Yalies and California schoolboy capture two big student events

During the holiday break, two important student events took place. To the surprise of virtually no one, Yale University, with a 71/2-1/2 score, recorded a clear victory at the 1983 Pan-American Intercollegiate Team Championship in Worcester, Mass. Yale was powered by two International Masters, Joel Benjamin and Michael Wilder, on the top two boards, with National Master Greg D'Elia and Inna Izrailov (one of the highest-ranked American female players) to complete the team. Inna is originally Russian, through the Israeli conduit.

The University of Toronto, which had won the title the three previous years, finished a clear second, a full point behind with a 61/2-11/2 tally.

Meanwhile, on the West coast at Buena Park, Calif., Joseph Waxman swept all six games to win the 1983-84 National High School Individual Championship. Waxman, 16, a sophomore and top student at Beverly Hills High School, topped a field of 108 players to win a trophy and one of five gold watches donated by the Bulova Watch Company.

Today's game is taken from the fourth round of the high school event and features a Najdorf Sicilian. Bobby Fischer, in his heyday, used to milk both sides of the Najdorf for many valuable points. In the Najdorf it is essential for Black to play actively, and here Black lost a valuable pawn and the game chiefly because he neglected this cardinal principle. NAJDORF SICILIAN Waxman WSYettick 1. P-K4 P-QB4 2. N-KB3 P-Q3 3 P-Q4 PxP 4. NxP N-KB3 5. N-QB3 P-QR3 6. B-QB4 P-K3 7. B-N3 P-QN4 8. O-O B-K2 9. P-B4 B-N2 10. B-K3 (a) O-O (b) 11. P-K5 PxP 12. PxP N-Q4 13. NxN BxN 14. Q-N4 P-N3 (c) 15. B-R6 P-B4 (d) 16. PxP e.p. RxP 17. RxR BxR 8. NxP Q-N3 ch 19. K-R1 BxB 20. RPxB N-Q2 21. Q-B3 R-K1 22. N-B4 Q-R4 (e) 23. R-KB1 K-R1 24. P-B3 Q-Q1 25. N-Q5 B-N2 26. BxB ch KxB 27. Q-B7 ch K-R1 28. Q-B4 R-B1 29. Q-Q4 ch K-N1 30. R-K1 R-K1 31. R-Q1 Q-B1 32. R-KB1 Q-Q1 33. P-KR3 R-B1 34. R-K1 R-K1 35. R-Q1 Q-B1 36. Q-KN4 (f) Q-N2 (g) 37. QxN Resigns (h)

A. Preferable was 10. P-B5, P-K4; 11. N(4)-K2, when White has the Q5 square for his QN.

B. Much too complaisant. 10. . . . P-N5, to drive away the Knight, was indicated. Then Black could risk the capture of White's KP.

C. White threatened 15. B-R6, winning the exchange, but the alternate defense of 14. . . . K-R1, though unattractive, was preferable.

D. Apparently even in scholastic events the nice finishes appear only in the notes. Here 15. . . . R-K1 allows 16. RxP, KxR (16. . . . BxB; 17. R-N7 ch wins easily); 17. QxKP ch, BxQ; 18. BxB, mate.

E. With the optimism of youth, Black hopes to get in 23. . . . R-K8 ch, but the move decentralizes the Queen. Better was the immediate 22. . . . K-R1, anticipating the possibility of a White Queen check on Q5.

F. This succeeds because of Black's blunder. A good maneuver for White would be 36. N-K3, intending 37. N-N4 and 38. N-R6 ch.

G. Black should hang on with 36. . . . K-R1.

H. After 37. . . . QxQ; 38. N-B6 ch and 39. NxQ, White is a piece ahead with no further problems.