2012 U.S. Championships News

Pairings Set for 2013 U.S. Championships

GM Gregory Kaidanov was inducted into the U.S. Chess Hall of Fame at the Opening Ceremony of the U.S. Championships last night.

By FM Mike Klein

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.

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.

U.S. Championship Pairings: Round 1

Table White Score Rating Black Score Rating Result
1 GM Kamsky, Gata 0.0 2741 GM Shabalov, Alexander 0.0 2544
2 GM Arnold, Marc T 0.0 2538 GM Gareev, Timur 0.0 2674
3 GM Onischuk, Alexander 0.0 2666 GM Benjamin, Joel 0.0 2534
4 GM Ivanov, Alexander 0.0 2529 GM Robson, Ray 0.0 2620
5 GM Akobian, Varuzhan 0.0 2616 GM Khachiyan, Melikset 0.0 2518
6 GM Holt, Conrad 0.0 2513 GM Shankland, Samuel L 0.0 2612
7 GM Hess, Robert L 0.0 2595 GM Finegold, Benjamin 0.0 2505
8 FM Sammour-Hasbun, Jorge E. 0.0 2463 GM Kaidanov, Gregory S 0.0 2593
9 GM Christiansen, Larry M 0.0 2579 Norowitz, Yaacov 0.0 2451
10 FM Bryant, John Daniel 0.0 2442 GM Shulman, Yury 0.0 2570
11 GM Stripunsky, Alexander 0.0 2570 IM Troff, Kayden W 0.0 2421
12 FM Sevian, Samuel 0.0 2371 GM Ramirez, Alejandro 0.0 2551

 

U.S. Women's Championship Pairings: Round 1

Table White Score Rating Black Score Rating Result
1 WGM Abrahamyan, Tatev 0.0 2280 WGM Foisor, Sabina 0.0 2300
2 WGM Baginskaite, Camilla 0.0 2278 WIM Ni, Viktorija 0.0 2262
3 WFM Kats, Alena 0.0 2144 IM Krush, Irina 0.0 2470
4 WIM Zenyuk, Iryna 0.0 2243 WFM Chiang, Sarah 0.0 2098
5 IM Zatonskih, Anna 0.0 2466 WGM Belakovskaia, Anjelina 0.0 2263

 

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.

After the pairings were finalized, several players were honored by induction into the U.S. Chess and World Chess Halls of Fame. GM Gregory Kaidanov received a standing ovation from his competitors as he was inducted into the U.S. Chess Hall of Fame for his numerous Olympiad and World Team performances. He joins GMs Joel Benjamin and Larry Christiansen as the other players competing this year who have been so honored.

“This is a huge honor and the culmination of my professional chess life,” Kaidanov said.

Also inducted into the U.S. Chess Hall of Fame was the late Mona May Karff, seven-time U.S. Women’s Champion. The World Chess Hall of Fame inducted three new members, including the founder of the Russian Chess School, Mikhail Chigorin. Also inducted were former Women’s World Champions Elisaveta Bykova and Nona Gaprindashvili, the first women to achieve the grandmaster title.

This year the tournaments will have three commentators, one more than usual. WGM Jennifer Shahade and GM Yasser Seirawan will offer their insights, while GM Maurice Ashley will be telestrating in his signature style. Tony Rich, executive director of the club, said, “If you’ve ever seen John Madden with the arrows and the circles, it’s just like that.”

The tournament runs every day from May 3-12, with May 8 a rest day and May 13 reserved for a possible tiebreak. The tournaments will also be carried live by Fox Sports Midwest, with a one-hour special to after the conclusion. 

Youth Movement at 2013 U.S. Championships

IM-elect Sam Sevian, 12, is the youngest player ever to participate in the U.S. Championship.

By FM Mike Klein

For a good percentage of the field at the 2013 U.S. Championship and U.S. Women’s Championship, victory would mean fame, a huge payday, and a soft-drink with dinner. That’s because many competitors of both tournaments are first-time contenders, some still in their teens and precociously competing against battle-tested veterans.

Some of the younger competitors had qualification as their goal many months ago. For FM John Bryant, “that was the whole point of playing in the (2012) U.S. Open.” His last round win and victory on tiebreaks over American stalwart GM Dmitry Gurevich netted Bryant an automatic invite. Calling him an FM is technically true, though hardly indicative of his strength. Considering he earned two grandmaster norms last year and said he wanted to get his third and final norm at this year’s championship, Bryant is not simply happy to be competing. He will attempt to blitz through another grandmaster-laden field this year, just as he did in Vancouver, Washington, in 2012. Although he will be ranked in the bottom third of the field, he does not lack confidence. Asked what would constitute a successful event for him, Bryant said, “First place.”

WFM Sarah Chiang meets Missouri House Representative Blaine Luetkemeyer in Washington D.C. on April 18.One player who was completely surprised at the invitation was WFM Sarah Chiang. Though she is a veteran of competing for the U.S. in World Youth Championships, and has already trained under two world champions, this will also be her first championship. “I thought playing in this year’s U.S. Women’s Championship was out of reach since I was ranked 19th on the women’s list,” Chiang said. The 15-year-old received a wild-card invite, and she offers some new blood in an event that traditionally has less turnover than the U.S. Championship. Surprisingly, she has never played any of the other nine women in a tournament.

She said she expects there to be more pressure in Saint Louis than when she competes internationally. “There are fewer players in the field, which means that each player will receive more attention than at a tournament like the World Youth,” she explained. Chiang is right – her games will be broadcast in real time all over the world, and players traditionally come down to give live interviews and game analysis with the broadcast team.

Unlike Bryant, Chiang does not have a specific goal regarding wins, norms, or standing. She said the tournament will be a “learning experience” and that “I’m not trying to think of the tournament in terms of number of the number of points I get since that’s only going to distract me from playing well.”

Going down the age list, 14-year-old IM Kayden Troff is fresh off a gold medal at the previous World Youth Championship. Like many of the other juniors, he’s been to Saint Louis before and has nothing but praise for the host Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis. ”I think it is great to see the club and the way those involved are actively seeking to popularize chess,” Troff said.

IM Kayden Troff and Utah Representative Chris Stewart meet at an event in Washington D.C. on Washington 18.Troff comes from Utah, a state not usually known for producing chess prodigies. He’s happy to buck the mold, which he did with a focused dedication to the game. “For me, I would say I definitely have some natural talent, but I think putting in a lot of work is probably the main reason I am where I am today.” Many strong juniors have had strong chess-playing fathers to guide them (Bryant’s stepfather is GM Enrico Sevillano), but Troff’s dad actually got better simply to teach his son. Troff credits his father’s dedication for his own success (Dan Troff does not compete much but has a provisional rating in the 1300s, while several of Kayden’s brothers have achieved modest chess success as well).

As for tournament goals, Troff took a middle road as compared to Bryant and Chiang. In the group of two dozen, he thinks a good result for him would be in the low teens, just like his age. “With a very strong field I would think that placing in the top 10/15ish would be pretty great!” And whereas Chiang is deciding between a career in chess or becoming a pediatrician, Troff is not as conflicted. He already produces chess videos, is planning a chess-themed song, and seems to still be devoted to the game for quite a while. “I hope I have the best chance of becoming a chess professional. That is definitely the path I am seeking!  But who knows where chess is going in the next few years. Maybe one day I will have my own chess television series and then sing my own theme song, which will make me partially all three.”

But if underdogs are your thing, look no further than newly-minted IM Samuel Sevian. Not yet even a teenager, the 12-year-old wunderkind has had his rating rise in nearly every supplement since he began playing. With nearly 200 points gained in the last 18 months, Sevian is on a tear. Like Troff, he won gold at the last World Youth (Troff in the under-14, Sevian in the under-12). He was once the youngest-ever American master until his record was broken recently by a matter of days. “I won't be original here, the records are meant to be broken,” he said. “Good for the breakers. As to the GM records, if I break them it will be good and if I don't I will not cry about it.”

It doesn’t hurt that he comes from good stock. Sevian’s ancestry is Armenian, which could perhaps be the most chess-infused country in the world. Their national team has won gold at three of last four Chess Olympiads, their president flies home the grandmasters in his personal plane, and chess is mandatory in the school system.

Although he has lived all of his life in the U.S., Sevian’s work ethic holds chess in similar esteem. In this sense he is not entirely different than the other youngsters. By his estimates, Sevian spends six or seven hours a day training (he also does physical conditioning too). Troff is homeschooled and puts in a similar amount of time. Chiang attends school online but still spends a few hours daily on her chess. She is thinking of taking a year off after high school to focus on chess; Bryant is currently on break from college to devote himself to the game.

There are several other first-timers at the 2013 U.S. Championships. These young guns look to be the future of American chess, and fans may one day look back on this year as the moment when one or two of them graduated from scholastic superstar to top-level American player.

Sevian’s willingness to “play up” in the open and master section from an early age means he has already been battle tested against many of his other competitors. “I actually played some of the players in the lower half of the field and have more or less 50% score against them combined,” he said. “Would really like to play some of the sharks in the upper half.”

Of course this time he will be come into the tournament ranked 24th, last in a crowded field of grandmasters and other promising juniors. Sevian has been in this exact situation before. At the 23rd Metropolitan Chess FIDE Invitational in December, Sevian, the only untitled player, was ranked last in the ten-player field. He promptly scored an undefeated 6/9, tied for first, and became an International Master.

Meet the Players: GM Alex Onischuk

GM Alexander Onischuk is seeking his second U.S. Chamionship title.

 

By Brian Jerauld

You are the new head coach at Texas Tech, in the wake of Susan Polgar’s highly publicized departure to Webster University. Will you speak on how that departure affected the Texas Tech program? What are your goals for its next chapter?

In six years as the head coach and the director of the TTU chess program, Susan set the bar very high. Texas Tech has won a number of very prestigious collegiate chess events. Susan has done many wonderful things. I don’t think, however, that her departure has affected the chess program that much. In fact, the program has never been stronger than it is now.

My goal is to attract more young and talented students to Texas Tech and to help them to get better in chess.

Over five years of competition in the U.S. Championships, you went 49 straight games without a loss. That streak ended in 2010 - in a game where Gata Kamsky actually offered you a draw. What are your thoughts on that game, and that streak, three years later? Does that draw decline still haunt your sleep?

I did not accept a draw in that game because I thought I was better. I missed the b5 move. I knew that it was my chance to win the game and to get close to winning the title. If I had this situation today, I would do the same. This was a pure chess mistake, so I don’t regret my decision at all.

What makes you so difficult to win against?

I think many factors, but probably the most important one is a deeper positional understanding.

You are a father of twins – that’s like a built-in opponent. Is chess in your kids’ future? Do you have any thought about chess being integrated into U.S. education?

I want my kids to play chess. Children that play chess perform better academically; it is almost a fact. My older son plays some chess and I can see how it benefits him. It would be nice if we had more before and after school chess programs in the U.S.

You are also an Ironman tri-athlete. Can you speak on these competitions? Is training and running the Ironman the ultimate balance to sitting in a chair for hours?

Triathlon is my huge hobby; once I discovered this sport I became addicted to it. So far the longest race I have done is the 70.3 Ironman (1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike and 13.1 run) and I also ran one marathon. Unfortunately, with little kids I cannot train at full strength, but my dream is to finish the full Ironman one day. I believe triathlon training improves my endurance and maybe it even helps my chess. 

GM Timur Gareev defeats 29 in blindfold simul


GM Timur Gareev put on an amazing blindfolded display at the Saint louis Chess Ckub, defeating 29 players and drawing four of his 33 opponents.

 

By Mike Wilmering

SAINT LOUIS (May 1, 2013) --  It took 10 hours and 39 minutes for Grandmaster Timur Gareev to topple the final king and leave the chess community in Saint Louis dazed and amazed.

On Tuesday, GM Gareev put on a 33-board blindfolded simultaneous exhibition at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis, scoring 29 wins, four draws and zero losses. 

The field, composed entirely of Saint Louis Chess Club members, had an average USCF rating of 1363, and featured two experts, three class A players (1800-1999) and five class B players (1600-1799).

CCSCSL Executive Director Tony Rich (USCF 2020) was the highest-rated player in the field and one of only four players to draw the blindfolded virtuoso.

“It was a truly an amazing experience to witness this remarkable display of concentration and memory,” Rich said. 

GM Gareev is working toward setting a new blindfold simul world record of 64 boards before the end of 2013. The date for the record-breaking simul is tentatively set for December 21 on the Hawaiian island of Oahu.

After switching federations from Uzbekistan to the U.S., he will be competing in his first-ever U.S. Championship. He enters the tournament as the No. 2-rated player in the field, second only to GM Gata Kamsky. 

The 2013 U.S. Championship and 2013 U.S. Women’s Championship will be held simultaneously May 2 through May 13.  

The participating players, their board numbers, and their current USCF ratings are as follows (the * denotes the players that played GM Gareev to a draw):

  1. August Meyer: 987

  2. * Steve Mislich: 1642

  3. Lou Cotton: unr.

  4. Ben Boaz: 1269

  5. Joe Wojcki: 1817

  6. Richard Pack: 1881

  7. Ken West: 1269

  8. Sal Falcone: unr.

  9. * William Little: 1515

  10. Ed Protzel: unr.

  11. Joe Baur: unr.

  12. Tim Baur: 487

  13. Abdul Shakoor: 1176

  14. Diamond Shakoor: 1259

  15. Micah Losee: 1770

  16. Julian Proleiko: 1735

  17. Josh Cardenas: 1334

  18. Jim Smith: 739

  19. Preethi Kembaiyan: 1228

  20. Yizheng He: 1160

  21. Adam Eubanks: 1321

  22. * Justin Hull: 1673

  23. Sathya Anand: 1423

  24. Katie Stujenske: 544

  25. Willy Kane: 1871

  26. Alex Marler: 2012

  27. Adonis “Mark” Reddick: 1548

  28. * Tony Rich: 2020

  29. Sarah Crawford: 476

  30. Jonathan Lake: 581

  31. Richard Pointer: 1594

  32. Brian Jerauld: 1762

  33. Ben Simon: 1437

    The average was derived from the 29 rated players with the four unrated players omitted from the calculations. Of the four unrated players, only Ed Protzel is not a current USCF member. 

    The 2013 U.S. Championship and 2013 U.S. Women’s Championship will be held simultaneously May 2 through May 13. 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. CT on May 3. 

    Also, fans of the U.S. Chess Championships can participate in Fantasy Chess for free by visiting: http://www.uschesschamps.com/2013-fantasy-chess. The grand prize is round-trip airfare for two from anywhere in the continental U.S., two nights hotel, a private dinner with GM Yasser Seirawan and two private lessons with Seirawan as well.

Meet the Players: The Reigning Queen

IM Irina Krush seeks to defend her title against a determined field, including IM Anna Zatonskih, another four-time U.S. Women's Champion.

By Brian Jerauld

Did you hear that Anna Zatonskih is playing in the 2013 U.S. Women’s Championship? Anna Zatonskih is playing in the 2013 U.S. Women’s Championship. Thoughts?

Thanks for letting me know.

You two might be one of the best rivalries in chess today. You smacking your king across the room in 2008 was epic – re-lived more than 60,000 times on YouTube. Off camera, there is a rumor you left that chess board and jumped into a pool, fully clothed. Confirm/deny? What are your thoughts on that moment, six years later?

Yes, I jumped into a pool. That's why my hair is wet in the closing ceremony pictures. I think I had the presence of mind to take off my shoes, though. No point ruining those because of temporary insanity. Why does everyone love to remember that "epic" playoff? Was it really that exciting? :)

You once stated that your WGM title is the only chess title that you didn’t ask or apply for. What are your feelings about being issued a title that exists exclusively for women? How do you feel about competing in tournaments that are exclusively for women?

Right, I don't see a point in separate women's titles, because women are fully capable of achieving regular titles. But I don't see any problem in competing in women's-only tournaments. I suppose you could eliminate them too, with the idea of eliminating professional female chess players, because realistically it's hard for women to compete with men at the very top levels. I wouldn't be one saying it's "unfair" if things like the Women's World Championship, Olympiad, World Team, etc., were abolished, because I'm sure with the right combination of hard work and talent, there would eventually be someone of Judit's caliber, but I'm guessing it would be a blow to the already not huge pool of women who pursue chess seriously. With more tournament opportunities, which make it possible to earn a living, the number and level of women in chess has really risen in the last twenty years. It is not like women are getting weaker by playing women-only tournaments once in a while. Rather, there's a motivation to stay in the game and improve because they can realistically hope to make a living from it.

You were born in and lived in Odessa, Ukraine, until you were five (four and a half, actually). You recently returned there for the first time since leaving in 1988. What was that like?

I went back to Odessa for the first time in September 2012 after the Olympiad in Istanbul and spent five days there. I was very happy to come back to the city I was born in; I had always identified with it. To prepare myself, I read a book called "Odessa: Genius and Death in a City of Dreams", a kind of biography of the city. Not a million pages long, because the city itself was only founded in 1794 by a decree of Catherine the Great! From the beginning, Odessa was a cosmopolitan city. And there is an amazing fact: all the people who laid the foundations of the city of Odessa were foreign-born! The main street of Odessa is called "Deribasovskaya" after Jose de Ribas, a general in Catherine's army who is considered Odessa's founder, another main thoroughfare- Richelievskaya, after the Duc de Richelieu, Odessa's first city administrator. Odessa is a beautiful city; the center is just gorgeous, like a small European capital. And it has the advantage of being by the sea, having beaches and a perfect climate in September... But even though Odessa is in my roots, I'm a Brooklyn girl. :)

You may have heard that chess is the hip, new thing in St. Louis. In fact, you recently visited Washington D.C. to help declare Saint Louis the chess capital of the U.S. When are you moving here?

Ah, yes. I was waiting for the invitation. Well, it's not easy to coax me away from my little nest in Brooklyn-I have my whole life here: my family, friends, and work-but I told Tony I'd be up for a stint as a resident GM at the Chess Club for a month or so. I do love Saint Louis! It has so many good memories for me. But you know, just thinking about it, I felt how much I'd miss New York ...

GM Gareev to Conduct 33-Board Blindfold Simul

GM Timur Gareev hopes to break the blindfold simul world record when he takes on 64 people simultaneously in Oahu, Hawaii, in December.

 

By Mike Wilmering

SAINT LOUIS, April 29, 2013 -- On Tuesday, April 30, Grandmaster Timur Gareev will conduct a 33-board blindfolded simultaneous exhibition at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis (CCSCSL). The event will help kick off the 2013 U.S. Championships, scheduled to be held in Saint Louis May 2 through May 13.

GM Gareev will meet and greet simul participants at 8 a.m. CT, and the simul will begin at 9 a.m. He is working toward setting a new blindfold simul world record of 64 boards before the end of 2013. The date for the record-breaking simul is tentatively set for December 21 on the Hawaiian island of Oahu.

CCSCSL Executive Director Tony Rich said the blindfold simul presents a perfect exhibition to demonstrate how chess can positively impact students.

“This remarkable demonstration of concentration and memory will help drive home the many and varied scholastic benefits chess has to offer,” Rich said.

After switching federations from Uzbekistan to the U.S., GM Gareev will be competing in his first-ever U.S. Championship. He enters the tournament as the No. 2-rated player in the field, second only to GM Gata Kamsky.

The 2013 U.S. Championship and 2013 U.S. Women’s Championship will be held simultaneously May 2 through May 13. 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. CT on May 3.

Also, fans of the U.S. Chess Championships can participate in Fantasy Chess for free by visiting: http://www.uschesschamps.com/2013-fantasy-chess. The grand prize is round-trip airfare for two from anywhere in the continental U.S., two nights hotel, a private dinner with GM Yasser Seirawan and two private lessons with Seirawan as well. 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.

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