It sounds like a paradox, but the D.C. area is becoming something of a cradle for senior world champions.
Seventeen years after longtime Maryland IM Larry Kaufman took the 2008 world senior title, Arizona IM Mark Ginsburg, raised in Bethesda, Maryland, and part of a noted generation of Washington-area stars who flourished in the mid-1970s Fischer chess boom, finished in a six-way tie for first at the World 65+ Senior Open in Gallipoli, Italy, earning co-champion status and picking up a grandmaster norm along the way.
Ginsburg secured a share of first place with a taut victory over two-time Argentine national champion GM Daniel Campora in the 11th and final round earlier this month. It’s a fierce struggle for advantage on the wings as Campora as Black locks up the center with the stout Stonewall Dutch Defense.
With 14. hxg3 Qe8 15. Nxe4 fxe4, Black has opened up some clear attacking lanes to White’s king, so Ginsburg correctly begins a counterattack on the Black center. After 21. Rxf1 c5 22. Rf3 (exd5?? exd5 brings Black’s blocked-in bishop into the fight immediately and decisively) Qh6 23. Kg2 d4, White is a pawn up but his tripled isolated e-pawns make a poor impression while Black has grabbed even more space in the center, splitting the White position in two.
White’s queen is dispatched to create a diversion on the queenside while Black plays for mate: 27. Qb3 Ba6?! (better was consolidating with 27…Kh7! 28. Qb5 Qg6, as White gets in trouble after 29. Qxc5?! Qxe4 30. Qb4 Ra2 31. c5 Qb7! 32. Qxb7 Bxb7, and White’s bishop is trapped) 28. Ba3 Kh7 29. Bxc5 Rh8, with the simple idea of looking to mate down the vulnerable h-file.
White’s counterplay arrives just in time with 30. Qb6! Bxc4 (Kg8 31. Rf8+ Kh7 32. Rxh8+ Kxh8 33. Bxe6 is winning for White) 31. Bxd4 Bxd4 32. Qxd4 Bxe2 33. Rf4! Bh5 34. Qd7, and White still has an extra pawn while Black’s attack has been de-fanged.
Black’s rook gets a few harassing checks, but Ginsburg relentlessly simplifies with a won ending in sight: 37. Kf2 Rb2+ 38. Ke1 Qg5 39. Qf5+ Kh6 40. Qxg5+ Kxg5 41. Bd7!, planning to meet 41…Rb8 with 42. e6 Be8 43. Rf5+ Kg6 44. Rf8 Bxd7 45. Rxb8 Bxe6 46. Rb6 Kf7 47. Rxe6! Kxe6 48. Ke2, with a book win.
With the passed e-pawn ready to roll, White finds the cleanest way to victory with 41…Rg2 42. Rf5+ Kh6 43. Rxh5+! Kxh5 44. e6 Rxg3 45. Kf2 Rg4 46. Kf3, and the grandmaster resigns as there’s no saving the game after 46…Rg5 47. e7 Re5 48. e8=Q+ Rxe8 49. Bxe8+ Kg5 50. Bd7.
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With its short, two-game knockout format, the FIDE World Cup, now underway in Goa, India, is perhaps the most mercurial and unpredictable format in elite chess. Already through just three rounds of play, world champion GM Dommaraju Gukesh, American GM Wesley So and Dutch superstar Anish Giri are among the top-seeded upset victims dismissed from the 206-player field.
The players submit to the torture because the rewards are high: The winner, runner-up and third-place finisher all earn coveted spots in next year’s Candidates’ Tournament to pick a challenger to Gukesh.
The pressure-packed format can force even some of the world’s strongest players to take unjustified risks. Uzbek star GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov, the world’s No. 12-ranked player, found himself in a hole after being upset by Peruvian GM Jose Martinez Alcantara with White in the first game of their Round 3 match last week. Abdusattorov presses aggressively for the equalizing win, but his recklessness only leads to a second defeat and his ouster from the tournament.
White is perfectly happy just to draw this Closed Sicilian, but refuses to play passively: 15. exf6 Bxf6 16. Rh3!? (Rc1 was also solid and a bit safer) d6 17. Rc1 Qd7, and already the engines are eyeing the sharp 18. Ng5!?, when Black gets into big trouble after 18…hxg5?! 19. hxg5 Bxd4 20. Rxc7! Qxc7 21. Qxe6+ Rf7 [Qf7 22. Bh7+ Kh8 23. Bg6+ Kg8 24. Rh8+! Kxh8 25. Qh3+ Kg8 26. Qh7 mate] 22. g6 and wins.
Both sides do well to get their kings to safety (after 25. Kg1 Kb8, one would never guess that White had eschewed castling and Black had castled short in this game) 26. Bg6 Re7, but again, a split point means curtains for Black so he must take new risks.
Martinez Alcantara, facing pressures of his own, adeptly frustrates Black’s hopes of complications: 33. Ne5! Qd8 (dxe5 34. dxe5 Bxh4 35. Rxh4 is fine for White) 34. Nc4 g5 35. hxg5 Bxg5 36. Rxg5! hxg5 37. Bxg5 Qc7 38. Bxe7 Qxe7, and White is not only a pawn up but his pieces nicely cover any potential invasion points for his opponent.
Black predictably overreaches looking for mates that just aren’t there: 46. Nxb7 Qh6 (finally generating a real threat, but White is prepared) 47. f3 Qf6 48. Re3! (parrying Black’s hopes for 48…Qxd4+ 49. Qf2 Rh1+! 50. Kxh1 Qxf2 51. Rg1 Qh4 mate) Rf8? (desperation, but the dreaded draw re-emerges after 48…Qxd4 49. Qxf4 Qd1+ 50. Kf2 Qd2+ 51. Kg1, and Black has nothing better than perpetual check) 49. Nd6 Qxd4 50. Kf1! Kb8 (White now has real mating threats of his own; if 50…Qxe3, 51. Qg7+ Kb8 52. Qb7 mate ends the contest) 51. Nf5 Qe5 52. Qg7, and Abdusattorov resigned as any queen trade kills Black’s attacking hopes, while 52…Rxf5 allows 53. Qb7 mate.
Tragedy of a different kind befell American GM Hans Moke Niemann, where a single misstep in his Round 2 rapid playoff game with Italian GM Lorenzo Lodici effectively sent him packing.
We pick things up from today’s diagram, where Lodici as White has just played 71. Kg5-g6. Black has been worse for the entire game, but with a draw finally in sight, Niemann picks the one wrong retreat square for his rook and pays the price.
Thus: 71…Rg4+ 72. Bg5 (Kh5 Rg2 73. Bg5 Kh7 74. f6 Rh2+ 75. Bh4 Rh1 76. f6 Rf1 also holds) Rg1?? (this rook had to go to either g2 or g3, as quickly becomes apparent) 73. f6! (threatening 74. h7+ Kh8 75. f7 Rf1 76. Bf6+, winning) Rf1 74. Be3! (h7+?? Kh8 75. f7 Rxf7 76. Kxf7 Kxh7 only draws), covering the g1-square and preventing Black from giving a critical check.
It’s over after 74…Rf3 75. h7+ Kh8 76. f7 Rg3+ (Rxf7 77. Bd4+ wins) 77. Bg5, and Niemann resigns as 77…Rf3 78. Bf6+ brings down the curtain.
(Click on the image above for a larger view of the chessboard.)
Ginsburg-Campora, 33rd World Senior 65+ Championship, Gallipoli, Italy, November 2025
1. d4 f5 2. g3 Nf6 3. Bg2 e6 4. Nf3 Be7 5. c4 d5 6. Qc2 O-O 7. O-O c6 8. b3 Ne4 9. Nbd2 Nd7 10. Bb2 a5 11. a3 h5 12. Rad1 h4 13. Ne5 hxg3 14. hxg3 Qe8 15. Nxe4 fxe4 16. f3 Nxe5 17. dxe5 Bc5+ 18. Kh2 Be3 19. fxe4 Qh5+ 20. Bh3 Rxf1 21. Rxf1 c5 22. Rf3 Qh6 23. Kg2 d4 24. b4 axb4 25. axb4 b6 26. bxc5 bxc5 27. Qb3 Ba6 28. Ba3 Kh7 29. Bxc5 Rh8 30. Qb6 Bxc4 31. Bxd4 Bxd4 32. Qxd4 Bxe2 33. Rf4 Bh5 34. Qd7 Rb8 35. Qxe6 Rb2+ 36. Kg1 Rb1+ 37. Kf2 Rb2+ 38. Ke1 Qg5 39. Qf5+ Kh6 40. Qxg5+ Kxg5 41. Bd7 Rg2 42. Rf5+ Kh6 43. Rxh5+ Kxh5 44. e6 Rxg3 45. Kf2 Rg4 46. Kf3 Black resigns.
Martinez Alcantara-Nodirbek, 11th FIDE World Cup 2025, Goa, India, November 2025
1. e4 c5 2. c3 Nf6 3. e5 Nd5 4. d4 e6 5. Nf3 cxd4 6. cxd4 b6 7. Bd2 Bb7 8. Nc3 Nxc3 9. Bxc3 Na6 10. a3 Nc7 11. Bd3 Be7 12. Qe2 O-O 13. h4 h6 14. Bd2 f5 15. exf6 Bxf6 16. Rh3 d6 17. Rc1 Qd7 18. Bb1 Nd5 19. Qd3 Kf7 20. Rg3 Ke8 21. Kf1 Kd8 22. Re1 Kc7 23. Qe2 Rae8 24. Bd3 Bc6 25. Kg1 Kb8 26. Bg6 Re7 27. Be4 Bb7 28. Qd3 Rc8 29. Qb3 Qd8 30. a4 a6 31. Bd3 Ka7 32. Rg4 Qd7 33. Ne5 Qd8 34. Nc4 g5 35. hxg5 Bxg5 36. Rxg5 hxg5 37. Bxg5 Qc7 38. Bxe7 Qxe7 39. Be4 Qc7 40. Nd2 Qg7 41. Nc4 Qc7 42. Nd2 Rh8 43. Qg3 Qf7 44. Nc4 Nf4 45. Nxd6 Qf6 46. Nxb7 Qh6 47. f3 Qf6 48. Re3 Rf8 49. Nd6 Qxd4 50. Kf1 Kb8 51. Nf5 Qe5 52. Qg7 Black resigns.
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