All The Right Moves : Chess Whiz, 11, Takes On and Defeats 30 Youngsters

An 11-year-old Armenian-born chess prodigy demolished 30 elementary school opponents in a simultaneous exhibition match Thursday, setting an unofficial world record for such victories, according to his coach.

Andranik Maissian, who is ranked ninth in the nation for his age group, took 2 1/2 hours to checkmate the last of his 6- to 11-year-old challengers.

“Boy, chess is a hard game,” said 8-year-old Brian Rakusin, surveying the impending disaster on his board as Andranik began closing the trap around his king.

But even for the defeated, there were consolations.

“I made him think two times!” Jonathan Bass, 6, announced proudly.

Andranik, a sixth-grader from West Hills in the San Fernando Valley, placed second in the national elementary school chess championships last year. With a rating of 1910, Andranik is a Class A player, which puts him in top 15% of chess players of all ages in the nation, according to the United States Chess Federation.

Andranik and four other top players from the Garden Grove Chess for Juniors Club have been invited to play in Leningrad in the Soviet Union in July, and are trying to raise $12,000 to finance the trip, according to their coach, national chess master Robert Snyder.

“These kids are really going to give the Russians a run for their money,” Snyder predicted.

Thursday’s match was held at the Pegasus School, which has 168 gifted and talented pupils, of whom about 25 are taking chess classes. Several other children from the chess club also played.

“Most of them are beginners, but they’ve all had some lessons,” Snyder said.

The previous record for simultaneous victory was set by Roy Runas, 13, of Long Beach, who defeated 21 players in Santa Ana in 1988, Snyder said. Neither that victory nor Andranik’s triumph on Thursday are official, however, because the Guiness Book of World Records has so far declined to keep track of such feats.

Roy went on to become the National Junior High School Champion, and is also going to Leningrad. His 2057 rating puts him in the “expert” category, and he is ranked 13th among 13- and 14-year-olds, according to the Chess Federation.

Snyder said the Pegasus School players were on the whole better players than those Roy had faced in Santa Ana.

“This isn’t real strong competition, but it’s not like these kids were picked to be bad,” Snyder said. “They’ve all had some practice. This was definitely a tougher field of players than Roy had.”

Still, even the best were clearly outmatched by Andranik--although they had 30 times longer than he to ponder their next move. Andranik played white and opened with the queen’s gambit. He appeared to be following his coach’s advice to stick to safe moves and let his opponents make the mistakes.

The dark, slender boy was mainly poker-faced as he moved from board to board, usually taking only seconds to make his moves. He has already developed stage presence, swooping across the board to snatch up queens and bishops. Some younger players were left staring open-mouthed at their boards.

“It seems like he’s trying to hype you out . . . ‘cause he really moves them really fast,” said Jennifer Goldberger, 11. “It seems like he’s trying to trick you--and that he’s thinking really hard.”

Andranik was often forced to inform his opponents that their proposed moves were illegal. He resisted their appeals for advice.

“If I move there, can you take me?” asked Shana Goldberger, 7.

“I can’t answer that,” Andranik replied.

She moved her knight anyway, and he promptly captured it.

He did take mercy, however, on one small child, shaking his head ever so slightly as she hesitated over a move that would have proved fatal.

After 70 minutes, two first-graders were disqualified for trading pieces, hopelessly muddling the board. Shortly after, 6-year-old Jonathan Bass got antsy and told Snyder he wanted to stop.

“Do you wish to surrender?” Snyder asked.

“What’s that?” Jonathan wondered.

Snyder said about one-third of his students are exceptionally bright, but he also has pupils with learning disabilities or behavioral problems, some of whom seem to be helped by learning chess.

“Chess teaches logic, abstract thinking, concentration--and how to plan ahead,” Snyder said. “Chess can be therapeutic.”

Some children were clearly plotting their strategies carefully. “I have a small chance of beating him,” said Mike Toledano, 11, about 90 minutes into the game. “He hasn’t made a mistake, but I don’t think I have either. Two weeks ago, we studied this position.”

Mike, who belongs to the chess club, said he hopes his parents will send him to chess camp this summer.

“If you practice enough, anybody can get as good as him,” Mike said. “Maybe not at his age.”

Andranik said his father taught him to play chess at 5. His uncle, Houanes Gendijian, thought the boy was talented and began taking him to a chess club in Armenia. Three years ago, the family emigrated and settled near Van Nuys.

Now, Andranik’s father works as a truck driver, and Gendijian drives the boy for the three-hour, round-trip trek to monthly chess lessons with Snyder.

“It’s nothing for me, as long as he’s (getting) good,” Gendijian said.

“It’s a fun game, exciting and challenging,” said Andranik, who also likes basketball and soccer. He said he is looking forward to returning to play chess in the Soviet Union, and would like to become a professional player.

“On Saturdays and Sundays, I spend more than five or six hours practicing,” Andranik said. “But on school days, only two hours, because I have a lot of homework.”