Cover Story
- + - + - + k + zp- + - + - + - P + - + p + pzp + p + nzP- + - - + pzP- + -mK + -zP-zp- + - - + - + - + - + + - + -tR- + -
After 46 . Re1
46 . ... Nxc3 !
Very well judged . Isaac has seen his queenside pawns will be unstoppable .
47 . Rxe3 Nd5 48 . Rg3 Kg7 49 . Kg4 c3 50 . Kf3 c2 51 . Rg1 b4 52 . Ke2 b3 53 . Kd2 Nb4 54 . Kc3 Na2 +, White resigned .
A very strong game from Isaac , filled with interesting ideas .
2012 National High School Championship At A Glance
Date : April 13-15 , 2012 . Location : Hyatt Regency Minneapolis , Minneapolis , Minnesota . Top Team Finishers : K-12 Championship : 1st , 20 : I . S . 318 ( Justus Williams , Isaac Barayev , Matthew Kluska , James Black ); 2nd , 20 : Hunter College Campus School ( Alec Getz , Aleksandr Ostrovskiy , Aaron Landesman , Lilia Poteat ); K-12 Under 1600 : 1st , 20 : Miami Senior High ( Orestes Ordonez , Raul Rodriguez , Jossie Calderon , Matthew Solis ); 2nd , 19 1 ⁄ 2 : I . S . 318 ( Otto Schatz , Jack Wen , Vaughn Soso , Mariah McGreen ); K-12 Under 1200 : 1st , 21 : Abington High School ( Eric Goldsborough , Benjamin Kruger , Ryan Klasky , Andrew Weinrich ); 2nd , South Dade Senior High School ( Daniel Cruz , Andersen Harril , Steven Rojo , Jonathan Armas ); K-12 Under 800 : 1st , 20 1 ⁄ 2 : MS 118 ( Mohinur Miah , Abdullah Ridwan , Darron McMorries , Kevin Singh ); 2nd , 19 1 ⁄ 2 : St . Joseph Academy ( Benjamin Hart , Cecilia Tackett , Meggan Kaster , Jack Weil , Maximilian Schieber , Isaac Waters ); K-12 Unrated : 1st , 19 1 ⁄ 2 : Hinsdale Central High School ( Athar Qureshi , Naveen Balaji , Michael Ren , Alan Chen ); 2nd , 18 1 ⁄ 2 : Minneapolis South High School ( Josiah Biernat , Max Eusterbrock , Michael Diaz , Mohamed Mohamed ). Chief Tournament Director : Francisco Guadalupe
MATTHEW
Going into the national championship , Justus , James , and Isaac were all considered likely scorers . But three would not be enough : A team ’ s score at K-12 nationals is determined by adding the totals of its four top scorers . The fourth score would be a player developed the traditional 318 way : Years of chess instruction inside the school ’ s walls . Enter Matthew Kluska . In December of 2011 , his rating stood at 1396 . Then something happened . A previously casual chessplayer caught the bug , and became one of the program ’ s most studious , hardworking competitors .
“ The 318 openings are easy to remember , but I felt my endings needed improvement .” Matthew took out two endgame texts from the school library , working through them independently . He also benefited from an endgame class session with GM Sher , and started solving problems on his own . During our conversation about his study habits , he stopped , his thoughts interrupted by a recent game a friend played . “ In Kenneth [ Martin ]’ s last round game ( at the junior high school nationals ) there was a win in the ending : ... h5 and then you go ... Kh7-g6 .”
By April of 2012 , Matthew ’ s rating was 1844 . While gaining 400 points , he had developed a preference for complex , asymmetrical positions : His French repertoire features the ... Rxf3 Exchange sacrifice in the Tarrasch , and against 1 . d4 he aims for Nimzo-Indian structures . His taste in the opening is not easy to satisfy ; Matthew stubbornly avoids ... d5 in queen pawn positions , treasuring his flexibility in the center .
Entering the high school nationals , Matthew was rated 1884 , a personal best . However , things did not start well : An early blunder and opening miscue placed him at 1 ⁄ 2 out of 2 . Aiming to reverse his fortunes , he took a disciplined course : Getting extra sleep every night and carefully blunder checking every move . He scored 3 1 ⁄ 2 from the next 4 , reaching 4 / 6 entering the last round . Though he was rated 1415 in December , Matthew Kluska would be playing for the high school national championship in the last round .
ROUND 7
Heading into the last round , the top of the standings looked like this :
I . S . 318 : 16 1 ⁄ 2 Hunter : 16 1 ⁄ 2 Thomas Jefferson : 16 Catalina Foothills : 16
Assistant Principal John Galvin ’ s sheet was divided into sections , each one listing the pairings and expected results of a different team . The rules permit players to consult their coaches if a draw is offered in the final round . The more complete the coach ’ s information , the greater the chance of making a correct decision . But with the top of the table so packed , the players received unambiguous pregame instructions from Galvin and Spiegel : Fight for the win . The top of 318 ’ s scorecard looked like this :
Justus Williams : 4 1 ⁄ 2 / 6 James Black : 4 Isaac Barayev : 4 Matthew Kluska : 4 Kenneth Martin : 4
At times , Spiegel wonders how much concept her students have of playing for the team : At the end of the day , chess is an individual sport , and the team score is calculated by adding four independent outcomes . But with the last round about to begin , there could be no doubt . None of the possible scorers took their instruction to avoid a draw as an infringement on their agency , an undue imposition . They were there as a team , and would doggedly pursue the result the team required .
Justus , James , and Isaac were all paired down , thanks to their high ratings . They would likely be the top three scorers . The toughest assignments fell to the A players , Matthew and Kenneth : Each would face an expert in a situation where only a win would do . Without one of them getting to 5 points , first place would likely be out of reach .
Kenneth received a nightmare pairing : Black versus Danny Feng , a 318 alumnus who entered the school as a beginner and became an expert , making him one of the greatest ‘ pure ’ products in the program ’ s history . Spiegel excused herself from preparing for her former star , and Kenneth and I grimly sat down to prepare for a national championship game against his old teammate . On the way to the game , Mr . Galvin and Danny awkwardly crossed paths , drawing a question Danny knew the answer to : “ Did you prepare for me ?”
It was in vain . Danny sat down and played 1 . a3 , a move he uses as a transpositional tool when worried about preparation . Kenneth dutifully fought for the win , going up a pawn and rejecting multiple continuations that appeared drawish . But Danny was too solid . He set up a queenside blockade , then used a tactical resource to win two pawns and the game . Kenneth ’ s hard work all tournament was rewarded with a gain in rating , but not the elusive fifth point his team needed .
James returned early and distraught : He had drawn his lower rated opponent . “ Why is it that I can ’ t buy a win ?” Four queens had appeared on the board in a wild encounter , and James had been unable to regain control . He had started
24 Chess Life — July 2012 uschess . org