Chess Club Competes At Boston Tournament
At eight o’clock on Sunday morning, five members of the Academy’s Chess Club drove down to Marlborough, Massachusetts to participate in the 82nd Greater Boston Open. The group consisted of prep Elias Issa, lower Michael Chen, uppers Solon James and Arjun Rajan and senior Weihang Fan, four of who ranked at the top of their respective sections and won prize money for their achievements. Chen’s performance was especially remarkable; he tied a Grandmaster (GM) and defeated a Woman Grandmaster (WGM).
The Swiss-system tournament, which took place in the Best Western Royal Plaza Hotel, hosted 110 players that were split into five ranking-based sections—Open, U1900, U1700, U1500 and U1200. Each participant played in four games with a time control of sixty minutes with a 5 second delay on both sides. Winners of the tournament were eligible for 15 Grand Prix points, as part of the United States Chess Federation (USCF) Grand Prix system. At the end of every year, the USCF awards prizes—usually cash—to rated players with the most points. This scheme was put into place to provide an incentive for chess GM’s to play in regional tournaments they would normally ignore.
Chen, having won his first two games in the Open section (the highest-ranking section), faced WGM Turkan Mamedjarova in the third round. The two compared well in USCF ratings—at the time, Chen stood at 2266 with the title of National Master. Mamedjarova was at 2310, a WGM.
Ultimately, Chen was able to defeat Mamedjarova, but only after a hard-fought game. “The game against the WGM was difficult because I was not very familiar with the [chess] opening, and she built up a scary attack against my king. I was also intimidated because I didn't think I was playing well before and this was my first real challenge,” he said.
The fourth and last round posed an even bigger challenge for Chen: GM Alexander Ivanov, aged 59 with many more years of experience, who stood at a rating of 2572. In Massachusetts, Ivanov is ranked third out of over a thousand people. Overall, out of 56800 USCF-ranked players, he is 48th. Chen’s stats—though impressive—don’t quite compare. Chen ranks eleventh in Michigan, and 552nd overall. “I was nervous because I knew [Ivanov] was very good since I had played him last year and lost,” Chen said. “But in a sense it was relieving because there wasn't any pressure on me to do well. I was expected to lose.”
Despite the odds, Chen pulled off a draw. He said that he was pretty surprised by the result, because he had been losing through most of the game. Additionally, he was delighted because it was his first draw against anyone of that skill level. It allowed him to tie for first place with a record of 3 wins and 1 draw—along with four other people—and reel in $160 in prize money. Rajan finished his fourth round game early and had the opportunity to spectate Chen’s game against Ivanov. He recognized that it was a drawn position, known to seasoned chess players as the Philidor position or the third rank defense. According to Rajan, Ivanov appeared frustrated as he refused to accept the clear-cut draw and insisted on playing the game out—a source of pride for the spectating Exonians.
Ellen Xiang ‘15, who has a rating of over 2000 and is classified as a Woman Candidate Master, stopped by the tournament to support the Academy’s team. She had nothing but praise for Chen’s performance on Sunday. “His performance was incredible. Both the WGM and the GM outrated him, with the grandmaster perhaps outrating him by 300 or so points,” Xiang said. “Drawing a GM is huge, because ‘GM’ is the highest title one can earn as a chess player. To put it into perspective, there are only around 90 GM’s in the US.”
In the U1500 section, Issa and Rajan tied for second place with 3 wins and 1 loss. As a result, each brought back about $42 in prize money. Fan returned to the Academy empty-handed, placing ninth with 2 wins and 2 losses. Rajan said that he did well despite his lack of preparation for the tournament—in the few days leading up to it, he really only reviewed a few chess openings and played a few, 5-minute blitz games with Chen. “Unlike normal tournaments, I didn't play any full length games or devote a large portion of time to brushing up on tactics,” he said.
Rajan’s only loss came in the second round, and it was to the player who eventually won the section undefeated. Rajan was winning for the first half of the game, but he took more and more risks, sacrificing many pieces for the sake of position. Despite ultimately losing, he said that he would remain hopeful for future tournaments by learning from his past mistakes.
In the U1200 section, James tied for second place with the same record as Issa and Rajan. His winnings totaled about $20, half of what the U1500 players received. Nonetheless, he said that he thoroughly enjoyed the tournament. Additionally, he noted that every Exonian who attended rose in rating points, for a collective gain of 486. “It was nice to get back into the swing of competitive chess after a long break over the summer,” James said. “We went into the tournament a little unprepared because of the summer break, but we all got together Saturday night and reviewed opening theory together. We also reviewed our games between rounds with Michael [Chen] to help improve as the tournament progressed.”
Overall, the five Exonians found the Boston Open to be a great first tournament of the year. Though the trip was long, lasting from 8 a.m. to to 10 p.m., they took the time to practice and get their minds set for the remainder of the chess season. “[The 82nd Greater Boston Open] was a very successful tournament for Exeter and a great start to the year. We won awards in all sections we competed in, brought home prizes in all sections we entered and we have set ourselves up for a good year,” Rajan said.