If you have traveled around Australia to chess tournaments, you would have undoubtedly encountered the wonderful and bubbly Lillian. Always running around with a big smile on her face, whether she has won or lost. With the incredible support from her mother, who is also super friendly, they have visited almost every state.
So when Lillian showed up in Adelaide to play in the Junior Masters, it was time to sit down with her and ask her some questions.
Chesslife: What is your current rating?
Lillian: My current FIDE rating is 1680 and my ACF rating is 1626. Chesslife: Where are you from and how old are you?
Lillian: I’m from Melbourne and I am 12 years old turning 13 on Christmas.
Chesslife: How old were you when you learned how to play chess?
Lillian: I started chess when I was 5 years old but I only properly started learning it when I was 8 years old.
Chesslife: How much chess do you practice and study during the week?
Lillian: I don’t really have much time to practice my chess since I have a lot of other activities both within and outside my school but at least 3 hours a week.
Chesslife: What is your favourite chess player?
Lillian: Mikhail Botvinnik
Chesslife: What is the Victorian Junior chess League like?
Lillian: There are many juniors playing in Melbourne, which is really nice.
Chesslife: What has chess taught you?
Lillian: Sportsmanship, persistence, logic, organisation and concentration.
Chesslife: How do you think chess has helped you socially, mentally and at school?
Lillian: I learn to look at life from different perspectives as well as when I am communicating. It also helps me to look deeper than what’s on the surface.
Chesslife: What is your most memorable game?
Lillian: That was in Thailand, when I played in the Bangkok Challengers.
Click on the board below for a review of Lilian’s favourite game.
Lu, Lillian–Baltazer, A.1–0
Chesslife: What advice would you give Australian Junior Chess players?
Lillian: Always remain positive no matter the result because if you persist then one day you will outplay them all!
In the first week of December Yeoh Li Tian traveled to Adelaide for the Lidums Young Masters. He was invited to play in this week long tournament with 9 rounds. When you have a minimum of 4 overseas players in a tournament and the average rating of the players is at a certain level, the tournament can be registered to be an ‘International Master Norm’ tournament. That means that players can qualify to become an International Master. They need to win a certain amount of games in 3 of these tournaments plus a rating of 2400.
So it is not an easy task to become a titled player and we were therefore very interested to know what makes Li Tian so passionate about the game. With already 2 IM Norms guaranteed, he is eager to secure his final norm in Adelaide.
Chesslife: What is your current rating?
Li Tian: My current FIDE rating is 2432.
Chesslife: Where are you from and how old are you?
Li Tian: I am from Malaysia and currently at the age of 17.
Chesslife: How old were you when you learned how to play chess?
Li Tian: According to my father, I started learning chess at 2 years old. Unfortunately I can’t recall any details about it, I was simply too young to remember anything at that time.
Chesslife: How much chess do you practice and study during the week?
Li Tian: It depends on whether I am busy with other things such as academics. No matter what, I will still spend some time following current top tournaments and games. I would say about 10 hours per week.
Chesslife: What is your favourite chess resource/book?
Li TIan: I must say I am quite computer dependence in chess training. I don’t really read chess books but I guess that isn’t a good model to follow. I follow many chess sites such as chessbase.com on their articles, especially GM analysis on top games. I enjoy reading this analysis which gives me new ideas when come to my own chess game.
Note from Chesslife – Chessbase is one of the largest chess websites in the world. Have you read David’s article on Chessbase when he was at the World Youth Chess Championship in 2016?
Chesslife: What was your first International Tournament?
Li Tian: Well, I can’t really remember that. I think it was the ASEAN Age Group tournament where I participated in the Boys Under 08 category when I was 6 years old.
Chesslife: Who is your favourite chess player?
Li Tian: GM Magnus Carlsen. In my opinion, he has opened a whole new era in the chess world by frequently winning seeming “theoretical draw” position against super grandmasters. His unique and somewhat mysterious playing style must have given plenty of pressure to his elite opponents such that they eventually collapse.
Chesslife: What is your Junior Chess League like?
Li Tian: Well, there is no Chess League in Malaysia.
Chesslife: What has chess taught you?
Li Tian: Chess has taught me to stay calm in all situations. Besides, I have learnt to plan ahead and anticipate future possibilities when playing chess. All these are very important skills to a person for his/her success in life.
Chesslife: How do you think chess has helped you socially, mentally and at school?
Li Tian: In terms of social, I have met many elder as well as peer. I also make friends with many chess players and they have certainly helped me a lot in other aspects of life. In term of mental development, I feel that chess has helped me to become more mentally matured compared to the same age. I will always consider many factors beforehand instead of rushing to make a reckless decision. At school, chess has definitely helped to develop my mathematical skills. Solving any math-related question in any subject in school has never been a big deal to me.
Chesslife: What is your most memorable game?
Li Tian: Obviously is a win against a strong GM! I would choose the wild game against Vietnamese GM Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son in year 2013, where I won a lucky calculation duel against a player rated 369 points above me. This is by far my only win against a player rated 2600 above.
GM Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son from Vietnam. Photo courtesy of Eteri Kublashvili
Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son played on board 2 at the 2016 Olympiad with a rating of 2633!
Click on the board below (or HERE) for an analysis of Li Tian’s game against GM Nguyen.
Chesslife: What advice would you give Australian Junior Chess players?
Li Tian: I would advise young players not to focus too much in the opening. In my humble opinion, although many may not agree, a good opening repertoire only becomes crucial at around IM standard. Young players should spend more time in analysing middle game and endgame as they are equally or even more important than opening.
Picking up where we left off in our last blog on the 2016 World Chess Championship, the draws continued in rounds nine, eleven and twelve, leaving the players dead even after the specified twelve classical (long) games of chess.
After an uninspiring final game, lasting only 35 moves which is short for a Grandmaster game, it seemed as if the reigning champion Magnus Carlsen was deliberately opting for a draw in order to play for a win in the tie break. His not-so-subtle comments in the press conference after the game led many to believe that the Blitz Champion would feel more comfortable in the shorter game format.
Photo courtesy of Chess Daily News
After far from perfect play from both contenders, spectators were happy to be seeing only the third tie break in World Chess Championship history.
With both players having a strong record in 25 minute games, the contest was sure to be tight, but Magnus Carlsen took an early lead in game two of four, coming into the endgame with two minor pieces against Sergey Karjakin’s rook.
As International Master Danny Rensch from Chess.com said, the position favours the player with the minor pieces in this particular case because both players’ pawns are on one side of the board, meaning that the rook would be unable to demonstrate its long range prowess. The absence of passed pawns meant there was nothing for the Russian player’s rook to attack.
However, despite these advantages Magnus Carlsen was unable to produce a win. A disappointing game for his supporters, but just another demonstration of Karjakin’s stalwart defensive style.
Game three saw the players enter another Spanish opening, however in the position below it’s clear that Karjakin is struggling, this time with the two bishops trapped behind their pawns making them completely useless. Here Carlsen played the inspiring move pawn to e4, sacrificing the one-point piece to strengthen the rest of his pieces and even take control of the a-file and the board as a whole.
Only a few moves later, under severe pressure in the following position, Karjakin blundered as white by taking the pawn on c7, allowing a devastating skewer with rook to a1, winning a piece and, shortly after, the game (had Karjakin not immediately resigned).
Desperate to stay in the running, Karjakin went into game four with his traditional Sicilian opening, however couldn’t get anything worth having against Magnus Carlsen’s solid response.
And suddenly, that was it for another year of World Championship chess!
All in all, an exciting match was enjoyed by what organizer Agon has hinted was a record number of chess fans. Poor form by Carlsen and some smart play by Karjakin led to what was certainly an unexpectedly close contest, sure to keep chess as one of the most watched online sports.
Just over half way into the 2016 World Chess Championship and we have just seen the first dent with the score 4.5 to challenger Karjakin against 3.5 for Magnus Carlsen. Before this we had seven rounds resulting in seven draws.
Have you read our earlier blog about the World Chess Championships?
So how important is it to know your endgames (and are draws really so dull)?
If one thing has come out of the contest so far it’s that the Russian challenger Sergey Karjakin is tough to beat, even for a world champion.
Despite being under pressure in several games, he has managed to scrape by in some worse endgames, reinforcing what most amateur players already know: we need to practice our endgames more if we really want to improve.
On the other hand, even Carlsen himself has admitted to not playing his best, which, for the world champion, is something close to unstoppable. Notorious for ‘warming up’ throughout a tournament, it’s still possible we’ll see the infamous Carlsen steamroll in action, but so far Karjakin’s knowledge of the game has proved too much.
Karjakin pleased with his win. Photo by Vladimir Barsky
So what can amateurs like us learn from watching such elite level players compete? In particular, intermediate level players should note the importance of making a draw in a slightly worse position. Getting that half point rather than letting your opponent win in a better position can be a big ask, but the score board will thank you for your efforts.
There’s no better way to improve your general play than to study endgames. Winning with two bishops against a knight and bishop is one of the most important to study, as it happens frequently, and knowing what positions favour the bishops can make the difference between a winning and drawn endgame.
Rook and minor piece endgames are also common, though tricky, and should be studied after rook and pawn endgames (which in themselves are pretty tricky).
There are not many End game books available if you want to study more, but Thinkers Publishing has ‘The Correct Exchange in the Endgame’ and Evolution Chess provides ‘The Modern Endgame Manual’ and “Most interesting draws 2012-2015’, which are all available in our store.
Of course there’s nothing better for improving your game than having a professional chess coach tailor a study plan to your specific strengths and weaknesses.
What do draws mean for the World Chess Championship?
Up to round seven there were only draws and this unexpectedly tied score comes with significant mistakes being made by both players, as well as staunch defending by the challenger Sergey Karjakin.
Karjakin at the 42nd Olympiad
Uncharacteristically, champion Magnus Carlsen has been unable to push for a win in the several advantageous positions he has held, instead being rebuffed by Karjakin’s typically stalwart play.
Game one saw the champ opening with the never-before-seen in a championship game Trompowsky attack (a conceded reference to the U.S. president-elect). Karjakin was able to hold a slightly worse position, an auspicious foreshadowing of the games to come.
Game two was a dry Ruy Lopez, ending with both players unable to make progress with two knights and a rook against an equal number of pawns on the same side of the board.
Game three, however, saw the champ once again pressing in the famously equal Berlin opening, leading Karjakin to make a slight error under pressure, probably exhausted at the 70th move in the game. Luckily his Norwegian opponent missed his chance to win and the players agreed to a draw eight moves later.
Magnus Carlsen playing against Australian David Smerdon at the 42nd Olympiad
Game four saw an unusual decision by the Russian player in giving up the two bishops, leading into an endgame with potential weaknesses on both sides of the board.
In the position below, Carlsen’s bishops look menacing, threatening to dash across the board at any sign of weakness. Carlsen, however, chose to close the kingside with 45 …f4, a move which he admitted later was a mistake.
Looking for further weaknesses was a better option, with a move like Be6 increasing the pressure while leaving open the possibility to attack on both sides of the board.
The tough endgames continued in game five, this time with Karjakin coming out of the opening with chances to win. In the position below he played the cool move 42 …d4, allowing Carlsen to take his pawn in order to free up a better square for his bishop and gain a strategic advantage.
His upper hand was short-lived, however, when a couple of moves later the game again became equal with Karjakin allowing Carlsen to take control of the h-file with his rook.
Despite being ultimately unable to convert his advantage to a win, the game was nevertheless a good sign for the challenger, and left open the possibility that things might just turn in his favour.
No doubt exhausted, the players went into a rest day early with a ‘quick game’ in round six, ending in a draw after ‘only’ 95 minutes of play.
New watching format hit and miss with subscribers
Meanwhile, chess fans who have subscribed to organiser Agon‘s new pay-per-view platform have been enjoying the first ever 3D chess-viewing experience. Reviews, however, have been tainted by some temporary losses of service.
Some of the Adelaide Hills Chesslife students enjoyed an early morning analysis of game one, thanks to head coach David Koetsier, who provided a running commentary and breakfast at this home.
Stay tuned for further updates on the 2016 World Chess Championship.
World champion Magnus Carlsen has undisputedly been the face of a new generation of chess players in the three years he has held the title. At just 13.5 years old, he was the third youngest player ever to achieve the elite rank of grandmaster. But this year, his competition may out-prodigy the seemingly unstoppable Norwegian.
Magnus crowned World Champion in 2013 with FIDE president Iljoemzjinov
His challenger for the coveted title, not to mention the first prize pool of $750,000, is renowned for his creative defence and strong preparation. Sergey Karjakin, the Russian former-prodigy, is the youngest chess player ever to become a grandmaster, doing so at only 12 years old.
There’s no doubt we’re about to witness a face-off of two of the youngest and brightest chess players competing in chess today. This year the two young players with a combined age of only 51 years old are the youngest contenders to compete for the title.
Photo courtesy of Chess Daily News
This is also the first time we are seeing two players of the so-called “computer generation” face off, due to the failure of former world champion 46-year-old Indian player Viswanathan Anand to qualify for what would have been his sixth time competing for the title.
According to Worldchess.com, the competitors this year “represent a generational shift in chess”, with both players growing up with computers that have long since outstripped human capacity for the game.
Photo courtesy of chess.com
At this point it looks like the age of the older generation is over, with a host of younger players, including Chinese prodigy 17 year old Wei Yi and 21 year old Anish Giri of the Netherlands currently preparing to take the fight to the top.
Photo courtesy of Bilbao masters
Chess fans around the world will have the opportunity to buy ringside seats to the New York event, with organizer Agon providing a 360 degree viewing option thanks to virtual reality technology. It’s just another one of many ways chess is changing, with the pay-per-view option bringing chess into a more professional light.
The website is super interactive and provides some great stats about not only the current top two players, but a full list with the top 100 players.
We continue our series about ‘Women in Chess’ after our initial interview with Susanne Wells. In the interview with Susanne she told us that: ‘in general woman’s tournaments are easier than mixed tournaments. I think this is not because girls are generally worse than boys at chess, it is because we have a smaller pool of players. Unfortunately, it seems that less girls take chess seriously than guys.’
Susanne Wells in action at the Queens Birthday Weekender in Adelaide 2016
And even though there are many female role models, with current World’s best female Hou Yifan from China as the main example, it is important that we instill and nurture this passion for chess from the very small. So time to shine the spotlight on one of these girls that has seem to have gotten the chess bug!
Hou Yifan at the 42nd Chess Olympiad, Baku
Athena is one of the Campbelltown Library Chess Club’s rising stars. At only 7 years of age she has already been in six tournaments, with outstanding results including wins against some of Australia’s best young players. At the Australian Junior Chess Championships held in Adelaide in 2016, she was crowned the bronze medal in the Under 8 category (not the girls division, but the Open division). She has traveled to Canberra and competed in the Doeberl cup (held during the Easter weekend each year) and will be travelling to Brisbane in January to try and win the U8 National title for 2017.
We stole a few minutes of her time to ask her what it’s like to compete in a typically boy dominated sport.
Athena-Malar and her school team at the State Finals before winning the B Grade State Championships
Chesslife: What do you like about chess?
Athena: I like that it makes you smarter and you can concentrate better.
What’s the highlight of your chess career to date?
Beating Vincent Cheng in Canberra in the under 12.
Athena-Malar and her brother Ethan receiving early morning coaching at the Doeberl cup in Canberra
Do you plan on continuing with chess as you get older?
Yes, because at tournaments you can win money and trophies.
What’s your favourite chess piece and why?
My favourite chess piece is the king because it’s the most important piece.
What strategy do you employ – attack, defence or both?
I like to defend because when your opponent attacks and you’re already defending you have a better position
Do you think chess has helped you in school or in any other way?
I think it made me better because I’ve been in the newspaper. I like it because I’m in the newspaper and I get to see myself and I’ll remember it, the bad thing is that they spelt my name wrong.
Athena-Malar and Coach David at the Daffodil Cancer Fundraiser Chess Tournament
Chesslife: Who is your favourite chess player?
My favourite chess player is Judit Polgar because she is considered the strongest chess player in the world.
Judit Polgar at the Olympiad as Team Captain of the Hungarian Open Team
Chesslife: How many girls do you know that play chess?
I think about 20, because I know some girls from my school. There should be a law that more girls should play so then there would be more girls playing. I am the only girl who plays chess in my whole form.
Chesslife: Do you think there is a difference between how boys and girls play chess?
No, because they’re learning the same sport and if they want they can both be ahead.
Athena-Malar not afraid to play against adults
So if a seven year old does not believe there is a difference between boys and girls playing chess, then who are we to disagree!
