ChessKid Stars Defeat Harvard

ChessKid Stars, IM-elect Alice Lee and FM Tani Adewumi, defeated the Harvard Chess Club, represented by co-presidents WGM Jennifer Yu and FM Chris Shen, in the first-ever Harvard vs. ChessKid match.

Starting off with a three-game winning streak, the prodigies gained an uncatchable lead vs. their Ivy League opposition with their tactical awareness, resourcefulness, and endgame understanding. 

Guess who will be taking on the elite chess players of @Harvard on Nov. 15? 👀 @TaniAdewumi #HarvardvsChessKid pic.twitter.com/JYZ3VSHZsz

— ChessKid.com 👑 (@ChessKidcom) November 1, 2023

The Harvard students faced the ChessKid Stars in a 90-minute match of hand and brain, a variant that accents teamwork. The teammates switched being the brain and being the hand in two 45-minute segments of 5+2 blitz. 

• Lee vs. Yu as the hands: 3.5-0.5
• Adewumi vs. Shen as the hands: 3-1

Lee vs. Yu as the hands: 3.5-0.5

The ChessKid Stars kicked off the match with three victories in a row. They won the first with a blend of perceptive tactical play and endgame technique.

In game two, Harvard was on their way to evening the score, but in the midst of tactical complexities, the prodigies outcalculated their seasoned opponents. 

After blundering a fork to the enemy knight pair in game three, Harvard got on the scoreboard by drawing a positional duel in the fourth. At the halfway-point, ChessKid remained undefeated, leading by three points. 

Adewumi vs. Shen as the hands: 3-1

Under the pressure of a much-needed comeback, Harvard lost game five with a Botez Gambit. 

In the sixth duel, Adewumi and Lee gained a commanding time advantage―a recurring theme in the match―and went on to outplay their opponents in the ending, stretching their lead to five points. 

The penultimate game was the longest and most hard-fought of the match. Harvard gained the initative in the middlegame and had chances to pick up their first victory. As commentator Korley reflected: "Everything was winning, but they didn’t win. The resourcefulness even in tough positions―the ChessKids have killed it here.”

In the last game, Harvard succeeded in scoring their first and only win by accurately fending off the ChessKids' aggressive kingside play. 

The match finished on a pecular note: Though they had already clinched the match, in the final moments of the last game, the ChessKid Stars allowed their clock to run from over 90 seconds straight down to zero.

In the interview, Lee shared her perspective on teaming up with Adewumi, a previous rival:

We had a match this summer where it was like 15 games, so we’re pretty familiar with each other. I wasn’t sure how good of a team we’d be at hand and brain because I think our styles are slightly different, but I was definitely happy to see the result. I was happy with the way that we played.

The hand-and-brain format was a wild card in itself. When asked which role he preferred, Shen revealed:  

I think being the brain is better because you basically have more control over the board, especially when you’re looking for a final combination or things like that. If you’re the hand sometimes it’s like: oh my god I want to make this move, but I can’t. It can be super nerve-wrecking and anxious because you’re hoping your partner can see. I definitely prefer the brain over the hand, but the hand is certainly a lot of fun as well.

As a former ChessKid himself, Shen also reflected on the experience of competing against the ChessKid Stars now as a college student:

When I was much younger, I was at a place where my feet didn’t touch the ground when I sat at the table, and I would be able to upset people that high rated, and that was super awesome. Now I’m on the flip side of the coin, and I’m being upset by really strong young players. It certainly takes you back, and it’s amazing to see how much ChessKid has grown throughout the years.

All Games 

Harvard vs. ChessKid was a match where two top players from the Harvard Chess Club, Yu and Shen, faced two ChessKid Stars, Lee and Adewumi, in 90 minutes of hand and brain chess. 

Previous coverage:

• Harvard Takes On The ChessKids: Can A Top University's Bright Young Things Beat Tani And Alice