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November 03, 2010
For Immediate Release
Kayden Troff of West Jordan is unquestionably the best chess player ever to grow up in Utah. At age ten he was one of the strongest tournament players of all ages in the state, and before turning twelve he had attained the titles of National Chess Master and North American Champion for his age group. Earlier this month he won the Utah Open chess tournament with a perfect 4-0 score against the toughest competition Utah could offer him.
Where do you go after establishing yourself as the #1 player in your age group on the American continent? To Greece, where western civilization developed in ancient times, to take on all the other young prodigies at the World Youth Chess Championship. Kayden was the official US representative in the 12-and-under category In an eleven-round tournament spanning eleven days, he competed with 149 of the other best players from around the world.
Although ranked fifth at the outset of the tournament, Kayden rose quickly to the top. After seven rounds he was in clear first place, earned by defeating second-seeded Jan-Krzystof Duda of Poland, an internationally recognized chess master and European chess superstar who won the trophy and title in 2008 for the World Under-10 Championship. Kayden maintained the top position until the final round, despite suffering his first and only loss in the ninth round to the Chinese superstar Yi Wei.
In the tenth round Kayen faced another young master, Volodymyr Vetoshko of the Ukraine, the #6 seed, and played a fine game that was especially pleasing to spectators (see game below). In the final round Kayden was paired with Yi Wang, another rising Chinese superstar, and a win would have assured him the gold medal. However, Yang played a nearly flawless game, and no matter how well you play chess, if your opponent doesn't make some kind of mistake, you cannot win. So Kayden took home the silver medal instead of the gold, which went to Yi Wang's compatriot, Yi Wei.
Utah tournament players are thrilled by this outcome! They have known for years that Kayden is an extremely rare talent, far above most chess prodigies and geniuses. Now the rest of the world has concrete evidence that he is, in fact, one of the most gifted chess thinkers on the planet. And because this tournament becomes larger and more competitive every year, Kayden's accomplishment is at least as spectacular as the silver medal earned in the same event in 2002 by Magnus Carlsen, who is now the top-rated chess player of all ages at the tender age of 19.
Next weekend Kayden competes for one more title, that of Utah State Champion. Fifteen to twenty of the strongest chess players in the state will meet at the University of Utah to settle matters amongst themselves. Although not the highest rated in the state, Kayden is the clear favorite after winning the Utah Open and taking the silver medal at the most difficult and prestigious chess competition in the world for young players.
The full tournament results can be found online at:
http://wycc2010.chessdom.com/wycc-open-u12-standings/
His games from this tournament can be viewed online at:
http://www.chess-results.com/PartieSuche.aspx?id=50023&tnr=39338&art=3&lan=1
Kayden's own website is:
http://kaydentroff.blogspot.com/
One of Kayden's prettiest games from the World Youth Chess Championship:
White: Volodymyr Vetoshko, ELO 2211
Black: Kayden Troff, ELO 2216
Round Ten, October 29, 2010
1. e4 c5
2. b4
Vetoshko plays the "Wing Gambit" variation in response to Kayden's choice of the Sicilian defense. It is not considered sound, unless black has not prepared for it, in which case white can create a devastating attack against black's king.
2...cxb4
3. a3 d5!
A key move in refuting the Wing Gambit.
4. exd5 Qxd5
5. Nf3 e6
6. Bb2 Nf6
7. c4 bxc3
8.Nxc3 Qd8
9. Ne5 Be7
Vetoshko plays aggressively with his pieces in the center because his development is farther along than Kayden's, which is his compensation for the pawn he sacrificed earlier.
10. Bb5+ Nbd7
11. O-O O-O
12. d4 Nb6!
13. Re1 Nbd5
Kayden prevents the pawn push from d4 to d5, which would allow whites Bishop on b2 to become a deadly attacker. It is clear that Kayden was well-prepared for the Wing Gambit!
14. Bd3 Bd7
15. Ne4 Nxe4
16. Bxe4 Bc6
Now that Kayden has safely neutralized white's attack, he offers the pawn back to begin his own attack.
17. Qc2 g6
18. Nxc6 bxc6
19. Qxc6 Rb8
Kayden starts to pressure white's pieces on the Queenside.
20. Qc2 Bf6
21. Rab1 Qa5
22. g3 Rfc8
23. Qe2 Rb3
24. h4 Rcb8
Although the position on the board is relatively equal, Kayden's opponent has used far too much time on his clock to achieve this equal position, and is now in serious time pressure.
25. Rec1 Qb6
26. Ba1?
In time pressure Vetoshko makes a fatal error.
26. .... Rxb1
27.Rxb1
position after 27. Rxb1
White's bishop on e4 covers the rook on b1, so Kayden cannot take it with his queen else he would lose his queen. Or so thought the hurried Ukrainian master...
27... Qxb1+!!
28. Bxb1 Rxb1+
29. Kg2 Rxa1
Kayden now has a rook, knight and bishop for a queen, which is a winning material advantage.
30. Qb2 Rd1
31. Qb8+ Kg7
32. Qxa7 Bxd4
33. Qa5 Bb6
34. Qb5 Rd2
Kayden pressures white's weakest pawn on f2.
35. a4 Rxf2+
36. Kh3 h5!
Kayden blocks off a possible escape route for white's king on g4, and hones in for a checkmate. Meanwhile Vetoshko begins pushing his a-pawn in hopes of queening it on a8, because he simply doesn't have any other plan.
37. a5 Bc7
38. a6 Nf6!
Kayden re-deploys the night to a much more deadly square. Now the end is inevitable.
39. Qc5 Ng4
40. Qd4+ e5
Here Vetoshko resigns because Kayden is threatening both his queen and a checkmate (by playing Rh2). The only way out is to sacrifice his queen for the rook, after which the endgame is a simple mop-up operation for any experienced chess player.
Kayden Troff at the World Youth Chess
Championships in Halkidiki, Greece
Steve Zierk and Kayden Troff, photo courtesy www.uschess.org
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