Prodigies: Ethan, Anish and Bodhana

Thus, Ethan Pang, a nine year old schoolboy from North London, has recently defeated three grandmasters in an international tournament . He has thereby earned the  FIDÉ Master title by exceeding the 2300 rating threshold . He is the youngest to do so, ahead of such luminaries as  Judit Polgar, Vincent Keymer, Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa and Nodirbek Abdusattorov .

We shall examine two of Ethan Pang’s grandmaster scal pings at the conclusion of the column.

Meanwhile,  three -year-old Anish Sarkar from Kolkota has earned himself a F IDÉ rating, the youngest player ever to do so. Reputedly, he trains at chess for seven hours a day. In an awfully impressive demonstration, from the diagram position, he plays a smothered mate…

Position after 1. Nh6++

… and after Sarkar’s unfortunate opponent continued with the forced move: 1… Kh8, White finished the sequence with the well-known and elegant 2. Qg8+ Rxg8 2. Nf7 mate. Sarkar finished 24th of 140 players in an under-9 event, producing an eventual 1555 rating.

Chess is an area of human endeavour which, in common with mathematics and music, allows child prodigies to demonstrate astounding genius. And I suggest that harmony is the key.

Consider the young Mozart. Among so many other precocious musical achievements, such as composing a Minuet and Trio in G Major aged five, he was able to reconstruct and transcribe Allegri’s  Miserere  from memory, having heard the closely guarded score performed just once during a visit to the Vatican. It should be recalled that at the age of fourteen, Mozart also wrote his first opera:  Mitridate Re di Ponto , or “Mithridates, King of Pontus”.

In mathematics alarming precocity was displayed by, for example, Ruth Lawrence, who graduated from Oxford University age thirteen with a starred first class Honours Degree; not to mention John Nunn, who went up to Oxford at the age of fifteen to pursue his mathematical studies. Nunn, who also distinguished himself as a chess-playing prodigy, went on to become a grandmaster and professional player, who numbered even the legendary world champions Anatoly Karpov and Viswanathan Anand amongst his scalps.

Indeed, accounts abound of amazingly youthful chess prodigies . José Capablanca allegedly picked up the moves of the game aged four, simply by watching his father play. Then there was Paul Morphy, who at twelve defeated the illustrious European Master L öwenthal. Perhaps most spectacular of all, Bobby Fischer became US champion at the age of fourteen and victor of the so-called Game of the Century when he was thirteen.

It seems to me that there must be some quality which links chess, music and mathematics. I believe that quality to be an inner harmony, which connects all three activities and which the youthful human brain is capable of identifying. The striking factor is that prodigies in chess, music and mathematics are capable of performing at the highest level without significant prior experience.

It would be unthinkable for a child or young teenager to paint like Leonardo da Vinci or write with the depth of Tolstoy or Shakespeare, since the relative life experience would not yet have been accumulated — in general such dimensions would be missing. For music, mathematics and chess, on the other hand, the prodigies appear to be able to leap the chasm of experience and tap directly into an underlying harmony, a harmony which most of us cannot easily perceive.

Now let us look at some grandmasters losing to children .

Ethan Pang vs. Attila Czebe

Vezerkepzo, Budapest, 2024

1. e4 g6 2. d4 Bg7 3. Nc3 d6 4. Be3 c6 5. Qd2 b5 6. g3 

This move i s unknown to chess science, although the game transposes back to theoretical lines. 6. Bd3 is more usual, and Nf3 is certainly another safe choice. White indicates a desire to depart from known theoretical lines, at a marginal cost.

6… Bb7 

Black does better to continue with either 6… Nd7 or …Nf6.

7. Bg2 Nd7 8. f4?! 

With   this dubious theoretical novelty, White accomplishes his desire to lead his opponent into murky waters. But had he known, 8. Nge2 was successfully employed by White in 2012, when the game Afek-Sanikidze, ended with the former 2288 player victorious against a 2616 opponent.

8… Qc7 9. Nd1 Ngf6 10. Nf2 O-O 11. Ne2 e5 12. c3 Rfe8 13. O-O Nb6 14. b3 Nfd7?

A complacent accession to the threat of capture on e5, but leaving White the g4-square for his knight. Far better was the simple 14… exd4 15. Bxd4 Nbd7.

15. Rac1!?

A stronger continuation was 15. fxe5! dxe5 16. Ng4 b4 (16… h5 17. Nh6+ Bxh6 18. Bxh6 Qd6 19. Rf2 f6 20. Raf1 Re7 21. h4 Kh8 22. Be3) 17. cxb4 Ba6 18. Bh6 Bxe2 19. Qxe2 exd4 20. Bxg7 Kxg7 21. Qd2 Re6 22. Qxd4+, when White is much better developed, with a strong centralised queen, more active pieces and open files for his rook.

15… c5 16. g4?!

Gifting Black equality, when 16. fxe5 dxe5 17. Bh6 f5 18. Bxg7 Kxg7 19. d5 Rf8 20. c4 bxc4 21. bxc4, would have maintained a pleasant, if slight advantage.

16… exf4?!

Black fails to capitalise on White’s previous inaccuracy, when16… a5 17. g5 c4 18. b4 axb4 19. cxb4 f5 20. gxf6 Nxf6 21. Nc3 would have kept the position on an equal level.

17. Bxf4 Rad8?!

Either 17… a5 or …Rac8 would be preferable.

18. Ng3 Nf8 19. Rfd1?!

This slight relaxation is enough to return Black a position of parity. White can choose between, 19. Bh6 Bh8 20. Kh1 Qe7 21. g5 Bc8 22. d5 Be5 23. Rce1 and 19. g5 Bc8 20. h4 Qe7 21. d5 Be5 22. h5 h6 23. gxh6 Nh7 24. Nd3; both of which maintain a tangible edge.

19… c4?!

Regifting White his initiative, when 19… Ne6 or …Qe7 would be  sufficient for equality.

20. Bh6 Qe7 21. Bg5?!

White again relinquishes his slight advantage, whereas, 21. Bxg7 Kxg7 22. g5 Bc8 23. Rf1 Kh8 24. Rce1 would have been enough to keep it.

21… f6 22. Be3 d5 23. Re1 Qf7?!

Better alternatives are either 23… Ne6 or…b4.

24. Rf1?!

Eschewing the maintenance of an advantage after,   24. g5 Ne6 25. gxf6 Qxf6 26. e5 Qh4 27. Nh3 Bc8 28. Nf4 Nxf4 29. Bxf4.

24… dxe4 25. Nfxe4 Bxe4 26. Nxe4 cxb3 27. axb3 Nd5?1

Not a blunder, but a serious inaccuracy. Black could restrict White’s advantage by playing 27… Qxb3 28. Bh6 Nfd7 29. g5 Nc4 30. Qf4 f5 31. Rb1 Qa3 32. Rxb5 Ncb6 33. Bxg7 Kxg7.

28. Bh6?!

It was more fluid to withdraw and redeploy the bishop with,28. Bf2 f5 29. Bh4 Nf6 30. Nxf6+ Bxf6 31. Bxf6 Qxf6 32. b4; when Black is under considerable pressure.

28… Bxh6 29. Qxh6 Qg7 30. Qh3?!

White spurns an advantage once again. 30. Qd2 would have kept up the pressure.

30… Ne6?!

Both 30… g5 and …b4 improve on the text.

31. Qg3 Rf8 32. Rce1 Kh8?

Black could have constrained White more productively after, 32… f5 33. gxf5 gxf5 34. Nd6 Nef4 (34… Qxg3 35. hxg3 Rxd6 36. Rxe6) 35. Bxd5+ Nxd5 36. Qxg7+ Kxg7 37. Nxf5+.

33. c4 bxc4 34. bxc4 Nb6 35. c5 Nc8 36. d5 Rxd5?  

A blunder that takes Black’s position from seriously bad to terminally awful. More resistance is offered by: 36… f5 37. dxe6 fxe4 38. Rxf8+ Rxf8 39. Rxe4, although the end is nigh.

37. Nxf6 Rxf6 38. Bxd5 Rxf1+ 39. Kxf1 Qf8+ 40. Qf3  Black resigns 1-0

And to complete this children’s parable, our young prodigy produces a miniature with the Black pieces the next day, against a stronger grandmaster.

Zoltan Varga vs. Ethan Pang

Vezerkepzo, Budapest, 2024

1. e4 c5 2. Ne2 Nc6 3. g3 g6 4. Bg2 Bg7 5. O-O d6 6. c3 e5 7. Na3 Nge7 8. d4 cxd4 9. cxd4 Nxd4 10. Nxd4 exd4 11. Nb5 Qb6 12. a4 TN

Previously, 12. Qd3 had been played, but the text represents a genuine improvement.

12… a6 13. Na3 Be6 14. Bg5?

This move places White, already slightly worse, at a further disadvantage. He had a better alternative in: 14. b3 Qc7 15. Nc4 O-O 16. Bf4 Rad8 17. Qd2 b5 18. Qa5 Qxa5 19. Nxa5, or prefacing b3 with 14. Bf4 Nc6.

14… Nc6 15. Qd2?!  

White’s play is not critical enough to redress Black’s advantage. The text move worsens matters further still. Preferable are both 15. Rb1 and 15. Bd2.

15… Qa5?!

Black still retains an advantage after the text, but misses an opportunity to consolidate with 15… h6 16. Bf4 Na5 17. Rad1 Nb3 18. a5 Qc5 19. Qd3 O-O 20. Rfe1 Rac8 21. h4 Rfd8.

16. Rac1 Qxa4 17. Bh6 Bf6?!

Having built a healthy advantage once more, this bishop move is suboptimal. More accurate is, 17… Bxh6 18. Qxh6 O-O-O 19. Qd2 Kb8 20. Nc2 Bb3 21. Ra1 Qc4 22. Rac1 Rc8.

18. h4?!

Here White fails to properly exploit Black’s previous inaccuracy, when the best line continues, 18. f4 Rc8 19. Qd3 Na5 20. Rxc8+ Bxc8 21. e5 dxe5 22. fxe5 Be7 23. Nc2.

18… Qa5?!

This continuation, perhaps estimating that the removal of queen’s simplified his advantage, cedes ground to White. Better is, 18… Rc8 19. f4 Kd7 20. Kh2 Rhe8 21. f5 gxf5 22. exf5 Bb3 23. Bg5 Be5, with a marked improvement to the text.

19. Rxc6?  

But the worst blunder is the most recent. Here, White hands a significant advantage to Black with this exchange sacrifice.19. Qf4 Ke7 20. Rfd1 Qh5 21. b3 Be5 22. Qd2 f6 23. Nc4 Rhg8 24. Nb6 Rab8 25. Nd5+, would have maintained an inferior, but still manageable position.  

19… Qxd2 20. Bxd2 bxc6 21. e5 Bxe5 22. Bxc6+ Ke7 23. Bxa8   Rxa8  White resigns 0-1

Black dominates the board, with the bishop pair highlighted against White’s lame a3-knight. His King controls the centre, and he is two pawns to the good. White is paralysed. For example, the two main lines available to White, avail him nothing of any benefit:

a) 24. Rc1 d3 25. Rc7+ Kd8 26. Ba5 Ke8 27. Nb1 Bxb2 28. Nd2 Rc8 29. Rxc8+ Bxc8 30. Nc4 Bc1 31. Kf1 Be6;

b) 24. Nc2 a5 25. Ra1 a4 26. Ne1 Kd7 27. Nd3 Bc4 28. Nxe5+ dxe5 29. Rc1 Rc8 30. Bh6 Ke6 31. Bg7 Kd5.

A crushing performance by one so young.

On the question of children’s engagement with chess, England can boast another prodigy to match the exploits of Ethan Pang. Bodhana Sivanandan , 9, represented England in the Chess Olympiad held in Budapest, Hungary, in September 2024 .

Nine-year-old Bodhana , having played in the Olympiad, thus marks another landmark in her stellar chess career. Before that, she had participated in the British Championships in Hull, from 25th July to 4th August, 2024 which includes the British Women’s Championship, and she was the youngest ever female contender to participate in this event. Her inclusion in the Chess Olympiad in England’s team makes history as the youngest player ever to represent England internationally in any of our sporting activities .

She is also on track to become the youngest grandmaster in the world. She lives in Harrow, London, and her parents are mystified as to where her talent has sprung from. Although her mother and father can play chess, none of the family has ever played competitively, and her parents have said, “It was all her own interest, she was just drawn to it, we never pushed her to chess or to train for it. During the pandemic, we, unlike many families, didn’t see ‘The Queen’s Gambit’ series that encouraged many more female players to take up the sport, but did watch ‘The Queen of Katwe’ film, 2016, about a young girl growing up in a slum in Uganda and who starts to play chess.”

In March 2022, aged six,  she won silver in the under 8 girls’ group in the European Youth Rapid and Blitz Chess Championship . Last December at the European Rapid and Blitz Chess Tournament in Zagreb, Croatia she became the youngest girl to avoid defeat against a GM, Vladislav Nevednichy, in a competitive game.

Perhaps Bodhana’s temperament also lends itself to competitive sports, in that she never gets flustered. She never gets an adrenaline rush when playing, she says, “I just try to stay calm to find the best moves.” Her mother added, “From her face, we can’t tell when she comes out of a match whether she won, drew or lost, her expression is always the same!”

Bodhana’s skills have drawn comparison with the young Judit Polgar, the Hungarian prodigy, who at nine years old astounded everyone, especially the players at the 1986 New York Open, with her prowess . Judit went on to attain her Grandmaster title, a record at the time. Many accolades are being bestowed on Bodhana : the International Master and commentator, Lawrence Trent, has described her “as one of the greatest talents in recent history” and hailed “the maturity of her play, her sublime touch as truly breath-taking”.

Ray’s 206th book, “  Chess in the Year of the King  ”, written in collaboration with Adam Black, and his 207th, “  Napoleon and Goethe: The Touchstone of Genius  ” (which discusses their relationship with chess) can be ordered from both Amazon and Blackwells. His 208th, the world record for chess books, written jointly with chess playing artist Barry Martin,  Chess through the Looking Glass ,  will be available from Amazon before Christmas.

The above column this week incorporates some information from this latest world record breaking volume. 

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