Match of the Millennials: World leads US 13-11

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 will face nine of the best juniors from around the world.

Photos by Lennart Ootes

Schedule

* All times listed are local time (CST). Dates and times subject to change

In the past, such matches implied a superiority of the nation’s team against the best the world had to offer, such as the famous Russia vs the World matches of the past. Since no nation can make such claims now, these vs The World matches have taken on a radically different meaning, at least in chess. Naturally, they are excellent promotional devices with such titles, but more importantly, they are used as training platforms that can help one or even both teams. Consider the recently held (and reported) Stars Cup held in Iran. Iran’s team brought their best players and many rising talents, and pitted them against an eclectic mix of international players to sharpen their claws against, and learn from.

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)

Players posing with "King Kong", the world's tallest chess piece

There is no question that both sides really do bring world-class talent to the table. On the US side, the most recognizable names for international readers will be Jeffery Xiong, Samuel Sevian, and Awonder Liang, all of whom have world champion titles under their belts, while 13-year-old Carissa Yip is easily one of the USA's top rising female stars.

16-year-old Jeffery Xiong (above) is the highest rated player in the event with 2642 FIDE. Not far behind is Samuel Sevian (below), 2633, who has had a sizzling year. The young man started with 2.5/3 but blundered a pawn against Australian IM Anton Smirnov in round four and was unable to save the game. | Photo: Spectrum Studios / Kevin Duggin

On the World side, there are several fascinating names such as Andrey Esipenko and Anton Smirnov in the under-17 team, the latter who was one of the stars of the 2016 Baku Olympiad, turning in a 2700+ performance for the Australian team, while the under-14 team is a genuine look into the future elite. This is no exaggeration. It starts with 11-year-old Praggnanandhaa, the youngest IM in history, now rated 2479, not to mention 12-year-old IM Nodirbek Abdusattorov (2467 FIDE), and female phenom WFM Bibisara Assaubayeva (2386 FIDE), who just turned 13, and who has scored several IM norms already.

IM Praggnanandhaa, 11 years old, is also one of the big names, as the youngest IM in history

The actual match, or matches, are organized somewhat strangely it must be said. The under-17 teams, each with five players, are slated to play a total of eight games over the course of four days of competition, while the under-14 teams, each with four players, will play a total of four games, at the rate of one per day. Aside from the obvious disparity of one game versus two per day, the curious choice of a team of five to play eight games is unusual. Why not just have four players playing two games each?

The rounds are played one in the morning at 9-10 AM (it varies) and another at 5PM, which can thus extend late into the night. However, the question does beckon: why not have the under-14 teams play in the morning with the under-17 players if they are to only play one round? This would make it much less burdensome for the visiting team, since being all from Eastern Europe or India, they are suffering from a massive 8-hour difference, meaning that the 5PM round is really like starting a serious game at one in the morning. Brutal.

Quibbles aside, the organizers are to be commended for really investing in the production of the match. Not only is there a generous purse of USD $30,000, but each round is also enjoying top-notch GM commentary of the same standard the US Championships or Sinquefield Cup have had. In other words a tag-team of IM Jennifer Shahade (back after taking some time off following the birth of her first child) and GM Alejandro Ramirez, backed up by GM Maurice Ashley providing the color commentary and post-game interviews.

The first two days of competition were certainly unusual, and by that one means the dramatic unfolding of the games, with violent turnarounds, sometimes multiple times in a single game. These players may all be youths, but don’t underestimate them: they are grandmasters and masters, and those titles are not mere honorifics. Jeffery Xiong beat Aryan Chopra in round three with a superb finish.

After two days of competition, The World leads the US by 13-11.

Jeffery Xiong - Aryan Chopra

Play the Sicilian Najdorf

In 60 minutes you will get a crash course how to play such a complicated opening like the Sicilian Najdorf by the hands of GM van Wely who knows by experience how the dangers look like! The contents:
• Video 1, 2, 3: how to survive versus whites most aggressive approach: 6. Bc4, 6. Be3 and 6 Bg5
• Video 4: how to deal with the latest fashion in the Najdorf 6. h3 and last but not least
• Video 5: how to play vs the more classical set ups 6. Be2 and 6. g3

 India's Praggnanandhaa against Awonder Liang

The first day saw a clash of the titans with US top-talent IM Awonder Liang, 14 years old and 2536 FIDE, against India's Praggnanandhaa, 11 and 2479 FIDE. The American was out for the count but the Indian let him get up and escape after a blunder late in the game.

Praggnanandhaa R. - Awonder Liang

Links

• Official tournament site
• Replay the games directly here (many analyzed)

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.