Twenty-five years ago, Maurice Ashley, who was born in Jamaica but moved to New York as a child, became the country’s first — and for a long time its only — Black American chess grandmaster.
He’s about to get some company, this time from a proud son of the Bronx.
At the just completed New York GM A Fall Invitational, 15-year-old IM Brewington Hardaway surpassed the 2500-live FIDE rating milestone and secured the final qualification for the prestigious GM title. (As a bonus, he also shared first in the event with GM Pawel Teclaf.)
Hardaway learned the game at age 5, but has seen a prodigious leap in strength since the pandemic hit in 2020, becoming the youngest-ever Black American national master at age 10.
The legacy of Black chessplayers — especially in the DMV — is long and rich, but Black American players still faced obstacles in reaching the game’s highest pinnacles. Hardaway told Chess.com he was proud of his accomplishment but was far from done.
“It really means a lot to me to achieve the grandmaster title since it is something every chess player dreams of and, despite many setbacks, I finally persevered and it feels amazing,” he told the chess website. “Now that I have completed this goal, I feel a sense of relief, but also a desire to keep on improving to the highest level.”
He has the chance: Unlike many young players, his games typically do not feature flashy moves or risky attacks, favoring solid ideas and well-rounded play from the opening through the endgame. (He already has a surprising number of 100-plus move games on his resume.) In his best games, the country’s newest grandmaster often draws on some of the game’s oldest conceits.
The weakness of the f7-pawn — guarded only by the king at the start of the game — has been known since the misty earliest days of chess praxis, but Hardaway puts a fresh spin on the idea in his nice win over California IM (and now GM-elect) Josiah Stearman from a New York tournament earlier this year. At one point, Hardaway’s rooks, bishop, and queen are all converging on the beleaguered pawn, and Black’s position soon collapses.
In a Najdorf Sicilian, Stearman as Black gets some nice squares and a clear initiative on the queenside, but leaves himself open to a White counterattack on the other flank — where Black’s king unfortunately resides: 17. Rac1 Nb4 18. Qb1 Nd7 19. f4!, a nicely timed thrust as Black will have trouble getting his forces over to the kingside to help defend.
The White f-pawn keeps pushing ahead in the subsequent play: 20. f5 Bg5 21. Bxg5 Qxg5 22. Ne4 Qe3+ (White also keeps the initiative after 22…Qe7 23. f6 Nxf6 24. Nxf6+ gxf6 25. Qf5) 23. Rf2 Nc5 24. Nxc5 Qxc5 25. f6 and the Black king’s pawn phalanx is breached. Hardaway’s 28. Kh1 breaks the pin on his rook, and soon every White piece is enlisted in breaking down Black’s defenses along the half-open f-file.
The picturesque tableau is completed on 31. Bh5 Ree7 32. Bg4 (already here the engines like 32. Bxf7+ Rxf7 33. Qh5, with strong lines for White such as 33…Rxf6 34. Qe8+ Kxg7 35. Qxd7+ Kg6 36. Qe8+ Kg5 37. Qe7 Qd4 38. Qg7+ Kh5 29. Qxh7+ Kg5 40. h4+ Kg4 41.. Qxg7+ Kxh4 42. Rxf6, winning) Rc7 33. Be6! Nd3 (fxe6 34. Rf8+ Kxg7 35. Qg4+ Kh6 31. R1f6 mate) 34. Qh5 (see diagram), and White has every piece he still has on the board devoted to breaking down the f7-square.
Black’s defenses simply can’t match the firepower: 34…Ne5 35. Bf5 Kxg7 (allowing a nice mate, but not much better was 35…Ng6 36. Bxg6 fxg6 37. Rxg6! Re8 (hxg6 38. Qh8 mate) 38. Rf8+ Rxf8 39. gxf8=Q+ Kxf8 40. Qf5+ Ke7 [Rf7 41. Qc8+ Ke7 42. Re6 mate; or 40…Ke8 41. Rg8+ Ke7 42. Qe6 mate] 41. Qe6+ Kd8 42. Rg8 mate) 36. Qxh7+! Kxf6 37. Qh8+ Kg5 38. h4 mate.
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The young New Yorker’s fighting spirit — an essential attribute in a grandmaster-to-be — can be seen in a roller coaster of a game he played against California GM Balaji Daggupati at the U.S. Junior Championship tournament in July at the St. Louis Chess Club.
It’s a Sicilian Sveshnikov this time, and Hardaway admitted he was far less familiar with the 12. f4 e4!? line than his opponent.
Still, with an annoying advanced d-pawn disrupting Black’s development, White gets a pleasant position up until 20. Bf4 g5 21. Bg3 Rd7, when simple strengthening moves such as 22. Rad1 or 22. Kh1 would have put Black in an uncomfortable spot. Instead, the tables turn quickly on 22. Bd5?! Bd4+ 23. Kh1 Rxd6! (an excellent positional sacrifice that removes the White pawn and the powerful bishop on g3 in return for a minimal material investment) 24. Bxd6 Qxd6 25. Be4 Re8, and now it’s Daggupati who is controlling the play.
White is on the ropes but climbs back into the fight when Black misses what looks like a clean putaway: 27. b4 Qf6? — the right idea but the wrong square; 27…Qe5! also threatens to take on c3 but poses far bigger problems for White; e.g. 28. bxc5 (also unpleasant is 28. Qg3 Bxc3 29. Qxe5 Rxe5 30. Rxd7 Rxe4; the best chance may be 28. Bd5 Bxc3 29. Bxf7+ Kxf7 30. Qxd7+ Re7 31. Qc6, though Black is clearly on top after 31…c4) Bxc3 29. Qxd7?? Qe4+ 30. Kg1 Qg2 mate.
White seizes on the reprieve with 28. bxc5 Bxc3 29. Qxd7 Rxe4, and though Black has won two minor pieces for the rook, Hardaway gets real counterplay attacking the Black king. Things get critical on 30. Qc8+ Kg7 31. Rd8 (with the threat of 32. Rg8+ Kh6 33. Qf8+ Qg7 34. Rxg7 Bxg7 35. Qxf7 Rxg4 36. f6, winning) Ng6 (exploiting the pin on the White f-pawn) 34. Rd6, when Black, facing severe pressure, had to find 34…Qe7!, preserving equality after 33. f6+ Bxf6 34. Rdxf6 Rf4! 35. R6xf4 Nxf4 36. Qc6, with White’s slight material edge offset by the shaky position of his king.
Instead, Hardaway’s persistence pays on 32…Qe5? (ironically, the move that nearly won for Black just a few moves now loses on the spot) 33. f6+, and Dagupatti resigned facing 33…Kh6 (also coming up short was 33…Qxf6 34. Rdxf6 Bxf6 35. Qxa6 Be5 36. Rxf7+! Kxf7 37. Qb7+ Kg8 38. Qxe4) 34. Qg8 Rxg4 (or 34…Qxf6 Rdxf6 Bxf6 36. Rxf6 Rxg4 37. Rxf7, and mate is just a few moves away) 35. Qg7+ Kh5 36. Qxh7 mate.
A tough loss for Black, but that’s how grandmaster norms are won.
(Click on the image above for a larger view of the chessboard.)
Hardaway-Stearman, 1000GM New York GM A Winter Invitational, New York, July 2021
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be2 e5 7. Nb3 Be7 8. O-O O-O 9. Qd3 Be6 10. Be3 Nbd7 11. Nd5 Bxd5 12. exd5 Qc7 13. c4 a5 14. a4 b6 15. Nd2 Nc5 16. Qc2 Na6 17. Rac1 Nb4 18. Qb1 Nd7 19. f4 Qd8 20. f5 Bg5 21. Bxg5 Qxg5 22. Ne4 Qe3+ 23. Rf2 Nc5 24. Nxc5 Qxc5 25. f6 e4 26. fxg7 Rfe8 27. Rcf1 Qe3 28. Kh1 Ra7 29. Qd1 Re5 30. Rf6 Rd7 31. Bh5 Ree7 32. Bg4 Rc7 33. Be6 Nd3 34. Qh5 Ne5 35. Bf5 Kxg7 36. Qxh7+ Kxf6 37. Qh8+ Kg5 38. h4 mate.
Hardaway-Daggupati, U.S. Junior Championship, St. Louis, July 2024
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e5 6. Ndb5 d6 7. Nd5 Nxd5 8. exd5 Ne7 9. c4 Nf5 10. Bd3 Be7 11. O-O O-O 12. f4 e4 13. Bxe4 Bf6 14. Qd3 g6 15. g4 a6 16. Nc3 Nh4 17. f5 b5 18. c5 dxc5 19. d6 Ra7 20. Bf4 g5 21. Bg3 Rd7 22. Bd5 Bd4+ 23. Kh1 Rxd6 24. Bxd6 Qxd6 25. Be4 Re8 26. Rad1 Bd7 27. b4 Qf6 28. bxc5 Bxc3 29. Qxd7 Rxe4 30. Qc8+ Kg7 31. Rd8 Ng6 32. Rd6 Qe5 33. f6+ Black 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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