Russian Youth won by Artemiev and Kashlinskaya

by ChessBase
4/25/2013 – After years of difficult conditions, the Russian Youth Championship seems to finally have a worthy home in AquaLoo. Over 1300 children, accompanied by parents and coaches, from 75 regions in Russia, came to compete for the right to represent their nation, with Artemiev and Kashlinskaya at the top. One player aspires to be the next Mikhail Tal.

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Russian Youth Championship won by Artemiev and Kashlinskaya

When asked on his impressions of the Russian Youth Championships at AquaLoo, Chief Arbiter Alexey Moskvin, spoke not only as the main official responsible for a smooth competition, but also as a coach who recalls less favorable conditions in the past.

"For four years I have judged at the Russian Youth Championship, and this is my first time as Chief Arbiter. This is the largest and most important youth competition in Russia. I've been working a long time as a coach and remember the time when children had to go to the championship of different ages in different cities at all times of the year. Unfortunately, the living conditions and food did not always match the prestige of such a high level competition. And now, thank God, the Russian Chess Federation has managed to find a successful and superior format for the children. It is now possible to bring together in the same place at the same time so many boys and girls from all over Russia and arrange a real treat for them. The second half of April, the sea, the sun - is, of course, an unforgettable experience in the life of every young athlete, and certainly a great incentive to be selected here to play and win.

Chief Arbiter Alexey Moskvin keeps the order

This year, we have brought together some 1300 participants from 75 regions of the Russian Federation. At the moment there haven’t been any complaints or protests of the conditions. In my view, the arbiters and organizers have done an excellent job, but the final assessment, of course, is in the hands of the coaches, parents and participants themselves. There have been various disputes, as it's still a sport where everyone wants to win.

We must not forget that there area lot more participants than winners, and we just want to make a big chess festival that every young athlete who comes here, returns home in a great mood and a sense of having been a part of good tournament."

The battle for the U13 Girls title is underway

Think the strange scene above with a girl facing a boy was an informal moment, or a mistake?

Definitely not. Alexandra Goryachkina, the 15-year-old phenomenon, and World
 U18 Girls Champion chose to play in the Boy's U19 championship. She came in
second and will be Russia's representative in the European Youth championship.

The championship was indeed a great success, and the round-robin U21 championships were broadcast live and could be followed on Playchess. For those who have gotten a bit used to the drawfest that the absolute Russian Championship has become these last years, the younger generation have a very different approach to the game. Granted they are in the 2500-club and not the 2700, but their willingness to go out swinging is independent of their rating. The event was hard fought, and was eventually won by 15-year-old Vladimir Artemiev, who lost to Vladimir Belous in the last round, though could no longer be caught.

Vladimir Artemiev, champion with a round to spare, greets Vladimir Belous in the last round.

Belous was the highest rated in the field with 2560, and famously won the 2011 Moscow Open as an untitled player, much to everyone's surprise. In this tournament he showed incredible creativity and courage, which brought bright memories of the late Mikhail Tal. See the following sample games he played.

[Event "?"] [Site "?"] [Date "2013.04.18"] [Round "?"] [White "Belous, Vladimir"] [Black "Eliseev, Urii"] [Result "1-0"] [WhiteElo "2560"] [BlackElo "2541"] [PlyCount "79"] [EventDate "2013.??.??"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. e4 e5 4. Nf3 exd4 5. Bxc4 Nc6 6. O-O Be6 7. Nbd2 Qf6 8. Bd3 O-O-O 9. Qa4 g5 10. e5 {This not only opens lines for the bishop and the e4 square for the knight, but if taken will leave a7 for the picking.} Qe7 11. Bb5 {The king is already no longer safe.} Bd5 12. Bxc6 Bxc6 13. Qxa7 b6 14. Nc4 Qc5 15. Bxg5 $1 f6 {More or less forced.} ({Taking the piece with} 15... Qxc4 { leads to a quick route after} 16. Bxd8 Kxd8 17. Qb8+ Kd7 18. Rfc1 Qe6 19. Rxc6 Qxc6 20. Qxf8 {and the rook on h8 falls as well since} Qh6 21. e6+ Qxe6 (21... Kxe6 22. Qe8+ {and Qe5+}) 22. Re1 Qf6 23. Qe8+ Kd6 24. Ne5 {and Black gets mated.}) 16. Rfc1 $1 fxg5 17. b4 $3 {Brilliant and precise. "Please take the pawn."} Qd5 {"No thanks."} (17... Qxb4 {loses right out to} 18. Rab1 {and Black's position is about to implode.}) 18. b5 {"I insist."} Qxb5 19. Rab1 Qc5 20. Qa6+ {Belous gets caught up in his creativity and misses the most straightforward win.} (20. Rxb6 {was the easy win.} Kd7 21. e6+ Ke8 (21... Kxe6 22. Qxc7 {and the bishop is lost as well as the king.}) 22. Qxc7 {threatening Qf7 mate.}) 20... Kd7 21. Nxb6+ cxb6 22. e6+ Kxe6 23. Qe2+ Kd7 24. Ne5+ Kc7 25. Nxc6 d3 26. Qf3 g4 27. Qxg4 Kxc6 28. Qe4+ Rd5 29. Qe6+ Bd6 30. Qc8+ Bc7 31. Qe6+ Bd6 32. Qc8+ Bc7 33. Rxc5+ bxc5 34. Qa8+ Kd6 35. Qf8+ Kc6 36. Qe8+ Rd7 37. Rd1 c4 38. Qe6+ Rd6 39. Qxc4+ Kd7 40. Qg4+ 1-0 [Event "?"] [Site "?"] [Date "2013.04.16"] [Round "1"] [White "Oparin, Grigoriy"] [Black "Belous, Vladimir"] [Result "0-1"] [WhiteElo "2496"] [BlackElo "2560"] [PlyCount "117"] [EventDate "2013.??.??"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 e5 5. Nb5 d6 6. N1c3 a6 7. Na3 b5 8. Nd5 Nge7 9. c4 Nxd5 10. Qxd5 Bd7 11. Be3 b4 12. Nc2 Be7 13. Be2 O-O 14. O-O Qb8 15. b3 a5 16. Rad1 Nd8 17. Qd3 Bc6 18. Bg4 Ne6 19. Bxe6 fxe6 20. f3 d5 21. exd5 exd5 22. Rfe1 Bh4 23. Re2 d4 24. Bf2 Bf6 25. Bg3 Qd6 26. Ne3 h5 27. Nf5 Qc5 28. Bf2 Rae8 29. Rde1 Bd8 30. Ng3 h4 31. Ne4 Qe7 32. h3 Rf4 33. Kh1 Ref8 34. Bg1 Bc7 35. Bh2 R4f5 36. Nd2 Qf6 37. Ne4 Qg6 38. Nf2 Qh5 39. Kg1 Rxf3 $3 {These exclamation points are not because the move is mathematically correct, but are for inventiveness and sheer guts.} 40. gxf3 {There is no choice.} Rxf3 41. Rxe5 $1 {A good reply by White after the initial shock.} Bxe5 42. Rxe5 Qh6 43. Qxd4 Qg6+ 44. Kf1 Qb1+ 45. Re1 Qxa2 {White has managed to avoid an immediate loss, and is a piece up, but his equanamity has to have been rocked.} 46. Be5 Qxb3 47. Qg4 Qd3+ 48. Kg1 Qd7 49. Qxh4 ({Exchanging queens with} 49. Qxd7 Bxd7 {is no good due to the passed a- and b-pawns that guarantee Black's temerity won't be punished.}) 49... Qe6 50. Qg5 Qf7 51. Ng4 Rxh3 52. Nf6+ Kh8 53. Re3 {Black finally gets his chance.} (53. Rd1 {would now win for White.}) 53... Rh1+ 54. Kf2 Qxc4 55. Re2 Bb5 56. Kg2 Rh6 57. Rf2 Qd3 58. Ng4 Kh7 59. Rf7 0-1

Great stuff.

Vladimir Artemiev, Russian U21 Boy's Champion

Andrey Stukopin, who led temporarily in the middle of the tournament, came in
second, beating two others on tiebreak.

The proud winners of the U21 championship: Vladimir Artemiev (gold), Andrey Stukopin
(silver), and Ivan Bukavshin (bronze). Bukavshin, though rated 2522, has an impressive
FIDE Blitz rating of 2683.

Final standings of Boy's U21 Championship

The Russian Girl's U21 championship was won by Alina Kashlinskaya with 6.0/9. It seem pretty obvious that had Alexandra Goryachkina played in it she would have been the easy favorite, but the Russian prodigy had other plans as noted above.

Olga Petrova showed up with both skill and a beautiful hair style

Final standings of Girl's U21 Championship

The 2013 Russian U21 Girl's Champions: Alina Kashlinskaya (gold), Daria Pustovoitova (silver), and Dina Belenkaya (bronze).

Pictures by Vladimir Barsky and Eteri Kublashvili


Links

The games are being broadcast live on the official web site and on the chess server Playchess.com. If you are not a member you can download a free Playchess client there and get immediate access. You can also use ChessBase 12 or any of our Fritz compatible chess programs.

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