2012 U.S. Championships News
Anna Zatonskih jumped into clear first place with a win over Camilla Baginskaite in round 6. Image Credit Sarah Carmody.
By Brian Jerauld
SAINT LOUIS (May 15, 2014) -- The show, for the moment, has been stolen.
After the bloodiest day yet - eight fought-out decisions across 11 games and another nail-biting escape with a draw by reigning women’s champion Irina Krush - both U.S. Championship races have new frontrunners as the tournaments turn down the home stretch.
Varuzhan Akobian (5/7), the No. 4 seed seeking his first national crown, turned in his third quality win in a row Wednesday, leaving him in sole possession of first place of the 2014 U.S. Championship, unbeaten through seven rounds. Also without defeat is reigning champion Gata Kamsky (4.5/7), who trails in clear second after knocking down previous tournament leader Aleksandr Lenderman. Four players share a tie for third with 4 points.
U.S. Championship Standings
| Rank | Name | Score | M/F | Rating | TPR | W-We | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GM Akobian, Varuzhan | 5.0 | M | 2643 | 2746 | +0.96 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | GM Kamsky, Gata | 4.5 | M | 2713 | 2730 | +0.19 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 |
| 3 | GM Onischuk, Alexander | 4.0 | M | 2668 | 2665 | -0.01 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ |
| 4 | GM Lenderman, Aleksandr | 4.0 | M | 2582 | 2673 | +0.90 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | GM Naroditsky, Daniel | 4.0 | M | 2543 | 2663 | +1.17 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 |
| 6 | GM Friedel, Joshua E | 4.0 | M | 2505 | 2651 | +1.41 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 |
| 7 | GM Gareev, Timur | 3.5 | M | 2653 | 2597 | -0.54 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ½ |
| 8 | GM Shankland, Samuel L | 3.0 | M | 2634 | 2574 | -0.58 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | 0 |
| 9 | GM Robson, Ray | 3.0 | M | 2631 | 2560 | -0.71 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 10 | GM Erenburg, Sergey | 2.5 | M | 2633 | 2511 | -1.18 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ |
| 11 | GM Ramirez, Alejandro | 2.5 | M | 2595 | 2490 | -1.03 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | GM Molner, Mackenzie | 2.0 | M | 2522 | 2460 | -0.58 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ |
In the women’s competition, Anna Zatonskih now leads with 5/6 after waiting out Camilla Baginskaite, who hung herself in a 102-move rook-and-knight vs. rook endgame late Wednesday evening. Reigning champion Irina Krush (4.5/6), who had entered the day tied with Zatonskih, lost pace with a draw against Alisa Melekhina after barely making time control for the second day in a row. Krush sits alone in second place, with Iryna Zenyuk (4/6) in clear third.
Both tournaments enjoy a rest day on Thursday.
U.S. Women's Championship Standings
| Rank | Name | Score | M/F | Rating | TPR | W-We | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | IM Zatonskih, Anna | 5.0 | F | 2469 | 2514 | +0.32 | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | GM Krush, Irina | 4.5 | F | 2489 | 2435 | -0.29 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ |
| 3 | WGM Abrahamyan, Tatev | 4.0 | F | 2366 | 2438 | +0.59 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 |
| 4 | WIM Zenyuk, Iryna | 3.5 | F | 2249 | 2399 | +1.21 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 |
| 5 | WGM Nemcova, Katerina | 3.0 | F | 2282 | 2255 | -0.18 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 |
| 6 | WGM Foisor, Sabina-Francesca | 2.5 | F | 2238 | 2240 | -0.04 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 |
| 7 | FM Melekhina, Alisa | 2.5 | F | 2151 | 2201 | +0.28 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ |
| 8 | NM Eswaran, Ashritha | 2.5 | F | 1979 | 2204 | +1.50 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | WIM Ni, Viktorija | 1.5 | F | 2206 | 2040 | -1.31 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 |
| 10 | WGM Baginskaite, Camilla | 1.0 | F | 2267 | 1982 | -2.08 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 |
Akobian had treaded water with four straight draws through the U.S. Championship’s opening, leading some to question his long-term tournament strategy. The critics have been silenced after his third consecutive victory - two of them with the black pieces, including Wednesday’s impressive stand against Ray Robson.
“I had been trying, but sometimes you can try really hard and it just wasn’t working out,” Akobian said of his drawing start. “In those openings, I was just not getting the positions I like to play.
“But winning as black is very important in this kind of field. You think maybe a draw is a good result, but whenever you have the opportunity, you have to play for a win.”
Akobian found yet another opportunity up front on Wednesday after equalizing early in a Catalan. Robson opened with a surprise, but not much: His 1. d4 may have strayed from his own tradition, but it played right into Akobian’s wheelhouse - a lifelong d4 player.
Robson has already lost twice in these U.S. Championships and 19. Bh3 coupled with 21. Ng5 showed that the 20-year-old was now shifting tournament gears toward aggression, though the attack ultimately left the f3 square weak. After exchanging minor pieces, Akobian picked up a free pawn there with 25...Qxf3.
The advantage was good enough to hold through the endgame, especially after Akobian’s 46...g5 put Robson’s remaining army in a near-state of zugzwang.
ROBSON-AKOBIAN Game Analysis by GM BEN FINEGOLD
Lenderman was looking strong as tournament leader, collecting three wins through the first four rounds, but has since gone ice cold with just a draw over the last three. Not favorable is the schedule: He drew the black pieces against reigning champ Kamsky, and is slated as black again against Alex Onischuck after the rest day. The two are tied in third with 4/6.
On Wednesday, the veteran knocked Lenderman out of preparation early in a King’s Indian Attack, setting up a positional battle early to take the 22-year-old on in the middlegame, later stating: “Once you feel that a guy is in great form, you take a cautious approach. You don’t go in swinging right from the opening.”
The move 11. h4 a5 started sprints up the board from opposing wing pawns, though toward much different results: Lenderman only earned space and a frozen queenside after 12...a4, while Kamsky earned a vicious nail into black’s position with 13. h6.
Kamsky’s 16. Nxd4 aimed to stack black’s d-file, though its opening of the c-file became the focus of Lenderman’s middlegame initiative. By move 30. Kh2, however, the white fortress was looking sharp and the h6 nail dangerous; Lenderman’s weakness on the d-file finally fell at 32. Nxd4.
Kamsky closed with technique, liquidating the minor pieces and relieving the queenside. His pawn advantage turned into a downhill a-file passer.
“Alex has been a hard-working guy, slowly improving over the last four or five years,” Kamsky said of his opponent. “I remember that all of my games with him were really tough, and the way he played here, the way he just took off in the start like that, was no surprise to me. I’m sure he is still going to leave his mark, as long as he doesn’t take these two losses badly. He just has to forget about these games and just start the tournament anew.”
Krush was setting up familiar storylines as leader with 3.5 points through four rounds, but she has struggled to collect draws out of the last two. Just after the now-former leader was forced to race through a complex endgame against Tatev Abrahamyan in round 5, playing the last 10 moves on her clock’s 30-second per-move increment, she found herself in even warmer waters at time control against Alisa Melekhina in round 6.
Melekhina’s Blumenfeld Gambit earned her fantastic play in the opening and complicated matters early, quickly challenging the development - and the clock - of the reigning champion. Krush was late arriving to her castle on move 19, and when she got there, the black army had it well surrounded. 19...g5 threw the kitchen sink.
Both players’ clocks had fallen below 10 minutes with 15 moves until time control, though Krush was under duress. Melekhina’s 26. Rxa4 was the first of two exchange sacrifices - this one admittedly unsound - which proved to be fantastic plays against Krush’s clock: One of her moves was made with just one second remaining.
“I couldn’t see any concrete wins, and I took a big risk with the exchange sacrifice in time trouble,” Melekhina said. “That probably shouldn’t have worked, but I was playing on her time, and in the end I managed to get an advantage. I sacked again, right at the time control.”
Indeed, black’s second sacrifice at 40...Rxh3+ was a bit more sound and left Krush staring at a losing position for the first portion of her bonus time control. Melekhina didn’t have quite enough resources to close in the endgame, however, taking a well-earned half-point by perpetual check.
Today is the players’ rest day, and round 8 of the U.S. Championship and round 7 of the U.S. Women’s Championship will take place tomorrow, May 16, at 1 p.m. CT, 2 p.m. ET. Follow all the action live at www.uschesschamps.com/live.
GM Varuzhan Akobian jumped into a tie for first place after his round 6 win at the U.S. Championship. Image Credit: Lennart Ootes.
By Brian Jerauld
SAINT LOUIS (May 14, 2014) -- Now the fists are flying - though nobody is coming out of the pile.
Despite a slow, draw-filled start, the U.S. Championship heated up as it passed its halfway point, with Tuesday’s sixth round featuring another day of bloodshed to shake up the standings. Aleksandr Lenderman, who had raced out to an early lead with three wins through the first four rounds, has now been slowed to a crawl with just a half point over the last two. Sam Shankland issued the frontrunner his first loss of the tournament on Tuesday, while Varuzhan Akobian (4/6) turned in his second quality win in a row to catch pace with Lenderman on top.
Tied for third a half-point behind the leaders are Gata Kamsky and Alex Onishuck (3.5/6), who stayed unbeaten after a straightforward 32-move draw; and five other players trail in a logjam with 3 points apiece. Ray Robson and Josh Friedel both won on Tuesday to join the cluster, while Timur Gareev suffered his second consecutive loss.
U.S. Championship Standings
| Rank | Name | Score | M/F | Rating | TPR | W-We | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GM Akobian, Varuzhan | 4.0 | M | 2643 | 2706 | +0.48 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | GM Lenderman, Aleksandr | 4.0 | M | 2582 | 2734 | +1.22 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 0 |
| 3 | GM Kamsky, Gata | 3.5 | M | 2713 | 2693 | -0.13 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ |
| 4 | GM Onischuk, Alexander | 3.5 | M | 2668 | 2665 | +0.01 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ |
| 5 | GM Gareev, Timur | 3.0 | M | 2653 | 2585 | -0.56 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | GM Shankland, Samuel L | 3.0 | M | 2634 | 2637 | +0.04 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 |
| 7 | GM Robson, Ray | 3.0 | M | 2631 | 2605 | -0.23 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 8 | GM Naroditsky, Daniel | 3.0 | M | 2543 | 2610 | +0.55 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ |
| 9 | GM Friedel, Joshua E | 3.0 | M | 2505 | 2602 | +0.79 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 |
| 10 | GM Ramirez, Alejandro | 2.5 | M | 2595 | 2549 | -0.41 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | 0 |
| 11 | GM Erenburg, Sergey | 2.0 | M | 2633 | 2504 | -1.03 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ |
| 12 | GM Molner, Mackenzie | 1.5 | M | 2522 | 2423 | -0.73 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Meanwhile, the 2014 U.S. Women’s Championship - previously showing no shortage of decisions - had its closest round of balance yet. Anna Zatonskih turned in the lone win of the day over Ashritha Eswaran, gaining a half point on the rest of the field with all draws. Combined with tournament leader Irina Krush’s nailbiting escape with a draw from Tatev Abrahamyan, Zatonskih has now caught back up with the leading pace. Abrahamyan (3/5) trails by a point in clear third.
U.S. Women's Championship
| Rank | Name | Score | M/F | Rating | TPR | W-We | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GM Krush, Irina | 4.0 | F | 2489 | 2501 | +0.09 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ |
| 2 | IM Zatonskih, Anna | 4.0 | F | 2469 | 2476 | +0.08 | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 |
| 3 | WGM Abrahamyan, Tatev | 3.0 | F | 2366 | 2400 | +0.26 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ |
| 4 | WIM Zenyuk, Iryna | 2.5 | F | 2249 | 2369 | +0.77 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ |
| 5 | WGM Foisor, Sabina-Francesca | 2.5 | F | 2238 | 2284 | +0.29 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ½ |
| 6 | NM Eswaran, Ashritha | 2.5 | F | 1979 | 2256 | +1.64 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 0 |
| 7 | WGM Nemcova, Katerina | 2.0 | F | 2282 | 2238 | -0.32 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ |
| 8 | FM Melekhina, Alisa | 2.0 | F | 2151 | 2139 | -0.10 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ |
| 9 | WIM Ni, Viktorija | 1.5 | F | 2206 | 2081 | -0.87 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ |
| 10 | WGM Baginskaite, Camilla | 1.0 | F | 2267 | 1973 | -1.84 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ |
Lenderman’s method of operations through the first portion of the 2014 U.S. Championships had been formed around well-prepared openings, confidently played and designed to surprise - which made it all the more obvious that things had gone wrong early on Tuesday.
Lenderman was rocked back into his seat just after the day began, tentatively progressing through the opening after being the first to admit that Shankland’s 2...e6 - the first time ever played by his opponent - had completely destroyed his preparation.
“Normally Sam plays the Grunfeld, maybe the Slav - he has never started with this particular move order,” Lenderman said. “I still had ambitions to maybe outplay my opponent later on, in equal position, but he just kept finding all these good moves, creating problems for me out of nowhere.”
Lenderman spent considerable time thinking about his third move, and proceeded to tiptoe through the opening with caution. Meanwhile, Shankland was rapidly showcasing his brand-new line: 9...Qa5 was played instantly, sending Lenderman into the tank for the second time in the game. His response, 10. Rd1, was weak and let black in on an early attack that scattered white’s queenside. Both the isolated a- and c-pawns later became objects of black’s desire.
LENDERMAN-SHANKLAND Game Analysis by GM BEN FINEGOLD
Akobian had played through four balanced draws through the tournament’s start, but for the second day in a row squeezed out a full point from his opponents’ slightly worse positions. The imbalance came early on Tuesday, after both sides looked to be thrown into fresh territory in the game’s opening moves: Akobian spent 20 minutes thinking on his response to 3...dxc4, and Alejandro Ramirez put time in after 5. a4. His 7...c5 allowed Akobian the edge on development.
White’s bishop pair stayed menacing through the middlegame, while the kingside pawns put a cramp on black's position. Akobian’s 42. f5 was an interesting idea that allowed a backwards pawn, but did well in freezing several black pieces in the area - but 46...g5+ was a surprise that kept Ramirez fighting for another 40 moves.
“I had a big advantage and was just trying to find a way to win, but I missed this g5 move in the endgame - I thought he was just resigning afterward, actually,” Akobian said. “Maybe I should have played h4 earlier to prevent this idea, I think I had time to do that. But even after g5, f6 was very weak, so I think I was always in control.”
While g5 bought Ramirez some extra time, it created a backwards pawn of black’s own, a weakness that stayed the focus through the rest of the endgame. 49...Rxe4 offered the exchange sacrifice, bailing out and seeking compensation in the form of a fortress. It almost came.
Zatonskih had slipped out of a first-place tie with Krush after Monday’s draw with Viktorija Ni, leaving her desperate for the full point in Tuesday’s match against Eswaran - the lowest-rated player in the field and 500 points Zatonskih’s inferior. But where some competitors have quietly grumbled about the lack of preparation material available for the 13-year-old -- she has no games in the database -- Zatonskih pulled out an old-school trick in the French defense that her young competitor was unlikely to have prepped herself.
“In the opening, I played (5.) Be7 - it was an opening I played many years ago,” Zatonskih said. “Of course, I play so many openings that (Eswaran) probably didn’t prepare this line - my last game was 12 years ago, maybe more. I think she was not aware of what was going on in this variation; she got, almost from the opening, a slightly worse position.”
The surprise brought some early swapping of minor pieces, with 9. Qd2 and subsequent queenside castling slowing up white’s opening. Eswaran’s 19. Qc7 was a hasty push inside, immediately dropping her g-pawn with threats of back-rank mate. Also proving to drive her backwards was 32. b4, met immediately by a5 to crack open the white king’s protection. Eswaran soon after lost her bishop to a skewer at 37...Qb1+.
Tournament leader Krush broke her first sweat of the tournament, as third-seed Abrahamyan made the reigning champion frantically work just to see the time control on Tuesday. The round five matchup featured more of a positional struggle rather than the tactical slugfest the two have created in the past, and both players had just six minutes of clock left with 15 moves left before the bonus.
Krush caught the worst of it, playing on increment after 30...Kh7 at a pivotal point in the game that demanded much calculation. She dropped a pawn with 35. Rxb5, though played accurately - and quickly - enough down the stretch to make control and defuse the situation to a draw.
For a complete replay of all the games, click here. Round 6 of the U.S. Women’s Championship and Round 7 of the U.S. Championship begins today at 1 p.m. CT, 2 p.m. ET. Catch all the action live atwww.uschesschamps.com/live.
GM Irina Krush is in clear first at the U.S. Women's Championship, leading by a half point through four rounds. Image Credit: Lennart Ootes
By Brian Jerauld
SAINT LOUIS (May 13, 2014) -- While the U.S. chess king questioned who might bear his crown next, America’s queen began resizing hers.
Four-time champion Gata Kamsky walked through another uneventful draw on Monday afternoon - his fourth split in five rounds - while Varuzhan Akobian, Alejandro Ramirez and Daniel Naroditsky each gained traction in the standings by notching their first wins of the tournament. Afterward, nodding to the competitive 2014 field and expressing frustration with his current inability to win, Kamsky admitted: “Probably you’re going to see a new U.S. champion this year.”
In the U.S. Women’s competition, however, reigning champion Irina Krush reminded us: Probably not.
Krush, seeking a three-peat and her sixth title, showed no inefficiency in collecting wins and grabbed control of yet another U.S. Women’s Championship race. Krush rolled on Monday, stomping out Camilla Baginskaite’s Nimzo-Indian to take clear first in the 2014 event with 3.5/4. Anna Zatonskih, who entered the day tied for first, lost pace after narrowly escaping with a draw against Viktorija Ni and now holds clear second with 3/4. Tatev Abrahamyan and Ashritha Eswaran trail in third with 2.5/4.
U.S. Women's Championship Standings
| Rank | Name | Score | M/F | Rating | TPR | W-We | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GM Krush, Irina | 3.5 | F | 2489 | 2570 | +0.26 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 |
| 2 | IM Zatonskih, Anna | 3.0 | F | 2469 | 2458 | -0.03 | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ |
| 3 | WGM Abrahamyan, Tatev | 2.5 | F | 2366 | 2383 | +0.09 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ½ |
| 4 | NM Eswaran, Ashritha | 2.5 | F | 1979 | 2333 | +1.75 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ½ |
| 5 | WIM Zenyuk, Iryna | 2.0 | F | 2249 | 2402 | +0.79 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ |
| 6 | WGM Foisor, Sabina-Francesca | 2.0 | F | 2238 | 2292 | +0.27 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | WGM Nemcova, Katerina | 1.5 | F | 2282 | 2249 | -0.22 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 |
| 8 | FM Melekhina, Alisa | 1.5 | F | 2151 | 2110 | -0.26 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ½ |
| 9 | WIM Ni, Viktorija | 1.0 | F | 2206 | 2024 | -0.97 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ |
| 10 | WGM Baginskaite, Camilla | 0.5 | F | 2267 | 1906 | -1.68 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 |
Aleksandr Lenderman (4/5), who collected three wins through the first four rounds, drew for just the second time this U.S. Championship on Monday against Sergey Erenberg, yet continues to set the pace by a full point. Kamsky, Akobian, Alex Onischuck and Timur Gareev share second place (3/5); Ramirez and Naroditsky lurk with 2.5/5.
U.S. Championship Standings
| Rank | Name | Score | M/F | Rating | TPR | W-We | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GM Lenderman, Aleksandr | 4.0 | M | 2582 | 2843 | +1.65 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | |
| 2 | GM Kamsky, Gata | 3.0 | M | 2713 | 2701 | -0.07 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | |
| 3 | GM Onischuk, Alexander | 3.0 | M | 2668 | 2659 | -0.05 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | |
| 4 | GM Gareev, Timur | 3.0 | M | 2653 | 2673 | +0.14 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| 5 | GM Akobian, Varuzhan | 3.0 | M | 2643 | 2650 | +0.05 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | |
| 6 | GM Ramirez, Alejandro | 2.5 | M | 2595 | 2599 | +0.02 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | |
| 7 | GM Naroditsky, Daniel | 2.5 | M | 2543 | 2605 | +0.43 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | |
| 8 | GM Shankland, Samuel L | 2.0 | M | 2634 | 2576 | -0.39 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | |
| 9 | GM Robson, Ray | 2.0 | M | 2631 | 2549 | -0.58 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | |
| 10 | GM Friedel, Joshua E | 2.0 | M | 2505 | 2520 | +0.09 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | |
| 11 | GM Erenburg, Sergey | 1.5 | M | 2633 | 2497 | -0.91 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | |
| 12 | GM Molner, Mackenzie | 1.5 | M | 2522 | 2464 | -0.38 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 |
Baginskaite has done well in keeping her half-point from Krush’s grasp in past women’s championships, including a 2010 matchup that settled in a 12-move draw-by-repetition, a relationship that prompted a look ahead in the schedule by the reigning queen.
“That was one of the things I noticed when I got the pairings: that I was white against Camilla,” Krush said. “I have made a couple draws with her in these championships with black, and I had to play pretty sharply in order to win the games I’ve won. She has a lot of experience and she’s a solid player, so I thought it was a good thing to get white against her.
“This win was a little bit different from what I usually get, because I don’t get to win so stylishly so often.”
Indeed, Krush looked formidable on Monday, tearing open Baginskaite’s Nimzo-Indian and forcing resignation after 23 moves in dominating fashion. Black’s 16...Be4 was a mistake, sending the game down a line that Krush said she had calculated earlier, while maneuvering her knight through a4. What Baginskaite missed was 18. Rd5, a fantastic zwischenzug that kicked off a lethal attack. 19...f6 was a loser, an attack on Krush’s knight ignored after exposing the black monarch to a quick demise.
KRUSH-BAGINSKAITE Game Analysis by GM BEN FINEGOLD
Akobian’s often straightforward, bend-but-don’t-break style had produced four consecutive draws and may have kept him jogging along in the tournament’s early going, but it would ultimately leave the No. 4 seed slow on any intentions to make a run for the national title. Round 5 made it clear that the 30-year-old planned on opening up his stride.
Akobian won with black on Monday against Timur Gareev, who entered the day in clear second, heating up with back-to-back wins and without many difficult positions to speak of in his tournament’s start. Akobian’s French defense looked to lead the game down his standard storyline, especially after his 11…Qd5 created a false threat on the white g-pawn and left him chasing equalization after losing a tempo to Gareev’s natural 12. Nf3.
But Akobian noted 28. Kh2 as a turning point, an inaccuracy that left Gareev’s f-pawn unguarded - gobbled up by 30...Nxf2 after three straight knight moves. The game soon after raced toward time control, and when it hit, Akobian was seeking more than a half point.
“It was quite complicated and we both had one or two minutes,” Akobian said. “Then after move 40 I was already better. I think (41.) Nd4 is where I spent about 13 minutes out of my extra 30 minutes, liquidating pieces and going into the rook endgame, which gives me chances. I don’t know if it’s winning, probably a draw with very precise play, but I think Timur made some mistakes and just got into a losing position.”
Stacked pawns on the a-file proved to be the bane of white’s endgame initiative, as Gareev was left to force a slower idea with his h-pawn. Akobian’s passer on the c-file easily walked.
U.S. Juniors Closed Championship winner Naroditsky knew his position was familiar, just not on the board. Naroditsky last played Ray Robson in the 2011 U.S. Championship - at the same venue, in the same round, and with the same color - and on Monday it proved to bring the same result.
Naroditsky won as black in the fifth round to serve Robson his second consecutive loss, despite being shocked early by his opponent’s surprise 6. Ba4.
“I was a little nervous, especially with Ray, who is known for his opening preparation,” Naroditsky said. “When he confidently plays a novelty, and it looks pretty dangerous, then I’m immediately on my heels. But there’s no magic in chess, he didn’t refute the Ruy Lopez, so I just gathered myself and found a way out of it.”
More accurate was that Robson got himself into it, sending his rook astray in an endgame and losing it inside the black camp. Despite emerging from the opening in a promising position thanks to dominance of the open d-file, Robson’s rooks were pestered all game, first by Naroditsky’s knight at 19...Nf4 and again at 21...Nd5, pushing the white rook behind black’s pawn structure. Dangerous, yet isolated, the major piece became an early focus of battle and ushered in liquidation.
But the rook-and-knight endgame saw Naroditsky with a more active king, who switched wings to help harass Robson’s other probing rook. By 37. Ra6, it was in an awkward spot, and soon the black army had it sealed in the corner. Once again, time trouble got the best of Robson: He received his 30 minute bonus after the 40th move time control and was back below 3 minutes after 42. b3. Naroditsky easily leaned on the added pressure through 63 moves.
For a complete replay of all the games, click here. Round 5 of the U.S. Women’s Championship and Round 6 of the U.S. Championship begins today at 1 p.m. CT, 2 p.m. ET. Catch all the action live at www.uschesschamps.com/live.
The reigning U.S. Champion, GM Gata Kamsky, scored his first victory in round 4. Image Credit Lennart Ootes.
By Brian Jerauld
Did someone just wake a sleeping bear?
Four-time U.S. Champion Gata Kamsky, seemingly idle with three ho-hum draws through the first three rounds, suddenly sprang to life on Sunday afternoon and made his mother proud. The reigning king rang the bell in the fourth round, waking up a 2014 U.S. Championship that had seen just four decisions across 18 games. Kamsky’s solid win with white over Sergey Erenberg set a rousing theme to Sunday, with four of the day’s six fighting games finishing with full points.
Also winning was Alex Onischuck, who has collected 2.5 points in a tie for third with Kamsky; as well as Timur Gareev (3/4), who turned in his second consecutive win to hold clear second. And Aleksandr Lenderman (3.5/4) continued to set pace as tournament frontrunner with his third win of the tournament, after capitalizing on a Ray Robson middlegame mistake.
U.S. Championship Standings
| Rank | Name | Score | M/F | Rating | TPR | W-We | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GM Lenderman, Aleksandr | 3.5 | M | 2582 | 2932 | +1.58 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | |
| 2 | GM Gareev, Timur | 3.0 | M | 2653 | 2783 | +0.65 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | |
| 3 | GM Kamsky, Gata | 2.5 | M | 2713 | 2723 | +0.04 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | |
| 4 | GM Onischuk, Alexander | 2.5 | M | 2668 | 2703 | +0.17 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | |
| 5 | GM Akobian, Varuzhan | 2.0 | M | 2643 | 2560 | -0.46 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | |
| 6 | GM Robson, Ray | 2.0 | M | 2631 | 2641 | +0.04 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 0 | |
| 7 | GM Shankland, Samuel L | 1.5 | M | 2634 | 2545 | -0.50 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | |
| 8 | GM Ramirez, Alejandro | 1.5 | M | 2595 | 2531 | -0.38 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | |
| 9 | GM Naroditsky, Daniel | 1.5 | M | 2543 | 2512 | -0.19 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | |
| 10 | GM Molner, Mackenzie | 1.5 | M | 2522 | 2530 | +0.02 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | |
| 11 | GM Friedel, Joshua E | 1.5 | M | 2505 | 2486 | -0.13 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | |
| 12 | GM Erenburg, Sergey | 1.0 | M | 2633 | 2469 | -0.84 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 |
The U.S. Women’s Championship field enjoyed its first of three rest days on Mother’s Day, set to resume Monday for a potential day of separation: tournament leaders Irina Krush and Anna Zatonskih, with 2.5 points across 3 rounds, match up against Camilla Baginskaite and Viktoria Ni, who lag with just a half-point each.
Kamsky came with intent against Erenberg, featuring a 2. Bg5 Trompowsky attack looking to throw down the gloves for a fight without preparation.
“I decided on (Trompowsky) probably a half an hour before the game,” Kamsky said. “I looked at some lines and realized there’s nothing much going on - but its middlegame position, you can exchange a lot of pieces, so there’s a lot of play.”
Indeed, Kamsky treaded water through the opening, seemingly beckoning Erenberg to take a hasty initiative. It came at 17...f5 and Kamsky was quick to convert, first lodging a passer on the e-file at 20. dxe5, then building a tomb around the black king with a nail at 25. b6. By 29. Rde1, white’s rook battery was dominating the central file, with impending threats of back-rank checkmate. Erenberg resigned after 34. Rc7.
Lenderman may have received a few gifts from his opponents to earn the lead in the tournament’s earlygoing, but to the 24-year-old’s credit he has fully capitalized on each opportunity handed to him. Sunday’s match against Ray Robson was no exception.
Robson as black should have been happy with the outcome of his Grunfeld opening, with good diagonals of attack for both bishops and his pair of knights harassing the queenside wing. His exchange sacrifice at 15...Rxe3 looked to set off fireworks, but they were short-lived - his 17...Nxd5 was a wet blanket.
“I could have taken on e4, but it’s not really what I wanted,” Robson said. “It just looked like white could be better there, though maybe that was the best option. Taking on d5, maybe it was bad, but it did introduce some complications. I thought Alex played pretty well, and I probably didn’t have any chances after that.”
True, Robson’s army was reeling after after the misstep, as Lenderman quickly cracked open the center to win a pawn with tempo at 20. Bxf7+. His 29. Nxg6+ set off a tactically rich attack on Robson’s castle, and the endgame featured the march of white’s connected passers with a nifty trick to promotion after 50. Rg8+, though Robson resigned before getting a chance to see it.
In an earlier round this weekend, Sam Shankland put his head down and raced through a line only to later discover he had not taken the time to lean on his advantage. By the time he picked his head up to look around after sprinting out against Alex Onischuck on Sunday, he was already losing.
Shankland’s Slav ran right through the book until his 17...Bg6 derailed the theory train, followed by another weakening move in 18...h6 that pushed a critical moment. Onischuck ignored the attack on his bishop, instead capturing a knight at d7 and later collecting the dangling black pawn at 24. Rxg5.
It left the white pieces hovering around Shankland’s castled king and opened up a bevy of attacks on the black pawns, including 26. Bxe6 to pick up a piece and a later 29. e6 to force the issue.
“I think (Shankland’s) opening choice to go for this endgame was mistaken,” Onischuck said. “He can either draw or lose, but he has no chances to win. It’s a very comfortable position for me - maybe not much, but I’m bracing just a little bit. And in fact, he made a mistake with his bishop and maybe h6 is just losing.”
After two draws not necessarily in the script - a first-round quickdraw with Kamsky, and a late endgame misstep in the second round that allowed Lenderman to sneak away with a half point - Gareev put together his second solid win on Sunday by waiting out Mac Molner in a 68-move marathon.
Gareev responded to Molner’s 1. e4 with the Schliemann Gambit in the Ruy Lopez, a successful choice that earned him several open lanes and good mobility. The game hung forever in balance, with a long-winded middlegame that featured much probing by the knights and a slow build-up toward a pawn break - 14 of them still remained on the board after 60 moves.
The climactic breakthrough finally came after 62...d5, a decision well past the time control and pressing on Molner’s draining clock. After a long line of quality moves between both grandmasters, time pressure finally cracked Molner at 65. Kf2 and even worse with 68. Kg3. Gareev’s 68...Nxc3 delivered the killshot, though Molner’s clock expired shortly afterward.
For a complete replay of all the games, click here. Round 4 of the U.S. Women’s Championship and Round 5 of the U.S. Championship begins today at 1 p.m. CT, 2 p.m. ET. Catch all the action live at www.uschesschamps.com/live.
U.S. Championship: Round 5 Pairings
| Table | White | Score | Rating | Black | Score | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GM Friedel, Joshua E | 1.5 | 2505 | GM Onischuk, Alexander | 2.5 | 2668 | |
| 2 | GM Gareev, Timur | 3.0 | 2653 | GM Akobian, Varuzhan | 2.0 | 2643 | |
| 3 | GM Ramirez, Alejandro | 1.5 | 2595 | GM Molner, Mackenzie | 1.5 | 2522 | |
| 4 | GM Robson, Ray | 2.0 | 2631 | GM Naroditsky, Daniel | 1.5 | 2543 | |
| 5 | GM Erenburg, Sergey | 1.0 | 2633 | GM Lenderman, Aleksandr | 3.5 | 2582 | |
| 6 | GM Shankland, Samuel L | 1.5 | 2634 | GM Kamsky, Gata | 2.5 | 2713 |
| Table | White | Score | Rating | Black | Score | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GM Krush, Irina | 2.5 | 2489 | WGM Baginskaite, Camilla | 0.5 | 2267 | |
| 2 | FM Melekhina, Alisa | 1.0 | 2151 | NM Eswaran, Ashritha | 2.0 | 1979 | |
| 3 | IM Zatonskih, Anna | 2.5 | 2469 | WIM Ni, Viktorija | 0.5 | 2206 | |
| 4 | WGM Nemcova, Katerina | 0.5 | 2282 | WGM Foisor, Sabina-Francesca | 2.0 | 2238 | |
| 5 | WIM Zenyuk, Iryna | 1.5 | 2249 | WGM Abrahamyan, Tatev | 2.0 | 2366 |
GM Aleksandr Lenderman finds himself atop the leaderboard after three rounds at the U.S. Championship. Image Credit: Lennart Ootes.
By Brian Jerauld
SAINT LOUIS (May 11, 2014) -- Full-point victories: A dime a dozen for the ladies; but hard to come by for the men.
After ten draws and only two wins since the tournament’s start, the U.S. Championship saw just two more wins in Saturday’s third round. Aleksandr Lenderman’s second victory of the competition set him alone out front with 2.5/3, and Timur Gareev trails with 2/3 after adding a win over Daniel Naroditsky to a pair of draws.
| Rank | Name | Score | M/F | Rating | TPR | W-We | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GM Lenderman, Aleksandr | 2.5 | M | 2582 | 2857 | +1.01 | 1 | ½ | 1 | |
| 2 | GM Gareev, Timur | 2.0 | M | 2653 | 2738 | +0.33 | ½ | ½ | 1 | |
| 3 | GM Robson, Ray | 2.0 | M | 2631 | 2785 | +0.61 | 1 | ½ | ½ | |
| 4 | GM Kamsky, Gata | 1.5 | M | 2713 | 2626 | -0.35 | ½ | ½ | ½ | |
| 5 | GM Onischuk, Alexander | 1.5 | M | 2668 | 2599 | -0.28 | ½ | ½ | ½ | |
| 6 | GM Akobian, Varuzhan | 1.5 | M | 2643 | 2578 | -0.27 | ½ | ½ | ½ | |
| 7 | GM Shankland, Samuel L | 1.5 | M | 2634 | 2620 | -0.05 | ½ | ½ | ½ | |
| 8 | GM Molner, Mackenzie | 1.5 | M | 2522 | 2605 | +0.34 | ½ | ½ | ½ | |
| 9 | GM Erenburg, Sergey | 1.0 | M | 2633 | 2519 | -0.45 | 0 | ½ | ½ | |
| 10 | GM Ramirez, Alejandro | 1.0 | M | 2595 | 2518 | -0.31 | ½ | ½ | 0 | |
| 11 | GM Naroditsky, Daniel | 1.0 | M | 2543 | 2475 | -0.26 | ½ | ½ | 0 | |
| 12 | GM Friedel, Joshua E | 1.0 | M | 2505 | 2424 | -0.32 | 0 | ½ | ½ |
Meanwhile, no one in the U.S. Women’s Championship shows interest in chopping points, with Saturday showcasing another four wins out of five games - though the standings have taken a familiar shape. Irina Krush and Anna Zatonskih, who have split the women’s national title four times each over the last eight years, are tied atop with 2.5/3.
Trailing just a half-point behind the perennials, however, is 13-year-old Ashritha Eswaran, who earned her second point in three rounds in her first-ever appearance in the national championship. The California native turned in her second marathon-endgame dazzler of the tournament on Saturday, this time over Camilla Baginskaite as the women’s tournament heads into a rest day on Mother’s Day.
| Rank | Name | Score | M/F | Rating | TPR | W-We | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GM Krush, Irina | 2.5 | F | 2489 | 2496 | +0.04 | 1 | 1 | ½ | |
| 2 | IM Zatonskih, Anna | 2.5 | F | 2469 | 2557 | +0.29 | ½ | 1 | 1 | |
| 3 | WGM Abrahamyan, Tatev | 2.0 | F | 2366 | 2426 | +0.25 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 4 | WGM Foisor, Sabina-Francesca | 2.0 | F | 2238 | 2421 | +0.71 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| 5 | NM Eswaran, Ashritha | 2.0 | F | 1979 | 2392 | +1.52 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 6 | WIM Zenyuk, Iryna | 1.5 | F | 2249 | 2413 | +0.63 | ½ | ½ | ½ | |
| 7 | FM Melekhina, Alisa | 1.0 | F | 2151 | 2145 | -0.03 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| 8 | WGM Nemcova, Katerina | 0.5 | F | 2282 | 2095 | -0.66 | 0 | ½ | 0 | |
| 9 | WGM Baginskaite, Camilla | 0.5 | F | 2267 | 1868 | -1.46 | 0 | ½ | 0 | |
| 10 | WIM Ni, Viktorija | 0.5 | F | 2206 | 1859 | -1.29 | 0 | ½ | 0 |
In the U.S. Championship on Sunday, Lenderman will take the white pieces against Ray Robson, also with 2/3 and tied with Gareev for second place.
Lenderman has led since round one, though not without a bit of luck on his side: Despite being in clear losing positions in both of his first two matches, Lenderman took advantage of two 11th-hour lapses by his opponents to score 1.5 points. His game against Alejandro Ramirez on Saturday, however, was a bit more traditional in the art of winning.
One would think Ramirez is well-booked in the French defense after using it to hold a draw against Gata Kamsky in round 2, but Lenderman came prepped with a shocking line out of the Tarrasch that featured a voluntarily 14...Kf8 before castling. Even more surprising was his follow-up h6-h5 and 16...Ng4 that began Ramirez’ suffering for the rest of the game. His clock was below 15 minutes by move 20.
Ramirez endured the agony for 62 moves, however, clinging to an endgame down an exchange with four scattered pawns before resigning.
“Part of it was prep, but then I didn’t remember all of it, and I was figuring it out at the board,” Lenderman said. “Kf8 I knew. With h5, I was debating if I should play b5 first or stuff like that. I knew h5 was the idea for sure after Ng3, but I couldn’t remember if I played it at the right time; it looks like I did.”
RAMIREZ-LENDERMAN annotated by GM BEN FINEGOLD
In an extreme reversal of roles, it was the 13-year-old Eswaran who proved to have ice in her veins and, instead, the veteran who fumbled in time pressure. Camilla Baginskaite made an illegal move in her 62nd play, touching her queen while her king was in check and ultimately surrendering the point.
Baginskaite had found early equalization and was even enjoying a lead after her knight found a solid outpost at 14...Nxc5. Then, her follow-up 15...Bg5 forced a trade of the dark-squared bishops and left her knight as the superior minor piece.
But she reacted poorly to Eswaran’s 29. g4, first giving back her advantage with 29...Rc7, which allowed the g-file to open in front of her king, then losing with 31...Rf8. Black dropped a pawn with 26...Qxe4.
Eswaran started pecking away at the queen-and-pawns endgame, but had trouble corralling black’s king - ultimately chasing it back into better position and allowing equalization again at 49...Qg3+. The game appeared to be headed toward a dead draw, despite two pawns promoting on the 57th move to feature four queens on an open board.
But under time pressure, Baginskaite failed to protect her king and instead touched a queen. When the arbiter came to add penalty minutes to Eswaran’s clock, Baginskaite took the moment to simply resign from her long-suffering position.
Zatonskih got a slow start in this year’s tournament when Iryna Zenyuk earned her first half-point ever in seven games against the four-time champion in the first round. But she has caught pace since then with two straight wins, the latest on Saturday over Sabina Foisor, who entered the day with a perfect 2/2 score.
Zatonskih defended against Foisor in the Nimzo-Indian at a slow and methodical pace, chewing up an hour of her clock before her tenth move. By move 13, Zatonskih had just 17 minutes left - though she also had found quick equalization, and eventually a healthy lead.
12. e4 did not work, only setting up a series of captures that left Zatonskih up two pawns. Foisor’s 18. Bxd7 only helped black toward simplification and, despite the time trouble, Zatonskih coasted through an easy endgame.
“My position was very easy - I don’t mean like easy to win, but easy to find moves to play,” Zatonskih said. “It was concrete lines and with a 30 second increment in such a position, it should be enough. I think white needs time in such a position to prove she had compensation for the pawn. For black, it was pretty particular what black was supposed to do.”
Naroditsky, the reigning U.S. Junior Closed Champion, never seemed to get his King’s Indian Defense up and running properly, as Gareev turned an early lead into a slow squeeze by the fundamentals. Already advanced on d5, Gareev pushed 18. e5 as well as 19. f5 to further clog Naroditsky’s already cramped position.
19...f6 rendered the black bishop useless for the rest of the game, and Gareev simply rolled downhill through the endgame.
“Positionally, my situation was looking really good,” Gareev said. “His bishop was stuck, I had more space, my structure was better, my pawns were placed on better colors, my pieces were more active … I was just trying to reduce the uncertainty at that point, and for awhile Daniel was trying to push forward and complicate things. Eventually he just ran out of resources, and we got to the endgame, which was a big advantage for me.”
For a complete replay of all the games, click here. The first of three rest days for the U.S. Women’s Championship is scheduled today, and round 4 of the U.S. Championship begins at 1 p.m. CT, 2 p.m. ET. Catch all the action live at www.uschesschamps.com/live.
Irina Krush and Sabina Foisor each remained perfect after two rounds of play to lead the field. Image Credits: Lennart Ootes.
By Brian Jerauld
SAINT LOUIS (May 9, 2014) -- In the 1964 U.S. Chess Championship, a 20-year-old Bobby Fischer rolled over the nation in jaw-dropping fashion, showcasing his dominance over the field with a perfect 11-0 score. In 2014, that monumental record celebrates its 50th anniversary having never been repeated - though not without a lack of effort by Rex Sinquefield.
Since the annual chase for America’s crown found its new home in the benefactor’s St. Louis castle six years ago, Sinquefield has offered up the incentive $64,000 Fischer Bonus Prize numerous times to any U.S. Championship competitor who can match such convincing command of his challengers. But on Friday’s day two, perhaps a credit to the event’s balanced field, the hopeful chase of Fischer’s feat was brought to a quick end when all six games were drawn.
Sinquefield, however, doesn’t want his money back - and now he’s challenging America’s women to step up.
During Friday’s games, Sinquefield announced that he was extending the carrot to the 2014 U.S. Women’s Championship, and two challengers emerged from the tournament hall to hear the good news. Sabina Foisor stayed perfect after two days following a quality come-from-behind win over Alisa Melekhina, as did reigning Women’s champion Irina Krush, who made quick work of 13-year-old phenom Ashritha Eswaran on Friday afternoon. Krush, in search of a three-peat and her sixth national title, turned in 7-of-9 wins in last year’s event.
The two share the lead, with Anna Zatonskih trailing in clear third with 1.5/2. Zatonskih will defend the black pieces against Foisor in the third round, set to begin today at 1 p.m. CST. Krush defends in the namesake battle versus Iryna Zenyuk.
Ray Robson and Aleksandr Lenderman lead the U.S. Championship with 1.5/2, with the only two wins turned in through two rounds.Today, Robson will attack reigning champion Gata Kamsky with the white pieces, while Lenderman defends against Alejandro Ramirez (1/2).
Lenderman made a quick exit from the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis after pickpocketing Timur Gareev for a half point in the second round. Gareev came out ready to prove himself on Friday, one day removed from the two-seed’s first-round quickdraw with Kamsky, setting up a Nimzo-Indian against Lenderman.
After 7. d5 set up early tension, Gareev’s 18...Bxb4 earned him a pawn up in a cramped position, while Lenderman enjoyed a strong pawn chain through the center and wide-open activity. Gareev held, however, through a tactics-filled middlegame with a paradoxical 25...Kg6 that walked his king into discovered check - correctly.
The writing was on the wall by the 35th move, however, with Gareev’s pieces superior in position and rolling downhill toward pawn promotion. But 52...Rxb3 was a blatant miscalculation in simplification and put him one step behind Lenderman, who played perfectly down the stretch to steal the half point.
“Once it got simple, people like (Gareev) - these geniuses - they relax sometimes,” Lenderman said. “He probably thought ‘OK, I’m winning no matter what and was waiting for me to resign or something. I didn’t even see (Rxb3) as a possibility, and that’s the thing: He finds ideas that other people don’t find. Sometimes they’re good, sometimes they’re bad.”
LENDERMAN-GAREEV annotations by GM BEN FINEGOLD
Kamsky, as the other half of Thursday’s disappointing first-round quick draw, also returned with his quality fighting spirit in a rematch of last year’s playoff for the national title with Alejandro Ramirez.
Ramirez defended with the French and had the queens traded by the 10th move, then passed on his option to castle for some early activity from his king. Kamsky’s 29. Bxg6 kicked off a tactical battle between the rooks and knights on the kingside, though Ramirez’ slight lead went backwards with 36...Nd4. While jamming Kamsky’s king into a tight position, it wasn’t tight enough and ultimately served to win black’s passed d-pawn - though it was an advantage the champion couldn’t convert. A long rook-and-two-pawn endgame proved fruitless.
GM Sam Shankland could not convert a win despite a huge time advantage agaisnt GM Ray Robson.
The Sam Shankland-Rob Robson match turned out to be a defining game for both of the grandmaster’s alter-egos: Mr. Book versus Captain Time Trouble. Perhaps surprised by Shankland’s 1.d4, Robson - notorious for playing on increment, yet bad on Friday even by his own standards - was playing on the 30-second-per-move bonus not halfway to the time control, and Shankland had only 15 minutes gone from his original 90.
But it was Shankland’s personality who got the best of him, completely booked and racing through his lines without finding more to lean on Robson. Just as the black army looked to be suffering, Shankland’s 26. Qa8 looked to stray from the initiative, and Robson easily closed for the half point.
“I made a typical mistake: A big advantage out of the opening in preparation and a huge time advantage,” Shankland said. “But while I was playing my preparation, I just kept blitzing the moves out and didn’t manage to slow down when I really needed to - if I had slowed down and calculated properly, I think we would have seen a different result. I really think I missed out today.”
Foisor took the black pieces against Melekhina and fell behind early, her defense to the advanced French first going astray with 9...Nf5. Her move 20...Bxd6 invited a white pawn deep into her camp - a threat she ignored for 21...hxg4 instead, unsoundly sacrificing her knight and allowing Melekhina a healthy lead. However, it was the seemingly innocuous 27. Qc3 - offering a queen trade and beginning the simplification process - that pushed the pendulum back toward Foisor.
“After (Melekhina) traded queens, I didn’t think I could lose anymore,” Foisor said. “I thought my position was pretty much OK, because my pawn structure was intact and I could just start pushing them. We were both in time trouble, so I thought maybe I had some chances to starting pushing the pawns without enough time for her to calculate.”
Indeed, Foisor’s pawns led a healthy charge in front of her mobilized king, and Melekhina’s advantage bishop was rendered nearly useless: Foisor’s 42...Rf8 left it suffering under both types of pins and at the focus of black’s march of pawns. Melekhina’s 44. Rf5 was a nail in the coffin, ushering liquidation by black with an easy walk to promotion.
Round three of the 2014 U.S. Championship and U.S. Women’s Championship begins today at 1 p.m. CT, 2 p.m. ET. Catch live commentary of the event with GMs Yasser Seirawan, Maurice Ashley and WGM Jennifer Shahade at www.uschesschamps.com/live.