Louis.Kasparov's 7.h6? in the game below cost him the game and the match, and later Kasparov accused Deep Blue team of cheating. (Sevian earned $1,000 for his November victory in St. The economics of chess are such that even players of Sevian’s caliber cannot rely on prize money alone to cover their expenses. In addition to offering Sevian and the other children a rare opportunity to work with Kasparov, the five-year grant program has connected Sevian with a prominent coach, the grandmaster Alexander Chernin of Hungary.Ĭoaching, especially from sought-after instructors like Chernin, and travel can be prohibitively expensive for young players. ![]() Often, they take hours to resolve particularly difficult dilemmas. Twice a year, the chess prodigies in the program meet with Kasparov and his foundation’s president, Michael Khodarkovsky, for an entire weekend to analyze various positions and strategies. The gatherings are part of the Young Stars program, established jointly in 2012 by the Kasparov Chess Foundation and the elite Chess Club and Scholastic Center of St. Several of Sevian’s chess acquaintances also took part in the recent New York training session led by Kasparov. Sevian, who lives in Southbridge, Mass., is home-schooled, a circumstance made necessary by the amount of time he spends on the road competing. Those relationships are a byproduct of his lifestyle. 26, has gathered a sizable collection of friends in the chess community, communicating regularly with many of them via Skype. That was a frank admission for Sevian, who generally keeps his innermost thoughts and feelings private, even from his parents, Armen and Armine.ĭespite his reserved nature, Sevian, who turned 14 on Dec. But Sevian also acknowledged a tremendous sense of relief. “I was, of course, really happy,” said Sevian, who began playing chess competitively at 5. Once attained, the title is kept for life. When he eventually claimed the victory, he became a grandmaster, a title based on a formula of ratings and results. So I had to, like, smash the clock!” He laughed as he mimicked a speedy hand gesture toward an imaginary timer.Īfter that move, Sevian picked up his pace. “And then I made my move, and I see I have one second left. “I had about five seconds on the clock, and I thought, No, this isn’t enough time to make a move,” Sevian said. At one critical juncture, Sevian’s painstaking deliberations nearly cost him the game. ![]() The game went back and forth for hours, and Sevian’s greatest difficulty seemed to be completing his moves in the time allotted. “I was on the attack,” Sevian said, but Gorovets “was defending really well.” ![]() Sevian had won his first three games of the tournament, but Gorovets was proving to be stiffer competition. In 2009, Ray Robson earned the title at 14 years 11 months 16 days. With a victory, Sevian - then 13 years 10 months 27 days old - would become the youngest grandmaster in United States history, by more than a year. Sevian was taking on Andrey Gorovets of Belarus in a fourth-round game at an invitational tournament in St. 22 contest - “nerve-racking,” he called it - was brought on by the prize that awaited him if he won it. On a recent Sunday afternoon inside a Midtown Manhattan high-rise, where the teenage Sevian had been invited for a training session with the chess champion Garry Kasparov, he recalled a recent game with enormous stakes. Several weeks had passed since the greatest moment in Sam Sevian’s chess life, enough time to allow for some quiet reflection.
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