Chess Student Spotlight: Dylan Kovacs

Academy student Dylan is the newest Colorado State Champion in the K-5 division and has earned the right to compete in the Rockefeller Tournament of Champions! To celebrate, we talked to Dylan about his most memorable games from the tournament, his chess journey, chess favorites, and more.

Dylan shows off his new hardware. Photo by John Brezina.

Dylan Talks Tournament

Daniel Weissbarth: Do you want to tell me a little about how the state tournament went?
Dylan: So, the state tournament… I think at first I was a little nervous, but once I got in the groove of it, I really felt confident, but not too confident. I think overall, it went pretty well.
DW: I would say it seems like it went pretty well. So are you the official state champion or are you a co-champion?
Dylan: I was tied because another person also got 5.5 out of 6. Then on tiebreaks, I got first.
DW: Are you invited to the Rockefeller tournament?
Dylan: Yes.
DW: Cool! Are you gonna try to play?
Dylan: Yeah.

Dylan's Silver Knights Studies

DW: Which coaches have you worked with the most with us?
Dylan: I’ve been working with Will, but I used to be with Gustavo. I really liked the lessons with Will and Gustavo. My little brother Charlie is with Gustavo now, and sometimes I just like listening.
DW: What’s your favorite thing you’ve learned from Will or Gustavo, or from both of them?
Dylan: I like that they’re, like… I don’t really know how to explain it. I’ve been through so many lessons. I don’t really know what to say. [laughs]
DW: Do you have a favorite lesson you’ve done with one of them?
Dylan: I think every lesson. 

Dylan's Winning Tactic Against the Top Seed

In a game against the top seed, Dylan was able to use the skewer tactic to secure a win. 

Most Exciting Game

In round four of the six-round state championship tournament, Dylan faced off against a player named Ella, who went on to become the state Blitz champion in the K-5 division. Here’s how Dylan described their matchup:

Dylan: I started out with d4. This is usually what I play. Ella played d5, and then c4, c6… yeah. I really like this move Ne5 because my knight’s in the center and it’s happy. [Move 7], I decided to take the bishop. I didn’t really like how my e-pawn wasn’t able to move. So then she takes back, I go there [Qe2]. I don’t really know why I played there. Oh yeah! I was looking at ideas – I know Ella, or I’m pretty sure Ella, sometimes does this knight sacrifice on f2, and I didn’t really like how my king was out there…
DW: Hmm, I have a strong feeling about that knight sacrifice on f2 right now. If she wants to sacrifice her knight on f2, I think you would be thrilled about it. The queen could come out, and then she would be all alone, and your king could go back to safety. 
Dylan: I still wasn’t that sure about it. So I think what she was doing with a5, I think she was thinking that I was gonna castle queenside, but now I play e3 to get my bishop out. She keeps pushing that a-pawn, wasting time kind of, and I put my bishop there [on d3]. Then she pushes again, and I just castle. I think in this game, I was really ignoring what she was doing, because I think it was just kinda wasting time for her, so I used that time by just developing and castling. So she plays there [a3], and I take. I just didn’t really like that pawn on a3. I think someday, it was gonna get a little annoying. Rook takes a3. I think I found this pretty nice move Be2, hitting the knight. She goes queen [a5] to protect her bishop.
DW: Oh, should she just retreat her knight? Why doesn’t she just retreat her knight?
Dylan: If she retreats her knight, Qxb4, and then the rook is trapped. I take [the knight on g4], then rook takes [the pawn on c4]. I saw the idea Bc3, so I played Be2, so she’s hanging the rook again. So she goes back and I attack the bishop, the bishop goes there [to a3], then I take [the b7 pawn with the queen].
DW: Oh, now you’re doing great.
Dylan: Yeah. So later, when I was analyzing this game, I saw that after Rc2, I could have just done Bc7.
DW: Bc7, then Qc8, and then you go get the rook. Or is the queen trapped…? No, the queen’s not gonna get trapped. You have Bd1 maybe, too, or Qc8.
Dylan: Yeah, but I didn’t play that in the game. So after Qxb7, I went with [Qc8] check. I just didn’t want her king to castle or give her any opportunities. Then I played 21. Bd3.
DW: To save your bishop?
Dylan: Yeah. Then Rd2, then I do Rfd1 because I thought the rook on a1 was doing something and the rook on f1 wasn’t really doing something. So she trades, then moves her king there [to d7], trying to activate her king, I guess? Then I put my rook back because I really like my rook on that open b-file. I don’t really know why she did this [play Ra1].
DW: Basically, if you look at her pieces, the rook is the worst one, right? That rook’s not where it wants to be. It can’t go to b8 because you control that square with your bishop, so the only squares that seem like they would make sense would be a8, where, after her bishop leaves, it can pressure your a-pawn, or c8, where maybe it’ll help her push her pawn to c5. I think it seems pretty reasonable to me. So how do you feel about your position here? Do you feel good, bad, a little better, a little worse?
Dylan: In the position, I really like how my bishops are just controlling the center kind of, and my rook, I like how it’s just staring down that open file. I think my pieces are really well placed. Like, her bishop on a3, I really compare that with my bishop on f4 because they’re both dark squared bishops. My bishop is probably annoying her with how many squares it’s controlling. I think my bishop is way stronger than hers.
DW: Yeah, you’re probably a little better. You have a bishop pair against a bishop and a knight here, which is a little advantage, and she also has that pawn on c6 who’s what’s called a “backwards pawn,” where it’s hard to push. But I think she should probably try to push c5 to trade that pawn for your d-pawn.  
Dylan: Yeah. [c5]
DW: Boom.
Dylan: Here, I was thinking really hard, and I thought, “I don’t want c4 to happen,” so I take [26. dxc5].
DW: Yeah, that would be really bad.
Dylan: Yeah. So I was thinking bishop takes, but it’s actually knight takes. I put my bishop on c2, trying to keep that open diagonal, and then after h5 trying to save that pawn, I played Be5. I was looking at the idea of Bd4 because I really like the idea of that outpost. So yeah, she kicks my bishop, I go back, and then knight there. I wasn’t really sure about that.
DW: I think she should keep her knight there and let you trade.
Dylan: I think e5 would have been way better.
DW: e5 is way better, yeah.
Dylan: Yeah, so knight’s there, knights on the rim are grim, and then I go bishop there–
DW: Pause here. I think you have an even better move than retreating the bishop. I think you can play rook b7. So after she plays h4, then Rb7+, and if her king goes back, you could think about checking again, like Rf7+ Kg8. If she goes [Ke8], you have a discovery and you can crush her, so she can’t go there, so she would go to g8, and then… I don’t know. Maybe there isn’t an amazing way to make progress here.
Dylan: Yeah, I looked into that position and I didn’t really have that many ways to continue my attack so I decided to retreat. 
DW: Yeah, she goes back, you attack the knight…
Dylan: And there [Nb4] is a blunder, because… yeah [Bc5, forking the knight and king].
DW: Uh oh. Ok. And now do you just win?
Dylan: Yeah.

Dylan's Chess Journey and Chess Favorites

Dylan takes notation during a tournament game. Photo by John Brezina. 

DW: How did you learn chess?
Dylan: It really all started out with my brother Henry. He got into chess when he was 9, then I started when I was 4 or 5. I think Henry’s interest in chess kinda made me want to have the same interest as him, so that’s how I got into chess. 
DW: That’s how I got into chess, too, is my older brother. Do you remember your first tournament?
Dylan: I think my first tournament was probably a PALS tournament. I just don’t really remember it because I’ve been through lots of tournaments.
DW: What’s your favorite thing about playing chess?
Dylan: I like how it’s not easy, exactly, so it kind of forces your brain to think, and it’s not easy easy. 
Dylan: There are lots of things you can learn in chess, like every single game, so that’s what I like about chess.
DW: Do you have a favorite chess book? Have you read any chess books that you like?
Dylan: I’m using my brother’s Chessable courses, and right now I’m in “How To Reassess Your Chess”. I really like it so far.

Dylan Off the Board

DW: What else do you like to do besides playing chess?
Dylan: I like hanging out with my friends, and I do choir.
DW: What’s your favorite non-chess book?
Dylan: I have two favorite series: “The FunJungle” and “The Spy School”.