2011 US Junior Chess Championship Dominated by Young

Gregory Young Cleans Up!

Gregory Young dominated the 2011 US Junior Chess Championship with a score of 7.5/9, overcoming a field with an average USCF rating of 2408! Young kicked off the tournament with a fine attacking win against Raven Sturt, a solid defense and counterattacking win against John Bryant, and a positional grind against Jialin Ding to begin with a perfect score at 3/3. Immense pressure against Conrad Holt in round 4 led to a tactical blunder on move 24 to move Young’s score to 4/4. The path to perfection was brought to a screeching halt in round 5, as Alec Getz achieved significant pressure in the opening which led Young to blunder from an inferior position on move 24 and resign. In round 6, Young quickly created a strong attack against Kayden Troff and broke through his opponent’s position with a series of tactical blows to win material, which Young smoothly converted to an easily winning endgame.

With 5 out of 6 points, Young was leading the field however he needed to finish strong to ensure top honors. In round 7, he faced the original tournament favorite – Daniel Naroditsky – in a tactical slugfest. The game began calmly as white opened with the Maroczy Bind, however Young’s active response created wild complications. Shot after counter-shot ensued, and the position resulted in a drawish rook + opposite-colored bishop endgame with Young maintaining an extra pawn. At the time, I thought Naroditsky would hold the draw without too much difficulty – however his defense was simply not active enough and Young was able to force through towards the white king. This was Young’s best effort of the tournament, as Naroditsky forced him to accurately attack until the very end.

Young uses Fischer-Sozin variation 3 times against the Sicilian

Young was able to ensure his 1st place victory with an excellent sacrificial win over Warren Harper in round 8. For the third time in the tournament, Young successfully employed the Fischer-Sozin Variation against the Sicilian. I was surprised at his opponents’ inability to cope with this aggressive opening and prepare a legitimate response. After sacrificing a piece with 16. fxe6!? Young achieved an extremely imbalanced position with good attacking chances against the black king. Harper was unable to stand the pressure and resigned on move 36, moving Young to an unbeatable 7 out of 8 points. In the last round, Young forced a drawn position against Victor Shen in 55 moves to finish with an impressive 7.5/9 points – winning the 2011 US Junior Closed Championship in dominating fashion. Congratulations to Gregory Young on a fantastic tournament – and taking down the first place prize of $3,000 dollars!

Game .pgns are available at http://saintlouischessclub.org/2011-junior-closed-championship

By Chess Coach Will Stewart (USCF 2256, FIDE 2234)