2012 U.S. Championships News
GMs Alex Onischuk and Gata Kamsky will be top contenders for the 2013 U.S. Championship title.
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.
The complete list of players, and their current USCF ratings, for the 2013 U.S. Championship is as follows:
- GM Gata Kamsky (2815)
- GM Timur Gareev (2766)
- GM Alexander Onischuk (2732)
- GM Ray Robson (2698)
- GM Sam Shankland (2698)
- GM Varuzhan Akobian (2690)
- GM Alex Stripunsky (2680)
- GM Gregory Kaidanov (2673)
- GM Alexander Ivanov (2664)
- GM Robert Hess (2661)
- GM Larry Christiansen (2657)
- GM Yury Shulman (2639)
- GM Alex Shabalov (2633)
- GM Marc Arnold (2626)
- GM Melikset Khachiyan (2625)
- FM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (2621)
- GM Joel Benjamin (2618)
- IM-elect Yaacov Norowitz (2612)
- GM Alejandro Ramirez (2606)
- GM Conrad Holt (2591)
- GM Ben Finegold (2570)
- FM John Bryant (2542)
- IM Kayden Troff (2505)
- IM-elect Sam Sevian (2467)
In addition to the $180,000 prize fund, the CCSCSL again 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.
The 2013 U.S. Women’s Championship will feature 10 players and a guaranteed prize fund of $65,000. IM Irina Krush looks to defend her U.S. Women’s Championship crown. Invitations for the 2013 U.S. Women’s Championship are as follows:
- IM Anna Zatonskih (2506)
- IM Irina Krush (2489)
- WGM Tatev Abrahamyan (2409)
- WGM Sabina Foisor (2397)
- WGM Camilla Baginskaite (2358)
- WIM Viktorija Ni (2353)
- WIM Iryna Zenyuk (2341)
- WGM Anjelina Belakovskaia (2334)
- WFM Sarah Chiang (2238)
- WFM Alena Kats (2229)
For the first time in the five years the CCSCSL has hosted the event, organizers are bringing in three commentators to provide even more extensive live coverage of the games and more in-depth player interviews and post-game analysis. GM Yasser Seirawan, GM Maurice Ashley and WGM Jennifer Shahade will provide live play-by-play coverage of the event via www.livestream.com/uschess.
Additionally, the live coverage will be picked up by FOX Sports Midwest online, with a special hour-long recap of the event airing on FOX Sports Midwest on May 25.
Franc Guadalupe will be the chief arbiter for the U.S. Championship with Carol Jarecki helming the U.S. Women’s Championship.
Check www.uschesschamps.com for the latest updates, full player bios, info about past U.S. Championships and news about the top players in the U.S.
2012 U.S. Women's Champion Irina Krush and 2012 U.S. Champion Hikaru Nakamura pose after their respective victories last year.
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’sChampionship 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.
Stay tuned for more details!
GM Gata Kamsky finished strong with a victory over GM Mateusz Bartel in the final round.
By Alex Marler
The U.S. finished in 5th place in the open section of the Olympiad after a last-round win over Poland! Armenia won the gold, Russian won the silver ad the Ukraine won bronze. The U.S. missed out on a golden opportunity to keep itself in the mix for a medal with a round 10 loss to China, a match that the U.S. had good chances to draw late in the game.
The U.S. Women's team finished in 10th place after a last round win over Israel.
IM Anna Zatonskih lost to Mongolian IM Batkhuyag Munguntuul in round 10.
By Alex Marler
Catastrophe in Round 10! After a stunning round 9 performance against the Russian team, the U.S. team slips against China. The U.S. lost the match 2.5-1.5, which dropped the team to 6th place. GM Hikaru Nakamura was paired with black against China's Wang Hao, rated 2726. Hao is fresh off a super-GM tournament win, the Biel Chess Festival, where he finished in clear first place ahead of GM Magnus Carlsen. Also, GM Nakamura competed in the same tournament and lost to Hao with both white and black, so this game was clearly going to be quite a challenge for Nakamura. This board 1 game was fairly equal thoughout. Nakamura played the Slav defense and equalized rather easily. Hao gained an advantage in the endgame, but Nakamura played accurately and held the draw. GM Gata Kamsky played a topical line against GM Wang Yue's Petroff defense, but was unable to get an advantage from the opening. The position remained quite symmetrical and despite Kamsky's best efforts, the game ended in a draw. GM Varuzhan Akobian played the exchange variation against GM Bu Xiangzhi, rated 2670, and basically forced a draw, which was a great result considering the rating difference. GM Alex Onischuk lost a difficult rook and pawn endgame to GM Liren Ding, rated 2695.
The U.S. Women's team drew a tough match with Mongolia in round 10. IM Anna Zatonskih lost to IM Batkhuyag Munguntuul. IM Irina Krush drew WGM Tuvshintugs Batchimeg in an interesting game. WGM Sabina Foisor drew WIM Dulamsuren Yanjindulam, while IM Rusudan Goletiani defeated WIM Bayanmunkh Ankhchimeg. This draw has put the team in 17th place.
GM Varuzhan Akobian held a draw against GM Vlatko Bogdanovski to help secure the win.
By Alex Marler
Another smashing victory for the U.S. team over the Macedonians has boosted the team to 4th place! The U.S. team along with China, the Philippines, Armenia, and Germany all have 13 points and are trailing the Russians by two points. The U.S. faces the strongest team in the world, Russia, in round 9! The Russian team is comprised of five players rated over 2722, including former World Champion Vladimir Kramnik.
The Philippines stood no chance against the U.S. Women's team, which was proven by the 3.5-0.5 result in favor of the U.S. IM Anna Zatonskih, IM Irina Krush and WGM Tatev Abrahamyan all won their games! This nice win has vaulted the team all the way up to 7th place, and the team is only trailing the leaders, China, by two points. The team does battle with the perennial powerhouse team, the Ukraine, in round 9, a match that will be very important for standings.
The U.S. team proved triumphant in round 7 against the home team, Turkey. GM Dragan Solak was simply no match for GM Hikaru Nakamura. GM Gata Kamsky outplayed GM Ipatov from the black side of a Nimzo Indian in a game that tested the finer points of both players' endgame skill. GM Alexander Onischuk took home the full point after his opponent, GM Baris Esen, decided to take an unfortunate king walk that eventually led to his demise. GM Ray Robson found an entertaining queen sacrifice that forced a draw.
The U.S. Women scored a badly needed victory over Belgium with a dominating 4-0 score. IM Irina Krush continues to impress.