Greece dominates NATO Chess Championship, U.S. leaves it all on the battlefield

Our defense budget may be second to none, but when it comes to chess, the U.S. still lacks the firepower of some of our closest NATO allies.

The 34th NATO Chess Championship, one of our favorite annual events, concluded last month on the island of Rhodes, with the Greek hosts taking home the title they first won in 2022. Perennial powers Germany and Poland took the silver and bronze, but often out-rated U.S. finished a very respectable fourth.

A total of 116 service members from 17 NATO members took part in the weeklong event that ended Oct. 26.

The Air Force’s Andrew Jeselson did his service proud with his 5-2 result for the U.S. team. Rated 1858 at the start of the tournament, he stockpiled an arsenal of rating points, defeating several higher-rated players, including expert Gert Aagaard of Denmark in an entertaining Round 2 encounter.

Black loses time early in this Caro-Kann Advanced, but gets into real trouble only on 9.Na3 c5!? (trying to get his entombed bishop out by another route, but the hole created on b5 will prove an expensive concession) 10. Nb5 cxd4 11. cxd4!? (even better here might be 11. Nxd4 Bc5 12. Bxa6 Qxa6 13. Qg4, which is very awkward to meet) Bb4+ 12. Bd2 Bxb5? (impatient; Black is hanging in there on 12…Ne7 13. Bxb4 Nxb4 14. Nd6+ Kf8) 13. Bxb5+ Kf8 14. Bc3!, with the idea that capturing the bishop will take away the Black knight’s best square and leave it a spectator in the ensuing play.

White’s advantage only grows on 16. Nd3! (rightly avoiding trades as the attack builds) Bxc3 17. bxc3 Rc8 (Nc7 18. Rb1 does nothing to relieve the pressure) 18. Qb3 Ne7? (h5 avoids immediate disaster, though Aagaard’s game is no fun to play after 19. Rb1 Kg8 20. g3 Nc7 21. Kg2) 19. Qa3 f6 20. Rh3!, and another critical White piece joins the fun.

The Black kingside can’t hold: 21. exf6 gxf6 22. Nf4 (Rf3, with the idea of 23. Ne5+ was also very strong) Ng6 23. Nh5 (strong, but the engines already say it’s time for 23. Nxe6! Qxe6 24. Re1 Qg4 25. h5 Nf4 26. Re7+ Kg8 27. Rg3 and wins) Qc7 24. Qc1 Qd6 25. Rf3 f5 (Ke7 26. Rxf6) 26. Qg5 Qd8 (see diagram), and now 27. Rxf5+! blows up the Black defensive fortress.

The other White pieces flood into the breach created by the rook sacrifice and the battle is quickly decided: 27…exf5 28. Qxf5+ Kg8 (Ke7 29. Qf6 is a nicely geometrical checkmate) 29. Bd7! (threatening to take the rook, take with the queen on d5, or check with the bishop on e6) Rc6 30. Qxd5+ Kf8 31. Bxc6 Qxh4 (Qxd5 32. Bxd5 wins prosaically as White is three full pawns up) 32. Qf5+ Ke7 (Kg8 33. Bd5 mate) 33. Re1+, and Black resigns as 33…Kd6 34. Qd7 is mate.

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Greek IM Dmitris Alexakis justified his top ranking in the field by winning the individual tournament with a 6½-½ result on Board One. He took down the Air Force’s FM Patrick Emilio Aizpurua, the top board for the American team, in a double-edged Modern Benoni that does credit to both combatants.

In an opening that often leads to complex play, the battle for the initiative is particularly fierce here, with both White and Black willing to sacrifice a pawn or two for central domination. The battle sharpens on 24. fxg6 fxg6 25. Bxd3 (Nd6!? Qxd5 26. Nxc8 Rxc8 27. Rad1 Qc6, with real compensation for the exchange) cxd3 26. Nd6 d2 27. Nxc8 h4!, when Aizpurua could have kept the dynamic balance with 28. Qg5! dxe1=Q+ 29. Rxe1 Nf3+ 30. gxf3 Rxe1+ 31. Kg2 Re2 32. Ne7+, when it’s a draw after 32…Kf7 33. Qxg6+ Kxe7 34. Qxg7+ Kd6 35. Qg6+.

Instead, White’s 28. Qf4? overlooks a tiny but crucial finesse, as the White queen on f4 does not cover the e7-square allowing the critical knight check. After the game’s 28…dxe1+ 29. Rxe1 Nf3+! 30. gxf3 (Qxf3 Rxe1+ 31. Bxe1 Qxe1+ 32. Kh2 Be5+ 33. g3 Bd4 34. Qg2 hxg3+ 35. Qxg3 Be5 and wins) Rxe1+ 31. Kg2 (Bxe1 Qxe1+ 32. Kg2 Qe2+ 33. Kg1 Qd1+ 34. Kg2 Bd4 35. Ne7+ Kg7 36. Nf5+ gxf5 37. Qg5+ Kf7 38. Qxf5+ Ke7 39. Qe6+ Kd8 40. Qd6+ Kc8 41. Qe6+ Kb8 42. Qe8+ Ka7, and the checks — finally — run out) Re2!, and with 31…Ne7+ no longer an option, Black pins the piece and paralyzes White’s game.

White’s game cracks quickly under the pressure: 32. Qc4 (Qxh4 Qd2 33. Ne7+ Kf7 34. d6 Ke8 35. Qg3 Kd8 36. Nxg6 Bd4 and wins) Qd2 33. d6+ Kf8 34. Qxh4 Bd4 35. Qd8+ Kg7 36. Kg3 (Qd7+ Kh6) Be5+, and White packs it in foreseeing 37. f4 (Kg4 Qf4 mate; or 37. Kg2 Rxf2+ 38. Kh1 Qe1 mate) Qxf4+ 38. Kg2 Qxf2+ and mate on the next move.

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Fabiano Caruana is on a roll. Having just claimed his fourth U.S. national title, Caruana took first place over a stellar field in the rapid “Fischer random” Champions Showdown Chess 9LX Tournament at the Chess Club of St. Louis. The event, in which each round features a new arrangement of the Black and White pieces to start the game, is one of the few tournaments where legendary former world champion Garry Kasparov will take the field against today’s young guns.

After some notably poor results in past outings in the event, Kasparov scored a creditable 4 1/2-4 1/2 this time, with wins over GMs Sam Shankland, Sam Sevian and Leinier Dominguez Perez.

(Click on the image above for a larger view of the chessboard.)

Jeselson-Aagaard. 34th NATO Championship, Rhodes, Greece, October 2024

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 Bf5 4. h4 Qb6 5. a4 a5 6. Ne2 Na6 7. Nf4 Bd7 8. c3 e6 9. Na3 c5 10. Nb5 cxd4 11. cxd4 Bb4+ 12. Bd2 Bxb5 13. Bxb5+ Kf8 14. Bc3 Ne7 15. Kf1 Ng6 16. Nd3 Bxc3 17. bxc3 Rc8 18. Qb3 Ne7 19. Qa3 f6 20. Rh3 Kf7 21. exf6 gxf6 22. Nf4 Ng6 23. Nh5 Qc7 24. Qc1 Qd6 25. Rf3 f5 26. Qg5 Qd8 27. Rxf5+ exf5 28. Qxf5+ Kg8 29. Bd7 Rc6 30. Qxd5+ Kf8 31. Bxc6 Qxh4 32. Qf5+ Ke7 33. Re1+ Black resigns

Aizpurua-Alexakis, 34th NATO Championship, Rhodes, Greece, October 2024

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 e6 4. Nc3 exd5 5. cxd5 d6 6. e4 g6 7. Bd3 Bg7 8. Nf3 a6 9. a4 Bg4 10. h3 Bxf3 11. Qxf3 Nbd7 12. Qd1 O-O 13. O-O Rc8 14. Be3 Re8 15. Re1 c4 16. Bc2 h5 17. f4 Nc5 18. Qf3 Nfd7 19. Bf2 Qa5 20. e5 dxe5 21. f5 e4 22. Nxe4 Ne5 23. Qg3 Ncd3 24. fxg6 fxg6 25. Bxd3 cxd3 26. Nd6 d2 27. Nxc8 h4 28. Qf4 dxe1=Q+ 29. Rxe1 Nf3+ 30. gxf3 Rxe1+ 31. Kg2 Re2 32. Qc4 Qd2 33. d6+ Kf8 34. Qxh4 Bd4 35. Qd8+ Kg7 36. Kg3 Be5+ White resigns.