Alice Lee Beats Naroditsky But GM Wins Simul

IM Alice Lee has now beaten both GMs Anish Giri and Daniel Naroditsky in simultaneous displays, but in the fourth edition of Kids vs. Stars 2024 it was again the grandmaster who won, by a 2.5-1.5 scoreline. Naroditsky defeated WFM Bodhana Sivanandan and FM Tani Adewumi, while he was held to a draw by IM Aaron Mendes.

Simul Results

Kids vs. Stars is a ChessKid series that pits established players against promising young talents. The Kids won the first two editions, but in the last two the grandmasters have struck back. This time it was 29-year-old Naroditsky, himself a former child prodigy who won the world under-12 youth championship, who was taking on four rising stars, ranging from nine-year-old Sivanandan to 15-year-old Lee.  

Naroditsky had the white pieces on all four boards and received 60 minutes plus a 15-second increment, while the Kids had 15+15 (five minutes more to start than against Giri). The four games were played simultaneously, with the first side to reach 2.5 points winning the encounter.

Naroditsky called it a privilege to be taking on the young talents, but he also added: "There is a generational battle going on here, so as much as I want to see these kids grow and become GMs... after they lose this game! Just kidding. I’m mean and I’m crotchety and I’m old, what can I say?"

There is a generational battle going on here, so as much as I want to see these kids grow and become GMs... after they lose this game!

—Daniel Naroditsky

Let's take a look at the games in the order they finished.

Naroditsky 1-0 Adewumi

"Tani was beating me in our one-on-one game in the world rapid—now I've got to play three others!" noted Naroditsky, referring to the 2024 World Rapid Championship in New York where Adewumi scored just half a point less than him, beating five grandmaster and picking up 99 rating points.

Adewumi has been making waves ever since he won the New York State Championship as an eight-year-old refugee from Nigeria, at the time living in a homeless shelter.

Their world rapid game was a rollercoaster, and the simul game was just as intense. Adewumi offered up a known pawn sacrifice on move six, Naroditsky accepted, and the black compensation for the pawn soon looked extremely menacing. 13 moves in, the GM felt his whole simul performance would depend on the next few moves, commenting, "When it comes down to your move-for-move calculation, you pray, so I’m praying for Tani’s board!"

"When it comes down to move-by-move calculation, you pray!"

— Naroditsky on his position vs. Tani pic.twitter.com/5y42L8YQkd

— chess24 (@chess24com) March 3, 2025

As it turned out, Naroditsky was right, with the game swinging in his favor. Adewumi's next move was a mistake, and two moves later he was losing, though it involved Naroditsky finding the fine blow 18.Nxd4!!, punishing his young opponent for not castling while he had the chance.

Naroditsky summed up: "Tani found some really cool ideas, but I just got incredibly lucky that it was tempo for tempo. If he had been castled none of this would have worked—even a blind squirrel finds a nut from time to time!"

Even a blind squirrel finds a nut from time to time! 

—Daniel Naroditsky on his win vs. Tani Adewumi 

"It definitely took the burden off," said Naroditsky, since he could now focus on the remaining games, with another soon over.

Naroditsky ½-½ Mendes

"I think I was playing really well against Aaron, but I got too cute, and I think I trusted my gut a little bit too much," said Naroditsky, while also crediting the "amazing defensive job" of his 12-year-old opponent. There were no very clear misses by Naroditsky, and 26...c5! by Mendes soon led to a forced drawing line.

"It wasn’t as much match strategy as it was a practical decision," said Naroditsky of the draw, which effectively clinched the match, since everything was going his way against the youngest participant.

Naroditsky 1-0 Sivanandan

Organizing tournaments involving kids across different time zones is tricky. The games had to start at 4 p.m. in New York so that Adewumi would be back from school, but that meant nine-year-old Sivanandan was starting at 9 p.m. in London. The young star is used to facing challenges, however, after becoming the youngest ever player to represent England at Olympic level, as well as having been the third-highest rated eight-year-old of all time.

The youngster played the French and had a good position after Naroditsky sacrificed a pawn, but when she went for simplifications they only gave the U.S. star a strategically won position. He demonstrated fine technique in the endgame, with 34.e6+! allowing the white rook to swing via e5 to the kingside to support the passed pawn.

In trademark style, Sivanandan fought on to checkmate, but the outcome was never in doubt.

That left one game and, for a second edition in a row, it was Lee who struck a blow for kids everywhere!

Naroditsky 0-1 Lee

"Massive congrats to Alice on just an amazing game," said Naroditsky, who described his opponent as "an absolute beast." Naroditsky played a rare third move in the Sicilian, but Lee explained she was expecting to be surprised by some sideline. She handled it well, and ultimately Naroditsky's biggest regret was not going for a possible draw on move 18. Instead he got into trouble, saying he'd have nightmares about the black knights.

Toward the end of the game Naroditsky's hopes lay in the fact that he still had almost half an hour on the clock to his opponent's less than a minute, but three pawns were three pawns.

Lee talked afterward about the secret of being able to beat grandmasters:

"Most of my games it involves a lot of deep calculation in order to beat me. Otherwise you would have to spend a lot of time—that’s how I sometimes lose in classical, but for a simul game of course Danya and Anish both had to play against three other opponents, all of whom were quite good, so they couldn’t put their full attention to the game."

Most of my games it involves a lot of deep calculation in order to beat me.

—Alice Lee 

Players will face that challenge on March 15, as Lee aims to defend her title in The American Cup, an event she won in 2024 after beating GM Irina Krush in the Final. 

Kids vs. Stars is an event in which the next generation of prodigies challenges established chess players and celebrities. On March 3, GM Daniel Naroditsky took on IMs Alice Lee and Aaron Mendes, FM Tani Adewumi, and WFM Bodhana Sivanandan in a clock simul where he had 60+15 and the kids had 15+15, with the winning side being the first to 2.5 points. 

Previous Coverage

• Giri Scores 1st-Ever Victory For 'Stars' In Episode 3, Drops Only Loss To Alice Lee
• Anish Giri To Take On Four Young Prodigies Simultaneously In Next Kids vs. Stars
• Kids Prevail: Sivanandan, Radzimski Defeat Nemo, Kazarian
• Kids vs. Stars: Can The Young Guns Checkmate the Chess Masters Again?
• Kids Take 1st Victory: Atwell, Paragua Beat Nemo, Cramling