Report from the 13th European Union Youth Chess Championship
The sleepy town of Mureck on the Austrian-Slovenian border hosted the annual European Union Youth Chess Championship from August 4th – 13th this year. The tournament attracted entries from 15 countries with the Bulgarians sending a particularly strong team that included a 1578 rated player in the U8 and a 2162 FM in the U12. Ireland was represented by Arnold Kecskemeti (U8), Admira Aida Kecskemeti (U10), Sean and Eoin Hunter (U12) and Killian Burke (U14). In the following paragraphs each player / parent reflects on the experience.
Arnold Kecskemeti, U8’s Boys
Arnold arrived to this chess tournament with a modest 1136 ELO, he gained earlier this summer. This current FIDE ELO was the 3rd highest out of the 17 players under this age group, who came from 9 different countries. Girls and boys played together which wasn`t any different in all the other age groups.
Arnold lost his first two games against first an Austrian, then a Slovakian boy. Following this rather unfortunate start, Arnold got a bye and his first point with it.
In his 4th round he played against a boy from Switzerland and won for the first time. At this stage Arnold got into the top 8 which looked a lot better and it was nice to see how Arnold gained his confidence back.
In Round 5 another lost game came, when I decided to stop asking him not to rush or to watch the time, instead I asked him to play his very best and forget everything else. At this point we still had another 4 games to play and we all hoped he starts winning his games.
Well, Arnold did exactly what I asked. The following two games were all wins and we got to round 8 and all the way up to board No1!
In Round 8 we faced the strongest player and lost which made it impossible to finish in 1-3 places.
In Round 9 he won with a smile and his final 5 points was good for rank 6. We played some nice games, met with new friends and had an excellent time in Mureck. Arnold has another year in U8 and hopes to win a trophy next time!
Admira Aida Kecskemeti, U10’s Girls
Admira arrived to this tournament with the hope to do very well, despite the fact that her ELO was only the 11th on the list. There were 24 players in the Group and 10 girls which was the largest in all 4 age groups.
In round 1 we started with a win so that in round 2 we faced the strongest girl in the group from BUL. We had our chances, but Admira was too afraid of her "high" ELO and her opponent took her chances and won the game. This lesson, namely not to be afraid of higher ELO players, came in very handy a few rounds later. In round 3 another win then a lost one from Schulze Lukas, AUT. 2 points out of 4 … then we got the No 1 seed with a rating of 1697. Admira won with a good game and we all were waiting for the next game.
A lucky draw came next, following an unfortunate game, then we got all the way up to Board No1!
In Round 7 we faced the eventual Champion Lukas Kostolansky from Slovakia and lost. He was by far the strongest player who well- deserved the Trophy at the end.
In Round 8 another draw ... this draw has cost us our 2nd place as you`ll see.
In her last Round it was all or nothing: we knew if she wins, she can be 2nd/3rd, but if she loses, she ends up with 5th/6th place. In Round 9 we got another Slovakian boy with 1443 and Admira played smart. She won the game and got 3rd as her Bucholc was weaker.
The venue and playing conditions were excellent, the locals were welcoming and the average 38C by the side the pool, that kids could use as a courtesy of the town/Mayor of Mureck, made our stay special!
Eoin and Sean Hunter, U12’s
Eoin was playing as a guest and unfortunately missed out playing in the U10’s by just 4 days. He was very concerned in the build-up to the tournament about his ability to compete at this level and was very happy that his national ELO of 836 was not published on the tournament website. Given his concerns, Eoin’s strategy of ‘try not to lose’ was probably the right one for him going into his early matches.
His opening game was against Nina Kunish of Germany (ELO 1496) and it was a game he could have won and was disappointed to walk away with a draw having made one poor move in a knight pawn end game. This gave Eoin a lot of confidence and in his next eight matches he collected another 3 draws and a win against much higher opposition.
His finest (happiest) moment came in round 9 when playing Matthias Tezayak of Switzerland (ELO 1535). Playing as black he faced a scotch gambit opening. Having been well beaten by a similar opening in the Scarry Cup, Eoin knew exactly how to defend and launched an immediate counter attack that saw him a pawn up by move 11 with his opponent in disarray. Sensing the advantage Eoin offered the draw which was accepted by his slightly bewildered opponent. There was a very satisfied smile as he walked back into the analysis room just 15 minutes after leaving it.
A final score of 3 points comfortably beat expectations and has whetted Eoin’s appetite for further European adventures.
Sean had higher expectations than Eoin even though he was seeded just 14/18 and the average rating of the rated players was 1427, well above his rating of 1179. He was a little nervous but two draws in his opening matches against a 1460 and a 1446 settled him into the tournament.
In his third match he put up a good fight but ultimately lost to the 2nd seed Adrian Zetocha (ELO 1745). This was followed by a comfortable win over Eoin but then he played his poorest game of the championship and lost to Tina Urbanc (ELO 1216). This was a little wake-up call and he got a win and two good draws (ELO 1451 and 1456) in his next three matches.
For the final match he was hoping to get the FM who was leading the tournament on an impressive 8/8. This was feasible as with just 18 people in the U12’s and 9 rounds, a lot of the matches were between people with very different scores. He unfortunately missed out playing the FM on tie-break but did play the 4th seed David Schernthaner (ELO 1581) of Austria. This was an excellent match. Sitting in the analysis room (all games were on live boards) I was entering the moves into Fritz and both players pretty much followed the suggested moves and no significant advantage was obtained over the near three hour match. Eventually Sean found a perpetual and a draw was agreed. Like Eoin, this was a very satisfying way to finish the tournament.
4.5 points with just two defeats was a very solid score for Sean and he was disappointed to be placed 11th based on the lowest tie-break of the five players on a similar score.
This was a first overseas tournament for both boys and outside of the chess they enjoyed Mureck. The giant swimming pool was a great amenity and one learned to dive while the other mastered treading water without looking like he was drowning. The trip was all inclusive with meals provided in a local restaurant. It was a source of great amusement that despite daily temperatures of 38 degrees … soup was served for either lunch or dinner each day! In the evening all the competing chess players disappeared so a round-robin Hunter-Burke blitz tournament was organised over 5 nights. This was played out on boards that sat outside the town hall for anyone to use. The competition was well won by Killian and any epic blunder became known as a ‘Dave’ in honour of the many I made.
Killian Burke, U14’s
Killian, playing in his first International matches and without a FIDE rating, went into the tournament at the bottom of the ratings along with 5 other unrated players amongst a total field of 23.
He lost his first four games, three of which were very solid efforts against much higher rated players and the fourth a disappointing loss against an opponent he was hoping to beat. Killian had a bye in the fifth round, giving him a break to study his games and improve for the remaining games.
The second week of the tournament saw a refreshed Killian record his first win in game 6 against an unrated player, a comprehensive victory in the middle game set up by a solid opening. This set the scene for two further wins in succession, again with stronger middle game play, moving Killian up to 4 points out of 8 and tied 13th.
The last match started bright and early at 8.30am and Killian lost relatively quickly, his opponent with a FIDE rating of 1504 playing flawless chess and finishing the game in just over an hour.
Overall, Killian was very happy with his first International tournament, recording three good wins and finishing in 18th position, a couple of spots ahead of his rating position going into the event.
And that was EUYCC 2015. All the players would highly recommend this tournament to future participants however I would strongly suggest talking to previous attendees to maximise (manage) your Mureck experience!
Finally, on behalf of everyone, thanks to the ICU for the trust placed in the children and a special thanks to Desmond Beatty for all his help with the logistics.
Note – All pictures are courtesy of Balazs Kecskemeti, results and final standings can be found here.