Cover Story / Millionaire Chess 2
PREPARATION Keeping with the theme of bringing glamour
to chess, the tournament was once again held at Planet Hollywood on the Strip in Las Vegas from October 8-13. The tournament hall was adorned with purple accents and portraits of past world champions. While top players still had to pay the $1,000 entry fee like everyone else, some still received the “VIP” treatment in the form of limo pick-ups from the airport. The event is one of the few tournaments where
amateurs get the “star treatment.” Players with unique stories in the various Under sections are profiled among the chess elite. Whether you’re playing or not, and whether you agree with the premise or not, Millionaire Chess has become a focal point of the US Chess calendar. If I am going to take time off of work to play in any open event, it is this one. As with all sequels, there is pressure to go above
and beyond. A major addition this year was a real chance to win one million dollars outright. The top finishers from all of the sections are able to compete in a language-neutral strategy game. The winner would then choose from one of the 64 squares on a chess board; one of the squares contains the $1 million prize. Matching the Las Vegas atmosphere, the tournament schedule is a rush. With two rounds a day at a standard 40/120 plus five second delay (or 40/90 plus five second delay in the 5-day Under sections) time control, there is regrettably little time to appreciate the extravagance of the host city.
With the pressures of chess magnified by the pressures of high-stakes payouts, it is easy to lose sight of the behind-the-scenes work that goes into hosting a tournament of this scale. Planning began as soon as the first Millionaire Chess concluded. Everything from the tournament hall, to security, to the staff, to the group hotel rates, and even the water served during the event had to be re-negotiated. Organizer Amy Lee reveals some of the
surprising cost breakdowns: “The opening day pool party was $26,600. The five-day schedule breakfast cost $23,430 ($50 per plate plus 32.1 percent in tax and gratuity). Side events like the pizza party cost around $2,400. The water on day one alone cost $9,015 ($5/bottle + 32.1 percent). The next few days we switched to gallon sizes of water and that totaled to another $5,107.73, which means water alone cost us $14,123.56.” Neverthe - less, Amy believes that since “our clients paid a substantial entry fee in order to have a top-notch experience, we felt it was worth going the extra mile to make sure they were treated in a first-class way.”
While the $1,000 entry fee seems steep, it is
not nearly enough to cover the million dollar prize fund, let alone the organizational costs. The revenue model is based on attracting sponsors. Conducting outreach to major sponsors is a major time and financial commitment in and of itself. As a further means of outreach, this year Sunset
Lane Entertainment productions was overseeing the broadcast of the event. Commentators GM
WHITE TO PLAY Commentator IM Lawrence Trent, who also
doubles as Caruana’s manager, quipped that he “hates Black’s position.” Trent was disappointed that his protégé struggled to play consistently throughout the tournament.
20. ... Rab8 21. h3 a6 22. R1d3 b5 23. Rc7
www.uschess.org 25
Robert Hess and IM Lawrence Trent returned for this year’s edition, along with IM Sachdev Tania. Reporting began two hours into the round to avoid slow-moving opening battles and cut right to the action. A new addition this year was the confessional booth where players had the fun opportunity to relay their thoughts directly to viewers while still playing their games.
GAME DAY Adding to the seriousness of the event, all
players are expected to register in person the evening before the first round. We receive Mil - lionaire Chess swag bags as well as wristbands that must be worn at all times. The entire registra - tion process lasts several hours. Organizers Maurice Ashley and Amy Lee personally register players, field last-minute questions, and scrutinize late entrants. It looked like everything was ready. All of the
planning, grand expenditures, and dealing with chess players’ gripes came down to the first round. Unfortunately, that’s when one human error compromised the pairings. The staff member responsible for generating pairings accidentally used the wrong database—one that included players that had since withdrawn before the tournament. This resulted in about 30 players getting paired with someone who definitely was not showing up, and consequently receiving a forfeit win. This was not good news for potential norm seekers. Maurice was disappointed with this organizational low-point: “That one really hurt, and we had to spend the rest of the tournament dealing with some of the residual effects.” The Open section featured an almost binary
composition of players. Grandmasters crowded the field, balanced out by a slew of players 2100 and below at the bottom. After losing my first round to GM Arun Prasad Subramanian, I found myself paired against another GM: Varuzhan Akobian. He was on the short-end of one of the biggest upsets in round one, losing to FM Vignesh Panchanatham after the teenager executed an impressive Exchange sacrifice.
IMPRESSIVE EXCHANGE SAC FM Vignesh Panchanatham (2378) GM Varuzhan Akobian (2712) Millionaire Chess Open 2 (1), Las Vegas, Nevada, 10.08.2015
27. d6!
A resourceful way to create counterplay, taking advantage of Black’s knight which is cut off from the game. The pawn is difficult to stop, and well worth the sacrificed Exchange.
27. ... Bxf1 28. Bxf1 b6 29. d7 Rd8 30. Qe5 Re6
Black recoils to go on the defensive. From here, White’s penetration is methodical.
31. Qc7 Qf6 32. Qxa7 g6 33. Qc7 Kh7 34. a5 bxa5 35. Nxa5 Nd3 36. Bxd3 Rd6 37. Be2 R8xd7 38. Rxd6 Rxd6 39. Nc4 Qa1+ 40. Kg2 Rf6 41. Qe7 Kg7 42. Nd6, Black resigned.
Caruana was the next favorite to fall victim to
an upset to another youngster in round two. 14- year-old and brand-new-IM Ruifeng Li played none other than the Evans Gambit against Caruana, achieving a better position but opting for a practical three-fold repetition.
EVANS GAMBIT ACCEPTED (C52) IM Ruifeng Li (2550) GM Fabiano Caruana (2863) Millionaire Chess Open 2 (2), Las Vegas, Nevada, 10.08.2015
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 Bxb4 5. c3 Ba5 6. d4 d6 7. Qb3 Qd7 8. dxe5 Bb6 9. Nbd2 dxe5 10. Bb5
10. Ba3 is the “book” move.
10. ... f6 11. Nc4 Nge7 12. 0-0 Qe6 13. Qa4 Bd7 14. Nxb6 cxb6 15. Ba3
Black may be up a pawn, but has to find a way
to secure his king—without running into the Bc4 pin. The best method is to liquidate with:
15. ... Na5 16. Rfd1 Bxb5 17. Qxb5+ Kf7 18. Rd7 Rhe8 19. Rad1
White dominates the d-file. R1d6 is an unpleasant threat.
19. ... Nc4 20. Qb3
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