Sinquefield Chess Cup 2013 Last Round Today: Nakmura, Aronian, Carlsen Fighting for Title Win

Chess Blog for Daily Chess News and Trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013

Hi everyone, 

 

The super-strong chess tournament in the US, the Sinquefield Chess Cup reaches its climax today in the final round: GM Hikaru Nakamura, GM Levon Aronian and GM Magnus Carlsen all have chances at winning the inaugural tournament!

 

Both games were drawn on Saturday: Magnus Carlsen (3.5/5) - Hikaru Nakamura (3.0/5) and Levon Aronian (2.5/5) - Gata Kamsky (1.0/5). All three - Nakamura, Aronian and Carlsen have a chance to win the title.

Yes, before we forget, US No. 1 Hikaru Nakamura turned up with shades for his game against Carlsen like he had done for the first game against the world No. 1 in Round 3! We received an interesting article on the subject via www.worldchesschampionship2013.com: Does Chess Prodigy World No. 1 practice chess hypnotism? We're not commenting on it, but you just might enjoy reading it. ;)

Standings After Round 51 Magnus Carlsen 2862 Points: 3.5
2 Hikaru Nakamura 2772 Points 3
3 Levon Aronian 2813 Points 2.5
4 Gata Kamsky 2741 Points 1

Pairings for Round 6 - 09/15/20131 Carlsen, Magnus 2862 - Aronian, Levon 2813
2 Kamsky, Gata 2741 - Nakamura, Hikaru 2772

Be there for the live broadcast at the official website Live Coverage of the Sinquefield Cup will begin at 1 p.m. CST each day. Tune in to live commentary with GMs Yasser Seirawan, Maurice Ashley and WGM Jennifer Shahade!

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Sinquefield Chess Cup Round 3: Nakamura in Lead at Halfway Point

Chess Blog for Daily Chess News and Trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013  

Hi everyone, 

 

 

American Grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura is in lead after three rounds at the Sinquefield Chess Cup. Here is the report by Brian Jerauld.

SAINT LOUIS (September 12, 2013) -- At the 1959 Candidates Tournament, Hungarian GM Pal Benko, desperate to refute the “hypnotic stare” of the legendary Mikhail Tal, pulled from his pocket a defense never tried before: Reflective sunglasses. Tal had decisively won every match of their career to that point.

In the third round of the Sinquefield Cup, GM Hikaru Nakamura decided to try out "Benko’s variation".

The eccentric American No. 1 strolled into the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis on Wednesday, donning a pair of shades for his game against Norway’s Magnus Carlsen. Carlsen, perhaps through hypnotism, decisively held the lifetime series between the two at 7-0 with 13 draws.

“For the first time in his life, Carlsen has to look at his opponent and see himself," quipped GM Ian Rogers, who was offering live commentary to a crowd at Lester's restaurant nearby the Chess Club. "That will be scary.”

The plan didn’t work out so well for Benko, who was wiped off the board in 20 moves. Tal eventually threw him a bone by allowing perpetual check saying: “When I want to win against Benko, I win; when I want to draw, I draw.”

Nakamura’s version of the defense was good enough for a legitimate draw against Carlsen, maintaining the standings at the tournament’s halfway point.

Heading into the rest day, Nakamura stands as the front-runner with 2.5/3 points, while Carlsen trails just a half-point behind in second place. Armenia’s Levon Aronian sits in third with 1/3 after battling to a draw with reigning U.S. Champion Gata Kamsky, who earned his first half-point of the tournament.

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Sinquefield Chess Cup Round 2: Hikaru Nakamura Leads with Perfect Score

Chess Blog for Daily Chess News and Trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013  

Hi everyone, 

With his victory on Tuesday, GM Hikaru Nakamura moved up to No. 5 in the world on the live rating list and is less than a point away from overtaking GM Alexander Grischuk for the No. 4 spot, writes Brian Jerauld in his report on the second round at the Sinquefield Chess Cup. Nakamura is also at perfect score after two rounds in this high-powered event. Read the full report:

SAINT LOUIS (September 10, 2013) -- Hikaru Nakamura is done with the side dishes. Now bring on the main course.

Through the first two rounds of the inaugural Sinquefield Cup, the American No. 1 has already gotten fat from both number-twos in the quartet, first gobbling up a blunder by World No. 2 Levon Aronian on Monday, and then chewing through U.S. No. 2 Gata Kamsky on Tuesday to remain perfect through the tournament. Nakamura’s two points hold him in clear first in the six-game, double round-robin Sinquefield Cup, after World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen equalized early and convincingly in his 36th classical game against Aronian – but could not find a way to topple the Armenian king. The draw gave Aronian his first half point of the tournament and pulled Carlsen into second with 1.5/2. Kamsky still seeks his first tally.

Both number-ones – America’s Nakamura and the World’s Carlsen – will meet on Wednesday for the last game of the first cycle. Kamsky will command white for the first time in the tournament, against Aronian.

It would seem the United States’ top two players would have more of a history with each other, especially considering the world travelers have traded the title of U.S. Champion for the past five years, but much of 25-year-old Nakamura’s uprising came during 39-year-old Kamsky’s eight-year hiatus from the game. The two had met just eight times before the Sinquefield Cup, with six draws and a victory each; Tuesday proved to be a tiebreaker.

Despite his usual selections of 1. d4 or 1. Nf3 against Kamsky, Nakamura opened with 1. e4 for the second day in a row, to which Kamsky – on the attack after Monday’s loss to Carlsen – answered with the Kan variation of the Sicilian. Though both players would be nearly playing the increment by the 40th move time control, the game’s opening sped off at a furious pace for the first dozen moves, with early action.

Nakamura’s 9. Re1 looked innocuous, but his intentions became clear when Kamsky chased the white knight on c3, ushering 11. Nd5 – a square that black attacked twice, but with dangerous consequences upon capture. And still on his fast opening attack, Nakamura dropped 12. Qh5 with authority, immediately getting up from the board to let Kamsky think about the already dangerous position. But it was Nakamura who would give the game its first deep think, dropping nearly 30 minutes from his clock after Kamsky’s novelty response of 12. … Ne7.

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Sinquefield Chess Cup Round 1: Nakamura beats Aronian, Carlsen beats Kamsky

Chess Blog for Daily Chess News and Trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013  

Hi everyone, 

GM Hikaru Nakamura took advantage of a late blunder by World No. 2 GM Levon Aronian to defend his home turf in the first round of the 2013 Sinquefield Cup. Here is the report by Brian Jerauld and game annotations by GM Ronen Har-Zvi and GM Varuzhan Akobian.

SAINT LOUIS, September 9, 2013 -- Welcome to the Sinquefield Cup. Please check your cell phones, your tablets – and all expectations – at the door.

Anyone visiting Saint Louis hoping to witness something they have never seen before just got their wish. For a moment, time stood still during Monday’s first round of the Sinquefield Cup, where Armenia’s Levon Aronian – the world No. 2 – offered up something nobody expected to see: A blatant blunder.

Round 1 of the strongest chess tournament in American history, showcasing four of the world’s top-20 players, is in the books with the first two games complete – and two full points already awarded. World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen put a slow squeeze on U.S. Champion Gata Kamsky, while the U.S. No. 1-by-rating Hikaru Nakamura was quick to attack a fatal misstep by Aronian.

GM Hikaru Nakamura beats World No. 2 Levon Aronian

Despite the Ruy Lopez being one of Aronian’s main and productive lines, Nakamura showed no fear of familiarity by speeding quickly through the opening. Even as Aronian took the game into new territory with the first novelty of the tournament in 11. … Nfd7, Nakamura pushed 12. Nd4 with a nearly instant response, continuing with his own agenda. But Aronian’s response with an aggressive 12. … c5 sent Nakamura into his first deep think of the game, nearly 30 minutes before moving the seemingly natural 13. Nf5.

“I knew Nd7 was a novelty,” Nakamura said. “But after Nf5 and the correct response of Nf6, while I knew I could trade with Ne7, I had a feeling he was planning d5.”

Indeed, after Nakamura dropped Ne3 to bolster the pivotal square, Aronian challenged it just three moves later, eventually opening up the board to several avenues of attack for both sides. With the white queen open to attack, Aronian was able to equalize with 25. .. Nf4, ushering a trade of several minor pieces that had Nakamura admittedly ready to offer a draw.

But the move heard round the world was 30. … Qb5??, a severe blunder that ushered a trade-off of queens and Nakamura’s instant response of 32. Nd7 – winning an exchange and a slight smirk from the American. It left the world No. 2 visibly rattled, and the game was quickly liquidated into a full point for Nakamura.

“I prefer not to lose in such a way,” Aronian said. “But that’s something about the game of chess: It’s very humbling to lose after such a blunder.”

On the other board, Kamsky was tenacious with a bend-but-don’t-break attitude, but Carlsen’s grip with the white pieces turned into a slow strangulation of submission for the reigning U.S. Champion.

Perhaps bait to pull Kamsky into one of his most-familiar Slav lines, Carlsen showed little interest in finding an advantage in the opening and let the middle game decide fate. Standard lines continued until Kamsky offered an unprovoked 9. … Bxc3, providing Carlsen the lone bishop on the board.

The game’s pivotal move came with Kamsky’s 14. … h5 – the penultimate risk-reward that brought Kamsky his first taste of counterplay, but eventually served as his demise. Despite equal material, Carlsen’s white pieces proved incredibly active, owning the c-file with a rook battery and eventually placing two major pieces on Kamsky’s back rank – surrounding his desperately exposed king.

That said, Kamsky’s play in the weakened position was sharp and precise down the stretch, forcing Carlsen to be even more accurate. Claiming the full point was not a walk in the park for the World No. 1, several times being forced into finding the only correct move.

“I didn’t think h5 was a good move; it left his pawn a bit weak there,” Carlsen said. “But it did confuse me into making some stupid moves.”

GM Magnus Carlsen had to play with extreme accuracy to knock of the reigning U.S. Champion, GM Gata Kmasky, in round 1 of the Sinquefield Cup.

Pairings for Round 2
1 Aronian, Levon 2813 - Carlsen, Magnus 2862
2 Nakamura, Hikaru 2772 - Kamsky, Gata 2741

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Sinquefield Chess Cup: Jennifer Shahade on Reaching St Louis for power-packed Commentary

Chess Blog for Daily Chess News and Trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013  

Hi everyone,

Guess where's former American Women's Chess Champion, writer, commentator and poker player Jennifer Shahade? She's in Saint Louis where America's most high-powered chess event yet is set to take place from today! She is at the Sinquefield Chess Cup waiting for the games to start and her commentary. Here is her update from Chess Life Online of which she is the editor:

"I just arrived in Saint Louis for one of the most exciting events in US chess history, the Sinquefield Cup. The fun here kicked off Saturday with a drawing of the lots, where each player picked a custom designed DGT enabled House of Staunton set to determine pairings. In round one, Hikaru Nakamura (white) plays Levon Aronian while Magnus Carlsen (white) faces Gata Kamsky.On Sunday, the players hosted a Meet and Greet for photos and autographs at the Chess Club, which was naturally packed. Afterwards, all four players went to the Rams game.

It was Magnus Carlsen's first American football game, so GM Maurice Ashley kindly explained the rules to him and concluded, "He catches on quick." No doubt! At the end of the exciting game, the Saint Louis Rams edged out the Arizona Cardinals 27-24. Aronian and Carlsen were both high-fiving and cheering, clearly getting into the Saint Louis spirit. As an organizer and commentator, I predict that game is a premonition of how thrilling the tournament will be! 
Be sure to tune into my commentary at http://uschesschamps.com/live with GMs Maurice Ashley and Yasser Seirawan--between Maurice's energy and "Yaz's" eloquence, you're in for a treat! The coverage begins Monday at 1 local time/2 EST.

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Meet the Chess Superstars of the Sinquefield Chess Cup Tournament beginning Sept 9

Chess Blog for Daily Chess News and Trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013

Hi everyone, 

SAINT LOUIS (August 12, 2013) -- The 2013 Sinquefield Cup features GMs Magnus Carlsen and Levon Aronian (top two in the World) and GMs Hikaru Nakamura and Gata Kamsky (top two in the U.S.). The tournament takes place September 9-15 at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis (CCSCSL).

There also will be a special meet-and-greet autograph session on Sunday, September 8, from Noon to 1:30 p.m., where spectators will have the opportunity to get autographs from and take pictures with the players. This event is free, and fans will be admitted on a first-come, first-served basis.

Round one of the tournament begins at 1 p.m. CT on September 9.

Three different grandmaster commentary teams will be on site to offer live play-by-play and analysis of each round of this historic tournament.

Following their groundbreaking live commentary of the 2013 U.S. Championships, GMs Yasser Seirawan and Maurice Ashley will once again join WGM Jennifer Shahade on a closed set that will broadcast to thousands of viewers online via www.uschesschamps.com.

The Participants

Magnus Carlsen has transcended chess superstardom to become a world icon. He will challenge Viswanathan Anand for the World Championship title in November.

Hikaru Nakamura's playing style is brilliant and attacking, making him one of the most exciting players on the planet.

Grandmaster Levon Aronian of Armenia is currently ranked No. 2 in the world and holds a plus score agaisnt both of the U.S. competitors, Hikaru Nakamura and Gata Kamsky.

Grandmaster Gata Kamsky, the reigning U.S. Champion, will take on three of the world's best at the Sinquefield Cup.

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Sinquefield Chess Cup Offers Unparalleled Spectator Experience with the World's Best

Alexandra Kosteniuk's Chess Blog for Daily Chess News and Trivia (c) 2013

Hi everyone, 

Sinquefield Cup offers unparalleled spectator experienceWill feature 3 GM commentary teams and free autograph session with players

SAINT LOUIS (August 13, 2013) -- The 2013 Sinquefield Cup will offer live spectators a bevy of options come September. 

The tournament, which features GMs Magnus Carlsen and Levon Aronian (top two in the World) and GMs Hikaru Nakamura and Gata Kamsky (top two in the U.S.) takes place September 9-15 at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis (CCSCSL).

There also will be a special meet-and-greet autograph session on Sunday, September 8, from Noon to 1:30 p.m., where spectators will have the opportunity to get autographs from and take pictures with the players. This event is free, and fans will be admitted on a first-come, first-served basis.

Round one of the tournament begins at 1 p.m. CT on September 9.

Three different grandmaster commentary teams will be on site to offer live play-by-play and analysis of each round of this historic tournament.

Following their groundbreaking live commentary of the 2013 U.S. Championships, GMs Yasser Seirawan and Maurice Ashley will once again join WGM Jennifer Shahade on a closed set that will broadcast to thousands of viewers online via www.uschesschamps.com.Two other teams (comprised of GMs Varuzhan Akobian, Ben Finegold, Ronen Har-Zvi and one additional commentator TBD) also will be conducting commentary for live audiences at Lester’s Restaurant (connected to the CCSCSL) and the World Chess Hall of Fame (across the street from the CCSCSL).

Tony Rich, the executive director of the CCSCSL, said additional commentary teams will create a dynamic and engaging spectator experience.

“We wanted to offer a variety of options to ensure a positive experience for club members and visitors alike.” he said.

Event spectators will have the option to observe the players in the tournament playing hall, listen to the live streaming online commentary in a special viewing area at the Chess Club, or sit in on either of the live audience broadcasts. Tickets for individual rounds cost just $15 and also include food and beverage. Click here to purchase tickets or to view ticket package information.

In addition, the World Chess Hall of Fame will present a preview of their upcoming exhibit Jacqueline Piatigorsky: Patron, Player, Pioneer on the first floor gallery alongside the live GM commentary. The exhibition will be on view from September 4-15 and will include artifacts related to the 1963 and 1966 Piatigorsky Cup tournaments, two of the strongest chess competitions to be held in the U.S. These events attracted top grandmasters from around the world, including Boris Spassky, Bobby Fischer, Tigran Petrosian and Paul Keres.

The Sinquefield Cup marks Carlsen’s firsts-ever high-profile tournament in the United States. The event, a four-player, double round robin, features a $170,000 prize fund and an average FIDE rating just under 2800, making it the strongest tournament in the history of the U.S.

The event is named after the founders of the CCSCSL, Jeanne and Rex Sinquefield. The Sinquefields were each honored by the U.S. Chess Federation with a Gold Koltanowski award in 2012, with Rex also earning the distinction in 2009, 2010 and 2011. The award is given to the person or persons who have done the most to promote chess in the U.S. each year.

For more information including area hotels with special chess rates, visit http://www.uschesschamps.com/sinquefield-cup.

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Top 2 in World, Top 2 in U.S. to Battle for Sinquefield Chess Cup

Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013

Hi everyone, 

SAINT LOUIS (June 17, 2013) -- For the first time ever, World Championship challenger GM Magnus Carlsen will play a high-profile tournament in the United States.

The World’s No. 1 ranked player will take on three other top-ten players in Saint Louis this September when he joins GMs Levon Aronian, Hikaru Nakamura and Gata Kamsky for the Sinquefield Cup, a four-player, double round robin scheduled to be held at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis (CCSCSL) September 9-15.

In November, Carlsen will challenge GM Viswanathan Anand of India for the World Championship title.

CCSCSL Executive Director Tony Rich said this event marks an important milestone for U.S. chess.

“We are honored to bring the world’s best to Saint Louis this September,” Rich said. “Hosting an event of this magnitude is yet another sign that the U.S. is becoming a major player in the world chess scene.”

Carlsen and Aronian currently sit atop the world rankings at No. 1 and 2, respectively, while Nakamura and Kamsky hold the No. 1 and 2 spots in the U.S.

Nakamura is coming off one of the most successful three-game runs of his career having recently defeated GMs Vladimir Kramnik, Sergey Karjakin and Fabiano Caruana at the Tal Memorial, which has vaulted him back into fifth place in the world rankings.

Kamsky also is coming off one of his most successful tournament performances in recent years with a second-place finish at the FIDE Grand Prix that recently concluded in Thessaloniki, Greece. Kamsky, who recently won his fourth U.S. Championship title, climbed back into the world’s top 10 for the first time since September 2011.

The average FIDE rating for the field is over 2800, making it the strongest tournament in the history of the U.S.

The opening ceremony will take place on September 8, and round 1 will begin at 1 p.m. CT on Monday, September 9.

The Sinquefield Cup, which will feature a prize fund of $170,000, is named after the founders of the CCSCSL, Jeanne and Rex Sinquefield. The Sinquefields were each honored by the U.S. Chess Federation with a Gold Koltanowski award in 2012, with Rex also earning the distinction in 2009, 2010 and 2011. The award is given to the person or persons who have done the most to promote chess in the U.S. each year. For more information, visit www.uschesschamps.com.


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