Josh Flores replaces Patrick Cohen as secretary and Dan Wilson accepts general board position

There have been a couple of board changes. Patrick Cohen contacted me a couple of weeks ago to let me know he was going to resign in a couple of months due to his limited time to be available for meetings. I contacted Josh Flores to see if he would take over the secretary position, since he held it previously. He was willing to start in March and Patrick was willing to resign effective February 29. Patrick has informed me he will graciously assist the board with several behind-the-scenes efforts he does to help this great organization.

Daniel Wilson had previously  reached out to me to see if he could be part of the board. Since Josh was currently on board as a general collar county member, we now had an open position. The board offered Dan that position.

We now have a full board minus a downstate general board position. If anyone is interested please email Josh at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.,

Thanks and please lets welcome Dan and Josh to their new positions and thank Patrick for his many years of service where I personally will miss his input and knowledge at meetings.

Steve

President Illinois Chess Association

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Illinois High School Association (IHSA) Chess State Championship 2024

 

Illinois High School Association (IHSA)

Chess State Championship 2024

Peoria, Illinois February 9-10, 2024




Firstly, I’d like to thank the organizers and the directors, along with all of the players for making this edition of the IHSA State Championship the best it could’ve been.

 

I myself played in the tournament, and I can confidently say that it was an amazing experience – more than simply being a tournament, but as a way to make friends and bond as a team.

 

After the first day, when we were 4/4, the anticipation for the possibilities of the following day was immense. And even though we didn’t end up performing as well as we hoped, the experience was all that mattered.

 

I’ve been to many tournaments throughout my life, but something about this one was special. The opportunity of being able to be with friends outside of the plain school environment, on top the combination of my own hobbies, made this an exceptionally special tournament.

 

Enough about that, onto the results of the tournament.



128 teams played in the tournament – after the first day, only 8 teams remained undefeated.

 

Round 5; Final 8 undefeated

Table 4: Aurora (IMSA) defeated Naperville (Neuqua) 56.5 vs 11.5

Table 3:Palatine (Fremd) defeated Naperville (Central) 39.5 vs 28.5

Table 2:Chicago (Payton)defeated Evanston (Twp.) 55 vs 13

Table 1:Lincolnshire (Stevenson) defeated Chicago (Whitney Young) 50 vs 18

 

Round 6; Final 4 undefeated

Table 2:Chicago (Payton) defeated Aurora (IMSA) 34.5 vs 33.5

Table 1:Lincolnshire (Stevenson) defeated Palatine (Fremd) 50.5 vs 17.5

 

Round 7, Final round; Final 2 undefeated

Table 1. After a long match, Stevenson and Payton finished the tournament with a draw in the final round. Stevenson eventually won on tiebreakers.

 

Here is the winning team:




Glenn Panner from Chess Weekend supplied individual award medals to all players with at least 5.5 points out of 7. Bronze was awarded with 5.5, Silver with 6, and gold with 6.5 or 7 points. Around 100 players received medals out of 1200.

 

The following participants were awarded medals.

 

Name

Total Points

Medal

Arthur Xu (Jr.)

7

Gold

Dario Pjevic (So.)

7

Gold

Gustavo Garcia (Fr.)

7

Gold

Makhi Fox (Fr.)

7

Gold

Ochirbat Lkhagvajamts (Jr.)

7

Gold

Owen Geraghty (Sr.)

7

Gold

Shakira Luster (Sr.)

7

Gold

Vrishank Ramnath (Jr.)

7

Gold

Benjamin McKendall (So.)

6.5

Gold

Chris Garcia (Sr.)

6.5

Gold

Connor Nance (So.)

6.5

Gold`

Daniel Avalos (Jr.)

6.5

Gold

Ekansh Mehrotra (Fr.)

6.5

Gold

Feolu Kolawole (Sr.)

6.5

Gold

Issac Padua (Jr.)

6.5

Gold

Paul Hanrahan (Jr.)

6.5

Gold

Saboor Khan (Fr.)

6.5

Gold

Sammy McCandless (Jr.)

6.5

Gold

Tate Morrison (Sr.)

6.5

Gold

Whitman Kosak (Jr.)

6.5

Gold

Adrian Montesino (Sr.)

6

Silver

Andre Dzwiniel (Fr.)

6

Silver

Andrew Coss (Jr.)

6

Silver

Andy Ordway (Sr.)

6

Silver

Andy Yuen (So.)

6

Silver

Arnav Karthikeyan (So.)

6

Silver

Beren Ozer (So.)

6

Silver

Caleb Valentino (Sr.)

6

Silver

David Yong (So.)

6

Silver

David Zappa (Sr.)

6

Silver

Emmett Lin (So.)

6

Silver

Ethan Tobias (So.)

6

Silver

Gavin Snopko (Jr.)

6

Silver

Hansen Du (So.)

6

Silver

Jacob Ang (Sr.)

6

Silver

Jacob Jensen (Sr.)

6

Silver

Jo Swan (So.)

6

Silver

Kayden Zhu (Jr.)

6

Silver

Konrad Kremper (Jr.)

6

Silver

Lazar Martic (So.)

6

Silver

Maddox Todd (Fr.)

6

Silver

Marc Ntumba-Mukadi (So.)

6

Silver

Michael Li (Fr.)

6

Silver

Neil Gani (Sr.)

6

Silver

Ray Sun (Jr.)

6

Silver

Ria Raj (So.)

6

Silver

Sadkrith Malladi (Jr.)

6

Silver

Shalen Chawla (Jr.)

6

Silver

Sohan Bendre (Sr.)

6

Silver

Sreekar Gangavarapu (So.)

6

Silver

Tugstumer Yesuntumur (Sr.)

6

Silver

Tyler Chen (Fr.)

6

Silver

Young Cha (Sr.)

6

Silver

Agastya Sapru (So.)

5.5

Bronze

Andrew Mazzio (Jr.)

5.5

Bronze

Anthony Tsyganov (Fr.)

5.5

Bronze

Asher Reedy (Sr.)

5.5

Bronze

Ayush Shah (Fr.)

5.5

Bronze

Bao Ta (So.)

5.5

Bronze

Brian Farkas (So.)

5.5

Bronze

Chase Brinkmann (So.)

5.5

Bronze

Christine Liu (Sr.)

5.5

Bronze

Cole Tupper (Jr.)

5.5

Bronze

Connor Osullivan (So.)

5.5

Bronze

Craven Andaya (Jr.)

5.5

Bronze

Daniel Arredondo (Sr.)

5.5

Bronze

Derek Wietelmann (Jr.)

5.5

Bronze

Dylan Zec (Jr.)

5.5

Bronze

Eduardo Mota (Jr.)

5.5

Bronze

Erik Garcia (Fr.)

5.5

Bronze

Ethan Montemayor (Sr.)

5.5

Bronze

Ethan Singerman (So.)

5.5

Bronze

Faris Pena (Jr.)

5.5

Bronze

Harrison Weinberger (Sr.)

5.5

Bronze

Iman Ansari (So.)

5.5

Bronze

Jack Drucker (Sr.)

5.5

Bronze

Jacob Plotnick (So.)

5.5

Bronze

Jake Wittman (Fr.)

5.5

Bronze

Jameson Tenopir (So.)

5.5

Bronze

Jamila Matovu (Jr.)

5.5

Bronze

Jerry Bauer (So.)

5.5

Bronze

John Waldo (Sr.)

5.5

Bronze

Jonathan Cheng (Sr.)

5.5

Bronze

Joshua Gravel (Jr.)

5.5

Bronze

Joshua Thorstenson (Sr.)

5.5

Bronze

Jovanni Juarez (Sr.)

5.5

Bronze

Junho Park (Jr.)

5.5

Bronze

Liam Whitecotton (Jr.)

5.5

Bronze

Madeline Green (Jr.)

5.5

Bronze

Matthew Erlec (Sr.)

5.5

Bronze

Max Lu (Jr.)

5.5

Bronze

Nolan Collins (Jr.)

5.5

Bronze

Pauline Yang (Sr.)

5.5

Bronze

Roman Kash (So.)

5.5

Bronze

Ryan Austin (Sr.)

5.5

Bronze

Sam Kemeny (Jr.)

5.5

Bronze

Sanad Abu Awad (So.)

5.5

Bronze

Seth Parent (Jr.)

5.5

Bronze

Soham Dongre (Jr.)

5.5

Bronze

Taofeeq Amuda (So.)

5.5

Bronze

Vinay Sridhar (So.)

5.5

Bronze

Wentao Lin (So.)

5.5

Bronze

Wilbert Chu (Sr.)

5.5

Bronze

Yasin Kansu (Jr.)

5.5

Bronze

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2024 Kings and Queens (K-8) and High School CPS Championships

2024 Kings and Queens (K-8) and High School CPS Championships

Senn Park High School

January 20, 2024



The Kings and Queens tournament consisted of three sections – K-4, K-6, and K-8 – with almost 350 CPS players. The High School tournament consisted of two sections:  Junior Varsity and Varsity, which consisted of a combined 175 CPS high schoolers.

 

In the K-4 section, Edison–Blue finished with a perfect 4-0 for an uncontested first place. Three teams tied for second place with 3 points: Keller – Red, Decatur, and Edison – white.

 

Three players from the K-4 section won all 4 games: Natalie Huang from Decatur, Amay Sarupia from Edison – Blue, and Nurislam Ababakirov from Edison – Blue as well. A further three players finished with 3.5/4 points: Angel Salgado from Carson, Camilo Farinella from Edison – White, and Daniel Zheng from Keller – Blue.

 

In the K-6 section, Skinner North beat Pritzker to complete a perfect 4-0 for first place. Second place had a tie of three teams at 3 points, the teams were Lincoln, Edison – RGC, and Pritzker.

 

The K-6 had a remarkable seven players that went undefeated in all 4 games. They were Shrihaan Bathula from Decatur, Shane Thomas Veale and Ethan Villadiego playing for Edison – RGC, Esen Munkhtur and Vincent Yang from Lincoln, and Avida Biswas and Jonathan Cui from Skinner North.

 

Similarly, K-8 was an uncontested victory with a perfect 4-0 by Whitney Young – Gold who beat Lane Tech – AC. Five additional teams tied for second with 3 points: Lane Tech – AC, Decatur, Taft – AC, Bateman, and Keller.

 

The K-8 also had seven players who went undefeated: Gabriel Jael and Kalen Anderson from Bateman, Kyle Mak from Keller, Christopher Vele from Nobel – Blue, and Mason Qiao and Gene Tcheng from Whitney Young – Gold.

 

The High School JV section had one uncontested winner with 4 points: Whitney Young – Orange who beat Whitney Young – Blue during the final round. Four teams also tied for second place with 3 points; Whitney Young - Blue, Walter Payton, Brooks - Blue, and Englewood – STEM Red.

 

Four players from the JV section finished with a perfect record of 4-0. June Vincent Lee Mino from Lincoln Park High – Blue, Alexander Alvarez from Whitney Young – Blue, Chetan Cherukuri and Vincent Pan from Whitney Young – Orange. Additionally, David Zachary Zurawski finished with 3.5 points.

 

Similarly, in the High School Varsity Section, Walter Payton won with a perfect 4-0 after defeating Lane Tech in the final round. Three teams tied for second with three points: Whitney Young, Lane Tech, and Brooks.

 

In the Varsity section, six players had a perfect four wins: Avi Kaplan and Whitman Kosak from Lane Tech, Marco Baldwin from Lincoln Park, Sohan Anup Bendre from Walter Payton, and Dimitrios Deligiannia and Nithin Ramasamy from Whitney Young.

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2024 Illinois K-8 State Chess Championship

The 2024 Illinois K-8 Championship will be both a team and individual event held by Chess Weekend, Inc. with the Illinois Chess Association on March 8-10, 2024 in Schaumburg, IL. The main event will consist of four sections based on grade level – K-1, 2-3, 4-5, 6-8 – with seven rounds starting Saturday morning. Besides the main event, there will be numerous fun side events such as bughouse, blitz, and puzzle-solving contests. 

 

Over 200 trophies will be awarded on top of a commemorative medal or ribbon for all players. Additionally, a wonderful book and equipment vendor will be on site for all needs at the tournament. Though the tournament is an Illinois Championship, players from all states are welcome; but state championship titles go to Illinois players. Complete details of round times and entry fees can be found here.

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ICA Editor and Staff Writer Message

ICA Editor and Staff Writer  – receive any emails sent to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

 

My name is Jacob Plotnick and I am the new editor for ICA to write about their tournaments . As the editor and staff writer I will write articles for ICA tour events, state championships, and other larger tournaments. I will additionally take concerns of error into consideration and work to mend them ASAP. I can receive any such emails at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. My goal is to reply to any requests within 72 hours. 

 

I am currently a sophomore in high school and have been playing chess for almost seven years. Outside of chess, my main areas of study are math and engineering. Most recently, the de Rham cohomology, with hopes to pursue aerospace engineering in the future. 

 

If you notice any errors when reading one of my postings, please reach out at your soonest convenience. 

 

Jacob

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Tim Just Winter Open 2024

The Illinois Chess Association would like to congratulate Bill Buklis for successfully running the initial tournament of the 2024 year for the Illinois Chess Tour. The 40th annual Tim Just Winter Open was played from January 5th to January 7th and had six sections ranging from a U1300 to a Major section. There was a separate tournament on the 6th specifically for scholastic players with a further three sections. In total, the event had over 300 players.

 

Major

IM Sam Schmakel defeated Ankush Moolky in the final round to take outright first place. Tugstumur Yesuntumur drew Augusto Cesar Campos to tie for second place.

 

Click the image below to see the top games of round 5: 

U2100

Bryce McClanahan was the outright winner with 4.5/5 points. Artemii Khanbutaey, Steven Napoli, Aidan Baker and Andrey Dmitriev tied for second with a score of 4/5 points.

U1900

Aaron Anderson beat Aayush Thakker and Memanth Samayamantri beat Jack Drucker in their last matches to tie for first with 4.5/5

U1700

Carl John Gibson beat Carmelo S Napoli to finish as the  outright winner at 4.5/5. Carmelo ended with 4/5. Madison Lofts, Harrison Schilling and Nathaniel Bafia all joined Carmelo Carmelo in a four-way tie for second at 4/5.

U1500

There was a two-way tie for first between Kostandinos Skoufos and Alastar WIlliam Keely-Walker, both ended with 4.5/5.

U1300

Hector Guifarro won outright with a perfect 5/5. Hector beat Andy Barrientos who ended up in a five-way tie for second at 4/5.

Scholastic Under 1200

Owen Yang finished in first with an uncontested 5/5. Owen Beat Andy Yu who finished in a four-way tie for second at 4/5.

Scholastic Under 800

Silas Judge and Poojith Jada both won their final games to finish tied with 4.5/5.

Scholastic Under 500

There was another perfect 5/5 by Joshua Anderson. Joshua beat Joseph Zachary Taylow who finished in a four-way tie at 4/5.



The Illinois Chess Association would also like to recognize the following scholastic players for increasing their USCF rating by over 50 points:

Joahua Anderson (U500)

Calvin Rivas (U500)

Joseph Zachary Taylor (U500)

Pierce Kruse (U500)

Joel Jonathan Boodu (U500)

Silas Judge (U800)

Poojith Jada (U800)

Sairam Manimaran (U800)

Aidan Michael Cassidy (U800)

Jotin Samayamantri (U800)

Rogelio Jorge Diaz-Portales (U800)

Neeraj Movva (U800)

Aarav Varshney (U800)

Owen Yang (U1200)

Andy YU (U1200)

Saketh Viswanadha (U1200)

Dane Allen Cooper (U1200)

Kevin McAleenan (U1200)

Nilan Velu (U1200)

Anish Itagi (U1200)

Sahasvath Indla (U1200)

James Patrick Budd (U1200)



If you have any questions or comments, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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Jacob Plotnick accepts Position as ICA Editor and Staff Reporter

 

Jacob has graciously accepted the position as our editor and a new position as a staff reporter. Jacob is currently a sophomore at the Illinois Math and Science Academy in Aurora. He is a former Illinois State Champion for the United States Chess Federation Jr. Grand Prix. In addition to being a Class "B" player, Jacob is also a certified local tournament director.

As our editor, Jacob fills a void that the ICA has had for a number of years. He will be reviewing, editing, and publishing articles sent to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Jacob will also have a staff position responsible for creating articles and working with organizers for our state championships, ICA tour events, and larger Illinois tournaments and events.

Please join us in welcoming Jacob to his new position.

 

 

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ICA Tour to restart in 2024

 

In July, the ICA conducted a survey among chess players with the intention of getting feedback to help us improve and shape the future of the ICA. We listened and are bringing back the ICA Tour! Details to follow. Our first tour tournament will be the Tim Just Winter Open, which will be held at the Hyatt Regency Schaumburg from Friday, January 5 to Sunday, January 7, 2024.

 

 

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ICA Elections - Nomination Period for 2023 Is Now Open!

The ICA is pleased to announce the call for nominations for the five general members of the Board of Directors. Directors will take office on January 1, 2024 and serve a two-year term.

Who Is Eligible to Be Nominated?

Under the ICA Bylaws, directors must be residents of Illinois and members of the ICA. At least two at-large directors must reside in Cook County or the Collar Counties (DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, and Will), and at least two must reside outside these counties.

Submitting Your Nomination

Any ICA member may submit a nomination. Self-nominations are also permitted and encouraged.
Nominations may be submitted by email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Nominations must be seconded by 10 voting ICA members and the nominee must agree to serve. The deadline for submitting nominations is October 10, 2023.

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Mex Chess Champ, Age 12, Seeks Help to Compete in World Contest

Levi Kalani Fogo Esquivel, who hails from Tulum in Quintana Roo, is Mexico’s National Chess Champion in the Under-12 category. He earned a gold and two silver medals at the CONADE Games. (CONADE: Comisión Nacional de Cultura Física y Deporte.)

He also finished in first place in Las Vegas at the International Youth Championship as well as first in the Illinois Open Championship-Reserve Section. At the Illinois Open Blitz tournament, 3-minute games, he finished in second place in a group of twenty-six players. There he had two wins, and two losses, against two local Masters. Only George Li, an International Master, finished ahead of Kalani.

At the World Open tournaments in Philadelphia, he had outstanding performances which earned him some prizes.

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 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10 

To me, the striking thing about the following three games is the maturity of Eric Rosen's play and the universality of his style. He can play a pragmatic technical ending, get into a crazy slugfest and create problems for his opponents from the ugliest of positions, or play for strategic domination. In short, he's most deserving of the 2011 National High School title!

Eric was kind enough to annotate the first game: additional comments beyond Eric's are indicated by "RR" (the Informant symbol for editorial comments).

Eric Rosen (2274) - Curtis Winter (2015) [B13]
2011 National High School Championship, Round 3
[Eric Rosen, additonal comments by Bill Brock]

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 cxd5 4.c4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Nf3 Bg4 7.cxd5 Nxd5 8.Qb3 Bxf3 9.gxf3 e6 10.Qxb7 Nxd4 11.Bb5+ Nxb5 12.Qc6+ Ke7

SPos101

The game was all opening theory up until this point. I chose to deviate from the mainline in hopes to avoid a drawish ending.  

13.Nxb5!?

 This is a rare sideline only played 17 times out of 746 games (according to my database). White has the initiative, but if Black is careful not to blunder, he should come out slightly better.

13.Qxb5 Qd7 (RR: Fischer provided the model game for White in this line: 13...Nxc3 14.bxc3 Qd7 15.Rb1 Rd8 16.Be3 Qxb5 17.Rxb5 Rd7 18.Ke2 f6 19.Rd1 Rxd1 20.Kxd1 Kd7 21.Rb8 Kc6 22.Bxa7 g5 23.a4 Bg7 24.Rb6+ Kd5 25.Rb7 Bf8 26.Rb8 Bg7 27.Rb5+ Kc6 28.Rb6+ Kd5 29.a5 f5 30.Bb8 Rc8 31.a6 Rxc3 32.Rb5+ Kc4 33.Rb7 Bd4 34.Rc7+ Kd3 35.Rxc3+ Kxc3 36.Be5 1-0 Fischer-Euwe, Leipzig 1960) 14.Nxd5+ Qxd5 15.Qxd5 exd5 is mainline.

13...Rb8! 

The natural looking 13...Rc8? runs into 14.Nxa7!

SPos102

 Variation after 14.Na7!

RR: There's cute tactics after 14...Rc7! Both the White Na7 and the Black Ke7 are horribly awkward. (14...Rxc6?? 15.Nxc6+ Ke8 16.Nxd8 Kxd8) 15.0-0! f6 (After 15...h6 16.Rd1 keeps the White advantage (16.Re1? Kf6 17.Qa4 Bb4 18.Re4 Qa8 Black was better in Looshnikov-Sergienko,Miass 2007) 16...Kf6 17.Rxd5!) 16.Re1! Qd7 17.Qxd7+ Kxd7 and the horse escapes.

14.Nd4 Qb6 15.Be3 Kf6 16.Qxb6 Rxb6 17.Nb3 Rb7 18.Ke2 Bd6 19.Rac1 Be5 20.Rc2 Nb4 21.Rd2 Nd5

21...Nxa2? 22.Nc5 Rxb2 (RR: Rybka suggests that 22...Rc7! 23.Nd7+ Kf5 24.Nxe5 Kxe5 is still equal) 23.Nd7+ Kf5 24.Nxe5 Rxd2+ 25.Bxd2 Kxe5 26.Ra1+-

22.Rc1 Kf5 23.Nd4+

23.Rc6 Bxh2 24.Rxd5+ exd5 25.Nd4+ Ke5 26.f4+ Bxf4 27.Kf3 Bxe3 28.Kxe3, and now Black has only one saving move 28...g5-+

23...Bxd4 24.Bxd4 Rg8 25.Rc4 g6 26.Ra4 Rgb8 27.b3 Ra8 28.Rc2 a5 29.Be3 Rb4 30.Bd2 Rxa4 31.bxa4 g5 32.Rc5 h5 33.Rxa5

SPos103

33...Rxa5?!

After the trade of rooks, White should be technically winning. 33...Rc8 gives black better chances.

34.Bxa5 Ke5 35.Bd2 Kd4 36.a5 f6 37.a6 Nc7 38.a7 g4 39.fxg4 hxg4 40.f3 f5 41.fxg4 fxg4 42.Kf2 Ke4 43.Kg3 Kf5 44.a4 Na8 45.a5 Nc7 46.Be3 Na8 47.Bf4 e5

SPos104

48.Bxe5!

RR: Eric was too modest to add the exclam. The Na8 is terrible at blockading the h-pawn, as it only has the c7 square to move to.  

48...Kxe5 49.Kxg4 Kf6 50.h4

And Black resigns: it's an easy win after 50.h4 Nc7 (50...Kg6 51.Kf4 Kh5 52.Ke5 Kxh4 53.Kd6 Kg5 54.Kc6 Kf6 55.Kb7 Ke7 56.Kxa8 Kd8 57.Kb7 and Black is one move too late) 51.Kf4 Kg6 52.Ke4 Kh5 53.Kd3 (53.Kd4?? Nb5+ 54.Kc5 Nxa7 55.Kb6 Nc8+ 56.Kb7 Nd6+ is a book draw) 53...Kxh4 54.Kc4 Kg5 55.Kc5 Kf6 56.Kc6 Ke7 57.Kxc7 again wins by only one tempo.

1-0


Eric Rosen (2274) - Daniel Gater (2145) [B14]
2011 National High School Championships, Round 5
[Bill Brock]

Eric lets a winning position slip and has to hang on for dear life for more than a dozen moves. Resilient defense (and a little luck) is rewarded!  This was the only loss for Daniel Gater of Indiana: he earned the National Master title in this event.

1.c4 c6 2.e4

An important move order finesse! 2.d4 d5 is the Slav.

2...d5 3.exd5 cxd5 4.d4

Eric got a lot of mileage out of the Panov Attack in this event, usinjg it to avoid both the Main Line Caro-Kann and the Slav.  It's wise to play openings that your opponent will find mildly annoying.

4...Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.Qb3 Bg7 7.cxd5 0-0 8.Nge2 Nbd7 9.g3 Nb6 10.Bg2

SPos401

10...Bg4

10...Bf5 11.Nf4 Qd7 is quiet and sensible. If 12.h3 g5 is now playable.

11.Nf4! g5? 12.Nd3 Qd7?!

White's knight is headed for e5: why walk into a fork?

13.Ne5

13...Qf5

Perhaps Black should have conceded the g-pawn with 13...Qd6

SPos402

 

14.h3! Bh5 15.g4 Bxg4 16.hxg4 Nxg4 17.Nxg4 Qxg4 18.Bh3 Qf3 19.Rh2

  SPos403

Rosen has won a piece for a pawn; the price is temporary discombobulation.

19...Bxd4 20.Bxg5?

20.Ne2! forces the trade of queens: the win is not trivial, but it should be fairly routine after 20...Qxb3 21.axb3 Bf6 22.Bf5! h6 23.Rxh6 (23.d6!?) 23...Nxd5 24.Be4 Rfd8 25.Ra5! as White's pieces are now superactive.

20...Be5!

 Ouch!  

21.Bg2

21.Rg2!? Qxh3 22.Rg1 threatens mate, but Black has several escapes. 22...Kh8 23.Bxe7 Rfe8 24.d6 Nc8 25.0-0-0 Nxe7 26.dxe7 Bxc3 27.bxc3 (27.Qxc3+ Qxc3+ 28.bxc3 Rxe7 groveling for the draw may be better.) 27...Rxe7 and Black is a pawn up with a safer king.]

21...Qg4 22.Rh1?!

Rybka's 22.Bxe7 Bxh2 23.Kf1! may be White's best try. Black is up the Exchange, but White's king is safer and the Black rooks aren't operating at full force. 23...Rfe8 24.d6 Be5 25.Rd1 and it's a game..

22...Qxg2!

Better than 22...Qxg5 23.Be4 h6 24.Ke2!? Qg4+ 25.f3 Qg2+ 26.Kd3 and Black has to watch the g-file.

SPos404

23.Ke2!

 "My king is an active piece!"--Steinitz.

23...Qg4+ 24.Kf1 Kh8!

SPos406

25.Qc2! f5 26.Rg1 Qh3+ 27.Ke2 Rg8 28.Be3 Nc4 29.Rxg8+ Rxg8 30.Nd1

  

SPos407

30...Qh5+

As Eric noted, 30...Rg1! was an instant kill: 31.Qxc4?? Qf1+

31.f3 Nxe3?

Don't exchange pieces in a king hunt unless you've calculated the outcome! Again, 31...Nxb2! kills because of White's second rank weaknesses: 32.Nxb2 Rg2+ 33.Bf2 Rxf2+ 34.Kxf2 Qh2+ would win the queen.

32.Nxe3 Qh2+ 33.Kd3 Qf4 34.Qc4!

SPos408

All Eric needs is a slightly inferior ending to get winning chances!

34...Qxf3 35.Rf1 Qe4+?

After 35...Qh3! 36.Rxf5 Bxb2 , White will win a pawn back, but Black keeps the initiative by keeping queens on the board. 37.Qc5 Bf6 38.Qxa7 But as ugly as Eric's position could have been, I wouldn't doubt his ability to fight on here.

36.Qxe4 fxe4+ 37.Kxe4  

The centralized king is now a giant asset for White! And whose king is safer?  

37...Bd6

37...Bf6 38.d6 Rd8! 39.dxe7 Rd4+! (forcing White to block the f-file) (39...Bxe7 40.Rf7=) 40.Kf5 Bxe7 Black can push for something here, but White's pieces are nicely centralized, so a draw seems likely.

38.Rf7! h6 39.Nf5! Rg4+ 40.Ke3 Bc5+ 41.Kf3 Rb4?! 42.b3! Rb6

SPos410

Compare the activity of White's and Black's pieces!

43.Nxe7 Ra6

43...Bxe7 44.Rxe7 Kg8 45.Ke4 Kf8 46.Rh7 Ra6 47.a4 Rb6 48.Ke5! Rxb3 49.Ke6!

44.Nf5 Rb6

44...Rxa2 45.Rxb7

45.Ke4 Kg8 46.Rc7 Ba3 47.Rc2

47.Ne3! with the idea of Nc4 is even stronger. But it 's hard to move such a beautiful knight.

47...Kf7 48.Ke5 Kg6

SPos411

49.d6!

Tactics!

49...Rb5+ 50.Ke6 Rb6

50...Rxf5 51.Rg2+ Rg5 52.Rxg5+ hxg5 53.d7.

51.Rg2+ Kh5 52.Rg7 Rb4 53.d7 Re4+ 54.Kd5 Re1 55.d8Q Rd1+ 56.Nd4 1-0

Eric Rosen (2274) - Marc Arnold (2521) [A21]
National High School Championships, Round 7
[Bill Brock]

And here's the championship game.  The event's top seed, IM Marc Arnold, trailed by half a point and was in a must-win situation.

1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Bb4 3.Qb3 Nc6 4.Nf3 Be7

Both players like their bishops. The gambit 4...Nf6!? has been played a couple times: 5.Nxe5 Qe7 (5...Nd4 6.Qa4 Qe7 7.Nd3 Bd6) 6.Nxc6 dxc6; 4...d6 is perhaps more logical.

5.e3 d6 6.Be2 Nh6 7.0-0 0-0 8.a3 f5 9.d4

And both players want to fight!  

9...Nf7 10.Rd1 Qe8 11.Nd5 Bd8 12.Qc2

SPos501

12...Nb8

12...e4 13.Nd2 Ne7! , redirecting the knight to the kingside action, may be better.

13.b4 c6 14.Nc3 e4 15.Nd2 Nd7 16.f3 exf3 17.Nxf3 Ng5 18.Nxg5 Bxg5 19.e4 f4!?

Not the best move, but a very good move for the situation. 19...Bxc1 20.Raxc1 Nf6 21.exf5 Qe3+ 22.Kh1 Qf4=

20.Bf3 Qg6 21.Qe2 c5?!

The better way to play against White's phalanx is 21...a5!+/=

22.dxc5 dxc5 23.Rd5!?

23.e5! wakes up a killer bishop.

23...Be7

SPos502

24.Rf5!?

 When I first saw this game, I'd assumed that White was planning a passive Exchange sac (leaving the rook on d5 in hopes of creating a central pawn majority). Eric's idea is unorthodox and strong!  

24...cxb4 25.axb4 Bxb4 26.Nd5 Bc5+ 27.Kh1 Nb6

27...Rxf5 28.exf5 Qxf5 29.Bxf4

28.Rxf8+ Bxf8 29.Bxf4 Nxd5 30.exd5

30.cxd5?? Qf6-/+

30...Bf5 31.Qf2 a5

SPos503

32.Qd4

 Centralize your queen! She now rules the board.

32...Bg4 33.Bxg4 Qxg4

Passive defense is not an option because of the tournament situation.

34.d6 Qd7 35.c5 a4 36.Bd2 a3 37.Bc3 a2

SPos504

Looks impressive, but White controls a1 three times.

38.Rf1 Kh8 39.Qc4

39.Qf4 Qc8 40.Qf7 is stronger, but Eric is bound by the same pragmatic concern: he doesn't *need* to win the game to take the title. White isn't going to lose by sitting on the center. And there's a threat, which Black overlooks.

39...b6?

SPos505

It's not clear to me that White can win after 39...h6 , but White is still much better after Rybka's 40.Qb4 (to stop ...b6) 40...Qc8 41.Ba1 Kg8 42.h3 A draw from a dominating position would also have given Eric the title.

40.Qxa2! Qd8

40...Rxa2 41.Rxf8#

41.Qe6 bxc5 42.Be5 Ra7 43.d7! Ra8

43...Rxd7 44.Qxd7!

44.Rf7 Qg5

SPos506

45.h3!

 A marvelous finish! [45.h3 Qg6 46.Qe8]

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