Young or old, chess is a game for the ages

You’re only as old as you play.

The prime playing years for chess players are said to be one’s 20s and 30s, but one great thing about our game is that it can be enjoyed and played skillfully by anyone at any age who can push a pawn, punch a clock and record the moves.

Case in point: There have been some peak performances by players at both ends of the age spectrum in recent weeks. Among the silver-haired set, Georgian GM Zurab Sturua and Luxembourg WGM Elvira Berend are the new world senior and senior women’s champions, having finished first at the last month’s 20th FIDE World Senior Chess Championships for players 50 and older in Assisi, Italy. In the separate, eligible-for-Medicare tournament, two venerable names — English GM John Nunn and legendary former women’s world champ GM Nona Gaprindashvili — captured the open and women’s 65+ world crowns.

And youth was served at the Thanksgiving weekend U.S. Masters tournament in Charlotte. North Carolina, where 15-year-old GM Christopher Yoo, one of the country’s most promising junior players, took the trophy and the title in the strong 202-player field, defeating GM Alejandro Ramirez in a blitz playoff after they posted the best tiebreaks among the five players at 7-2.

Old age has been called the stage of life when the broad mind and the narrow waist exchange places, but Sturua showed an admirable openness to new thinking in his key win over German GM Frank Holzke in Assisi, willingly exchanging his two bishops for White’s two knights after 15. Bg5 Bxc3!? in order to secure a positional edge. White’s doubled f-pawns will restrict the scope of his bishops for the rest of the game. After 20. Rf3 N7f6!? (OK, but more energetic was 20…Re4! 21. Qd2 Rae8 22. Bd1 N7f6) 21. Bf2 Nxc3! 22. Qf1 (Rxc3 Qxf2 23. Bxc4 Qxf4 is better for Black) Qb4 23. Bxc4 Rac8, Holzke manages to retain material equality, but his scattered pieces remain under heavy pressure.

With 25…d5! and 26…d4!, the Black knight is anchored on c3, and after 30. Bd3 Qd5, Black’s positional dominance is manifest as White’s proud bishops are relegated to blockading duties. It’s over on 31. Bxc3 (Rh3 Na4 32. Rb3 Nc5 22. Rb2 Ng4 34. Kg1 Nxd3 35. Rxd3 [Qxd3 Rc1+! 36. Bxc1 Re1+ 37. Qf1 Rxf1+ 38. Kxf1 Qc4+ and wins] Qxf5 36. Rxd4 Qc5) dxc3 32. Re2 Rxe2 33. Qxe2 a4 —White’s resignation here may seem abrupt, but his four-to-two kingside majority is useless while the Black queenside pawns are an unstoppable force in lines such as 34. h3 b3 35. axb3 axb3 36. Rf1 c2 37. Qd2 b2 and wins.

Nunn, a former British champion once ranked in the world top 10, keeps young these days with writing, problem-solving (he’s a three-time world champion solver) and the occasional tournament triumph. There was some real youthful elan in his win at the 65+ senior championship over FM David Shnaider in a Rossolimo Sicilian. White sacrifices a knight on Move 9 to open lines to the Black king with 9. Nd5! exd5 10. exd5+ Ne7 11. Bf4 d6, and then with 12. Nd2! calmly begins a powerful repositioning of his forces before renewing the assault.

Black wilts under the early flurry after 15. Qf3 (Rxe7!? was also possible, with strong play after 15…Kxe7 16. Qe1+ Be6 17. Qb4 Kd7 18. dxe6+) f5?? (suicidal, as more attacking lines open up for the first player; after 15…Bd7 16. Rxe7 Kxe7 17. Re1+ Kf8 18. Qe4 Kg8 [Bf6 19. Bh6+ Kg8 20. Qf4 wins] 19. Qe7 Rf8 20. Qxd7, White is still better, but Black can play on) 16. Qg3 (with the threat of 17. Qg5, when any knight move allows 18. Re8 mate) Bd7 (see diagram) 17. Rxe7!, blowing open the Black position.

Shnaider’s king finds no respite in the concluding play: 17…Kxe7 18. Qg5+ Kf8 (Bf6 19. Re1+ Kd8 20. Qf6+ Kc7 21. Nc4+ Kc8 22. Qxh8+ Be8 23. Qxe8 mate) 19. Re1 Be8 (Re8 20. Nxe8 Bxe8 21. Qd8 Qb5 22. Bd6+ Kf7 23. Re7+ Kg8 24. Rxe8+, winning; Black’s move stops the threatened 20. Qe7+ Kg8 21. Qf7 mate, but allows another shot to land) 20. Qe7+ Kg8 21. Qe6+ Kf8 22. Qxe8+!, and Black resigned as 22…Rxe8 23. Rxe8 is mate.

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By contrast, young Yoo’s win over fellow U.S. junior star GM Brandon Jacobson, 19, is a mature, highly subtle positional clash over the value of the famed isolated d-pawn. In theoretical debates that have felled many trees over the decades, the power of the isolani in grabbing space and clearing lines in a slew of queen’s pawn openings has been pitted against its potential weakness as a target. For more than 30 moves, Yoo as Black contains the White d-pawn’s menace and finally bags the intruder on 32. Bxc4 Rxe1+ 33. Rxe1 Rxd6.

A pawn advantage is often not enough to win games like this, so perhaps the truly decisive sequence come five moves later: 38. Kg3 Rd4 39. Ng4?! (Bf1 Nd5 40. Nc2 was tougher, not giving Black the simplification he seeks) h5 40. Ne3 h4+! 41. Kf2 (Kxh4?? Nxg2+) Rxc4! 42. Nxc4 Nd3+ 43. Ke2 Nxe1 44. Kxe1 b5, and now the superiority of the Black bishop over the White knight makes an extra pawn a winning proposition.

White is already in full retreat when a tactical trick speeds up the finale: 49. Nd3 Bxb3+!, and Jacobson resigned as the pawn ending is lost after 50. Kxb3 c4+ 51. Kc3 cxd3 52. Kxd3 Kc5 53. Kc3 b4+ 54. Kb3 g5 and wins.

(Click on the image above for a larger view of the chessboard.)

Holzke-Sturua, 30th World Senior Championships, Assisi, Italy, November 2022

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. f3 c5 5. d5 O-O 6. e4 d6 7. Bd2 Re8 8. Nge2 exd5 9. cxd5 Nbd7 10. Ng3 h5 11. Be2 h4 12. Nf5 Ne5 13. O-O Bxf5 14. exf5 c4 15. Bg5 Bxc3 16. bxc3 Qc8 17. f4 Qc5+ 18. Kh1 Ned7 19. Bxh4 Nxd5 20. Rf3 N7f6 21. Bf2 Nxc3 22. Qf1 Qb4 23. Bxc4 Rac8 24. Bb3 a5 25. Be1 d5 26. Bd2 d4 27. Rb1 Qd6 28. Rb2 b5 29. Bc2 b4 30. Bd3 Qd5 31. Bxc3 dxc3 32. Re2 Rxe2 33. Qxe2 a4 White resigns.

Nunn-Shnaider, World 65+ Senior Championships, Assisi, Italy, November 2022

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Qb6 4. Nc3 e6 5. O-O Nge7 6. Re1 g6 7. Bxc6 Nxc6 8. d4 cxd4 9. Nd5 exd5 10. exd5+ Ne7 11. Bf4 d6 12. Nd2 Qa6 13. Ne4 Bg7 14. Nxd6+ Kf8 15. Qf3 f5 16. Qg3 Bd7 17. Rxe7 Kxe7 18. Qg5+ Kf8 19. Re1 Be8 20. Qe7+ Kg8 21. Qe6+ Kf8 22. Qxe8+ Black resigns.

Jacobson-Yoo, U.S. Chess Masters, Charlotte, North Carolina, November 2022

1. Nf3 d5 2. e3 Nf6 3. c4 c6 4. Nc3 Nbd7 5. d4 e6 6. Be2 b6 7. O-O Bb7 8. b3 Bd6 9. Bb2 O-O 10. Qc2 Qe7 11. Rfe1 Rfd8 12. e4 Nxe4 13. Nxe4 dxe4 14. Qxe4 Ba3 15. Bxa3 Qxa3 16. Qf4 Rac8 17. Rad1 Qe7 18. Rd2 c5 19. d5 exd5 20. cxd5 Qf6 21. Qg3 a6 22. a4 Re8 23. Rdd1 Qc3 24. Nd2 Qc2 25. Qg4 Nf6 26. Qc4 Qf5 27. d6 Rcd8 28. Nf3 Re6 29. Nh4 Qe4 30. h3 Kf8 31. Bf1 Qxc4 32. Bxc4 Rxe1+ 33. Rxe1 Rxd6 34. Nf5 Rd7 35. f3 Nh5 36. Kf2 g6 37. Ne3 Nf4 38. Kg3 Rd4 39. Ng4 h5 40. Ne3 h4+ 41. Kf2 Rxc4 42. Nxc4 Nd3+ 43. Ke2 Nxe1 44. Kxe1 b5 45. axb5 axb5 46. Ne5 Ke7 47. Kd2 Bd5 48. Kc2 Kd6 49. Nd3 Bxb3+.

• David R. Sands can be reached at 202/636-3178 or by email at dsands@washingtontimes.com.