Cover Story
Left to right: New York City Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott, I.S. 318 student Kenneth Martin, and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. The photo was taken by former I.S. 318 student Kamran Mumtaz who now works for the mayor.
Like his teammate Isaac, James works
with GM Alexander Stripunsky, with whom he enjoys a close relationship. James speaks glowingly of his mentor, once observing that “everything you should be getting from a coach, I get from Mr. Stripunsky.” One focus of their work has been slowing down at the board and seeing more deeply into positions. “I used to play really fast; I think I’ve developed into a thinker. I’m really proud of using my time to develop ideas. When you think more, you tend to see more”. The hours James has put in, at and
away from the board, have been richly rewarded. He has represented the United States in international competition, and become a symbol of excellence at the Marshall Chess Club. His successes have been featured in the New York Times, local radio, and the Chess Drum, a web- site celebrating the accomplishments of chess players of African origin. Far from inflating his ego, James’ path has made him keenly aware of his position as a leader at 318. When his 61
⁄2 /7 won K-8
Nationals last year, he observed that the program’s highest scorer was not him, but Mubassar Uddin: A sixth grader who
22 Chess Life — July 2012
went 7-0 in the unrated section. James raced out of the gate in Minneapo-
lis, winning his first four games. However, the dream of an individual title ended on the stage in round five: James erred tactically and went down to eventual winner Ben Gershenov of New York. His momentum lost, James then failed to score against Ohio star John Lodger Hughes in round six, leaving him frustrated. 318’s fortunes in the team high school championship would rest in part on his ability to recover his form in time for round seven.
Semi-Slav (D46) Andrew Tang (2170) James Black (2305) National High School Championship (4), 04.14.2012
1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Nf3 e6 5. e3 Nbd7 6. Bd3 dxc4 7. Bxc4 b5 8. Bd3 Bd6 9. 0-0 0-0 10. Qc2 Bb7 11. Rd1 a6 12. e4 e5 13. Ne2
(see diagram next column) When this position was reached in
Alexander Chernin-Juraj Lipka, Black
r+-wq-trk+ +l+n+pzpp p+pvl-sn-+ +p+-zp-+- -+-zPP+-+ +-+L+N+- PzPQ+NzPPzP tR-vLR+-mK-
After 13. Ne2
(FIDE 2426) preferred 13. ... Qc7. James decides to seek the initiative with a dynamic pawn sacrifice.
13. ... c5!? 14. dxe5 Nxe5 15. Nxe5 Bxe5 16. Qxc5 Qb8 17. f4?
This looks like the beginning of White’s
problems. Trouble starts brewing on the a7-g1 diagonal very quickly now. 17. Ng3 improves, although James’ novelty has been successful: Houdini thinks Black has equalized here.
17. ... Bd6 18. Qf5 (see diagram top of next column)
uschess.org
PHOTO: COURTESY OF NYC MAYOR’S OFFICE
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