They’ve won four national championships in a row, their bench could probably beat most rival schools, they have a controversial coach, and there are some real questions about whether they are good for the sport.
No, it’s not the Connecticut women’s basketball team. It’s the Webster University chess team, which made it four in a row by winning the collegiate chess Final Four over Texas Tech, University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley and Columbia University at New York’s fabled Marshall Chess Club. It wasn’t quite a walkover — the St. Louis school edged the two Texas schools by a narrow 2½-1½ margin — but the victory for Webster’s roster of six grandmasters, anchored by Vietnamese star Le Quang Liem’s 3-0 score on Board 1, was never really in doubt.
Webster shot to prominence when coach Susan Polgar, a former women’s world champion, “relocated” the program from Texas Tech in part because of a salary and funding dispute in 2012. College chess is an odd, unregulated hybrid, with some schools, including Webster and local powerhouse University of Maryland, Baltimore County, offering scholarships and actively recruiting top players, while other schools go the old-fashioned amateur route.
Webster’s average rating of 2,734 was more than 80 points higher than any of its rivals and nearly 400 points above fourth-seeded Columbia. How long the competitive imbalance can endure is an open question.
Still, the chess itself was legitimate and the games still have to be played. Columbia top board IM Arthur Shen was playing up in every match, but he did score a nice upset of Rio Grande Valley’s GM Anton Kovalyov in an exciting Najdorf Sicilian.
The pace quickens when White castles queenside onto a half-open file and both sides try to get in the first blow: 12. 0-0-0 Na5?! (not waiting to ramp up the queenside attack, but not Shen gets into a thematic Najdorf sacrifice against Black’s uncastled king) 13. Nf5!? Nf6 (exf5 14. Nd5 Qc6 15. exf5, with very sharp play) 13. Bf4 Nc4 (e5 14. Be3 hands White a big positional win) 14. Nxd6+! Bxd6 15. Nxd6 Nxd6 16. e5, reclaiming the piece with a strong initiative.
Both sides must be careful as the White king is forced to take a walk, but after 19. Qb5+ Bd7 (see diagram) 20. fxg7! Ra1+ 21. Kd2 Qf4+ 22. Ke1 Rxd1+ (fortunately for White, the Black queen checks are all covered) 23. Kxd1 Rg8 24. Qxb7 Rxg7 25. Qa8+, White emerges two pawns to the good.
To avoid simplifying trades, Black has to let the White queen take over the center of the board. In the final position, Shen has two powerful threats: 37. Qf6+ and 37. Qb4+ Kd8 38. Rd1+, with a winning attack; Kovalyov resigned.
Webster’s home city will again be playing host to the U.S. Championship and the U.S. Women’s Championship, both of which kick off Wednesday at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of St. Louis. GMs Hikaru Nakamura and Irina Krush will be defending their titles, with the stacked open tournament featuring GMs Fabiano Caruana, Wesley So, Gata Kamsky and Webster’s Ray Robson.
On the women’s side, the 12-player field includes a pair of 13-year-old Virginians: WFM Jennifer Yu of Ashburn and Akshita Gorti of Chantilly.
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Webster’s home city will again be playing host to the U.S. Championship and the U.S. Women’s Championship tournaments, both of which kick off Wednesday at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of St. Louis. GMs Hikaru Nakamura and Irina Krush will be defending their titles, with the stacked open tournament featuring GMs Fabiano Caruana, Wesley So, Gata Kamsky and Webster’s Ray Robson.
On the women’s side, the 12-player field includes a pair of 13-year-old Virginians: WFM Jennifer Yu of Ashburn and Akshita Gorti of Chantilly.
Shen-Kovalyov, Collegiate Chess Final Four, New York City, April 2016
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. h3 e6 7. g4 h6 8. Bg2 Nc6 9. Be3 Nd7 10. Qe2 Qc7 11. O-O-O Na5 12. Nf5 Nf6 13. Bf4 Nc4 14. Nxd6+ Bxd6 15. Bxd6 Nxd6 16. e5 Nb5 17. Nxb5 axb5 18. exf6 Rxa2 19. Qxb5+ Bd7 20. fxg7 Ra1+ 21. Kd2 Qf4+ 22. Ke1 Rxd1+ 23. Kxd1 Rg8 24. Qxb7 Rxg7 25. Qa8+ Ke7 26. Qa3+ Ke8 27. Qa8+ Ke7 28. Qa3+ Ke8 29. Qf3 Qg5 30. Qe4 f5 31. f4 Qd8 32. Qd4 Kf8 33. Kc1 Qh4 34. Bb7 Qg3 35. gxf5 exf5 36. Bd5 Black resigns.
• David R. Sands can be reached at 202/636-3178 or by email at dsands@washingtontimes.com.
• David R. Sands can be reached at dsands@washingtontimes.com.
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