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Monday, May 27, 2013
US Chess Championships 2013 in Saint Louis: Cool Video Montage
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013
Hi everyone,
See video montage of facial expressions from the intense competition at the 2013 US Chess Championship in Saint Louis. For more info on the event, go to uschesschamps.com.
U.S. Chess Championship 2013 Special to Air on FOX Sports Midwest May 25
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013
Hi everyone,
SAINT LOUIS -- On May 25 at 6 p.m. CT, FOX Sports Midwest will air a one-hour recap special covering the 2013 U.S. and U.S. Women’s Chess Championships, which recently concluded at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis.
The 2013 U.S. Championship and 2013 U.S. Women’s Championship were held concurrently May 2 through May 13 at the CCSCSL. This marked the fifth consecutive year these events, the two most prestigious chess tournaments in the nation, were held in Saint Louis.
Grandmasters Gata Kamsky and Alejandro Ramirez squared off in an intense, head-to-head, rapid playoff to determine the 2013 U.S. Champion while the 2013 U.S. Women’s Championship boiled down to a three-way race between Tatev Abrahamyan, Anna Zatonskih and Irina Krush.
The one-hour special premiering on FOX Sports Midwest on May 25 will introduce viewers to some of the unique personalities in the U.S. chess scene and recap all the exciting action, including the thrilling climax, of the most important chess tournaments in the country.
In addition to the premiere, the special will also air on the following dates and times:
Thursday, May 30 at 5 p.m.
Saturday, June 1 at 8 p.m.
Wednesday, June 5 at 5 p.m.
Saturday, June 8 at 7 p.m.
Thursday, June 13 at 11 p.m.
Live play-by-play of each round of the event also was streamed online to tens of thousands of viewers across the world through the websites of FOX Sports Midwest and USChessChamps.com, the U.S. Championships event website.
CCSCSL Executive Director Tony Rich said the live streaming show and televised recap special through FOX Sports Midwest both mark an important turning point for U.S. chess.
“This partnership with FOX Sports Midwest allows us to bring chess to a broader audience and to introduce the excitement and intensity of tournament chess to a whole new demographic,” Rich said. “Our goal is to showcase the talents of the top chess players in the nation and to create more fans and students of the sport of chess.”
The 2013 U.S. Championship featured a field of 24 players and a total prize fund of $180,000, and the 2013 U.S. Women’s Championship featured a 10-player field and a prize fund of $65,000.
“These players are the superstars of the U.S. chess scene,” Rich said. "We hope their play will inspire young chess players all across the country to achieve great things."
The CCSCSL has been home to the championships for each of the past five years, helping contribute to Saint Louis’ reputation as the hub of the U.S. chess scene.
US Chess Championships 2013: Krush Crowned; Kamsky, Ramirez Await Playoff
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013
Hi everyone,
SAINT LOUIS (May 12, 2013) -- After four unsuccessful attempts, IM Irina Krush finally defended her U.S. Women’s Championship title. Her draw with WGM Camilla Baginskaite made her score 8/9 and put the tournament out of reach for IM Anna Zatonskih, who won but finished a half-point behind Krush. The U.S. Championship offered no such clarity, as GM Gata Kamsky nursed a half-point margin but could not defeat GM Ray Robson. Three players could have won to catch Kamsky, but only GM Alejandro Ramirez got a full point. The two will play on Monday at noon in a two-game rapid playoff.
“This has been my smoothest victory,” Krush said of her five championships, before pausing to recall them all. “Well, actually when I won my first with 8½ out of nine, that also went well.” That first title was in 1998, the only time she competed without Zatonskih in the field. The two have mostly traded titles the last few years. “We have to break this pattern,” Krush joked.
In the game, Krush got exactly the position she wanted against Baginskaite. There were no intricate tactics and no strategic imbalances. Krush won a pawn in a riskless knight-and-pawn endgame, so she decided to play for the win. “I’m supposed to win this endgame, but all of the sudden, I allowed all this counterplay. I decided to offer the draw before things got out of hand.” The win nets her $18,000, which she said she will use for a down payment on an apartment in Brooklyn. “I also like to take exotic vacations. Maybe Belize.”
Krush could not explain why she did so well. “Sometimes you just wonder why it all comes together. This is what I came to do, and I got the job done. I think I’m getting happier by the minute.” She said that her round three win as black against Zatonskih essentially set the table for the rest of the event. “That basically decided the result.” She also won as black in the penultimate round against the third seed and third-place finisher, WGM Tatev Abrahamyan.
Kamsky had a chance to clinch clear first place, and it looked for a time like a win as black would be possible. Robson, fighting for a top six finish for a 2013 World Cup qualification, mixed it up early by jettisoning some pawns to open lines.
“He surprised me with b4, sacrificing two pawns for an attack,” Kamsky said. “I thought I should be winning, but somehow he had all these tactical resources.” Later, Robson kept the fire burning by sacrificing an additional exchange to keep the initiative.
Robson said he would have played solidly if possible, but he took what the position gave him. “There’s no way you can force a win against Gata,” Robson said. “[Kamsky] can punish you if you go for a win too much. Probably I just overestimated my position.”
The draw might still have been good enough for clear first, were it not for the continued heroics of the much lower ranked GM Alejandro Ramirez. He first offered his a-pawn to tie down black’s bishop and rook, and then switched to probe the other side of the chessboard. Eventually weaknesses were created, and a passed e-pawn sealed the deal. “His queen is so badly placed on b6 that it is difficult to hold the kingside together,” Ramirez explained. “I didn’t see a defense for him.”
His game finished before Kamsky, so the only way he could be taken out of contention would have been for Robson to blunder. “I haven’t cheered for Ray this much ever,” Ramirez said about the waning moments of the top board.
“I really didn’t ever expect to be in this position,” Ramirez said of his impending playoff tomorrow. “It’s like a dream. Wow! It’s actually happening.” The two will meet Monday at noon in a pair of 25-minute rapid games, followed by an Armageddon bidding match if the score is tied 1-1.
“Tomorrow’s going to be very stressful. I’ve never played a rapid playoff,” Ramirez said. Kamsky has played several tiebreaks in the World Cup, and has been successful twice in Saint Louis at previous U.S. Championships.
US Chess Championships 2013 Round 8: Krush Cruises, Kamsky Holds
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013
Hi everyone,
SAINT LOUIS (May 12, 2013) -- In a day in which both leaders could have at least guaranteed themselves a spot in a first-place tiebreak, only one built a safety net. Round eight of the 2013 U.S. Championship and U.S. Women’s Championship saw GM Gata Kamsky slip with a complicated position but dwindling clock, while IM Irina Krush snatched a pawn and squashed the limited compensation to maintain her one-point lead.
Both events will need the final round, and perhaps more, to decide a champion.
Due to the complicated FIDE pairing system, Kamsky got white for the second round in a row. GM Timur Gareev lined up for the black pieces. Luckily, he did not assume the pairings and checked them this morning. “I was a little surprised, but you still have to play,” Gareev said. IA Franc Guadalupe confirmed the colors were accurate according to the FIDE rules, which prioritize color history and equalization more than which player is due a certain color.
Once again, Kamsky got nothing special from his preparation. “Obviously I was very happy with the opening,” Gareev said. He knew his chances would only come from active play before the game opened up. “I was looking for something concrete. Strategically white’s position is better with the two bishops. Two of my knights jumping into the center squares; I felt I should be better.”
But a few moves later, Kamsky began to think that his sluggish start would be completely flipped into a win. “Considering the way I misplayed the opening, I feel a little lucky,” Kamsky explained. “Once I got the two extra pawns, I got really excited, but I was low on time.”
The game turned when Kamsky’s queen invaded the seventh rank. “After Qe7 I knew I am in trouble,” Gareev said. He decided to burn his bridges, sacrifice all of his queenside pawns, and hunt down an otherwise safely-guarded white king. “Going into the endgame is the least desirable result. I just had to go for it, come what may.”
Kamsky got a promotion to a second queen, but Gareev forced a draw by repetition. After opening with four straight wins, Kamsky has come back to the pack by drawing the last four games.
The draw left the door ajar for a pair of players on board two to gain equal footing with Kamsky. GMs Alejandro Ramirez and Alex Onischuk each stood a half-point back going into the round, but a lifeless two-hour draw kept them both nipping at Kamsky’s heels. “Against this guy, you can’t get anything,” Ramirez said of his opponent. “Of course I didn’t want a draw with white.” Ramirez is seeking his first ever U.S. Championship (this is only his second appearance), while Onischuk is trying for his first title since 2006.
In the women’s championship, almost everything hinged on the game between numbers one and three. WGM Tatev Abrahamyan, who has a tournament performance rating about 300 points above her expectation, had a chance to throw the women’s tournament into complete chaos. Starting only one point behind Krush, whom she played, she took the white pieces of an Open Sicilian. Krush equalized without issue and later won, although Abrahamyan missed an important rejoinder late in the game. “I was surprised by Tatev’s decision to sacrifice the g-pawn,” Krush said. “I didn’t see the compensation. I guess we just evaluated it differently.”
Abrahamyan missed a chance to get back in the game. If 44. Qd5, after the queens trade the e-pawn and possibility of a c5 break make the position volatile. “I think it would have cost me a few years of my life if I’d seen it,” Krush said.
Afterward, Krush would not accept any congratulatory remarks. “Clearly a tie for first doesn’t make me happy in any way. That’s the minimum maximum.”
The win, coupled with IM Anna Zatonskih’s win, means the new second-place chaser is Zatonskih. Abrahamyan is mathematically eliminated from winning her first U.S. Women’s Championship. The only way Krush could not defend her 2012 title would be to lose in round nine and Zatonskih wins, and then also lose to her in a tiebreak on Monday. One of these two women will be the champion for the eighth year in a row.
US Chess Championships 2013: Pivotal Matchups Loom in Round 8
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013
Hi everyone,
GM Alejandro Ramirez.
SAINT LOUIS (May 10, 2013) -- Despite missing a startling tactic, a shaken GM Gata Kamsky collected himself to hold a draw against the much lower-rated GM Alejandro Ramirez in round seven of the 2013 U.S. Championship. The oversight cost him any chance to expand his central majority to fight for the win, but since GM Alex Onischuk could also only draw, Kamsky retained his half-point lead over both Ramirez and Onischuk.
In the 2013 U.S. Women’s Championship, leader IM Irina Krush also found herself in difficulties, at least that was her perception of the game. In mutual time pressure with WIM Viktorija Ni, Krush pulled out her sixth win in seven games to protect her lead.
The leaders of both events will have their biggest matches of the event in the next round. Kamsky will take black against second-seeded GM Timur Gareev, who can attack with the best of them (his blistering formation today ended GM Ray Robson’s three-game winning streak in round seven). Krush will also take black. She gets WGM Tatev Abrahamyan, and a win would clinch the tournament with one round to go. You can read a detailed report by FM Mike Klein at the official website of the tournament.
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013
Hi everyone,
SAINT LOUIS (May 10, 2013) -- A pair of largely uneventful draws by the two leaders protected their respective leads, but a host of other players jockeyed for position just beneath them in round six of the 2013 U.S. Championship and U.S. Women’s Championship. Many crucial games were decided into the sixth hour of play.
The marquee matchup so far of the men’s tournament, GM Gata Kamsky and GM Alex Onischuk, played a relatively short two-hour draw on the top board. The split point allowed three-time champion Kamsky (5/6) to retain his half-point lead over Onischuk (4.5/6), who is seeking his first title since 2006. “The result is okay,” Onischuk said. “Gata was better prepared. He knew this line better than I did. I didn’t expect …f5. I was out of my book.” Kamsky played the first dozen moves in negative time thanks to the increment. “I think it’s still not over,” Onischuk said about the chances to finish atop the standings. “One game can change everything.”
Since no one won, GM Alejandro Ramirez’s win over GM Joel Benjamin makes him joint second with Onischuk.
In the women’s championship, Krush equalized as black without issue, though she insisted she still preferred to make a more dynamic game. WGM Tatev Abrahamyan pounced on the opportunity to close the gap, winning against three-time champion WGM Anjelina Belakovskaia. After being surprised out of the opening, she decided to play the safe Nf3 variation against the Alekhine’s Defense.
“I was not expecting it,” Abrahamyan said of the black’s opening move. “I looked up a lot of lines but not this one. This tournament it seems like [Belakovskaia] is doing specific preparation.” Belakovskaia has not played competitively in several years, making her database of historic games too outdated to matter. After everything developed from the back row for white, black’s rooks were not yet connected, and Abrahamyan won a piece with a simple tactic. Although the game dragged on, it was essentially a miniature. “It seems like it’s coming down to the finish line, so it’s really nerve-racking,” she said. (Read a full report by FM Mike Klein on the official website.)
US Chess Championships 2013 Round 5: Krush Pulls Away, Kamsky Draws
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013
Hi everyone,
The push and pull of the 2013 U.S. Championship and U.S. Women’s Championship continued yesterday in round five, but this time the men pulled closer to the leader, while the leading lady began to push away from the field.
GM Gata Kamsky again did not get any advantage in the beginning moves. This time it was GM Joel Benjamin who equalized and even had the slightly better chances. After simplifying into a bishop endgame, an impasse was reached and the game was agreed drawn. Afterward, Kamsky chastised himself for forgetting that Benjamin played a solid variation against the London System. “That’s kind of amazing to me,” Benjamin said about the memory lapse. “It’s the only game I ever won against him! Maybe it was a more important game to me.” The game in reference was played at the 1991 U.S. Championship. Despite the loss, Kamsky went on to win the first of his three U.S. Championships. The last perfect score in Saint Louis is now IM Irina Krush, who won her fifth straight game and increased her lead in the women’s tournament to a full point over WGM Tatev Abrahamyan, who drew IM Anna Zatonskih today. There is no Fischer Prize for the ladies, but the manner in which she won was reminiscent of a game Fischer won during his famed 20-game winning streak leading up to his world championship match. In their 1971 Candidates Match, GM Mark Taimanov could have ended the streak but inexplicably hung a rook in an equal position; today WFM Sarah Chiang, still winless, hung a piece to a similar two-move fork. Krush said the position was still “unpleasant” for white, even without the blunder. “I’m clearly playing for a win. The b-pawn doesn’t play,” she said. (A full report on the round by FM Mike Klein is available on the official website.) Standings after 5 rounds – Men’s tournament: 1 GM Kamsky, Gata 2741 4.5 2 GM Onischuk, Alexander 2666 4 3 GM Ramirez, Alejandro 2551 3.5 4 GM Benjamin, Joel 2534 3.5 5 GM Gareev, Timur 2674 3 6 GM Christiansen, Larry M 2579 3 7 GM Holt, Conrad 2513 3 8 FM Bryant, John Daniel 2442 3 9 GM Robson, Ray 2620 2.5 10 GM Akobian, Varuzhan 2616 2.5 11 GM Shankland, Samuel L 2612 2.5 12 GM Kaidanov, Gregory S 2593 2.5 13 GM Shulman, Yury 2570 2.5 14 GM Stripunsky, Alexander 2570 2.5 15 Norowitz, Yaacov 2451 2.5 16 IM Troff, Kayden W 2421 2.5 17 GM Hess, Robert L 2595 2 18 GM Shabalov, Alexander 2544 2 19 GM Khachiyan, Melikset 2518 2 20 GM Ivanov, Alexander 2529 1.5 21 GM Finegold, Benjamin 2505 1.5 22 FM Sammour-Hasbun, Jorge E. 2463 1.5 23 FM Sevian, Samuel 2371 1.5 24 GM Arnold, Marc T 2538 0.5 Standings after 5 rounds – Women’s tournament: 1 IM Krush, Irina 2470 5 2 WGM Abrahamyan, Tatev 2280 4 3 IM Zatonskih, Anna 2466 3.5 4 WGM Baginskaite, Camilla 2278 2.5 5 WIM Zenyuk, Iryna 2243 2.5 6 WGM Foisor, Sabina 2300 2 7 WGM Belakovskaia, Anjelina 2263 2 8 WIM Ni, Viktorija 2262 2 9 WFM Kats, Alena 2144 1.5 10 WFM Chiang, Sarah 2098 0 From Alexandra Kosteniuk's www.chessblog.com Also see her personal blog at www.chessqueen.com Don't miss Chess Queen™ YouTube Channel
Ex-US Chess Champ Jen Shahade on 'Hidden Beauty' in Chess
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013
Hi everyone,
Here's a 'beautiful' feature from the two-time US Women's Chess Champion with an insight and passion for the sport of chess that only a true chess lover can possess. Enjoy reading.
Marcel Duchamp is best known as an artist, and he is revered at the World Chess Hall of Fame, which is directly across the street from the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of St. Louis. Duchamp, also a chess master, famously said, “In chess there are some extremely beautiful things in the domain of movement, but not in the visual domain. It’s the imagining of the movement or of the gesture that makes the beauty.”
Jennifer Shahade and Yasser Seirawan are providing live play-by-play commentary of the U.S. Chess Championships to thousands of viewers online.
Indeed, much of the beauty in a chess game lies in hidden variations that are imagined in a chess player’s mind but not played over the board. Play-by-play commentary unveils this magic to a larger audience and is one of the reasons insightful and entertaining live commentary is key to making chess popular in America.
The St. Louis Chess Club is at the forefront of chess innovation in America, and this year’s approach to coverage and commentary is yet another example. Spectrum Studios is covering the 2013 U.S. Championship and U.S. Women’s Championship for FOX Sports Midwest and will produce a one-hour recap special that will air at 6 p.m. May 25. This is an important step toward increasing the popularity of chess and a sign that we are nearing a tipping point.
The live show streams daily at 1 p.m. on the website of FOX Sports Midwest, and also on the main tournament event website: www.uschesschamps.com/live. Every round, I join Grandmasters Maurice Ashley and Yasser Seirawan to unravel the mysteries of the 17 games for thousands of viewers in hundreds of countries across the world.
Maurice Ashley interviews Gregory Kaidanov, a recent inductee into the U.S. Chess Hall of Fame, after his first-round victory at the 2013 U.S. Championship.
Both Ashley and Seirawan are among the most renowned commentators in chess history. Both have appeared on ESPN, and Ashley even joined Garry Kasparov in commenting on “Magnus Carlsen vs. the World” at a G-star Raw fashion week event in September 2010. Four-time U.S. Chess Champ Seirawan has commented on chess tournaments all over the world, and fans adore his soothing voice and instructive strategic analysis.
I’ve also focused on chess commentary in my own career, serving as a commentator for the U.S. Championships each of the five years they’ve been held in St. Louis. Another special project of mine was a TV show pilot called Extreme “X Chess” Championships, where games played out to checkmate so viewers could see every bloody finish.
This year’s approach to commentary is a little different: Yasser and I supply a steady stream of analysis while Maurice breaks in with key moments and beautiful variations.
So far, viewers have been pleased with the coverage, though there is always room for improvement. As I tweeted (@jenshahade) after yesterday’s round: “Need some more jackets for live shows. Color suggestions? Feeling dowdy next to two best-dressed GMs Seirawan & @MAURICEASHLEY!” Leopard print was the public vote, but I’ll be looking for the perfect combination of black and white.
Come see the action in person at the Chess Club on the Central West End, or catch the play-by-play for the remaining rounds online at uschesschamps.com/live. I’ll keep working with Maurice and Yasser to explore the hidden variations lurking in the minds of the country’s best chess players.
Jennifer Shahade is a Philadelphia-based writer, gamesplayer, author and commentator. She is a two-time U.S. Women's Chess Champion and is the editor of Chess Life Online at uschess.org/clo. Shahaded is on the board of directors of the World Chess Hall of Fame in St. Louis and was a commentator and organizer for the 2009-2013 U.S. Chess Championships.
US Chess Championships 2013 Round 4: Kamsky, Krush Continue to Lead
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013
Hi everyone,
SAINT LOUIS -- A pair of runaway trains kept up their furious pace in round four of the 2013 U.S. Championship and U.S. Women’s Championship, held at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis. Both tournament leaders, GM Gata Kamsky and IM Irina Krush, won their fourth consecutive games to maintain their respective leads.
Kamsky took black against the fearless upstart GM Conrad Holt, who kept up his usual stoicism despite his first-ever game against the three-time champion. Kamsky said after some opening troubles in his first three matches, he wanted to get back to his comfort zone. “I decided to play something I know,” Kamsky said. “In the opening white posed me no problems.”
The win puts Kamsky at 4-0, and still eligible for the $64,000 “Fischer Prize” for a perfect score. He is the only player to remain unblemished for this many rounds since the prize was first introduced in 2009. For his part, Kamsky insisted the award is so far-fetched, he did not even read the amount. “I heard something about if you go 9-0, you get something super-duper? But I don’t think it’s possible this day in age. Back in Fischer’s time it was possible.”
In the women’s tournament, pre-round leader Krush kept up her own streak. She dispatched three-time champion WGM Anjelina Belakovskaia in what Krush called an “interesting, strategic game.” The finish was worthy of an endgame study – Krush transitioned her favorable rook-and-pawn ending into a pawn race. While both pawns reach the finish line, Krush gets the move, and plays the simple tactic …Qh8+ and …Qg8+, skewering black’s final two pieces. Her veteran opponent saw the idea and resigned.
Tune in for Live Grandmaster commentary at www.uschesschamps.com at 1:00 p.m. Central, 2:00 p.m. Eastern. Also read a detailed report by FM Mike Klein at the official website.
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013
Hi everyone,
SAINT LOUIS -- Two premium match-ups were the top layer on a chess cake that featured 13 winners in 17 games in round three of the 2013 U.S. Championship and U.S. Women’s Championship. The only two men with perfect scores, GMs Gata Kamsky and Larry Christiansen, took center stage in the U.S. Championship. The ladies enacted their yearly fan-favorite ritual of numbers one versus two – IMs Anna Zatonskih and Irina Krush.
Both games went into the sixth hour before two winners emerged. Both Krush and Zatonskih drained their clocks down to less than one minute before Zatonskih’s king was caught in a mating net and she resigned. The final dozen moves of the game, she could do nothing but shuttle her pieces aimlessly, waiting for Krush to find a plan to break through. “You can’t blame her,” Krush said. “She didn’t have much to do in that position.” Prior to the passivity, Krush surprised Zatonskih out of the opening, playing the King’s Indian Defense as black for the first time since 2009.
Finishing just minutes before was Kamsky-Christiansen. The underdog Christiansen promised to bring the fight to top-rated Kamsky, but after 75 moves of creative play, Kamsky liquidated the last of black’s drawing chances. “I missed some of his strong moves and I was thinking, ‘Damn, this is going to be a really, really hard game,’” Kamsky said. Still just days after flying back from a super-tournament in Switzerland, Kamsky said he chose to rest more than study. “I was sleeping all day and not really preparing. Against Larry, I knew we were going to play a long game.”
The win makes Kamsky the only player on 3-0 and thus the last contender for the $64,000 Fischer Prize for an unblemished 9-0 score. Read a detailed report by FM Mike Klein on the Round at the official tournament website of the US Chess Championships 2013.
Decisive Results Abound in Round 1 at 2013 U.S. Chess Championships
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013
Hi everyone,
IM Kayden Troff, the reigning U-14 World Champion, scored a victory in his first-ever U.S. Championship appearance.
The action got a running start Friday as the majority of the first-round battles at the 2013 U.S. Championship and U.S. Women’s Championship produced a clear victor. Half of the men’s games and 80 percent of the ladies’ skirmishes gave decisive results, kicking off nine rounds of chess at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis.
Two notable upsets highlighted the U.S. Championship in the opening round. A pair of tournament rookies, IM Kayden Troff and GM Conrad Holt, both defeated their higher-ranked grandmaster opponents.
`Troff, who will turn 15 later in the tournament, is the second-youngest player this year but is already a world champion, as he won gold at the Under-14 section of the 2012 World Youth Championship. Those credentials helped give him the confidence to snatch a pawn from Stripunsky, who sacrificed his b-pawn to get pressure on the open file and secure a tidy outpost on b5. Troff called the sacrifice typical and probably the best continuation for both sides. He said he studied a previous game in which Stripunsky pushed his queenside pawns to a6 and b5 to defeat IM Greg Shahade. “I said to myself, ‘I don’t want to run into that,’” Troff said.
The compensation dried up quickly, however, when Troff grabbed space with the critical 17…e5. Stripunsky admitted to Troff after the game that he simply missed the shot. From there Troff said he was probably better, and the extra b-pawn in the endgame could always be used to create a passed a-pawn. It turned out not to be necessary, as Troff pried open the kingside with ease to earn the point. This is the second straight year that Stripunsky has opened the championship with a loss as white.
Two collegiate grandmasters, Holt and Sam Shankland, gave the other upset of the opening round. Shankland’s higher rating and more championship experience made him the nominal pre-round favorite, but Holt had white and never let Shankland get in the game. Unlike Stripunsky’s offering, Holt’s pawn sacrifice to create an outpost and half-open file turned out to be a sage and theoretical maneuver. Shankland gave back his material and liquidated to an endgame, but Holt had all the chances with the pair of useful bishops and the only passed pawn on the board. Shankland’s knights could do nothing but roam in circles as Holt eventually pushed up for the point.
Other winners included three-time champion GM Gata Kamsky, who had white but chose not to play the Torre Attack for the third straight game against GM Alex Shabalov. Kamsky instead opened with 1. e4, explaining that he wanted to play a solid variation against the French. He planted a knight on e5 on move 21, and the rest of his position revolved around the dominating steed. A knight stood guard there for the remaining 23 moves, never having to leave its proud post as Kamsky broke through with his other pieces.
Another tournament favorite and colorful personality that fans wanted to see was GM Timur Gareev. Though seeded second, he played his first-ever U.S. Championship game, taking black against fellow newbie GM Marc Arnold.
Gareev had no problem dispatching his younger opponent, as there were too many open lines aiming at white’s king. Arnold had the disadvantage of writing a final African Studies paper shortly before his round. He also said he has not played competitively since August, 2012, and he was rusty. “I didn’t expect to play this badly,” Arnold said. “I just played like a disaster.” Gareev, whose recent regimen includes yoga and meditation, said, “I have this vision for this championship of just winning, winning, game after game.” He missed the pretty 14…Ng3+, which decimates white’ king, but even so he only needed nine more moves to force resignation. “I need to practice my tactics muscle,” Gareev joked.
Also winning in round one was GM Larry Christiansen, who defeated yet another rookie, Yaacov Norowitz. Recent U.S. Chess Hall of Famer GM Gregory Kaidanov, still seeking his first U.S. title, won against FM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun, who hung a piece in time pressure. “I was nervous obviously,” Sammour-Hasbun said about playing in his first championship in more than a decade and a half. “I think losing may be the best thing that happens to me. After losing you have to go all-out.”
The other six games in the U.S. Championship ended drawn, including the all-GM matchups Alex Onischuk-Joel Benjamin, Robert Hess-Ben Finegold, Alexander Ivanov-Ray Robson, and Varuzhan Akobian-Melik Khachiyan. Two non-grandmasters held GMs to draws – 12-year-old Sam Sevian against GM Alejandro Ramirez, and FM John Bryant, who pushed for 130 moves but conceded the split to former champion GM Yury Shulman.
With five spirited opening games, the four decisive results in the U.S. Women’s Championship came as no surprise, and the drawn game may have been the most exciting.
First to finish was WGM Camilla Baginskaite, who weathered the storm created by WIM Viktorija Ni’s thunderous 13…Ndxe5! The resulting king walk showed bravery, and eventually Ni cashed in her chips to reach an equal ending with a meaningless extra pawn.
The next game to finish was no less dramatic. WGMs Anna Zatonskih and Anjelina Belakovskaia, who have won seven titles combined, represented the battle between women who dominated in two different decades. Zatonskih’s 2000s were as good as Belakovskaia’s 1990s, but the two had never faced each other before this encounter.
With each woman in severe time pressure, having only one minute plus increment remaining for 21 more moves, a wild queen sacrifice left the commentators flummoxed. The smoke cleared quickly, as Zatonskih returned her lady, only to push her pawn to force a new one. The simplification earned the win.
Also winning was IM Irina Krush, who chastised herself for allowing her advantage to simmer for more than 80 moves before defeating WFM Alena Kats. Fellow WGMs and Olympiad teammates Tatev Abrahamyan and Sabina Foisor, the third and fourth seeds respectively, played a close struggle before Abrahamyan squeaked out a rook-and-pawn nail biter.
WIM Iryna Zenyuk survived an early onslaught from WFM Sarah Chiang that began with 15…Qd4. “I know about this idea but I forgot about it during the game,” Zenyuk said. Despite Chiang’s queen, rook and two bishops all aiming at white’s king, Zenyuk fought back the attack and invaded Chiang’s own king later in the game, forcing resignation.
For round two, the winners play the winners in the U.S. Championship, while the women continue their round-robin. Tune in to see who makes it to 2-0, and who crawls back into contention. Live games and grandmaster commentary will be streaming at www.uschesschamps.com daily at 1:00 p.m. Central, 2:00 p.m. Eastern. (Report by FM Mike Klein) From Alexandra Kosteniuk's www.chessblog.com Also see her personal blog at www.chessqueen.com Don't miss Chess Queen™ YouTube Channel
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013
Hi everyone,
The opening ceremony of the 2013 U.S. Championship and U.S. Women’s Championship, held Thursday night at the Peabody Opera House in Saint Louis, determined the colors for the U.S. Championship and the round-by-round pairings for the U.S. Women’s Championship. Here is the article by FM Mike Klein via the official website.
The 24 men and ten women were invited one-by-one on stage to be recognized and to hear who they would match up with in round one, which is scheduled to start today at 1:00 p.m. Central Time.
The “Drawing of Lots” for the U.S. Women’s Championship occurred first, with four-time and defending champion IM Irina Krush selecting the gift bag with a card revealing pairing number eight. The other nine women picking their random numbers in turn.
For the U.S. Championship, the first-round pairings were already set, but the men needed to determine their colors. Three-time champ GM Gata Kamsky selected the lucky white card from a gift bag, meaning the higher odd-numbered seeds, including himself, will enjoy the advantage of the first move. From there, they will play a nine-round Swiss tournament, while the women will play a traditional nine-game round robin.
Rex Sinquefield, President and Chairman of the Board of the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of St. Louis, said this is the first time that one city has hosted the championship five years in a row. In addition to the $180,000 prize fund for the U.S. Championship and $65,000 in prize money for the U.S. Women’s Championship, there will once again be a $64,000 “Fischer Prize” to go to any man who runs the table and wins all nine games in the main event. Fischer’s feat was accomplished 50 years ago at the 1963/64 U.S. Championship.
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013
Hi everyone,
Did you read the Chess Blog preview post on the upcoming US Chess Championships 2013? Here's an additional nice chess video with Gregory Kaidanov. He has consistently been rated in the top five chess players in the United States, and for three years he even held the number one title. Now this Kentuckian prepares for what he says is the only big tournament he has yet to win...The United States Chess Championship. This video is from a report by Ellen Bryan in abc36.
2013 U.S. Chess Championships Celebrate 5 Years in Saint Louis
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013
Hi everyone,
SAINT LOUIS, April 11, 2013 -- The fields are set for both the 2013 U.S. Championship and 2013 U.S. Women’s Championship, scheduled to be held simultaneously May 2 through May 13 at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis (CCSCSL).
This marks the fifth consecutive year that each of these prestigious events will be held in Saint Louis. The opening ceremony takes place on May 2, and the first round for both events will kick off at 1 p.m. CDT on May 3.
In honor of the five-year anniversary, the 2013 U.S. Championship will feature a 24-player Swiss, the same format that was featured the first time the CCSCSL hosted a national championship in 2009. This year’s event will feature a guaranteed prize fund of more than $180,000.
Tony Rich, executive director of the CCSCSL, said the expanded field is sure to encourage fighting chess with many decisive results.
“With such a dynamic field, this year’s event is shaping up to be our most exciting U.S. Championship to date,” Rich said.
GM Hikaru Nakamura, the reigning U.S. Champion, declined his invitation to play in this year’s event, opting instead to compete in the Norway Chess 2013 super tournament featuring World Championship challenger GM Magnus Carlsen.
With Nakamura out, a number of youthful challengers hope to usher in a changing of the guard including reigning World Champions IM Kayden Troff (U-14 World Champion) and IM-elect Sam Sevian (U-12 World Champion). Among other new faces at the U.S. Championship is GM Timur Gareeev, who recently transferred federations from Uzbekistan and is coming off of an undefeated, first-place finish at the North American Open in Las Vegas this past December.
U.S. Chess Championships 2012: Dates, Format Finalized
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012 Hi everyone,
SAINT LOUIS, January 22, 2013 -- 2013 will mark five years of checkmates and championships in Saint Louis.
The Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis (CCSCSL) will host the 2013 U.S. Championship and 2013 U.S. Women’s Championship simultaneously May 2 through May 13. This marks the fifth consecutive year that each of these prestigious events will be held in Saint Louis.
In honor of the five-year anniversary, the 2013 U.S. Championship will feature a 24-player Swiss, the same format that was featured the first time the CCSCSL hosted a national championship in 2009. This year’s event will feature a guaranteed prize fund of more than $180,000.
Tony Rich, executive director of the CCSCSL, said the club is honored to once again host these national championship events.
“In addition to promoting the many educational benefits of chess, we also strive to raise the prominence of the game at the highest levels by hosting top-level events like the U.S. Championships,” Rich said. “We are working to ensure that this year’s installment is the best yet.”
In addition, the CCSCSL will sponsor the “$64K Fischer Prize,” to be awarded to anyone that scores a perfect 9-0 in the U.S. Championship, in honor of Bobby Fischer’s result at the 1963-64 U.S. Championship. Invitations for the 2013 U.S. Championship are as follows:
(1) 2012 U.S. Champion: GM Hikaru Nakamura(1) 2012 U.S. Open Champion: FM John Bryant (1) 2012 U.S. Junior Closed Champion: IM Marc Arnold (1) 2012 U.S. Senior Open Champion: GM Alexander Ivanov (15) The 15 remaining highest-rated players according to the March supplement: TBD (5) Five wildcard invitations: TBD
The 2012 U.S. Women’s Championship will feature 10 players and a guaranteed prize fund of $65,000. Invitations for the 2012 U.S. Women’s Championship are as follows:(1) 2012 U.S. Women’s Champion: IM Irina Krush (7) The seven remaining highest-rated players according to the March supplement: TBD (2) Two wildcard invitations: TBD
The U.S. Junior Closed Championship also will be held in Saint Louis once again June 13-23. This marks the fourth consecutive year the CCSCSL has hosted this prestigious event.
Check www.uschesschamps.com for the latest updates, info about past U.S. Championships and news about the top players in the U.S.
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12th Women's World Chess Champion
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