US Chess National Championships / 2015 U.S. Junior Closed What?! Black’s a pawn up now? Meet IM Akshat Chandra
International Master Akshat Chandra started learning chess at the age of 9½, during a visit to India—a relatively late start compared to most leading chess players who learn the game at the age of five or six. When his family relocated there for nearly four years, Akshat was unable to play his favorite sports of basketball and football, so chess filled the competitive void.
In January 2010, Akshat received a starting FIDE rating of 1548 and, in just four years and 10 months, improved his FIDE rating to 2490. His accelerated progress from such a late start is believed to be the largest and quickest rating increase in the world.
Akshat is the highest ranked junior rapid chess player in the country, and is among the leading junior blitz players in both online and on-board chess. He is the 2015 K-12 U.S. national champion in both classic and blitz forms of the game. In 2013, Akshat won the National Junior High School (K-9) Championship, the Under-18 North American Youth Championship, and achieved his international master title as well.
Away from the board, Akshat is an avid writer and the youngest ChessBase author. He doesn’t believe in doing anything half-heartedly. In fact, as a fan of the New York Jets, his outlook echoes the words of former Quarterback Joe Namath: “If you’re not gonna go all the way, why go at all?” You can learn more about Akshat from his blog
QuestToGM.com.
~from
uschesschamps.com
77. Ke2 Ra2+ 78. Ke1 e3 79. Rb8 Kf3 80. Rf8+ Ke4, Draw agreed.
A riveting game where White didn’t fully maximize his chances, and Black defended tena - ciously to hold the draw.
CLOSED RUY LOPEZ (C84) IM Akshat Chandra (2588) FM Arthur Shen (2475)
U.S. Junior Closed Championship (8), St. Louis, Missouri, 07.14.2015
Going into the penultimate round, Arthur and
I were both leading the tour nament. While I was coming off three consecutive draws, Arthur had reeled off four straight wins to join me in the lead at 5/7. It was only fitting that we played each other in the eighth round.
1. e4 e5
1. ... c5 is what Arthur usually does, although he has played 1. ... e5 from time to time. 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6
A surprise. Arthur had never played the Main Line Ruy Lopez before. 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. 0-0 Be7 I figured that Arthur had probably pre pared
I had been in grave time trouble for the past
few moves, and as a result, continued playing passively. With more time on my clock, I would have been able to calculate the energetic 35. ... g5! 36. fxg5 fxg5 37. Kf2 h5 38. Kf3 Rc8! 39. Rxb5 Rc2 40. h3 g4+! 41. hxg4 hxg4+ 42. Ke4 (42. Kxg4 Rc4 wins) 42. ... Re2+ 43. Kd3 Rg2 with strong counterplay.
36. Bc5! Kd8 37. Kf2 Kc8 38. Kf3 Rb7 39. Kg4 Kc7 40. Bf8 g6
The best chance was 40. ... Kc6, al though such
a move is impossible to make with seconds on the clock. Black still has an unpleasant defensive task ahead of him after 41. Bxg7 fxe5 42. Bxe5 d6 43. Bd4.
41. exf6 Nxf6+ 42. Kg5 Nd5 43. Kh6 Kd8 44. Kxh7 Ke8 45. Bd6 Kf7 46. Kh6 Rb6 47. Be5 d6 48. Bd4 Rb8 49. Kg5 Ne7 50. g4 Nc6
the Marshall, and since I was not prepared to enter such a sharp line, I decided to surprise him by playing ...
51. Bf6? Amazingly enough, this natural move spoils
the advantage. 51. Bc3 was what I was expecting, after which the position remains technically won for White.
51. ... b4! With the threat of ... Rb5+. Amazingly enough,
White has no adequate way to meet this and keep winning chances.
52. Rd3 The move 52. Rf3 was a better try. Black retains
excellent drawing chances after 52. ... bxa3 53. bxa3 Rb5+ 54. f5 gxf5 55. gxf5 Rb8 56. fxe6+ Kxe6; The line 52. a4 Ra8! 53. Rd3 Ra5+ 54. f5 gxf5 55. Rxd6 fxg4+ 56. Kxg4 Rxa4 57. Rxc6 b3+ 58. Kg3 Kxf6 59. Rb6 is similar to the game, except White has a pawn on b2 instead of a2. It makes no difference however, as the position is still drawn.
52. ... bxa3 53. bxa3 Rb5+ 54. f5 gxf5 55. Rxd6 fxg4+ 56. Kxg4 Kxf6 57. Rxc6 Ra5
Confining White’s rook to a passive role.
58. Rc3 Ra4+ 59. Kg3 If 59. Kh5, then 59. ... e5.
59. ... Kf5 60. Rb3 e5 61. Rf3+ Kg5 62. Re3 Kf5 63. Rb3 Kg5 64. Rf3 Rg4+ 65. Kf2 Ra4 66. Rb3 Kf5 67. Ke1 e4 68. Ke2 Kf4 69. Rc3 Ra8 70. h4 Rb8 71. h5 Rb2+ 72. Kd1 Rh2 73. a4 Rxh5 74. Ke2 Rh2+ 75. Ke1 Ra2 76. Rb3 Rxa4
24 October 2015 | Chess Life The latest trend. White wishes to keep his
light-squared bishop on the a2-g8 diagonal. 8. c3 is the normal move in such positions, but it’s been proven that Black has no worries in this line, and so players with the white pieces have sought other ways to pose problems.
8. ... 0-0 9. Nc3 Black has several options now.
9. ... Nb8!?
6. d3 ... something I have never played before. I didn’t
have too much concrete knowledge in this line, and was only aware of the basic ideas and maneuvers. My intuition turned out to be correct, as after the game Arthur told me that he had indeed pre pared the Marshall after 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 0-0.
6. ... b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. a3
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