2012 U.S. Championships News

by Denes Boros

The U.S. Championship will take place between March 27 and April 11, 2017.

2017 U.S. Championship

In 2016, the American National team took home gold and won the prestigious Hamilton-Russel-Cup at the Olympiad in Baku. The team consisted of Fabiano Caruana, Hikaru Nakamura, Wesley So, Sam Shankland, and Ray Robson.

During the Olympiad, Wesley So was the third board, behind Caruana and Nakamura; however, since the Tata Steel Chess tournament in Bilbao, So is now rated second, only behind Magnus Carlsen. Nakamura is also in great shape, as he won the Gibraltar Open for the third time. Caruana has been struggling with his form, but he will have a great chance to rebound at the U.S. Championship!

The main favorites are obviously the big three: Caruana, So and Nakamura. There are a few players who might pull a miraculous victory at the U.S Championship.

• Sam Shankland had a fantastic run, helping Team USA win the Olympiad and he also won a couple of tournaments in Fagernes International, Edmonton International and the Biel Masters in 2016.

• Ray Robson, also a member of the Olympic Champion team of Baku, must also have high expectations at the U.S Championships. He has been competing with the big three for quite a few years and, in 2015, he broke through and finished second, ahead Wesley So and behind Hikaru Nakamura. This year Robson will have a chance to prove that he is the best at the U.S. Championships!

• It is impossible not to mention the new upcoming seventeen year-old talent; Jeffery Xiong. He had great results at youth events, where he achieved second place at  Youth World Championship under 12 and also won the U.S. Junior Closed tournament. Recently, he also started to show great results internationally; winning the Capablanca Memorial ”B” Group, and the World Junior Championship with one round to spare. He was also close to qualifying to the Tata Steel Master’s Tournament, but he was edged out by Gawain Jones in the last rounds. Based on Xiong’s recent results, he is one of the players to look out for!

Even though, everyone is expecting one of these six players to finish on the top, it would be wrong to write down the rest of the field. Kamsky, Onischuk, Naroditsky, Akobian and Shabalov will also have their chances at this years championship. The deciding factor will be stability against the top three players. Hence, Kamsky and Onischuk can stand out here, as they have the necessary experience to do so. Gata Kamsky and Alexander Onischuk are both previous U.S. Champions and very solid classical players. If in good shape, they can surprise this field. Kamsky is a great fighter, and one of those players who had won a World Cup, which is something not many can brag about. Alexander Onischuk has all to hope for as he had a decent showing at 2016 U.S. Championship, finishing fifth, keeping up with Caruana, So and Nakamura.

This 2017 U.S. Championship will be one of the most contentious championships, with many young players competing against the best of the best. This could be the beginning of a new era.  

2017 U.S. Women’s Championship 

The 2016 U.S. Women’s Championship ended with a great surprise; Nazi Paikidze won her inaugural Championship in front of Tatev Abrahamyan, and Anna Zatonskih. Paikidze started her tournament with mild expectations, but she won the Championship with confident play. Will she make it two out of two?

The main contenders are Irina Krush, Anna Zatonskih, and Tatev Abrahamyan.

• Irina Krush, won the previous four championships, and if she finds her form this year, she will be a major threat for Paikidze.

• Anna Zatonskih, made a great comeback, finishing third at last year’s championship. She did not play in the previous U.S. Women’s Championship, but as the winner of previous U.S. Women’s Championship, she has every chance to become the Champion of 2017.

• Tatev Abrahamyan continued her great performance at the U.S. Women’s Championship where she finished second on tiebreaks behind Irina Krush in 2014. She repeated her performance in 2016. Abrahamyan is known for her fighting spirit, and if she can keep that positive spirit for the last rounds, she is more than likely to win the U.S. title in the upcoming years.

• Katerina Nemcova debuted in the U.S. Women’s Championship with a fantastic result, tied for second place. She did not do as well in the previous Championship, but she still finished fourth. She played great chess in Baku at the Olympiad, and if she manages to save that form for this year’s Championship, she can easily finish in the top three.

The 2017 U.S. Women’s Championship is projected to be a close contest between Irina Krush and Nazi Paikidze, but with so many ambitious, and young players aiming for the top spots, it’s not easy to predict who will become the new U.S. Women’s Champion this April.

By GM Robin van Kampen

The final round of the U.S. Junior Championship was as exciting as one could have hoped for. The fight for first place was not decided until this round, and other top places were still within reach of several players. Even players who were no longer in the race for the highest positions in the standings, were still showing tremendous fighting spirit as though the tournament had just started!

Liang vs. Ostrovskiy: 1-0

After being criticized for his draw against Akshat Chandra in round 8, Alexandr Ostrovskiy aimed to finish the tournament on a positive note. The New-York based IM who was the star of the first half of the tournament, played a sharp line against Awonder Liang’s timid English opening. When Awonder Liang won a pawn, it seemed as though Black would get sufficient counter play against the White King, but White managed to creatively reroute the Knight back, discoordinating the Black pieces in the process. Ostrovskiy played well and managed to restore the equilibrium, until several inaccuracies in time trouble gave Liang a nagging edge in a rook endgame. Black did not find enough counter play to stop White’s simple plan of creating a passed pawn, and Liang secured the silver medal with an impressive score of 6/9.

Bodek vs. Li: 0-1

Like Alexandr Ostrovskiy, Michael Bodek was struggling in the 2nd half of the tournament. Ruifeng Li opted for a solid set-up which promised long-term dynamic play on the Kingside. When Bodek opened up his King’s position in order to stop the typical f6-f5 break, the IM from Texas cleverly regrouped, launching an attack over the h-file instead. Bodek was forced to exchange his only Bishop, granting Li full control over the dark squares. From there on the game was a textbook example, with Ruifeng showing great technique and calculation in order to convert his advantage in a better endgame. With 5.5/9, the 14-year-old IM can look back at a successful second half of the tournament, and a solid 3rd place in the overall standings.

Xiong vs. Harmon-Vellotti: ½-½

Tournament leader Jeffery Xiong played a solid line of the Catalan, which fit his tournament situation well as the top junior only needed a draw in order to secure the first place. Several pieces were exchanged in the early stage of the opening, and Harmon-Vellotti was left with a weak doubled c-pawn. When the queens were exchanged and Jeffery won a pawn, it seemed like the Texas GM was on his way to win, but with precise calculation the Idaho IM managed to keep things together. Once Jeffery saw a way to force a draw, he did not hesitate and the game ended peacefully on move 30. A great tournament for Jeffery Xiong, who managed to recuperate well after losing to Alexandr Ostrovskiy in the early rounds.  Luke Harmon-Vellotti can be happy about his performance too. After Luke started out poorly in the first half, he managed to beat Alexandr Ostrovskiy and Ruifeng Li, and finished with 5/9 points.

Troff vs. Brown: ½-½

Michael Brown opted for the Ragozin defense, to which Troff replied with a fairly uncommon sideline. When Brown opted for an early Knight maneuver, the Utah GM opened up the center, although this meant that White was forced to play with an isolated pawn, reminiscent of the GM’s game against Akshat Chandra. Once Troff was able to exchange his weak pawn, he got an edge but Michael Brown surely but surely neutralized the threats. On move 35 the players reached an equal rook ending, and a draw was agreed. Like Luke Harmon-Vellotti, Michael Brown can be happy with his 5/9 score, whereas Troff will be happy the tournament is over. The GM scored well below his usual level, finishing on the shared 8th place with 3.5/9.

Chandra vs. Checa : 0-1

With only one round to go, defending Champion Akshat Chandra no longer had a shot at the first place, but could have finished third if he could beat the solid Nicolas Checa. Things did not go well for the GM-elect in the last round; after getting a pleasant position out of the opening, Chandra played too cautious. When Checa stroke back in the center, the 14 year-old International Master took over the initiative and won several pawns. Chandra’s play was all based on a decisive attack over the h-file, but Checa skillfully kept the important file closed. Once Black’s central pawns started rolling, Chandra could not manage to keep his King safe and defend against the multitude of threats at once. A more detailed take on the game here: