Chess has taught me how to fight adversity better: US Junior Chess Champion

IM Sam Shankland

Hello Everyone,

Did you keep track of the US Junior Chess Championship that we followed on the blog a few weeks back? Remember how Sam Shankland had said in his blog that he was quitting chess and then 'returned' to win the championship?

Well, Shankland's off to college now. What interested us was the stuff he said in a recent interview.

As he finishes his first week of college, Shankland said he values the broadening experiences chess has taught him.

"Chess has also sort of made me learn to fight adversity a little bit better." As a child and even during the beginning of high school, Shankland said he was “ruthlessly made fun of.”

“It definitely taught me to keep on fighting even if other people are making fun of you or whatever. Just believe in myself.”

And, as many chess players say, Shankland too agrees: It is hard not to tell people about his career if chess comes up in a conversation.

He hopes that people will realize chess players are “just completely normal people who happen to be really good at this game.”

You can read the full interview here. You can read our blog report on Shankland's US Junior Championship win here.

From Alexandra Kosteniuk's

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Sam Shankland is U.S. National Junior Chess Champion 2010

U.S. National Junior Chess Champion IM Samuel Shankland

Hello Everyone!

What would you say of someone who announced on their blog that they were retiring from chess and then went on to win a major championship? Well! Samuel Shankland happens to be one such person.

IM Shankland was in a three-way tie with defending champion GM Ray Robson and NM Parker Zhao after nine rounds. An Armageddon playoff followed for the title. There were two playoff games. Since Robson had a better tie-break score, he could wait to play the winner of the Shankland-Zhao match.

Shankland and Zhao bid secretly how much time (up to 45 minutes) they would need for the game. Zhao bid lower so he had less time and Black. But he only had to draw to win the match. Shankland won.

In the final game, Shankland had Black and both he and Robson had same time. Shankland had to only draw to win the title. Shankland played the solid Caro-Kann Defense and Robson responded with the Fantasy variation. But Robson blundered under time pressure and lost.

Here are both the playoff games. You can run them in our pgnplayer or watch in flash below. You can check the official website for more information.

PGN: 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e3 Bg4 5. Qb3 Qb6 6. Nc3 e6 7. Nh4 Be7 8. h3 Bh5 9. g4 Bg6 10. Nxg6 hxg6 11. Bg2 Nbd7 12. g5 Nh5 13. h4 Qc7 14. cxd5 exd5 15. Qc2 Qd6 16. Bd2 O-O 17. O-O-O Nb6 18. Kb1 Rfe8 19. Bc1 Rad8 20. Bf3 Bf8 21. Rhg1 Nc4 22. e4 dxe4 23. Nxe4 Qb4 24. Ka1 Nb6 25. Bxh5 gxh5 26. Nf6+ gxf6 27. gxf6+ Kh8 28. Rg5 Rd5 29. Rdg1 Rxg5 30. Rxg5 Qb5 31. Rxb5 cxb5 32. a3 b4 33. Qd1 b3 34. Qxb3 Re1 35. Qxf7 Rxc1+ 36. Ka2 1-0

PGN: 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. f3 dxe4 4. fxe4 e5 5. Nf3 Bg4 6. Bc4 Nd7 7. c3 Bh5 8. O-O Ngf6 9. Nbd2 Bd6 10. Bd3 O-O 11. Qe1 Re8 12. Kh1 Bc7 13. Bc2 exd4 14. cxd4 c5 15. dxc5 Nxc5 16. e5 Ncd7 17. Qh4 Nxe5 18. Nxe5 Bxe5 19. Nc4 Qd4 20. Qxd4 Bxd4 21. Nd6 Re6 22. Nf5 Bc5 23. Bb3 Re5 24. Bd2 Ne4 25. Rae1 Rae8 26. Rxe4 Rxe4 27. Ng3 Bg6 28. Nxe4 Rxe4 29. Bc3 h5 30. Bd5 Re7 31. b4 Bb6 32. a4 a6 33. a5 Ba7 34. Re1 Rd7 35. Bf3 Kh7 36. Re8 Rc7 37. Bd2 h4 38. g3 h3 39. Bg4 f5 0-1

From Alexandra Kosteniuk's

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U.S. Junior Chess Championship: Armageddon playoffs to decide winner from three-way tie

IM Sam Shankland in a three-way

tie with Robson and Zhao.

Hello Everybody,

After nine rounds of fighting chess, the U.S. Junior Closed Championship would be decided through an Armageddon playoff!

The Armageddon playoff was brought on because FM Warren Harper beat GM Ray Robson, FM John Bryant drew with NM Parker Zhao and IM Sam Shankland beat FM Conrad Holt. That left Robson, Zhao and Shankland in a three-way tie for the top spot with 6.0/9 points each. If Yang had won his game against Rosen then there would have been a four-way tie for the first spot.

Defending champion Ray Robson has elected to take a bye in the first round of the playoffs. The winner of the Zhao and Shankland Armageddon match would play Robson for the championship.

Zhao and Shankland will have to bid on how much time each is willing to start with in order to win the ability to play with Black and draw odds in the first round of the Armageddon playoff. Then, the winner will have to take on the tournament’s only grandmaster for the title.

Results of Round 9

------------------------

1. FM Warren Harper-GM Ray Robson 1-0

2. FM John Bryant-NM Parker Zhao ½-½

3. IM Sam Shankland-FM Conrad Holt 1-0

4. NM Tyler Hughes-FM Steven Zierk 0-1

5. FM Darwin Yang-NM Eric Rosen ½-½

Standings after Round 9

------------------------------

1. GM Ray Robson 6.0

2. IM Sam Shankland 6.0

3. NM Parker Zhao 6.0

4. FM Darwin Yang 5.5

5. FM John Bryant 4.5

6. FM Steven Zierk 4.5

7. NM Eric Rosen 4.5

8. FM Warren Harper 4.0

9. FM Conrad Holt 3.0

10. NM Tyler Hughes 1.0

Here is the Harper-Robson game. You can play it in pgnplayer or watch in flash below. You can check the official website for videos and photos.

PGN: 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. g3 O-O 5. Bg2 d6 6. Nf3 Nbd7 7. O-O e5 8. e4 exd4 9. Nxd4 Re8 10. h3 a6 11. Be3 Rb8 12. a4 c5 13. Nde2 Ne5 14. b3 h5 15. Ra2 Qe7 16. Rd2 Bxh3 17. Bxh3 Nf3+ 18. Kh1 Nxd2 19. Qxd2 Nxe4 20. Nxe4 Qxe4+ 21. Bg2 Qg4 22. Bd5 h4 23. Kg2 b5 24. cxb5 axb5 25. a5 c4 26. a6 cxb3 27. a7 Rbd8 28. Rb1 b2 29. Rxb2 Bxb2 30. Qxb2 Qf5 31. Qxb5 g5 32. Nd4 Qf6 33. g4 Re5 34. Nf3 h3+ 35. Kg3 h2 36. Nxe5 Qxe5+ 37. Kg2 Kg7 38. Qb7 Rf8 39. a8=Q Rxa8 40. Qxa8 1-0

From Alexandra Kosteniuk's

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U.S. Junior Chess Championship: Robson in lead by half a point in penultimate round

GM Ray Robson played FM Darwin Yang

to a draw to maintain his half-point lead.

Hi Everybody!

Defending champion GM Ray Robson is leading just by half a point after Round 8 at the U.S. Junior Closed Championship being held in St. Louis. Only one more round is to be played. Close on his heels is NM Parker Zhao who led for several rounds before Conrad Holt disturbed his rhythm.

IM Sam Shankland and FM Darwin Yang are tied at 5.0 for the third place. Crucial ties are up in the last and ninth round to be played.

Results after Round 8

---------------------------

1. GM Ray Robson-FM Darwin Yang ½-½

2. NM Eric Rosen-NM Tyler Hughes 1-0

3. FM Steven Zierk-IM Sam Shankland ½-½

4. FM Conrad Holt-FM John Bryant 0-1

5. NM Parker Zhao-FM Warren Harper 1-0

Standings after Round 8

------------------------------

1. GM Ray Robson 6.0

2. NM Parker Zhao 5.5

3. IM Sam Shankland 5.0

4. FM Darwin Yang 5.0

5. FM John Bryant 4.0

6. NM Eric Rosen 4.0

7. FM Steven Zierk 3.5

8. FM Conrad Holt 3.0

9. FM Warren Harper 3.0

10. NM Tyler Hughes 1.0

Pairings for Round 9

--------------------------

1. FM Warren Harper 3.0 2388 - GM Ray Robson 6.0 2613

2. FM John Bryant 4.0 2487 - NM Parker Zhao 5.5 2382

3. IM Sam Shankland 5.0 2563 - FM Conrad Holt 3.0 2411

4. NM Tyler Hughes 1.0 2386 - FM Steven Zierk 3.5 2428

5. FM Darwin Yang 5.0 2422 - NM Eric Rosen 4.0 2209

You can also check the official website for videos and photos. Meanwhile, here is the interesting Parker Zhao-FM Warren Harper game from Round 8. You can run it in our pgnplayer or watch in flash below.

PGN: 1. e4 e6 2. d3 d5 3. Qe2 Nf6 4. Nf3 c5 5. g3 Nc6 6. Bg2 Be7 7. O-O b5 8. Re1 O-O 9. e5 Nd7 10. h4 a5 11. Bf4 b4 12. Nbd2 Ba6 13. c4 bxc3 14. bxc3 a4 15. a3 c4 16. d4 Qa5 17. Rec1 Rfb8 18. Ra2 Rb3 19. Nb1 Rab8 20. Qc2 Na7 21. Ng5 Nf8 22. Nf3 Nb5 23. Bg5 Qc7 24. Bxe7 Qxe7 25. Nfd2 Nxa3 26. Nxa3 Rxa3 27. Rca1 Rxa2 28. Qxa2 Bb5 29. Rb1 Nd7 30. f4 g6 31. Bf3 Rb6 32. Kf2 Nb8 33. Bd1 Qa7 34. Qa3 Bc6 35. h5 Rxb1 36. Nxb1 gxh5 37. Bxh5 Qb7 38. Nd2 Be8 39. Bd1 Qd7 40. Nf3 Na6 41. Nh2 Qc7 42. Ng4 Bc6 43. Bc2 Kg7 44. Nf6 h6 45. g4 Qd8 46. Kg3 Nc7 47. Qc5 Bb5 48. Kf3 a3 49. Qxa3 Ne8 50. g5 hxg5 51. fxg5 Bd7 52. Qa1 Bc6 53. Qh1 Kf8 54. Qh8+ Ke7 55. g6 Qa5 56. Ng8+ Kd7 57. gxf7 Qxc3+ 58. Kg4 Qxd4+ 59. Kh5 Qf4 60. Nf6+ Nxf6+ 61. Qxf6 Qh2+ 62. Kg5 Qd2+ 63. Kg6 Qxc2+ 64. Kg7 Qg2+ 65. Qg6 Qe2 66. Qg5 1-0

From Alexandra Kosteniuk's

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U.S. Junior Chess Championship: Robson in sole lead after 7 rounds

IM Sam Shankland

Hello Everyone!

The talented defending champion at the U.S. Junior Championship, Ray Robson, is now in sole lead after seven rounds. Despite a slow start he has bounced back to be a full point ahead of the rest of the field. Robson had caught up with tournament leader Parker Zhao in the sixth round. He beat Zhao in the seventh round to take a clear lead.

Meanwhile, Conrad Holt continued with his good show by also beating Warren Harper. He had scored an upset win over tournament leader Parker Zhao in the previous round also.

Results of Round 7

------------------------

1. NM Parker Zhao-GM Ray Robson 0-1

2. FM Warren Harper-FM Conrad Holt 0-1

3. FM John Bryant-FM Steven Zierk 1-0

4. IM Sam Shankland-NM Eric Rosen 1-0

5. NM Tyler Hughes-FM Darwin Yang 0-1

Standings after Round 7

------------------------------

1. GM Ray Robson 5.5

2. IM Sam Shankland 4.5

3. FM Darwin Yang 4.5

4. NM Parker Zhao 4.5

5. FM John Bryant 3.0

6. FM Steven Zierk 3.0

7. FM Conrad Holt 3.0

8. FM Warren Harper 3.0

9. NM Eric Rosen 3.0

10. NM Tyler Hughes 1.0

The game of the day was surely between the joint leaders of the tournament - Parker Zhao and defending champion Ray Robson. Check out Robson's King's Indian in the pgnplayer or watch in flash below. Check the official website for videos, photos and reports.

PGN: 1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 g6 3. e4 d6 4. d4 Bg7 5. Nf3 O-O 6. Be2 e5 7. O-O Nc6 8. d5 Ne7 9. Ne1 Ne8 10. Be3 f5 11. f3 f4 12. Bf2 g5 13. c5 Ng6 14. Rc1 Nf6 15. cxd6 cxd6 16. Nb5 g4 17. g3 h5 18. Ng2 h4 19. Nc7 hxg3 20. hxg3 fxg3 21. Be3 Nf4 22. Bxf4 exf4 23. Nxa8 Nh7 24. fxg4 Ng5 25. Nxf4 Rxf4 26. Kg2 Rxe4 27. Bf3 Re3 28. Rc4 Bd7 29. Nc7 b5 30. Rc1 Qf6 31. Ne6 Nxf3 32. Nxg7 Nh4+ 33. Kg1 Qxg7 34. Rc3 Rxc3 35. bxc3 Qxc3 0-1

From Alexandra Kosteniuk's

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U.S. Junior Chess Championship: Robson catches up with Zhao for lead

Conrad Holt scores upset victory

over tournament leader Parker Zhao

Hello Everyone,

Exciting chess marked the sixth round of the U.S. Junior Championships being held in St. Louis. Conrad Holt pulled off another upset by beating tournament leader Parker Zhao. Meanwhile, defending champion Ray Robson won his game to catch up with Zhao. Robson and Zhao now lead with 4.5/6 points each.

Sam Shankland and Darwin Yang are a point adrift at 3.5/6 each. You can check the official website for more reports, photos and videos.

Results of Round 6

----------------------

1. GM Ray Robson-NM Tyler Hughes 1-0

2. FM Darwin Yang-IM Sam Shankland 0-1

3. NM Eric Rosen-FM John Bryant ½-½

4. FM Steven Zierk-FM Warren Harper 1-0

5. FM Conrad Holt-NM Parker Zhao 1-0

Standings after Round 6

----------------------------

1. GM Ray Robson 4.5

2. NM Parker Zhao 4.5

3. IM Sam Shankland 3.5

4. FM Darwin Yang 3.5

5. FM Steven Zierk 3.0

6. FM Warren Harper 3.0

7. NM Eric Rosen 3.0

8. FM John Bryant 2.0

9. FM Conrad Holt 2.0

10. NM Tyler Hughes 1.0

Here is the Holt-Zhao game. Run it in our pgnplayer or watch in flash below.

PGN: 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e3 a6 5. Bd3 Bg4 6. Qb3 Qc7 7. Ne5 Bh5 8. cxd5 cxd5 9. Nc3 e6 10. e4 dxe4 11. Nxe4 Nc6 12. Bf4 Nd5 13. Nxc6 Nxf4 14. Ne5 Nxd3+ 15. Nxd3 Bg6 16. Rc1 Qa5+ 17. Nd2 Bd6 18. Nc5 Rc8 19. Ke2 Bxc5 20. Nc4 Qd8 21. dxc5 O-O 22. Nd6 Rc7 23. Qb6 Qf6 24. Rhd1 Rd7 25. Kf1 h5 26. Nxb7 Bd3+ 27. Kg1 Rd4 28. c6 e5 29. Qc5 Qg5 30. Nd6 Rxd6 31. Qxd6 Be4 32. f3 Bxf3 33. Qd2 Qg6 34. c7 Bxd1 35. c8=Q 1-0

From Alexandra Kosteniuk's

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U.S. Junior Chess Championship: Parker Zhao maintains lead after five rounds

Eric Rosen who upset FM Warren Harper

to pull the latter down to fourth place.

Hello Everyone!

Parker Zhao maintained his lead at the U.S. Junior Championships being held in St. Louis after five rounds. He beat FM Steven Zierk even as FM Conrad Hold held defending champion GM Ray Robson to a draw. Darwin Yang drew his game to be in joint second place with Robson while Warren Harper lost his game to slip to the third place after five rounds.

Results of Round 5

----------------------

1. FM Conrad Holt-GM Ray Robson ½-½

2. NM Parker Zhao-FM Steven Zierk 1-0

3. FM Warren Harper-NM Eric Rosen 0-1

4. FM John Bryant-FM Darwin Yang ½-½

5. IM Sam Shankland-NM Tyler Hughes 1-0

Standings after Round 5

----------------------------

1. NM Parker Zhao 4.5

2. GM Ray Robson 3.5

3. FM Darwin Yang 3.5

4. FM Warren Harper 3.0

5. IM Sam Shankland 2.5

6. NM Eric Rosen 2.5

7. FM Steven Zierk 2.0

8. FM John Bryant 1.5

9. FM Conrad Holt 1.0

10. NM Tyler Hughes 1.0

Here is the Bishop and pawn endgame that Zhao won after a long struggle to keep his lead. You can run it in our pgnplayer or watch it in flash below. You can also check the official website for a full report.

PGN: 1. d4 f5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Bg5 e6 4. e4 fxe4 5. Nxe4 Be7 6. Bxf6 Bxf6 7. Qh5+ g6 8. Qh6 b6 9. Nf3 Nc6 10. c3 Bb7 11. Bd3 d5 12. Nxf6+ Qxf6 13. O-O O-O-O 14. Rae1 Rde8 15. Ne5 Nxe5 16. Rxe5 c5 17. Qe3 cxd4 18. Qxd4 Kb8 19. Rfe1 Rhf8 20. f3 Bc6 21. Qb4 Kc7 22. Qa3 Bb7 23. Bb5 Re7 24. c4 dxc4 25. Bxc4 Rd8 26. Qe3 Kb8 27. b3 Ka8 28. a4 Rd6 29. a5 bxa5 30. Rxa5 Qd4 31. Qxd4 Rxd4 32. Rxe6 Rxe6 33. Bxe6 Kb8 34. Rc5 Rd2 35. Bg8 h6 36. Bc4 g5 37. h3 Ba8 38. Ba6 Rd8 39. Kh2 Bd5 40. Kg3 Ka8 41. b4 Bb7 42. Bc4 Rd4 43. b5 Kb8 44. Be2 Rd2 45. Kf2 Rd5 46. Rxd5 Bxd5 47. Kg3 Be6 48. h4 Kc7 49. hxg5 hxg5 50. f4 gxf4+ 51. Kxf4 Kd6 52. g4 Ke7 53. Kg5 Bb3 54. Kh6 Kf6 55. g5+ Kf7 56. g6+ Kf6 57. Bd3 Bg8 58. Bc2 Bc4 59. g7 Ke5 60. Bd3 Bg8 61. Kg6 Kd6 62. Kf6 Bd5 63. Bg6 Bg8 64. Bf7 Bh7 65. Bc4 Kc5 66. Be2 Kd6 67. Kf7 Kd7 68. Kf8 Kd6 69. g8=Q Bxg8 70. Kxg8 Kc7 71. Kf7 Kb8 72. Ke6 Kc7 73. Kd5 Kd7 74. Kc5 Kc7 75. Kb4 Kb6 76. Bf1 Kc7 77. Ka5 Kb7 78. Bg2+ Kc8 79. Ka6 1-0

From Alexandra Kosteniuk's

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U.S. Junior Chess Championship: Ray Robson survives mating net

Defending champion Ray Robson

Hello Everyone,

The U.S. Junior Chess Championship is being held alongside the U.S. Women's Championship in St. Louis. You can read a nice report on the first two rounds at both the championships at chessbase.com. Here are the Round 1 & 2 results and the standings. Defending champion Ray Robson managed to draw a fiercely-fought game in Round 1 almost losing to an opponent rated at least 400 points below him!

Round 1 results

1. NM Eric Rosen-GM Ray Robson ½-½

2. FM Steven Zierk- FM Darwin Yang 0-1

3. FM Conrad Holt-NM Tyler Hughes ½-½

4. NM Parker Zhao-IM Sam Shankland 1-0

5. FM Warren Harper-FM John Bryant 1-0

Round 2 results

1. GM Ray Robson-FM John Bryant 1-0

2. IM Sam Shankland-FM Warren Harper 0-1

3. NM Tyler Hughes-NM Parker Zhao ½-½

4. FM Darwin Yang-FM Conrad Holt 1-0

5. NM Eric Rosen-FM Steven Zierk 0-1

Standings after Round 2

1. FM Darwin Yang 2.0

2. FM Warren Harper 2.0

3. GM Ray Robson 1.5

4. NM Parker Zhao 1.5

5. FM Steven Zierk 1.0

6. NM Tyler Hughes 1.0

7. FM Conrad Holt 0.5

8. NM Eric Rosen 0.5

9. IM Sam Shankland 0.0

10. FM John Bryant 0.0

Meanwhile, here is the Round 1 game that Robson nearly lost to NM Eric Rosen. Check out the 37th and 39th moves. You can run it in our pgnplayer or watch it in flash below.

PGN: 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bb5+ Nd7 4. d4 Ngf6 5. Nc3 cxd4 6. Qxd4 g6 7. Bg5 Bg7 8. O-O O-O 9. Qd2 Nc5 10. Rae1 a6 11. Bd3 Re8 12. Bh6 Bh8 13. h3 b5 14. Ng5 Bb7 15. f4 e6 16. a3 Rc8 17. Qf2 Qb6 18. Kh2 b4 19. axb4 Qxb4 20. Qh4 Qxb2 21. Nd1 Qd4 22. Nf2 Nxd3 23. cxd3 Rc2 24. Nf3 Qc3 25. f5 a5 26. fxe6 fxe6 27. Ng5 a4 28. Ng4 Nxg4+ 29. Qxg4 Bg7 30. Bxg7 Qxg7 31. Kh1 h5 32. Qd1 Rec8 33. Nxe6 Qe5 34. Nf4 Qg5 35. Qf3 Rf8 36. g3 a3 37. d4 Kh7 38. Ne6 Qd2 39. Nxf8+ Kh6 40. Qf4+ Qxf4 41. Rxf4 a2 42. d5 Rb2 43. Rf6 Kg7 44. Rff1 Ba6 45. Ne6+ Kh6 46. Rf8 Kh7 47. Ng5+ Kg7 48. Ne6+ Kh7 49. Ng5+ Kg7 1/2-1/2

From Alexandra Kosteniuk's

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