Chess

Which chess upset is bigger? Is it Levon Aronian's 4-2 defeat of the world champion Vladimir Kramnik in a six-game rapid match yesterday in the Armenian capital of Yerevan?

Or is it a striking victory by an 11-year-old Virginia girl over an experienced local master, rated more than 600 points above her?

Wunderkind Wu

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Kathrine Wu is a sixth-grader at Louise Archer Elementary School in Vienna. In March in Chicago, she won the Under-12 National All-Girls Championship.

At the George Mason Open, played April 28-29 in Arlington, Wu lost the first game but recovered remarkably, winning the next four games.

In the end she tied for third place, one point behind the winner, International Master Oladapo Adu, who won all five games.

The highlight of the event was Wu's defeat of the veteran master John Meyer, who chose to defend with the Najdorf Sicilian. Wu's fearless play was extraordinary.

Wu-Meyer

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.f3 e6 7.Be3 b5 8.Qd2 Bb7 9.0-0-0 Nc6 10.g4 (The first 10 opening moves of the English Attack in the Sicilian. Easy to learn, easy to play.) 10...Rc8 11.h4 (Grabbing space on the kingside with 11.g5 makes more sense.) 11...Qa5 12.Nb3 Qc7 13.Kb1 Ne5 14.Be2 (Returning to the center with 14.Nd4 was a good alternative.) 14...Be7 15.h5 h6!? (Black stopped white's initiative on the kingside and has a playable game.)

16.g5?! (Wu could have slowed black down on the queenside with 16.a3. Instead, she dived into complications that were welcomed by black.) 16...hxg5 17.Bxg5 b4 18.Na4 Bxe4! (Black spent a lot of time on this move and made the right choice. The tempting alternative 18...Nxe4 19.fxe4 Bxg5 20.Qxg5 Qxc2+ 21.Ka1 Qxe2 seems too wild.) 19.Nd4! (A cool reply. Accepting the bishop 19.fxe4 gives black an easy game after 19...Nxe4 20.Qxb4 Nxg5 21.Bxa6 Qxc2+ 22.Ka1 Rd8!) 19...Bb7?! (Too passive. Black should have attacked the vulnerable knight on a4 with 19...Bc6!, for example 20.Bxa6 Rb8!; or 20.Nxc6 Qxc6 21.b3 Nxf3; or 20.h6 gxh6 21.Bxf6 Bxf6 22.Qxb4 Bb7! with advantage.)

20.h6 (White is still pressing hard, since 20.Qxb4 Nxh5 is not attractive.) 20...gxh6 21.Bxh6 d5? (Black is running short of time and begins to make little mistakes. He should have used the square d5 for his knight, for example after 21...Qa5 22.b3 Nd5!, with better chances.) 22.Bg7 Rxh1? (Keeping the rook on the board with 22...Rg8! was necessary.) 23.Rxh1 Ng6 24.Bd3! (Threatening to shatter black's pawn structure.) 24...Kd7? (Losing outright, but black has problems anyway.) 25.Bxg6 fxg6 26.Bxf6 Bxf6 27.Rh7+ Be7 28.Qxb4!? (Delivering the punch from the other side with 28.Qg5! is stronger and should win, for example 28...Qd6 29.Nb6+!; or 28...Kd6 29.Qxg6; or 28...Re8 29.Qxg6 Qd6 [On 29...Qe5 30.Nc5+! wins.] 30.Nxe6! winning.) 28...Ke8 29.Rh8+ (Only 29.Nc5!? gives white the chances to win, for example 29...Bxc5 30.Qa4+! wins; or 29...Qe5 30.Qa4+ Bc6 31.Qxc6+! Rxc6 32.Rxe7+! wins; and after 29...Qxc5!? 30.Qxb7 Rc7 31.Qb8+ Kd7 32.c3, the black king is still under fire.) 29...Kf7 30.Rh7+ Kf6? (Losing. After 30...Ke8, Wu would have to find 31.Nc5!?)

31.Qe1! (Swinging the queen to the kingside decides the fate of the black king.) 31...Qd6 (After 31...Qe5 32.Rf7+! wins; and after 31...Qd7 32.f4! white mates soon.) 32.Qh4+ (32.f4! spreads a mating net, for example 32...g5 [32...Qxf4 33.Qxe6+] 33.fxg5+ Kg6 34.Qh4 Bxg5 35.Qh5+ Kf6 36.Rf7+ Ke5 37.Qe2+! mating soon.) 32...g5 33.Rh6+ Ke5 (After 33...Kg7 comes 34.Qh5.) 34.Rxe6+ (Winning easily, but white could have played for mate with 34.Qf2!, for example 34...Qd7 35.Qg3+! Kxd4 36.Rh4+! gxh4 37.Qf4 mate.) 34...Qxe6 35.Qe1+ Kxd4 36.Qxe6 Black resigned.

Solution to today's study by T. Gorgiev (White: Ka4,Rh1,Bg5; Black: Kb8,Ra7,P:a5,a6,b7): 1.Rh8+ Kc7 2.Bd8+ Kc6 3.Bb6! Kxb6 4.Rc8! wins.