The Senior Moment

John B. Henderson • Jul 27, 2023

It can literally be tagged “one for the ages”, as the always-innovative Saint Louis Chess Club more than lives up to its mission statement by providing chess for all with the showcasing and sponsoring of a trifecta of national titles ranging from the stars of yesterday to the stars of tomorrow, with the invitation-only US Senior, US Junior and US Girls’Junior Championships all running in parallel and under the same roof.

First up in our series of reports is the US Senior for players over 50 with a generous $75,000 prize fund, as the battle-hardened “old masters’ duke it out for the top prize of $20,000 first prize and an automatic berth into the main event of the US Championship in October, also hosted, supported and sponsored by the Saint Louis Chess Club.

This year saw a surprise, though very popular winner in Melik Khachiyan, with the Azerbaijan-American grandmaster, more famous for being an influential coach and guiding his many students to tournament success, scoring, as he himself put it, the biggest achievement of his playing career by clinching his first US Senior title - and how!

Baku-born LA resident Khachiyan, 53, got off to a flying start, first beating top seed Vladimir Akopian in the opening round, and then going on to win five of his first six games (only dropping a draw to Joel Benjamin in round three) to have his “Senior moment”, as he went on to top-score on 7/9 as he cruised to victory with a round to spare.

The rest of the field was left behind in Khachiyan’s ruthless wake of a barnstorming and undefeated 7/9, with defending 2022 US Senior champion GM Alexander Shabalov in (5.5/9) second-place, 1.5-points behind the winner, and GM Vladimir Akopian (5/9) taking the third spot.

Final standings:

1. GM M Khachiyan 7/9; 2. GM A. Shabalov 5.5; 3. GM V Akopian 5; 4-5. GM G. Kaidanov, GM M. Dlugy 4.5; 6-7. GM P. Wolff, GM J. Benjamin 4; 8-10. GM I. Novikov, IM D. Root, GM D. Gurevich 3.5.

GM Melik Khachiyan - GM Max Dlugy

US Seniors Ch., (5) 

D05: Colle System

1.Nf3 c5 2.c3 d5 3.d4 e6 4.e3 Nc6 5.Nbd2 Nf6 6.Bd3 Things don't come much simpler in chess than the Colle System, named after the early 20th century Belgium master Edgard Colle - and the creator of the system blazed a trail with many "Greek gift" Bxh7+ brilliancies that made his eponymous opening an attractive option for club players. 6...Bd6 7.O-O O-O 8.dxc5 This is the Colle at its simplest form, the idea being to play a quick e4 with the mass trade of pieces and pawns in the centre - including the early exchange of queens - offering White a no-risk easy game.

8...Bxc5 9.e4 Re8 There's been many tournament praxis and club games that have witnessed 9...dxe4?! 10.Nxe4 Nxe4 11.Bxe4 Qxd1 12.Rxd1 only for Black to realise how difficult this position is to defend with White's rook not only dominating the only open file on the board but also stopping the development of Black's light-squared bishop.

10.e5 Ng4 In essence, we have a sort of French Defence Tarrasch, where instead of 10...Nd7 11.Nb3 Be7 12.Re1 and White with more space and the more harmonious development of his pieces, we have something a bit more spirited!

11.Nb3 Bb6 12.Bxh7+ It all looks scary, but normal fare in the Colle - and with careful play, Black should be OK. 12...Kxh7 13.Ng5+ Kg8 14.Qxg4 Nxe5 15.Qh4 Qf6 16.Bf4 With the big threat of 17.Bxe5 Qxe5 18.Qh8+!! Kxh8 19.Nxf7+ Kh7 20.Nxe5 and an extra pawn and a big positional advantage to boot. 16...Qh6 Better and simpler was 16...Nc4! as the complications after 17.Nd2 e5! 18.Nxc4 dxc4 19.Qh7+ Kf8 20.Bc1 Bf5 favours Black. Still, with the text, Black should have nothing to fear. 17.Qxh6 gxh6 18.Bxe5 The alternative of 18.Ne4 was equally a good option.

18...hxg5 19.Bf6 g4 20.Rae1Kh7 Dlugy just doesn't want to walk into any Re5 and Rg5+ nastiness. 21.Bd4 Bd7 22.f3! Khachiyan isn't winning, but it is just a little awkward for Black, and Dlugy makes things worse with an error.

22...e5 23.Bxb6 axb6 24.fxg4 Kg6 In hindsight - always 20/20 in chess! - better was 24...Kg7 which saves a move, as it avoids Rf6+. It doesn't seem a biggie, but this is where it all starts to go awry for the drifting Dlugy. 25.g5 Rxa2 26.Rf6+ Kg7 27.Nc1 Rxb2 28.Nd3 Rb3 29.Nxe5 Re7 30.h4 Rxc3 31.h5 Be8 It is never easy in the heat of battle, especially as your digital clock is metaphorically ticking down, as Dlugy suddenly panics about f7 and any mating threats associated with Ref1 - but rather than being cramped, the ever-resourceful engine finds 31...Bb5! 32.h6+ Kg8 33.Rxb6 Rc5! 34.Nf3 The threat of ...d4 picking up the g5-pawn is a potential game-winner, so has to be avoided. 34...Rxe1+ 35.Nxe1 d4 36.Nf3 d3 37.Rxb7 which all seems to peter out to a draw after 37...Bc6 38.Rb8+ Kh7 39.Rf8 Bxf3 40.Rxf7+ Kg6 (Also drawing is 40...Kg8 41.g6! Rc8 42.Rg7+ Kh8 43.Rh7+ Kg8 44.Rg7+ etc) 41.Rf6+ Kh7 42.Rf7+ Kg6 43.Rf6+ and a draw. 32.h6+! Black's game just becomes critical at the wrong time for Dlugy, with the time control looming. 32...Kh7 33.Kf2 Rc2+ Dlugy had to hang tough with 33...Rcc7! and White has nothing other than 34.Rxb6 d4 35.Rbb1 (If 35.Rd6 Rc5 36.Nf3 Rxe1 37.Kxe1 Rf5 with ...Bc6 coming that will see all the pawns being liquidated in the ensuing R+P endgame after a timely...Bxf3) 35...Bd7 and Black is easily holding a game that's ebbing towards the inevitable draw. 34.Kg3 Kg8? (see diagram) Things are getting difficult for Dlugy, as his game has started to drift in a bad way, but this is his "senior moment”, as he more or less gifts Khachiyan a critical free move that turns the game on its head. Instead, after 34...Rc3+ 35.Kf4 Rcc7 36.Rxb6 Bc6! it is just awkward for Black rather than outright losing. 35.Rff1! When you have the advantage, possibly even winning, a long retreating move is the most difficult move to find in chess - but here Khachiyan finds it, with the full retreat of the rook not only defending the e1 rook but also threatening the winning knight hop of Ne5-g4-f6+ 35...Rc8 36.Ng4 Rxe1 37.Rxe1 Bc6 38.Nf6+ Kf8 39.Kf4 I love how Mr Engine just nonchalantly kibitzes in your ear that 39.Nh7+! is a forced mate in 10 after 39...Kg8 40.g6! f5

(After 40...fxg6 41.Re7! then the only way to stop the mate on h7 with Rg7+ and Nf6 is 41...Rf8 42.Rg7+ Kh8 43.Nxf8 and a heavy loss of material) 41.Kf4 d4 42.Re7 Be8 43.Kg5 and the White pieces are moving in for the kill. 39...Ra8 40.Nh7+ A little repeating of moves first to safely navigate through to the time control. 40...Kg8 41.Nf6+ Kf8 42.Kf5 d4 43.Nh7+ Kg8 44.g6 fxg6+ 45.Kxg6 Kh8 46.Nf6 The ingredients are all there for a mate with the Black king entombed on h8. 46...Ba4 47.Re7 Bc2+ 48.Kg5 b5 49.Rxb7Black is paralysed: his rook can't move from the back-rank, and the d-pawn can't push forward as the bishop is covering the h7 mate. 49...Rd8 50.g4 It's game over with the g-pawn now running up the board. 50...b4 51.Kh5 Rf8 52.g5 Bd1+ 53.Kh4 Bc2 54.Rxb4 Rd8 If 54...d3 55.g6 quickly mates. 55.Rb7! And with the Rh7 mate threat renewed, and Black again unable to play ...d3, there's only one option left now - as forlorn as it is. 55...Bg6 56.Rg7 d3 57.Rxg6 d2 58.Rg7 Even with Black promoting the pawn, there's no stopping the inevitable now with a Rh7 mate. 58...Rd4+ 59.Kh3 Rd3+ 60.Kh2 1-0

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The 42 Paradox

By John B. Henderson • 02 Oct, 2023

Well, well, well. After rampaging his way through many of the finals and opponents throughout the 2023 Champions Chess Tour, Magnus Carlsen’s “final boss” reign came to a screeching halt in what proved to be an enthralling AI Cup Grand Final on Friday, as the favourite was beaten not once but in three games, and over two matches, by Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, who sensationally grabbed the last remaining spot in the Champions Tour Final in December. Earlier, Carlsen had defeated MVL in the final of the winners’ bracket, before the Frenchman gained the right to a rematch in the double-elimination contest by beating Ian Nepomniachtchi in the final of the losers’ bracket. In the Grand Final, buoyed up and firing on all cylinders, MVL beat Carlsen by a 2½-1½ score.

We'll Meet Again

By John B. Henderson • 29 Sep, 2023

The self-proclaimed “final boss of chess” does what the final boss of chess does best of all: Magnus Carlsen beat Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in the final of the AI Cup winners’ bracket, the sixth and final leg of the 2023 Champions Chess Tour regular season, to reach yet another Grand Final in the novel double-elimination contest. But it wasn’t without an epic bare-knuckle street fight from both players, as MVL proved to be a worthy opponent for what looked to be an unstoppable Carlsen, who narrowly prevailed in the Armageddon to take the match 3-2. "This is the sort of thing that happens when you play Sicilians in every game," said a magnanimous Carlsen in victory after four fighting Sicilians left the match tied at 2-2.

Tiers For Fears

By John B. Henderson • 27 Sep, 2023

Fans were treated to arguably the greatest online rivalry in chess history recently, with the Chess.com Speed Chess Championship Grand Final showdown between Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura seeing the Norwegian narrowly snatch victory by a solitary win to end the American speed maven’s hopes of a sixth successive victory. But Carlsen’s narrow win left the salivating fans feeling they’d been denied seeing this epic gladiatorial speed contest going into overtime - but they didn’t have to wait long for the rivalry redux, as a couple of days later, both Carlsen and Nakamura went head-to-head yet again in the opening day of the AI Cup, the sixth and final leg of the 2023 Champions Chess Tour regular season.

Bossing It

By John B. Henderson • 25 Sep, 2023

Magnus Carlsen more than lived up to his self-proclamation of being “The Final Boss of Chess” with a revenge-is-sweet narrow victory over fellow chess influencer Hikaru Nakamura, as he denied his long-time arch-rival a sixth successive Chess.com Speed Chess Championship title last Friday. Last year, it was Nakamura who narrowly squeaked home by one point - this time, in yet another thrilling match consisting of three different speed limits - 5+1, 3+1 and 1+1 (more commonly known as ‘bullet’) - between the two speed titans, it again ended with the same scoreline, though this time seeing Carlsen triumph by a solitary win after two pulsating hours of thrilling play, as he took the $150,000 2023 Speed Chess Championship presented by Coinbase, 13.5-12.5.

Death, Taxes, Magnus & Hikaru

By John B. Henderson • 22 Sep, 2023

With a smorgasbord of online chess events out there now, the granddaddy of them all is surely the Chess.com Speed Chess Championship , with a $150,000 prize fund that determines just who is the best blitz and bullet players. It has become the perennial fan-favourite with arguably the best viewing experience - and the fans are set for yet another spectacular finale later today, as the two rivals who dominate the roll of honour, Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura, get set for another explosive showdown in the 2023 final. Friday’s final and commentary, free to view, starts at 14:00 ET (11:00 PT; 20:00 CEST; 23:30 IST) on Chess.com. Carlsen and Nakamura have won each edition since the inaugural Speed Chess Championship event in 2016 - Carlsen won the first two speed titles before taking a hiatus, only for Nakamura to rule the roost, winning four more times.

A Messi Kid

By John B. Henderson • 19 Sep, 2023

India today is a land of amazing young talents and prospects in chess, with the country seemingly having a never-ending production line of prodigies rolling off the factory conveyor belt. But for some countries, such as Argentina, prodigies only seem to come around with all the regularity of Halley’s Comet . One of the first notable post-war chess prodigies was Oscar Panno from Buenos Aires, who became the first world-class player born in South America. In 1953, at the age of 17, he became only the second World Junior Champion , having won the coveted youth title ahead of a strong cadre of future elite-level Grandmasters such as Boris Ivkov (who in 1951 was crowned the first World Junior Ch), Bent Larsen, and Fredrik Olafsson.

The Great Rook 'n' Roll Swindle

By John B. Henderson • 14 Sep, 2023

“Chess is a cruel game. We all know that feeling when your position has gone awry and everything seems hopeless. You feel like resigning. But don’t give up! This is precisely the moment to switch to swindle mode. Master the art of provoking errors and you will be able to turn the tables and escape with a draw or sometimes even steal the full point!” So wrote David Smerdon, an Australian chess grandmaster and one of his country’s leading behavioural economists, on the back cover of his witty and wickedly entertaining, not to mention the much-lauded and deserving 2020 ECF Book of the Year winner, The Complete Chess Swindler (New in Chess).

No Country For Young Men

By John B. Henderson • 11 Sep, 2023

With the top teenage talents being overshadowed in the Tata Steel Chess India Rapid in Kolkata by a dominant performance from seasoned veteran Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, there were hopes of a homeland comeback in the follow-on Blitz tournament - and one looked to be on the cards, only for another “old guy”, this time Alexander Grischuk, crashing the teenage party by capturing the second, even faster speed title. Early doors, all eyes were firmly on Rameshbabu “Pragg” Praggnanandhaa, with his flying start of a perfect 5/5 on the opening day of the two-day double-round contest. But that was as good as it got for the 18-year-old Candidate-qualifier, who could only finish the day on 6.5/9, and despite being the sole leader, he held what looked a very slender half-point lead over nearest rivals Santosh Vidit and Grischuk, ominously the only unbeaten player.

My Indian Summer

By John B. Henderson • 08 Sep, 2023

The past couple of years have proved to be a major one for India - not only a global player with world leaders descending this week in New Delhi for the G20 Summit and recently successfully landing a spacecraft on the moon but now also a fully-fledged chess superpower, with many exciting young talents set to make the country a dominant force for the foreseeable future. Many would even speculate that Indian Chess could well turn into a hegemony, in much the same way as the Soviets dominated the chess scene in the 1945 post-war period until its collapse and ultimate dissolution in 1991. The latest big chess tournament to be held in India coincides with the G20, with the fifth Tata Steel Chess India Rapid & Blitz - a spinoff from the larger Dutch super-tournament, the Tata Steel Chess Masters in Wijk aan Zee - taking place 5-9 September in Kolkata.

Me & The Kids

By John B. Henderson • 04 Sep, 2023

The fifth and latest leg of the Champions Chess Tour , the Julius Baer Generations Cup more than lived up to its name with the world No.1, Magnus Carlsen, after overpowering Alireza Firouzja in the winners’ final, to effortlessly cruise his way into the Grand Final, declaring: “It’s just me against the kids now!” After three clean kills that included a brace of back-to-back 2½-½ victories over Iranian Amin Tabatabaei and his old title foe Caruana, Carlsen proceeded to sweep Firouzja 3-0 to reach the Grand Final of the contest - but it wasn’t lost on the “old man” that non of his old rivals were left in the competition, and that meant that Denis Lazavik (16), Nodirbek Abdusattorov (18), and Firouzja (20) were the only three left standing to see who would go forward to meet him in the Grand Final.