Match of Millennials: World smashes USA

The Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis (CCSCSL), in cooperation with the Kasparov Chess Foundation (KCF), U.S. Chess Federation, World Chess Federation (FIDE) and FIDE Trainers’ Commission are organizing the Match of the Millennials. Hosted at the CCSCSL from July 26th through the 29th, nine American players faced nine of the best juniors from around the world.

In the case of the Match of the Millennials, each side brings two teams of four players, one team of players under 14, and the other with players aged 17 or less. Here are the teams of both sides:

US Team

Captains: Michael Khodarkovsky and Armen Ambartsumian; Coach: Alex Onischuk

World Team

Captains: Efstratios Grivas (Greece) and Alexander Beliavsky (Slovenia), Head of delegation: Jorge Vega (Cuba)

Benefactor Rex Sinquefield pick on an opponent his own size | Photo: Austin Fuller

It is hard to know what to say in view of such a lopsided and unexpected turn of events. The US under-17 team was more than just a favorite, they were heavily so. The top three players were all higher rated than the top foreign player by at least 24 Elo, and as much as 100 (98 if you are one to quibble). Things went from poor to bad very quickly, and the result of day three really showed how much so when the combined results of the 12 games were 10.5-1.5 in favor of the World. The Under-14 had scored 4.0/4 and the Under-17 team was up 6.5-1.5.

To quote contemporary parlance: the US got pwned (leetspeak for ‘owned’). 

Life reflects chess | Photo: Lennart Ootes

It would be grossly unfair to try to lay this on any one player’s lap, not just because it was a team event, and they had the option of swapping out one player for another if needed, but because not one of the US’s under-17 players was able to perform within 60 Elo of their rating. Samuel Sevian was the closest, winning his first two game, to then losing two, and finally winning one back before the end.

A mixed bag for Sam Sevian, the youngest ever American GM | Photo: Lennart Ootes

Still, it wasn't all bad news, as Ruifeng Li won a nice game in the final round:

Ruifeng Li - Andrei Esipenko

On the other hand, the World’s team outdid expectations as is inversely obvious, with a notable comeback by Haik Martirosyan, who lost two of his first three games, only to finish with 3.5/4. All the other players turned in strong and confident results.

Awonder Liang was the big gun in the Under-14 section with 2536 FIDE | Photo: Lennart Ootes

The Under-14 match was even more lopsided in terms of percentage, but in this case the visiting team were the Elo favorites and not the underdog, so one could argue they performed according to expectation. However, that is not quite accurate. They too scored in excess of what one might hope for, with notable results by 11-year-old IM Praggnanandhaa, whose 3.0/4 for a 2570 performance could have been even better had he not thrown away a win against Awonder Liang in their first game, while 13-year-old WFM (not for long) Bibisara Assaubayeva was a perfect 4/4.

While it might be tough on the kids, albeit not so much for 13-year-old Bibisara Assabayeva (above) who scored 4/4, it is always toughest on those who can only watch, such as Bibisara's mother (below) | Photos: Lennart Ootes

Andrew Hong - Praggnanandhaa R.

The Spanish Fianchetto

In the fight for playable, unbalanced positions after 1.e4 e5, many top players (including World Champion Magnus Carlsen) turned to 3…g6 against the Ruy Lopez (2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5). Black aims for a kingside fianchetto combined, depending on White’s reaction, with …Nf6 or a quick …f5. In this DVD, Sam Collins explains the key ideas of 3…g6 and provides a complete repertoire for Black, suitable for regular use.

12-year-old IM Nodirbek Abdusattorov (already a youth World Champion) loved the match and the locale | Photo: Lennart Ootes

The total score was 30.5 - 17.5 for the World. The Under-17 was won by the World team 19-13, while the Under 14 was won 11.5-4.5 by the World.

5-time World Champion Vishy Anand, who had arrived already for the Sinquefield Cup, has been an example and an inspiration to Indians for decades, and super talents such as 11-year-old IM Praggnanandhaa are the result | Photo: Lennart Ootes

All games

Links

• Official tournament site
• World leads US 13-11
• All the Under-17 game in PGN
• All the Under-14 games in PGN

You can use ChessBase 14 or any of our Fritz compatible chess programs to replay the games in PGN. You can also download our free Playchess client, which will in addition give you immediate access to the chess server Playchess.com.