Seniors, juniors battle for U.S. titles in St. Louis

The boomers and the Gen Zers are in the spotlight this week as the St. Louis Chess Club plays host to the U.S. Junior, U.S. Junior Girls and the U.S. Senior Championships.

The fields remain bunched just past the halfway point in all three 10-player invitationals as this is being written, with 15-year-old GM Andy Woodward a half-point ahead of GMs Abhimanyu Mishra and Kirk Ghazarian in the U.S. junior battle, while New York WFM Megan Althea Paragua, the youngest player in the junior girls’ field, clings to a similar lead over FMs Zoey Tang and Ruiyang Yan, with four rounds to go.

In the senior tournament, GM Vladimir Akopian is seeking to defend the title he won in 2024, with GMs Larry Christiansen and Igor Novikov close on his heels. Play runs through Friday, and the winners of the two junior tournaments will earn a seat at the grown-ups’ table in the 2026 U.S. open and women’s national championship fields.

Watch this space for a full round-up of the results and key games in the days to come.

Woodward, the pride of Frisco, Texas, got off to a dream start, opening with three straight victories to grab the early lead. Impressive in that streak was a hard-fought win over fellow Texan IM Grayson Rorrer in a well-played Bogo-Indian in Round 2.

White goes down a pawn early after 11. Nc3 dxc4 12. Nd2 Nb6 13. e4, but is in no rush to recover the material as he improves the scope of his pieces and strengthens his hold on the center. The position takes a significant turn on 15. Nf3 c5!? 16. d5!? exd5 17. exd5 Re8 18. d6 — the advanced pawn effectively cuts the Black position in half, but Rorrer defends well for the next few moves.

White grabs an enduring initiative on 22. Qe2 Rb8?! (Black’s first real misstep proves costly; he is holding his own nicely after 22….Rae8 23. Qf3 Ng4 24. Bd2) 23. f4! gxf4?! (the opening up of the position only enhances the power of White’s bishop pair; on 23…Re6 24. fxg5 hxg5 25. Qf3 g4 26. Qf2 Bxd6 27. Bg5 Qe7 28. Rd5! Nbd7 [Nbxd5 29. Nxd5] 29. Rf1, White has great compensation but at least Black has two extra pawns for his pains) 24. gxf4 Ree8 25. Qf3 Bxd6 26. Bf2, with the threat of 27. Bh3 Qe7 28. Bh4 Qe3+ (Bc7 29. Kh1 Kh8 30. Bf5, with total domination) 29. Qxe3 Rxe3 30. Rxd6.

Black tries 26…Ng4 (see diagram), hoping to get in 27…Nxf2 28. Qxf2 Rbd8 29. Ne4 Qe7, equalizing, but Woodward beats him to the punch with 27. Rxd6! Qxd6 28. Qxg4+ Kh8 (Qg6 29. Qh4 Kh7 30. Kh1 Rg8 31. Rg1 Qe6 32. Ne4 Nd7 33. Ng5+ and wins) 29. Rd1 — materially, Black is OK, but it’s the White army that dominates the battlefield.

It’s all over after 29…Qe7 30. Qh4 (good enough, but even better was 30. Qh5 Qf6 31. Qxc5 Rbd8 32. Rxd8 Rxd8 33. Qxb6) Qxh4 31. Bxh4 Re3 32. Bd8!, an unusual winning idea that forces instant resignation. Rorrer’s tied-down forces can put up no resistance in lines such as 32…Na8 (Nc8 33. Bf6+ Kh7 34. Rd8 Re1+ 35. Kf2 Re6 36. Be5 Ra8 37. Be4+ Rg6 38. Rh8 mate) 33. Kf2 Rd3 34. Bf6+ Kg8 35. Rg1 Kf8 36. Be4 Rd6 37. Bh7 Rxf6 38. Rg8+ Ke7 39. Rxb8 Nb6 40. Rxb7+ and wins.

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GM Alex Fishbein is one of the lowest-rated players in the U.S. Senior tournament, but he has already scored quality wins against Christiansen and fellow savvy veteran GM Gregory Kaidanov. 

Fishbein made little early headway against Christiansen’s Closed Caro-Kann in Round 3, with Black equalizing comfortably out of the opening and sidestepping a trap when the center opens up after 17. Rxe6 dxc3 18. bxc3 Rc8!, not tempted by 18…Bxc3?! 19. Nfd4! Bxa1 20. Nc6 Qc7 21. Ne7+ Kg7 22. Qxa1+, with a winning attack.

But Black gets into big trouble overlooking a second tactical trick from Fishbein a few moves later: 26. Nc1 Ndb5? (Black is just fine after 26…Rf8 or 26…Rc8) 27. Bh3!, and suddenly the Black queen is severely overtaxed. After 27…Qxh3 28. Rxe8+ Nxe8 29. Qxb5 Nf6 30. Qc6, the material balance is equal, but White’s queen and two knights dominate their Black counterparts, while the Black king finds himself under heavy fire.

A last-gasp counterattack by Black is turned aside neatly in the final phase: 35. Nd3 (the White knights provide stellar service in the game’s conclusion) Qa8 36. Nxg7 Ne2+ (Kxg7 loses to 37. Qxd4+) 37. Kf1 Qf3 (Christiansen does get in one last mate threat — 38…Nxg3+ 39. Kg1 [Ke1 Qe2 mate] Qh1 mate — but White gets to move first) 38. Qb8+ Kxg7 39. Qe5+ Kh7 40. Ne1! (Black’s queen and knight are both attacked and the end is nigh) Nxg3+ (Qa8 41. Kxe2 [and of course not 41. Qxe2?? Qh1 mate] Qxa2+ 42. Kf1) 41. Qxg3 Qh1+ 42. Ke2, and Black resigned. The checks will soon run out and he has no compensation for the lost piece.

(Click on the image above for a larger view of the chessboard.)

​Woodward-Rorrer, 2025 U.S. Junior Championship, St. Louis, July 2025

1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 Nf6 3. c4 e6 4. g3 Bb4+ 5. Bd2 Be7 6. Bg2 c6 7. Qc2 Nbd7 8. O-O h6 9. Rd1 O-O 10. Bf4 a5 11. Nc3 dxc4 12. Nd2 Nb6 13. e4 a4 14. a3 Bd7 15. Nf3 c5 16. d5 exd5 17. exd5 Re8 18. d6 Bf8 19. Ne5 g5 20. Nxd7 Qxd7 21. Be3 Re5 22. Qe2 Rb8 23. f4 gxf4 24. gxf4 Ree8 25. Qf3 Bxd6 26. Bf2 Ng4 27. Rxd6 Qxd6 28. Qxg4+ Kh8 29. Rd1 Qe7 30. Qh4 Qxh4 31. Bxh4 Re3 32. Bd8 Black resigns.

Fishbein-Christiansen, 2025 U.S. Senior Championship, St. Louis, July 2025

1. e4 c6 2. Nf3 d5 3. d3 g6 4. Nbd2 Bg7 5. g3 Nh6 6. Bg2 O-O 7. O-O e5 8. c3 Na6 9. d4 f6 10. Re1 Nf7 11. dxe5 fxe5 12. Nb3 Bg4 13. h3 Be6 14. Be3 b6 15. exd5 cxd5 16. Bd4 exd4 17. Rxe6 dxc3 18. bxc3 Rc8 19. Rc1 Nc7 20. Nfd4 Qd7 21. Re2 Nd6 22. Qd3 Kh8 23. Rce1 Rce8 24. h4 Rxe2 25. Rxe2 Re8 26. Nc1 Ndb5 27. Bh3 Qxh3 28. Rxe8+ Nxe8 29. Qxb5 Nf6 30. Qc6 Qd7 31. Qa8+ Qe8 32. Qxa7 Ne4 33. Qxb6 Nxc3 34. Ne6 d4 35. Nd3 Qa8 36. Nxg7 Ne2+ 37. Kf1 Qf3 38. Qb8+ Kxg7 39. Qe5+ Kf7 40. Ne1 Nxg3+ 41. Qxg3 Qh1+ 42. Ke2 Black resigns.

• Got a game or a chess tidbit to share? David R. Sands can be reached at davidrsands18@gmail.com.