U.S. junior takes world chess title

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The United States has produced a new world champion. New York FM Alex Lenderman was the surprise winner of the Boys Under 16 title at the World Youth Championships in Belfort, France, late last month.

Lenderman defeated a number of higher-rated rivals, notably Russian IM Ian Nepomniachtchi, on his way to a 9-2 finish. It was the first gold medal for a U.S. junior in a number of years in the annual event.

Three other Americans scored in the top five in their divisions, including Californian Daniel Naroditsky (fifth in the Boys Under 10 division), Ray Robson of Florida (sixth in the Under 12 class), and New York's Robert Hess (fifth in the Under 14 competition.).

The youth championships don't have the buzz they once did, when the world's best teen players routinely competed. Today, junior stars such as New York GM Hikaru Nakamura and Ukraine's Sergei Karjakin prefer to play at the grown-ups' table in unrestricted elite events.

U.S. and other delegations also lodged a slew of complaints with the French organizers over the accommodations, tournament conditions and pairings. FIDE, the international chess federation, has some repair work to do on the image of this once-premier event.

Still, Lenderman's victory is a real cause for celebration, a long-awaited sign that Nakamura may have some company in his ascent up the ratings charts. Against Polish FM Tomasz Warakomski in the final round, Lenderman showed a nice positional sense in taking the initiative away from his opponent, forcing the win of material and efficiently concluding the endgame.

In an infrequently played Petroff line, White with 12. f3 Rb8 13. fxe4?! Rxb2 unwisely allows his opponent a rook on the seventh rank, an infiltration that dictates play for the rest of the game.

White's hoped-for attack on the king-side amounts to little, while Black's two bishops and queen aid the rook in repeatedly probing for soft spots behind enemy lines.

A queen trade does nothing to loosen Black's bind, and his positional dominance results in material gain on 25. Qe2 Qxe2 26. Rxe2 Rc1+ 27. Kf2 Rh1!, when the Black e-pawn is taboo because of 28. Nxe4?? Rf1 mate. Warakomski tries 28. Bf4 Rxh2+ 29. Ke3 Bxf4+ 30. gxf4 Rxe2+! (the young New Yorker doesn't try to be cute, heading straight for an ending in which his bishop dominates the White knight and his extra pawn will tell) 31. Kxe2 Bf5, but the knight-vs.-bishop ending offers little hope.

Black's passed pawns thwart any White bid for counterplay, as can be seen in lines such as 33. Ne5 h3 34. Kf2 e3+ 35. Kg1 Kh6 36. Nxc6 h2+! 37. Kxh2 e2. Just as the players reach time control with 39. cxd5 Bf7 40. a6, White resigns in the face of such depressing lines as 40...Bh5 41. Kg2 Kf4 42. Kf2 h3 43. Nf1 Bf3 44. Kg1 e3 45. Nh2 Bg2 46. Nf1 e2 and wins. A nicely controlled performance from Lenderman.