Richard Rapport is near to claiming one of the two remaining places in the 2022 Candidates after the Hungarian defeated Russia’s Dmitry Andreikin 1.5-0.5 in Belgrade in the second-leg final of the Fide Grand Prix. The action now moves to the third and final leg in Berlin from 21 March to 4 April, which Rapport will sit out while his rivals battle.
The decisive game had a remarkable climax. Rapport had the chance for an immediate draw by repetition, but instead allowed his clock to run down to two minutes before opting for unfathomable complications which turned out in his favour.
Berlin in March-April will have 16 players, four preliminary groups, and one group of death which contains Andreikin as well as the two Americans, Hikaru Nakamura and Levon Aronian, who were first and second at Berlin in February. The arithmetic shows that two of this trio will be eliminated, while the fourth player, Grigoriy Oparin, is potentially the kingmaker.
Depending on what happens in the group of death, the other significant contenders – Anish Giri, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Leinier Domínguez – may still be in the running. However, a scenario where Oparin plays harder against the US duo than against his compatriot looks likely, and that could prove significant in a sprint distance of six rounds.
The elite action moves back online this Saturday when Magnus Carlsen is top seeded in the Charity Cup, the second event in the Meltwater Champions Tour. Rapport is taking part, as are China’s world, No 3 Ding Liren, the world woman champion, Ju Wenjun, and England’s Gawain Jones. Games start at 5pm. Months further on, the 44th chess Olympiad, removed from Moscow, has been confirmed for Chennai, India, in July-August.
Last weekend’s Blackpool Conference at the Imperial Hotel was England’s first major over-the-board weekend congress of 2022. Its entry of 281 was down on pre-pandemic levels, but still a healthy number as 143 took part in an overlapping rapid at Golders Green.
GM Danny Gormally, rated nearly 100 points or more higher than the rest of the field at 2520, was the clear favourite for the £700 first prize, but the England No 12 misfired somewhat, conceded two draws, and had to settle for 4/5 and a seven-way tie for top honours. In this file of games from the Open, Gormally’s entertaining round-three win is recommended.
Blackpool’s most significant result was away from the Open, in the Under 1850 Intermediate (ECF 150 in old money). Six-year-old Kushal Jakhria, 70th and lowest ranked at the start, took a half-point bye on Friday evening, then defeated all his four adult opponents on Saturday and Sunday for 4.5/5 and a third share of the £500 first prize.
His victims were no pushovers, either. Michael Connor (round three) had won the 2018 Blackpool Inter, while Bob Kane (round four) had won the Scarborough 2021 Major.
1 d4 e6 2 c4 f5 3 g3 Nf6 4 Bg2 d5 5 Nf3 c6 6 0-0 Bd6 7 b3 A standard anti-Dutch plan to exchange Black’s active dark-squared bishop. 0-0 8 Ba3 Bxa3 9 Nxa3 Qe7 10 Nc2 Bd7 11 c5 Nc1-d3, aiming at e5 and f4, is the most logical Be8 12 b4 Nbd7 13 Qd3 Ne4 14 a4 Rf6 15 h4? Better 15 Ne5 Rh6? f4! 16 b5 g5? 17 Qe3? 17 hxg5! Nxg5 18 Qe3 is strong f4 18 gxf4 gxh4? gxf4! keeps Black in the game 19 Bh3! Preparing the decisive attack via the g file. Qf6 20 Kh2 Bg6 21 Nb4 Bf5 22 Rg1+ Rg6 23 bxc6 bxc6 24 Nxc6 Bxh3 25 Kxh3 Re8 26 Nxh4 Rxg1 27 Rxg1+ Kh8 28 f5?! Even stronger is 28 f3! Rg8 29 Ng6+! “I calculated this to be winning” Rxg6 30 fxg6 Nf2+ 31 Qxf2! “Happy to sacrifice my queen for a forced mate” Qxf2 32 g7+ Kg8 33 Ne7+ Kf7 34 g8Q+ Kxe7 35 Rg7+ Kf6 36 Qf7 mate.
Jakhria already made an appearance in this column when he became London under-8 champion at age five. Like England’s best-known teen player Shreyas Royal, he is a pupil of the Pointer School, Blackheath, and learnt further chess skills at his local Charlton club, which has a fine reputation for junior talent.
Jakhria’s coach, Fide Master Alexis Harakis, has helped his pupil become a specialist in the Sveshnikov Sicilian and on the white side of a classical King’s Indian. His Lichess online rating is already above 2200.
The English Chess Federation currently runs an Accelerator Programme for 10 of its most promising players, for which one selection criterion is to be in at least the top five in their UK age group. None of the programme’s current members is younger than 11, and Royal is the only one to have achieved a high world ranking and to have medalled in a world or European championship.
In the golden years of English chess, some of the most gifted talents emerged at eight or younger, like Nigel Short, Michael Adams, Luke McShane, David Howell, Jovanka Houska and others. They were given special opportunities, mentored and coached with a view to becoming GMs early in their careers, and achieved their targets.
The current Fide list for players born in 2015, who all count as under-7s, shows Jakhria as world No 4, poised to reach No 2 in the April list which will include Blackpool, and within reach of No 1.
The Charlton boy is not alone as a very young English talent. Harrow’s 2015-born Bodhana Sivanandan, who won silver medals in both the rapid and blitz European under-8 girls, is world No 1 girl in blitz in her age group by a whopping margin of 322 Fide points. Bodhana learned the moves only 15 months ago, attends a local state primary school, St John Fisher, and has no chess coach, although Harrow CC and its president, Nevil Chan, have provided guidance and support.
It is early days, but these two children already stand out as exceptional. Jakhria’s Blackpool result is probably the best ever performance by an English six-year-old, while Sivanandan’s medals in Serbia match Houska’s fifth place on her debut in the 1988 world girls U10. Their situation calls for a sponsor …
3807 1 Nf6+! gxf6 2 Rxe7! Qxe7 3 Qg4+! Kh8 4 Qf5 and wins.
