For the Chess Parents_How to Spot Chess Talent according to Bruce Pandolfini

Bruce Pandolfini is a man at the right place at the right time, twice (at least the ones that I know of). He was there when Bobby Fischer challenged the might of the Soviet chess machine and triumph. Bruce commented on the games for the US public and became a celebrity (reality TV contestants, eat your heart out!) and celebrity chess coach. Just when his star was waning due to Fischer going off his rockers and doing the disappearing act, Bruce lucked upon a young boy playing blitz chess in Washington Park Square in New York City, introduced himself to the parents and asked to be his chess coach. The name of the boy? Josh Waitzkin who went on to become the strongest chess player in the USA for his group well into his teens. Josh came very close to winning the World U18 Championship in 1994, declining a draw in the last round (with now GM and Russian Champion and cricket tragic)Peter Svidler which would have secured a joint first (but maybe not first on tiebreak). Josh's father wrote the book on being a chess father called Searching for Bobby Fischer and the rest is history. Made into a film it catapulted Josh into stardom (he talks about chess fans mobbing him at chess tournaments) and Bruce back into celebrity stakes. Bruce is also a prolific writer and his book on endgames is recommended for juniors. he also writes a monthly Q&A column at Chesscafe. In his latest offering, he has this to say:

Question I’ve seen you answer this type of question before, though I couldn’t find the answer anywhere. Could you, I believe, once again, explain how you determine if a boy or girl has talent for chess, especially a very young boy or girl? I have been trying to teach my six-year-old son and he doesn’t seem to be making much progress. I am wondering if I should continue what I am doing or let up a bit and let him be. I’m also thinking maybe we should try other games, like checkers (I am serious). How can you tell if you think a youngster has talent for chess? Jason Greene (USA)

Answer It’s usually not very hard to spot some measure of “innate” ability, though sometimes teachers are surprised, and kids not showing any initial propensity for chess go on to do great things in the game. One thing I like to see in a kid is a true passion for playing it. It shouldn’t be just about winning. Certainly, youngsters want to win as often as possible, but the ones that impress me most are those who don’t settle for mere winning, but want to succeed by demonstrating real skill and understanding. There should also be a certain excitement, where the youngster can’t wait to take the board and pieces out. Such kids are virtually unstoppable in their quest to go to tournaments or clubs.

In addition, I also look for kids you have the right mix of confidence and willingness to learn. All young people cling to their own ideas, and it’s essential that, if the teacher disagrees, the youngster continues to try to prove right his or her own thinking. That’s the way one asserts individuality, with particular character and style, and that’s how one can ultimately be creative. On the other hand, after trying to validate the rightness of their own conceptions, and subsequently failing to do so, those youngsters who eventually go on to accept what seems to be a better method or approach to a situation are deserving of special attention. Sticking with an idea stubbornly, without supportive evidence, is a bad sign, and obstinacy to that degree works against the likelihood of a young person’s ultimate success at chess.

If you’re looking for a superficial indicator of potential, something a teacher or parent might spot at once, it is the focus and shifting of the eyes. Chess is a game of spatial relations, and whatever one is thinking tends to be signaled by where the eyes go while looking at the board. If a kid doesn’t show a lot of eye movement, that doesn’t necessarily mean there’s no talent there. But if a child does evince such tendencies – lots of focused eye movement – barring a physical or emotional problem that would trigger those responses, it almost always indicates a probability that that child could do well at chess. Let’s be fair here. Not to criticize what you’ve been doing, but maybe other factors are at work. Why don’t you consider giving him a few lessons with a professional chess teacher? At the least, you should be able to get another viewpoint before committing your son to a world of, ugh, checkers.

What do you think? I suppose the first response I had was why must chess be taught to a 6 year old boy only for the purpose of determining whether he has the "gift" or not? Sad, ain't it! What about the sheer exhilaration of playing a game with your son?

Alexandra Kostenyuk_Interview ......

Still on the theme of girls and women in chess, here is a link to the interview with current Women World Chess Champion, Alexandra Kostenyuk (here).

Now, I am going to be "naughty" and post excerpts from Kostenyuk's interview which may give a totally unbalanced an biased view of her. But I am doing this to create a contrast (perhaps a false one!) with Judit Polgar. In any event, there is more than one single role model for girls in chess and here is one where beauty meets intellect (her words, not mine!):

Q: We heard that you managed to find a personal sponsor, women clothes brand company.
AK: It was only my initiative. I like to look good. It means that a beauty and an intellect is not separable. Once I visited a brand shop “Zimaletto”, it is close to where I live in Moscow . I liked the collection and decided to write a letter. I wrote about myself and offered an idea to create a collection of a “smart” cloth. They replied and we started to cooperate. Now the company is working on the sport collection, it will come out in February with name “Chess queen”. The white and black colors will prevail. And I am a role model of this company.

Judit Polgar_Interview .....

This is for all Australian girl chessplayers out there. Some inspiring words from the greatest woman chessplayer of all time (and my personal favourite!), Judit Polgar.

The interview is here (and some interesting bits about the famous Polgar training method) and here are some excerpts of the bits I like:

Q: Is it difficult to be successful in life and in chess?
JP: Extremely difficult! You should be good mother, good wife, and good professional too. To be the best in all! Every day!

I had to give up chess for some period. When my son was born, it became clear that children are the most important out of all. So, chess has disappeared from my life for some period. But later I wanted to play again and I have been trying since last couple of years very hard to come back and to become the best again. I am concentrating on chess and trying to work more… I have a lot of ambitions, just difficult to realize them.

Q: A lot of people try to become the best, working hard, but only few could have a success. Why?
JP: It is not that easy to constantly fight against yourself, only few could stand up the rhythm. Besides, it is not enough to only train chess. The most important is how you train. To work on chess is not enough. You should care about the quality of your work. Moreover you should like what you do. If you don't, there are no chances that you get good results.

Q: Do you follow the women's chess?
JP: Yes, I follow some women's tournaments and from time to time I participate in them. Women's chess develops very fast, female chess players become stronger and stronger. But anyway there is a big chasm between men and women players. I believe here goes the attitude to what you do. Comparatively few women chess players work on their professionalism, hire coaches, and use the computer base… Perhaps there will be good changes in future. But for the moment professional woman chess player is an unusual phenomenon.

Lastly this philosophical bit:

I try to enjoy. This is a secret of happiness – to know how to enjoy small things. Generally speaking – life is good. You only need to feel it.

Ray Robson at the World Cup

Fifteen year old US GM Ray Robson, who was eliminated in the first round of the FIDE World Cup was interviewed and you can read the transcript here.

2009 World Youth Chess Championship Antalya, Turkey

It looks like Congratulations are in order to Bobby Cheng who has become Australia first World U12 Chess Champion!!! It seems he came outright first! See here and here (repeated in the SMH as well) for media reports.

It seems Anton came joint second but 4th on tiebreak. Well Done!

Tuesday 24th November 2009

Results:

Rank Name Rtg FED Pts

U8
4 SMIRNOV Anton 1853 AUS 8½
U10
69-84 GRAY Callum James AUS 5½
U12
1 Cheng Bobby 2202 AUS 9
116-127 Koh Cedric AUS 4
U12 Girls
76-86 Pretorius Jana AUS 4½
76-86 Koh Clarise AUS 4½
U14
18-29 Yuan Yi 2097 AUS 7
U14 Girls
32-44 Guo Emma 1910 AUS 6
96-98 Simmonds Leteisha 1624 AUS 3
U16
52-68 Tan Justin 2011 AUS 5½
U16 Girls
90-96 Webb-Liddle Miranda AUS 3½
U18
71-85 Schon Eugene 2171 AUS 4½
U18 Girls
46-52 Oliver Tamzin 1777 AUS 4½
53-57 Chibnall Alana AUS 4

Note: Eugene Schon played up two age grades in U18 even though he is 14 years old with 4.5/11; Similarly, Justin Tan is only 11 years old but playing in the U16 with 5.5/11. See Chesschat here. I applaud the juniors and their parents for their "enlightened" attitude:

Of course we had to consider if he was also going to get a good experience from playing at a much higher level. He has just got 5/9 so far, so it doesn't seem that he is completely out-classed by the higher division and he is probably getting higher rated games than he would have had in u12. It is costing quite a lot, so there is good reason to play as tough a tournament as the child can manage

Eugene is competing at the highest age level to get the most experience. It is so expensive to play overseas (without any sponsorship at all) that he wanted to maximise the opportunity to play really strong players.

A parent has also informed me that some of the Aussie girls were affected by colds and coughs and that sounds of coughing were common throughout the playing hall.

Other news of note:
1) Great to see the Cori sibling emerging gold medallists. Wonder if this is a first for siblings in chess in the same tournament?
2) GM Darius Swierz did not finish strongly, only managing a joint 14th placing with 7/11 points.
3) But IM Illya Nyzhnyk from the Ukraine, the one who played a public simul carrying a white teddy bear came joint 3rd but 4th on tiebreak. Watch out! He could well be the world's youngest GM sometime next year.
4) On a more sober note, the results show that a J Saranya from India came 3rd (bronze medal) in the U14 Girls with 8.5 points. Last month Chessbase ran this story on the same junior (see here). I think her victory is a little bit more special than anyone's else at the World Youth, a victory tinged with poignancy and a bit of apprehension of what the future will bring for this young woman.


Links:
Chessvibes has list of medal winners in all categories as well as photographs.
Chessdom has list of medal winners and medals won by nations. It is good to see Australia mentioned.

2009 World Youth Chess Championship Antalya, Turkey_Rounds 9 and 10 Results

For some very vexing and frustrating reason(s), I am unable to connect to the official website to get the results. But results are posted by Kerry Lyall, Eugene's mum on ChessChat here. The last round begins 9 pm AEST (?). It seems Anton (U8) and Bobby (U12) have real prospects of a medal. The official website is here and Anton and Bobby games are going live. Good Luck!!!

2009 World Youth Chess Championship Antalya, Turkey_Round 8 Results

Wow! Things are hotting up now and the pressure is beginning to tell. In the U8, the leader, Iranian Aryan Gholami dropped a half-point and is now joint first with Tanuj "Mr Perfect" Vasudeva from the USA (who won). Both will now fight it out in Rd 9. However, Anton failed to capitalise since he drew with his Rd 8 opponent and is still 1 point behind on 6/8 but with three others on 6.5/8 ahead of him.

Bobby Cheng similarly drew his Rd 8 game when the leader drew as well and is still a point behind (6/8) the now two joint leaders (7/8). There are two others on 6.5/8.

In the U14, IM (GM-elect) Jorge Cori lost and there are now 4 juniors on joint 1st (6.5/8). Unfortunately Yi lost as well and is now on 5.5/8 and still a point behind. And there are 8 others now on 6/8.

Other great results in Rd 8: Callum Gray has climbed back into 50% mark in the U10 and in doing so defeated an 1858-rated player; Cedric defeated an 1780-rated Swedish junior; Jana winning again in Rd 8 against a 1712-rated Russian girl and back at 50%; Emma won to be back above 50% with 4.5/8; Justin won as well against a 2273-rated Portugese junior and is also on 50%.

SAIDAKBAR Saydaliev UZB 5½ ½ - ½ 5½ SMIRNOV Anton 1853 AUS
DOROS Doru-Lucian 1858 ROU 3 0 - 1 3 GRAY Callum James AUS
FM Duda Jan-Krzysztof 2079 POL 5½ ½ - ½ 5½ Cheng Bobby 2202 AUS
Koh Cedric AUS 2½ 1 - 0 2½ Agrest Anton 1780 SWE
Paramzina Anastasya 1712 RUS 3 0 - 1 3 Pretorius Jana AUS
Azuela Morales Ana Gabriela MEX 1½ ½ - ½ 1½ Koh Clarise AUS
Bortnik Alexandr 2347 UKR 5 1 - 0 5½ Yuan Yi 2097 AUS
Guo Emma 1910 AUS 3½ 1 - 0 3½ Lepeskaite Migle 1742 LTU
Rodrigues Fernanda Dos Santos 1949 BRA 2½ 1 - 0 2½ Simmonds Leteisha 1624 AUS
Ferreira Jorge Viterbo 2273 POR 3 0 - 1 3 Tan Justin 2011 AUS
Van Aarde Lenke 1555 RSA 2 1 - 0 2 Webb-Liddle Miranda AUS
Kulakov Viacheslav 2380 RUS 4 1 - 0 4 Schon Eugene 2171 AUS
WCM Walallawita Lihini Ashwini 1797 SRI 2½ 1 - 0 2½ Oliver Tamzin 1777 AUS
De Oliveira Ana Paula 1786 BRA 2½ ½ - ½ 2½ Chibnall Alana AUS

Things aren't looking that good for our three top performing juniors but they should still have medal chances. It is looking quite good for others who have managed a 50% rate.

2009 World Youth Chess Championship Antalya, Turkey_Round 7 Results

The two great performing Aussie juniors, co-leaders of their age groups, stumbled and lost their games. Anton has now dropped back to joint 5th, one point behind the leader. Yi is now joint 3rd and one point behind the leader and faces another tough player rated 2347 from the Ukraine. The good news is that Bobby won his game and is now joint 5th position and still a point behind the leader. Eugene defeated an IM rated 2333 and is back at 50% and facing a 2380-rated Russian in Rd 8. Other good news: Cedric defeated a 1760-rated player and Jana continued her good run by drawing with a 1844-rated player.

SMIRNOV Anton 1853 AUS 5½ 0 - 1 5½ GHOLAMI Aryan 1950 IRI
GRAY Callum James AUS 2 1 - 0 2 MAKUKINS Maksims LAT
Cheng Bobby 2202 AUS 4½ 1 - 0 5 Shafarostov Artem 2012 RUS
Koh Cedric AUS 1½ 1 - 0 1½ Mraz Ondrej 1760 SVK
Pretorius Jana AUS 2½ ½ - ½ 2½ Aripova Nozima 1844 UZB
Koh Clarise AUS 1½ 0 - 1 1½ Abeysekera Randkia Nuwanthi SRI
Yuan Yi 2097 AUS 5½ 0 - 1 5½ IM Cori Jorge 2462 PER
Movileanu Daniela 1825 ITA 3½ 1 - 0 3½ Guo Emma 1910 AUS
Singh Azqa RSA 2 ½ - ½ 2 Simmonds Leteisha 1624 AUS
Tan Justin 2011 AUS 2½ ½ - ½ 2½ CM Alvarez Navarro Martin 2081 MEX
Webb-Liddle Miranda AUS 1 1 - 0 1 Chu Ho I MAC
Schon Eugene 2171 AUS 3 1 - 0 3 IM Arenas David 2333 COL
Oliver Tamzin 1777 AUS 1½ 1 - 0 1 Nduku Natalie ZIM
Chibnall Alana AUS 1½ 1 - - Bye

Four more rounds and things are looking a bit tight for our three best performing juniors, Anton Smirnov (U8), Bobby Cheng (U12), and Yuan Yi (U14). They are all one point behind the leaders and I suppose cannot afford any more losses. All the best to them. And Australia (and Australian chessplayers), cheer them on!!!

2009 World Youth Chess Championship Antalya, Turkey_Round 5 Results

Another double round day! Highlights in Rds 5 and 6 must be Anton's double wins, Callum's double wins (for his first two points), Jana's win in Rd 5 over a 1691 rated Indian player, Yi's double wins, Justin's 1.5 points, and Eugene's double wins.

Anton and Yi are now co-leaders of the U8 and U14 respectively and playing for the leadership on first board in Rd 7. If they win, they will be the sole leader going into Rd 8 (hope I have not jinx them!).

Bobby suffered his first loss in Rd 5 but bounced immediately with a win in Rd 6 and is a point adrift of the leaders (joint 10th but 13th on tiebreaks). Same story with Emma who is on 3.5/6 and in 30th place (same as her seeding).

Round 5

SMIRNOV Anton 1853 AUS 1 - 0 VASUDEVA Tanuj USA
GRAY Callum James AUS 1 - 0 VIGNESHWAR Gowtham KEN
Donchenko Alexander 2067 GER 1 - 0 Cheng Bobby 2202 AUS
Lebenya Mojalefa D RSA 1 - 0 Koh Cedric AUS
Pretorius Jana 0 AUS 1 - 0 Ashwini U 1691 IND
Ozturk Hilal 1635 TUR 1 - 0 Koh Clarise AUS
Idani Pouya 2218 IRI 0 - 1 Yuan Yi 2097 AUS
WFM Samigullina Diana 2173 RUS 1 - 0 Guo Emma 1910 AUS
Lalaoui Feriel ALG 0 - 1 Simmonds Leteisha 1624 AUS
Tan Justin 2011 AUS 1 - 0 Sahin Ozgun 1598 TUR
Hapala Lisa 1674 AUT 1 - 0 Webb-Liddle Miranda AUS
Schon Eugene 2171 AUS 1 - 0 Wais Abdul Khalid AFG
Chibnall Alana AUS 0 - 1 WFM Ursente Maria-Eugenia 1968 ROU
Jafari Golnaz 1999 IRI 1 - 0 Oliver Tamzin 1777 AUS

Round 6

SHENTOV Petar-Delian 0BUL 0 - 1 SMIRNOV Anton 1853 AUS
TULEUBAYEV Daulet KAZ 0 - 1 GRAY Callum James AUS
Cheng Bobby 2202 AUS 1 - 0 Mousavi Seyed Khalil 2099 IRI
Bosnjak Domagoj BIH 0 - 1 Koh Cedric AUS
Yolal Sena Gokcen 1707 TUR 1 - 0 Pretorius Jana AUS
Koh Clarise AUS 0 - 1 Romero Daniela 1912 COL
Yuan Yi 2097 AUS 1 - 0 Tejas Ravichandran 2203 IND
Guo Emma 1910 AUS 1 - 0 Zavadilova Karolina 1752 CZE
Simmonds Leteisha 1624 AUS 0 - 1 Cemhan Kardelen 1767 TUR
Dalir Alireza 2133 IRI ½ - ½ Tan Justin 2011 AUS
Caeser Chante RSA 1 - 0 Webb-Liddle Miranda AUS
Eiti Bashir 1813 SYR 0 - 1 Schon Eugene 2171 AUS
Sahin Gizem TUR 1 - 0 Oliver Tamzin 1777 AUS
Chibnall Alana AUS 0 - 1 Orehek Spela 1890 SLO

Previewing Rd 7

Top games to watch on Wednesday 18th Novemebr (Tuesday 17th is rest day):
Top of the boards clash between second seed and Anton in the U8, and second seed and Yi in the U14:
SMIRNOV Anton 1853 AUS 5½ 5½ GHOLAMI Aryan 1950 IRI
Yuan Yi 2097 AUS 5½ 5½ IM Cori Jorge 2462 PER

Those who follow this blog will recognise the name of Yi's opponent, IM (GM-elect) Jorge Cori (Peru), who may be the youngest GM in the world once his title is confirmed. See blog here. Also, note the performance of his sister, WIM Cori T Deysi 2374, in the U16 Girls where she has a perfect 6/6 score!!

Cheng Bobby 2202 AUS 4½ 5 Shafarostov Artem 2012 RUS
Movileanu Daniela 1825 ITA 3½ 3½ Guo Emma 1910 AUS
Schon Eugene 2171 AUS 3 3 IM Arenas David 2333 COL

Also, keep an eye on U16 top board clash between
IM Vidit Santosh Gujrathi 2459 IND 5½ 5 GM Swiercz Dariusz 2493 POL
and U16 Girls top board clash between
WIM Schut Lisa 2210 NED 5½ 6 WIM Cori T Deysi 2374 PER

Has anyone in Australia been able to follow the live games or even access the website from 12 midnight AEST? I have not been able to. At first I thought it may be Google Chrome but the same story in IE as well. Would appreciate if a reader can let me know if website works with Firefox. I use Firefox at work and have no problems but then that is in daytime AEST and not peak game time in Turkey ......

All Australia should now cheer for Anton and Yi, hoping their remarkable run continues! Also cheer for Bobby to win the rest of his games with a chance to top the U12. Only 5 more rounds to go!

2009 World Youth Chess Championship Antalya, Turkey_Round 4 Results

Round 4 saw Australian juniors struggling a bit. Again the highlight is continuing strong performance from Anton Smirnov, Bobby Cheng and Yuan Yi. Emma Guo stumbled to her first loss whilst Jana Pretorius scored her first half-point. Tamzin Oliver also scored her first win.

Round 4

GAO Kai CHN ½ - ½ SMIRNOV Anton 1853 AUS
SPIROU Victor RSA 1 - 0 GRAY Callum James AUS
Cheng Bobby 2202 AUS 1 - 0 FM Chiari Arthur Gontijo 1895 BRA
Koh Cedric AUS 0 - 1 Andreev Petr RUS
Koh Clarise AUS 0 - 1 Amrayeva Aytan Arzuman Qizi 1792 AZE
Al Zadjali Maram UAE ½ - ½ Pretorius Jana AUS
Sahoo Utkal Ranjan 2219 IND 0 - 1 Yuan Yi 2097 AUS
Guo Emma 1910 AUS 0 - 1 Aflalo Sophie 2036 FRA
Simmonds Leteisha 1624 AUS 0 - 1 Korban Katrina 1780 EST
Nestorovic Lazar 2295 SRB 1 - 0 Tan Justin 2011 AUS
Webb-Liddle Miranda AUS 0 - 1 Sop Selen 1906 TUR
Yilmaz Baler 1847 TUR 1 - 0 Schon Eugene 2171 AUS
Hannes Diana 2125 GER 1 - 0 Chibnall Alana AUS
Oliver Tamzin 1777 AUS 1 - 0 Finnbogadottir Tinna 1710 ISL


Previewing Round 5

SMIRNOV Anton 1853 AUS 3½ 4 VASUDEVA Tanuj 0 USA

There has been a bit of a write up about Anton's 5th Round opponent in the US chess circles as the youngest ever FM in the world but there seems to be some confusion about the claim. However, his FIDE card shows him as a bona fide FM. In any event, read about it here (see the comments) and here, and Tanuj's own blog here.

Donchenko Alexander 2067 GER 3½ 3½ Cheng Bobby 2202 AUS

Idani Pouya 2218 IRI 3½ 3½ Yuan Yi 2097 AUS

WFM Samigullina Diana 2173 RUS 2½ 2½ Guo Emma 1910 AUS

2009 World Youth Chess Championship Antalya, Turkey_Round 3 Results

Rather belatedly here are the Round 3 results. Note that Parents and juniors have been posting on Chesschat as well here and Alana Chibnall has started her own blog on the event here.

Round 3

SMIRNOV Anton 1853 AUS 1 - 0 GAZIK Viktor SVK
GRAY Callum James AUS 0 - 1 OTAMENDI Gilberto MEX
Gurevich Daniel 1972 USA 0 - 1 Cheng Bobby 2202 AUS
Bhaskar Arun Gupta 1710 IND 1 - 0 Koh Cedric AUS
Alkateeb Nagam SYR 0 - 1 Koh Clarise AUS
Pretorius Jana AUS 1 - - Bye
Yuan Yi 2097 AUS ½ - ½ CM Grigoryan Karen H 2211 ARM
WFM Rodriguez R P A 2020 COL ½ - ½ Guo Emma 1910 AUS
Matlin Anna 1868 USA 1 - 0 Simmonds Leteisha 1624 AUS
Tan Justin 2011 AUS 0 - 1 Grandadam Nicolas 2221 SUI
Soylemez Cansu 1913 TUR 1 - 0 Webb-Liddle Miranda AUS
Schon Eugene 2171 AUS ½ - ½ Bryan-Vissi Mark CYP
Ursu Ana-Maria 1876 MDA 0 - 1 Chibnall Alana AUS
Oliver Tamzin 1777 AUS ½ - ½ Hadziselimovic Maja 1681 BIH

2009 World Youth Chess Championship Antalya, Turkey_Day 3_Round 2 Results

It looks like the main website is inaccessible (probably due to too much traffic) but Chessdom has the results (except for U12 Open!) here (open) and here (girls).

NSW junior Anton Smirnov (seeded 4th) must surely be in with a good chance for the U8 title since the top seed (from Colombia), CM ACOSTA CUBIDES Jorian Jared 2015, lost his Rd 2. (For those who read ChessChat, you would remember the U8 Colombian boys ??!!) Emma Guo continues her good run with a second win. Same story for Yuan Yi. Justin Tan and Leteisha Simmonds posted victories and their first points while Clarise Koh drew and got her first half-point.

Results:
Open
IBIK Halit Yavuz 0 TUR 0 - 1 SMIRNOV Anton 1853
TEMUR Igonin 0 UZB 1 - 0 GRAY Callum James 0 AUS
Cheng Bobby 2202 AUS ½ - ½ Kessler Luca 1992 AUT
Koh Cedric AUS ½ - ½ Keleptrishvili Irakli 1751 GEO
Studer Noel 1974 SUI 0 - 1 Yuan Yi 2097 AUS
Sevciuc Vladlen 0 MDA 0 - 1 Tan Justin 2011 AUS
Arslanov Shamil 2379 RUS 1 - 0 Schon Eugene 2171 AUS

Girls
Koh Clarise 0 AUS ½ - ½ Al Dhaheri Shaikha 0 UAE
Pretorius Jana 0 AUS 0 - 1 Camilia Bt Johari 0 MAS
Guo Emma 1910 AUS 1 - 0 Kuehnel Lena 1761 GER
Simmonds Leteisha 1624 AUS 1 - 0 Tuzi Bruna 0 ALB
Webb-Liddle Miranda 0 AUS 0 - 1 WFM Hakimifard Ghazal 2124 IRI
Haug Marianne Wold 2005 NOR 1 - 0 Oliver Tamzin 1777 AUS
Chibnall Alana 0 AUS ½ - ½ Ibragimova Iroda 1917 UZB

2009 World Youth Chess Championship Antalya, Turkey_Day 2_Results

I was going to post the results of Aussie juniors but it looks like TanC is happy to do it. So, I refer dear readers to his blog here for Rd 1 results and Rd 2 pairings.

Advice for juniors from GM Gregory Kaidanov

IM Greg Shahade’s U.S. Chess School (USCS) held a training camp recently in August which was a unique first, all the junior attendees were girls. The chief instructor was GM Gregory Kaidanov. I refer you to the report on Chessbase. A must read. Here are two excerpts.
On improvement:

He stressed that a player can play chess without any serious study, but will eventually reach a ceiling, at which time his improvement stops. To move forward, hard effort is required. Even memorization of reams of opening material or endgame positions will not likely yield a significant rating increase, he said.

Instead, he stressed, what is required is to identify your weaknesses, and go to work on those specific areas. That is why some players might spend a large amount of time working on chess, but have little to show for it. "They're not working on what they're supposed to be working on," Kaidanov explained.

So analyzing one's own games, and focusing on your own weaknesses, is the path to improvement.

On Time Management:

Kaidanov then looked directly at the students and asked them, "Which is better, 1.e4 or 1.d4?" The students were all silent, somewhat dumbfounded. "That's an easy question!" Kaidanov said. "OK, I'll ask another question. After 1.e4, which is better, 1...c5 or 1...e5?" Again, the girls were stumped, but one finally said, "...e5," and another called out, "...c5." Kaidanov then smiled and admitted, "Of course, it's impossible to say. Both are fine; it's a matter of taste."

"I can ask this question many more times - on move three, on move four, on move five, on move fifteen. What I'm trying to tell you is, in the first half of the game, the choice of move is often just a matter of taste. There is no best move. Don't waste your time in the first half of the game, because somewhere around move ten or twelve or fifteen, you can play this and you can play that, and it doesn't matter. This move is okay, and this move is okay. They will lead to two different positions, but they are not going to lose a game for you. Unfortunately, this is exactly where most of you spend a lot of time. Then, of course, somewhere between move twenty-five and forty, you will have just one winning move, or one move that draws the game. The price of the move goes very high, and that's exactly where you don't have any time left, because you wasted your time on moves which were irrelevant. When it's time for the move which pretty much decides the game, you don't have any time left."

2009 World Junior ...... and the winner is ......

The 2009 World Junior Champion is French GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. He tied equal with Belarusian GM Sergei Zhigalko but got the title on a better tiebreak (sum of opponents' ratings less one).

The 2009 World Girls Champion was again a tie first between WGM Swaminathan Soumya and WIM Deysi Cori Tello*. Again on tiebreak, Soumya took the Girls title.

On the Aussies front, Emma Guo lost her last round to end her campaign with 6/13 (+5 =2 -6), less than 50% but with a rating performance of 2101 (her rating is 1920). Emma was actually performing at (or more) than 50% for most of the tournament until Rounds 9 and 10 when she lost both games. She then won Rds 11 and 12 to go into the final round on 6/12 (50%). In any event, a sterling performance from Emma.

Sarah Anton managed 3.5 points (+2 =1 -9 bye1) for a performance rating of 1731 (Fide Rating of 1820).

Sherab Guo-Yuthok finished with 4.5 points (+4 =1 -8) with a performance rating of 1764 (Fide rating of 1966).

I have trouble getting the games. If and when I can, I will post the games that Emma won against higher rated opponents.

* Deysi is the sister of Jorge Cori who may the world's youngest GM at the present time (see my previous blog here).