Arlen Abrashev won the 2000+ knockout of the ChessPunks Champs 2023, defeating NM Alexander Balkum in a final playoff.
Tushar Anand went undefeated in every round to win the 1700-1999 division. Ivan Zhuk swept all of his matches to win the 1300-1699 section, making comebacks in both his games vs. Kristan Klimczak in the final.
Mark Manucharyan clinched the under-1300 division by winning every game except one, a brilliancy by Oladipupo Lekan, which is our Game of the Day.
Live broadcast of Sunday’s tournament, hosted by Geert Van Der Velde and GM Daniel King.
After the Qualifier stage on September 17-18, eight players from each section emerged at the top out of hundreds. Over the next month to prepare for the championship, each of the competitiors received weekly one-on-one training sessions from one of the top-notch coaches below:
These sessions proved to be rewarding for the teachers and students alike. King―coach of the winner of the Game of the Day, Lekan―revealed the unusual yet inspiring circumstances for his last lesson with one of his proteges.
Just finished coaching session with my #chesspunks student who lives in Lagos, Nigeria. He was on a packed bus going to college, cars honking, passengers jostling and talking – and he was still coming up with brilliant answers. I am looking forward to the tournament on Sunday!
— Daniel King (@DanielKingChess) October 20, 2023
Additionally, several players themselves have shared about their learning experiences.
Had my last lesson with @KrykunYuriy for #chesspunkschamps last night. Good advice to quit whining about openings I hate facing and just find a line that works for you. His example where natural play against an offbeat line in the Slav is unwise: White to play!#chesspunks pic.twitter.com/OcxGf8Ywwz
— Alexander Balkum (@albalkum) October 20, 2023
For those who don’t know, I qualified for the #chesspunks u2000 champs, taking place on 22 Oct 🏆
I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity to be trained by GM King (I feel I already learnt a lot in just 1h), and I’m excited to learn and compete against other adult improvers! https://t.co/KWxclTfP8z
— HashtagChess (@hashtagchess) October 12, 2023
Had my last coaching session with FM Midas Ratsma last night. Have really enjoyed these sessions and hope I can implement (remember!) some of the very interesting ideas that came out of them. Go team Midas! Good luck all! #chesspunks #chesspunkschamps
— Sir Rookski (@SirRookski) October 20, 2023
On Sunday, the 32 competitors had the chance to show their improvement in the Knockout stage of the ChessPunks Champs.
2000+
Abrashev went toe-to-toe with Anastasios Koukas in a double overtime quarterfinals match. Ultimately, the Kazakh competitor gained the upper hand with tactical play in the rook ending in the last blitz playoff game.
Abrashev swept Mr Dodgy in the semifinals and faced Balkum in the final, where every game came down to bishops of opposite colors. After a deadlocked initial two duels, Abrashev swindled a victory from a position that seemed to be leading to a draw. In the time scramble, Abrashev caught Balkum in a premove and snuck one of his pawns by its opposition to create a passer, which he promoted in the end.
Abrashev won a $1000 stipend for his chess improvement and $1000 for premium Chessable courses of his choice.
Won open section of #chesspunkschamps. GGs
Hard work pays off I guess. I had great training sessions with Arturs Neiksans that helped me elevate some part of my mental game before tournament.
Thanks for organizing this event!
— wicaegnelra (@wicaegnelra) October 22, 2023
Many of the competitors posted about their tournament experiences.
#chesspunkschamps When you pair the two highest rated players of the tournament with each other and they still miss easy tactics😅 Thanks to everyone involved with organizing and to GM Oleksiyenko for the great lessons. Improving does not stop. See you next year! (hopefully) pic.twitter.com/G1NSfz0IK4
— Anastasios Koukas (@jett99x) October 22, 2023
Happy with the 4th place in the open section of the #chesspunkschamps After winning the first round I faced four losses in the next rounds. Something to learn from I’m sure. Thanks to @nealbruce @blackatlantic for pushing the #chesspunks onto the big stage! Was a fun experience
— Martin B. Justesen (@saychess1) October 22, 2023
Bracket – 2000+
1700-1999
In the quarterfinals, Anand’s passed pawns were the stars in both his games vs. Orla Dorman, sealing the match with a pawn breakthrough.
Anand won his semifinals games s. Harel Davidson with a similar consistency, outpacing his opponent’s attack in both. After a level first game in the final, Anand capitalized on Michael Porcelli’s weakened structure by snatching an extra pawn in the knight vs. bishop ending.
Anand earned a $1000 chess training stipend and $1000 for Chessable courses.
#100DaysOfChess Day 632
Lost 1.5-2.5 vs @julesgambit in the #chesspunkschamps tournament. The losses are inspiring me to address some shortcomings in my game.
Started studying Techniques of Positional Play on @chessable. REALLY like it thus far.#chesspunks
— Nick Visel (@Nickvisel) October 23, 2023
Lost my quarterfinal match of the #ChessPunksChamps, but learnt a lot over the past few weeks, and am motivated to keep improving. Thank you to everyone involved in making the event happen, and an extra big thank you to the wonderful people who helped me prep 🙏
— HashtagChess (@hashtagchess) October 22, 2023
Bracket – 1700-1999
1300-1699
Adding onto his 9-0 in the qualifier, Zhuk won all six of his games in the knockout, starting with an exchange sacrifice that allowed him to rip apart Abhishek G.’s structure in the quarterfinals.
The Polish competitor sealed victory in the semifinal with his stellar time management, which allowed him to turn an inferior ending into a winning one vs. Shareef Shaiden.
In his final vs. Kristan Klimczak, Zhuk made a comeback to win a pawn-down rook ending in the first game. In the second, Klimczak conjured a dangerous king attack with a bishop sacrifice, but Zhuk escaped alive to the endgame by forcing a queen trade. With the reduced material, Zhuk generated winning chances by creating a passer.
Zhuk took home a $1000 learning stipend and $1000 for premium Chessable courses.
Lost two tough games to @saychess1 in #ChessPunksChamps. Time to review and learn!💪 Thanks to @NealBruceBC @blackatlantic @GreenPawns @chesscom @chessable and coach Midas – even just prepping for the tournament was a great experience and re-lit my fire for improvement🔥
— Kamryn (@kamrynheidi) October 22, 2023
Probably the most valuable thing I did in preparations for the #chesspunkschamps is clean my desk. 🤣#chesspunks pic.twitter.com/YlUrSOseII
— Neal Bruce (@NealBruceBC) October 22, 2023
I would just like to let everyone know that not blocking the queen check with my bishop in the #chesspunks finals will now haunt me for the rest of my life. Happy Halloween. pic.twitter.com/ihQEQJOsEW
— Pony S. (@sunrise_pony) October 22, 2023
Bracket – 1300-1699
0-1299
Manucharyan won almost every game in the knockout with one notable exception. In the quarterfinal, in a must-win position after losing the first game, Oladipupo Lekan spawned a menacing king attack that continued to rage even after the queens were traded. Lekan’s brilliant victory against the eventual winner is our Game of the Day, with annotations by GM Rafael Leitao coming soon.
Proud coach! #ChessPunks pic.twitter.com/v9ZLziNJBz
— Chess.com Community (@GreenPawns) October 22, 2023
Manucharyan achieved 2-0 sweeps of Faisal Madi in the semifinals and Rajbir Chakraborty in the final. In game one of the final, Manucharyan’s impending attack prompted an inaccurate knight sacrifice by his opponent.
Manucharyan won a $1000 chess stipend and $1000 in Chessable courses.
One quarterfinalist, Charlotte Ruddy, went out with a bang in her match vs. Emery Reusch.
I might have lost… but I did end with 0.5 from a fancy stalemate! 👀♟️
Super grateful for the opportunity & can’t wait to improve even more with @chesscom + @chessable. 😎 https://t.co/xgokIPdCY3
— charlotte ♟️ (@3mpir3_t3tra) October 22, 2023
Omar Mills, another quarterfinalist, focused on turning his losses into positive learning experiences.
Okay, so I refuse to let negative self-talk creep in following two frustrating L’s in #chesspunkschamps. So, as is now my custom, here are 3 key positive takeaways:
1. I did everything I was taught to do. I used my time, castled early, etc. Sometimes you just get beat. I’ll get… pic.twitter.com/Jli6Zu2k7w
— Chess Von Doom (@ChessVonDoom) October 22, 2023
Other competitors simply focused on enjoying the ride.
Had a lot of fun playing in the #chesspunkschamps. What a great experience. Can’t believe I lost on time in my last game when I had a mate in two on the board! Time pressure!😳 Special thanks to @nealbruce
and @blackatlantic for making this happen. Top drawer!🔥 #chesspunks
— Sir Rookski (@SirRookski) October 22, 2023
Bracket – 0-1299
Knockout – Winners
The ChessPunks Champs is a knockout tournament for the ChessPunks community of adult improvers. The event’s qualifiers occurred on September 16-17 at 12 p.m. ET/18:00 CEST, while the main event happens on October 22 at 1 p.m. ET/19:00 CEST. The 32 qualifying players will receive a year of Chessable PRO and Chess.com diamond memberships and compete for additional opportunities to grow their chess knowledge.
Previous coverage:
