, Yu had to work for her title, often grinding out long wins against her top rivals. Her most complete performance may have come against Russia’s Elizaveta Solozhenkina in Round 6, a win critical to Yu’s late surge to victory.
Yu as Black employs the unfashionable Philidor’s Defense, one of the oldest openings in the game. The second player here accepts a cramped but solid position, looking to exploit an overeager White attack.
After 15. axb5 axb5 16. Ng3 h6, White’s pressure on d6 and her control of the d5-square give her a small but clear edge, but she has to play energetically to retain her advantage. But it is Yu who proves better prepared when the position finally breaks open.
Thus; 17. Kg2?! (not what the position demanded, and putting the king on an inferior square; stronger was 17. g5! hxg5 [Bxh3? 18. gxf6 Bxf1 19. fxg7 Bxg7 20. Qxf1 is much better for White] 18. fxg5 b4 19. Nce2 Nh7 20. h4 Ne5 21. Nf4, retaining the initiative) b4 18. Nce2 Na5! ( a clever repositioning idea) 19. b3 Bc6 (see diagram), and Black is strongly contesting White’s central control. Solozhenkina now rolls the dice, but it is Black who wins both the skirmish and a crucial pawn.
Thus: 20. e5?! Nd7! (the pin on White’s e-pawn proves highly effective) 21. Bxc6 (Qd3 dxe5 22. g5 hxg5 23. fxg5 Re6 holds the defensive line) Nxc6 22. Qd5 Qc8 23. Ne4? — this should lose outright but it was already too late for 23. g5 Nb6 24. Qf3 hxg5 25. exd6 Bxd6 26. fxg5 Ne5 27. Qf2 Nd5 and Black is better.
Yu misses the putaway volley after 23…dxe5 24. Nxc5 Bxc5 25. Bxc5, when 25…Rb5! 26. Rfd1 Nxc5 wins a piece and the game. But Black still emerges with a decisive edge on the game’s 25…exf4?! 26. Nd4 Nxc5 27. Nxc6 Rb6 28. Ne7+!? (tricky, but Black can defend; on 28. Nd4, Black has 28…Ne6 29. Nxe6 Rbxe6 30. Rxf4 Re2+ 31. Rf2 Rxf2+ 32. Kxf2 Qxc2+ 33. Kg1 Re3 and wins) Rxe7 29. Ra8 Rb8 30. Rxb8 Qxb8 31. Qxc5 Rc7 32. Qf2 Qa8+ 33. Kg1 g5, and Black’s protected passed pawn proves the difference.
Black efficiently quashes her opponent’s hopes for counterplay on 43. Kh1 Qa8+ 44. Qe4 Qxe4+ 45. Rxe4 Rc3 46. b4 Rxh3+ 47. Kg2 Rg3+ 48. Kf2 Rxg4!? (youthful nerves of steel; less anxiety-invoking was the simple 48…Rb3) 48. Kf2 Rxg4 49. b5 Rg3, and White resigns because the passed pawn will be caught on 50. Rb4 Rd3 51. b6 Rd8 52. b7 Rb8, and the mass of Black kingside pawns will get rolling.
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The incredible recent run of American-born Italian star Fabiano Caruana is posing a dilemma for longtime American No. 1 GM Hikaru Nakamura. Still just 26, Nakamura was seen as one of the top stars of his generation, with a real shot at the world crown.
But Norwegian world champ Magnus Carlsen, 23, has already pushed his way to the front of the line, and Caruana, 22, is threatening to make it a two-man competition among the millennials for the next decade to come.
The pecking order among the game’s young guns is being tested in the powerful 2014 FIDE Grand Prix Tournament now underway in Baku, Azerbaijan, with both Nakamura and Caruana in the 12-grandmaster field. The two drew their individual game — the Italian had a big advantage early with Black but was fighting for the draw in the end — but Nakamura did make a statement with a nice win over rising Russian star Dimitry Andreikin, the 2010 world junior champ. White’s aimless play is strongly punished by Nakamura, who breaks through in a dominating position in the end.
“A bad plan is better than no plan at all,” the old saying goes, and White seems to flit between three or four strategies, never settling on one. Andreikin’s unusual 6. c3 against Black’s Dutch Defense sidesteps any early fight for the center, and, if he had nothing better to do, after 11. Be3 g5!?, White should at least see what Black had in mind by accepting the pawn with 12. Bxb7 Bxb7 13. Qxb7 Nc6 14. Nb3 (Qxc7?? Rf7 15. Qxd6 Bf8 traps the queen).
Instead, Black slowly improves the position of every piece he has while Andreikin temporizes. White’s f-file pressure goes nowhere, while Black’s array on the open g-file decides the contest: 32. Qxf4 Rg6 33. h3 (the threat was 33…Rg4 34. Qc1 Qg6 35. Bh3 h5! 36. Bxg4 hxg4 37. Rg1 Bh6 38. Qd1 Be3, with a dominating game) Bf6 34. Kh2 Be7 35. Bh1 R8g7 36. Rg2 (Bg2 Qg8 37. Rg1 d5 38. Qc1 Bd6+ 39. Kh1 Rg3 and wins) Bg5! (decisive) 37. Qg3 (Nxg5+ hxg5, and the White queen and rook on g2 both are attacked) Bc1!, when Black has a nice win on 38. Qe1 (Qh4 Rxg2+! 39. Bxg2 Qg6 40. Rg1 Be3) Bf4+ 39. Kg1 Be3+ 40. Kh2 d5! 41. Rxg6 Qxg6 42. Ne5 (Qh4 Qf6! 43. Qxf6 Bf4 mate) Qg2+! 43. Bxg2 Rxg2+ 44. Kh1 Rxe2+ 45. Nf3 Bxf3+ 46. Rxf3 Rxe1+.
White has to surrender his queen, and his disconnected rook and bishop can’t organize a defense. After 48. Rg8+ Kb7, Black’s queen is poised to gobble up White’s remaining pawns and Andreikin gave up.
Solozhenkina-Yu, World Youth Championships, Durban, South Africa, September 2104
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Be7 6. Be2 O-O 7. O-O Re8 8. f4 Bf8 9. Bf3 c5 10. Nde2 Nc6 11. h3 Bd7 12. Be3 Rb8 13. a4 a6 14. g4 b5 15. axb5 axb5 16. Ng3 h6 17. Kg2 b4 18. Nce2 Na5 19. b3 Bc6 20. e5 Nd7 21. Bxc6 Nxc6 22. Qd5 Qc8 23. Ne4 dxe5 24. Nxc5 Bxc5 25. Bxc5 exf4 26. Nd4 Nxc5 27. Nxc6 Rb6 28. Ne7+ Rxe7 29. Ra8 Rb8 30. Rxb8 Qxb8 31. Qxc5 Rc7 32. Qf2 Qa8+ 33. Kg1 g5 34. Re1 Rc3 35. Kh2 Qb8 36. Kg2 Kf8 37. Qd4 Qa8+ 38. Re4 Rxc2+ 39. Kf1 Kg8 40. Qxb4 Qa1+ 41. Re1 Qa6+ 42. Kg1 Qa7+ 43. Kh1 Qa8+ 44. Qe4 Qxe4+ 45. Rxe4 Rc3 46. b4 Rxh3+ 47. Kg2 Rg3+ 48. Kf2 Rxg4 49. b5 Rg3 White resigns.
Andreikin-Nakamura, FIDE Grand Prix, Baku, Azerbainjan, October 2014
1. d4 f5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. g3 g6 4. Bg2 Bg7 5. O-O O-O 6. c3 d6 7. Qb3+ e6 8. Bg5 Qe8 9. Nbd2 Nh5 10. Ne1 h6 11. Be3 g5 12. f4 gxf4 13. Bxf4 Kh8 14. Be3 Nc6 15. Nd3 b6 16. g4 Nf6 17. gxf5 exf5 18. Bf2 Be6 19. Qc2 Bd5 20. Nf3 Be4 21. Qd2 Ne7 22. Bh4 Ng6 23. Bxf6 Rxf6 24. Rf2 c5 25. Raf1 Qe6 26. a3 Rg8 27. Kh1 Kh7 28. Qe3 Re8 29. Qd2 Rg8 30. Qe3 c4 31. Nf4 Nxf4 32. Qxf4 Rg6 33. h3 Bf6 34. Kh2 Be7 35. Bh1 R8g7 36. Rg2 Bg5 37. Qg3 Bc1 38. Rxc1 Rxg3 39. Rxg3 Bxf3 40. Rxg7+ Kxg7 41. Bxf3 Qe3 42. Rg1+ Kf6 43. Bh5 Qd2 44. Rg6+ Ke7 45. Rg7+ Kd8 46. Rg8+ Kc7 47. Rg7+ Kb8 48. Rg8+ Kb7 White resigns.
• David R. Sands can be reached at 202/636-3178 or by email at dsands@washingtontimes.com.
• David R. Sands can be reached at dsands@washingtontimes.com.
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