Justus prevails at U.S. Cadet!
Justus Williams has come a long from being the soft-spoken boy with the long dreadlock mane. The last five years have been a whirlwind for the 15-year old from the Bronx, New York. He is now a slender, clean-cut, bespectacled high school sophomore at Bronx School of Science and Technology who has already traveled to several countries and has even starred in the documentary “Brooklyn Castle“.
Justus Williams, 2013 Cadet Co-Champion
Photo by Elizabeth Spiegel.
Justus has tasted national fame, but the accolades keep coming. Today, Justus won the U.S. Cadet Championship, a tournament featuring the top eight players under 16 years of age. Amongst the eight master-level players, he showed the most poise in his demeanor and in his play despite losing his first-round game to eventual co-champion Michael Brown of California.
Justus Williams vs. Josh Colas
in last-round battle. Justus prevailed.
In this finale’, Justus was able to apply just enough pressure with black and his opponent ultimately collapsed in a heap. With this victory, he would win a scholarship to the University of Maryland at Baltimore (UMBC). Brown would be declared co-champion and earn a free entry to Washington International along with Justus and Ruifeng Li.
With his photogenic smile and growing resume’, he is certain to get more college offers and travel opportunities. However he would also like to see how far he can go in chess. His mother Latisha Ballard-Williams has always had the confidence in what chess could do for her son. She is like many chess parents who realize that chess is more than a leisure activity, but a path for realizing one’s hidden potential. Justus is becoming a case study before our eyes.
A nice game from the Cadets…
Congrats!
Daaim, did you mean to say they are the top 8 under 16 y.o? Samuel Sevian comes to mind, who, fortunately for him, has had a full time coach for years. I wish these guys did. I think Josh is ranked 31 out of 37,526 juniors (but that includes many players 16 and older).
“… has come a long from being the soft-spoken boy with the long dreadlock mane. The last five years have been a whirlwind for the 15-year old from the Bronx, New York. He is now a slender, clean-cut, bespeckled high school sophomore at Bronx School of Science and Technology ”
Shoud i assume that the dreadlocks mane wasnt clean cutr enough ?! That sounded a bit prejudicial, tbh !
Congratulations Justus ! You played rock solid chess and your tactics prevailed at the right moments. I wish you many more success as you continue your journey.
These players are not THE top 8 players under 16, but close. The others above them have either participate in the US Junior closed, or the US championship. So I believe the cadet tournament does what it is supposed to(not to mention that some players may not accept invitations.)
While Justus should be congratulated for his monumental win, this tiebreaker was cruel. Michael won the head to head match. He should have won.
Rating wise you can’t argue with Liceu’s opinion, but what would make for a thrilling US Junior close would be a 16-man match up between THE top 8 v the close top 8. I am sure there would be a lot of surprises. Above the 2300 level, it’s a totally different animal.
Indeed. 2300+ players were born to scalp IMs and GMs.
I was under the impression that they had to play a blitz tie-break because they won their round 7 games. if Justus drew in round 7 to get to 4.5, would they still have played a blitz tie-break?
The tie-break would have been between all players tied for first after round 7. The tie-break could have involved 2, 3, 4 or even 8 players. (Going into round 7, 4 players were on +1, and 4 players were on -1. The last-round games all involved a +1 playing a -1. If all the -1 players had won, every player in the event would have scored 3.5/7.)
thanx for the info
Actually, It’s also sort of brutal to lose because you lost the head to head matchup with the black pieces. That would’ve been Justus’ fate under different rules.
Congratulations Justus Williams and Family! I recommend UMBC as a college for academics – it is my alma mater(physics and math double major) — went to grad school in physics after at M.I.T. which I also recommend.— and I am now a practicing physicist!
Kimani A. Stancil
Congrats to Justus and the Williams family. Keep on pushing!!! With the aftermath of the recent social media trial and a national tragedy it is heartfelt to see such a happy and radiant smile from this young man.
It was unfortunate timing that the 2013 U.S. Cadet conflicted with the big Youth Olympiad in China. Most of the time, the strongest Under 16 players will opt to miss a less prestigious even like the Cadet (they probably don’t have much room in their trophy case any more, but a bunch of the eligible kids who are competing for the US in China would probably have opted to play in the Cadet, if a better opportunity had not presented itself.
Still, it is what it is, and if the circumstances meant the competition would be a tad weaker, Brown and Williams took advantage of their chance.
It worked out well for the spectators following the event–the Cadet was close and dramatic throughout–not a surprise given the closeness of the ratings of the players who comprised the field.
I don’t know whether or not Michael Brown had any strong desire to matriculate at UMBC, but since there were only 2 players vying for that potentially rather sizable prize, I would have liked to see them play a couple of slow games first, before resorting to the Armageddon. It would be great publicity for UMBC to sponsor a 6-8 game match between the 2 players, to take place later in the year…
All of the players won at least 1 game, lost at least 1 game, and had at least a couple of draws.
If Justus is going to compete in the Junior Closed next year, I hope he’s a stable 2400+ by then. He’s knocking on the door now, and he has been pretty stable in his ratings progress.
Chess is indeed a very humbling sport, art and science. One would think that it’s easier playing down then playing up, but it’s totally the reverse. It makes me wonder, are the juniors who are guarding their ratings by only playing in tournaments where basically they have nothing to lose, are the ones who are making the best chess decisions? Just recently, one of the world best proved that it’s never an easy task playing down (rating-wise). In that sense, even though their ratings may occasionally take a beating, I have to give credit to the juniors who accept to play against smaller as well as bigger fishes no matter what effect it has on their ratings. Oftentimes, juniors who gets sting so often by smaller fishes, will make a conscious decision to stay away from them as pointed out by Boyd.
I agree Daaim. A lot has change in the past 50 years and chess has kept up with the changes as well. I remember in 1995 when Bill Gates made the statement that, there will be a day, not far distant, when you will be able to conduct business, study, explore the world and its cultures, call up any great entertainment, make friends, attend neighborhood markets, and show pictures to distant relatives without leaving your desk or armchair. These 10 year old masters and 13 year GMs are proof that his prediction of the future, 18 years ago was accurate. Technology is the reason why we are seeing so many super-young kids becoming masters and grandmasters. You just have to wonder what else we will see in the next decade or so as far as chess progress.
I would like to see these guys compete in U2400 though–especially Josh and Justus because they are almost no longer eligible. I think there’s more prize money and press to be earned by winning one of those as opposed to gaining points by finishing near the top of an open section.
You are right Daaim. Both Joshua and Justus are privileged to have able and willing parents who are able to assist them financially with their chess activities. As for Joshua, he keeps coming closer and closer of having a remarkable tournament each time he plays in the Open section. Coming short of getting his 1st IM Norm does not deter me at all, for I believe there will come a day when he will get it with ease. We live in a time of instant gratification, but I am still living in the time where nothing happens before its time. So I have endless patient. Things will change for me only if Josh decides to change course. It’s possible, sure, because he’s also musically and academically talented.
I agree with both of you, however I am only suggesting U2400 as a temporary supplement to playing in open tournaments. Now they are among the favorites in any U2400 (unlike when they used to play in them) and since they have huge upside, being that favorite is a temporary opportunity. I would think that any 2375-2399 who is probably going to leave the 2300’s permanently (unlike Tate, Morrison, etc.), should stop by a U2400 section now and then. Though they are supported by their parents, a prize and some attention would amount to additional assistance, no?
Well Done, and Congratulations to Latisha and Fam!
Congratulations, to all who participated, but a special congrats to Justus for the win !!! Continue on to more victories, and to Justus, Josh, and James… onward to the grandmaster title.
Daaim, I have a question about some less active players. Any news about the Bryant twins? Neither have played a USCF listed event since April and before that it was September-October. I think they are High School seniors and I don’t expect them to get any more active in college. Are they going to be like 23-year-old Kayin Barclay who hasn’t played a USCF event in almost 2 and a half years?