2012 U.S. Championships News
A second draw in Monday's fourth Classical game kept the Showdown in Saint Louis tied entering the final day of the match. Tuesday's fifth round will settle the score with 16 games of Blitz chess, with the winner claiming a king's share of the $100,000 prize purse.
Grandmasters Hikaru Nakamura and Levon Aronian have each landed an uppercut, and both world heavyweights have dodged another. Now it’s time for the flurry.
Monday’s fourth round of the Showdown in Saint Louis, the last game of the match in Classical time control, quickly fizzled into an opposite-colored bishop endgame and drew after just 30 moves. The quick result keeps the head-to-head match between two of the world’s top-ten tied up, with just Tuesday’s round remaining to settle the score.
This afternoon, 16 games of Blitz chess -- featuring a time control of 3 minutes, with 2-second increment per-move -- will decide the winner of the Showdown in Saint Louis. The round’s first jab will be thrown at 2:00 p.m. St. Louis time, and a new game will begin every 15 minutes. The winner will be awarded a 60-percent share of the Showdown’s $100,000 purse, and the exciting match conclusion can be watched live at www.uschesschamps.com.
Monday’s game featured the same line of the English that Aronian had used with the white pieces in Round 2 -- though this time, without the Nakamura misstep in the endgame. Round 4 featured a sharp, tightrope-walking middlegame, with Nakamura’s queen looking dangerously cramped in the middle of the board with 11... Qc5, though the American super Grandmaster would eventually find his way through to the half-point.
Nakamura vs. Aronian Round 4 Analysis by GM Yasser Seirawan
Armenian super GM Levon Aronian dodged Hikaru Nakamura's attack in Sunday's third round of the Showdown in Saint Louis, leaving the match tied with one Classical game remaining. Tuesday's final round will feature 16 games of Blitz.
We’ve passed the point of backing down in the Showdown in Saint Louis.
Super Grandmaster Levon Aronian came out in an admittedly playful mood in the third round of the Showdown in Saint Louis, the Armenian fleet with his moves and looking to dance through a lesser-known line of the Grunfeld on Sunday afternoon. But American No. 1 Hikaru Nakamura wasn’t looking for grace, shaking off any initial surprise from Aronian’s opening choice and charging forward with an aggressive 10. e5 and 11. h4 to spin the game into a sharp tactical fight.
But Aronian deftly parried all of Nakamura’s intentions, carefully handling the American’s initiative and dissolving the game into a lifeless rook-and-pawn endgame before the game’s 40-move time control.
The draw keeps the Showdown in Saint Louis knotted after three rounds, with one victory claimed by each heavyweight before Sunday’s draw. For scoring purposes, each classical game counts as four points, leaving the match tied at 6-6 with Monday’s fourth round bringing the final classical time control. Tuesday’s final round will feature 16 games of Blitz, each scoring one match point apiece.
Nakamura vs. Aronian Round 3 Analysis by GM Maurice Ashley
In the Showdown’s surrounding GM/IM norm invitational events at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis, GM-elect Sam Sevian -- who just crested FIDE 2500 on Saturday night as his final title requirement -- will apparently not be relinquishing headlines of the GM section. After winning his first four games, Sevian added 1.5/2 on Sunday -- including a win over GM Ben Finegold, Sevian’s third point collected from GMs in the event -- to take lethal control of the standings.
In the IM norm section, FIDE Master M. William Brown also turned in a 1.5/2 Sunday to distance himself in clear first and move closer to achieving an International Master norm.
Sam Sevian became the record-setting, youngest-ever American Grandmaster, a title once held by Bobby Fischer, during the CCSCSL Invitational on Saturday Night.
The 13-year-old Sam Sevian -- or, for history’s sake: 13 years, 10 months and 27 days-old Sam Sevian -- just dropped the bar on one of America’s highest records.
On Saturday night at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis, Sevian toppled International Master Andrei Gorovets in the fourth round of the Club’s invitational norm event -- for a win that proved far less-important than the moment. The rating boost he received from the victory, his fourth-consecutive win of the event, pushed Sevian past a FIDE 2500 rating, notching the last requirement needed to achieve chess’ most-elite title.
Sevian set the new record for the youngest American Grandmaster in history, besting the record previously set by Webster University star Ray Robson by nearly a full year. Sevian had already achieved all of his necessary Grandmaster norms, his third coming at the Washington International earlier this year, and needed only for his rating to crest FIDE’s necessary watermark to earn the elite title. The completion of all requirements immediately dubbed Sevian as “GM-elect,” with the official title to be approved at the next FIDE Congress.
Setting a special footnote to the moment was the presence of GM Hikaru Nakamura, also at the CCSCSL for a headlining match against World No. 4 GM Levon Aronian. Nakamura was a previous holder of the record Sevian now owns, lifting it from the legendary Bobby Fischer by three months.
Armenia's pride Grandmaster Levon Aronian evened the score for the Showdown in Saint Louis, taking advantage of an endgame misstep by Hikaru Nakamura on Saturday evening.
Hit me once, and I’ll hit you back.
The gloves have come off in Saint Louis, where Levon Aronian hit back hard in the second round to even the score against fellow super Grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura. Aronian had stumbled with an awkward rook retreat in Friday's first round -- but on Saturday, it was the American’s turn to flinch.
Nakamura slipped with 38...a5 in a knight-versus-bishop endgame dripping in variations, allowing White a b-pawn passer that would never be defended. The misstep led to Aronian’s first knockout of the five-round Showdown in Saint Louis, with both players winning their first game as white.
Round 3 at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis will begin at 2:00 p.m. local on Sunday afternoon, one of only two Classical games left in the match. Tuesday’s fifth round will feature 16 games of Blitz, ultimately deciding the majority cut of the $100,000 purse.
Nakamura vs. Aronian Round 2 Analysis by WGM Jennifer Shahade
American Grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura knocked down Armenia's Levon Aronian in the first round of their $100,000 match, the Showdown in Saint Louis.
Just give him the first swing.
American super Grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura struck first in the Showdown in Saint Louis, breaking out of a dry-looking Queen’s Gambit Declined and fighting his way through a scrappy middlegame against World No. 4 Levon Aronian.
Nakamura made full profit off White’s inherent advantage in Friday’s first round, despite not finding much against Aronian’s Ragozin Defense in the game’s earlygoing. While Nakamura focused his early intentions on the queenside with 10. c5 and 11. Na4, Aronian pushed for more than equality in the position with his central break 11...e5.
But time smiled in Nakamura’s favor on Friday night, as Aronian’s ticking clock lead to some questionable decisions in the heat of battle. Aronian’s forcing a queen trade was intended to carry the opposite-colored bishop game toward a draw, but instead allowed White to focus all of its forces on the exposed f7 pawn.
And the Showdown in Saint Louis is not the time to flinch. Aronian’s demise came with 27...Rdd7, a retreating move designed to bolster f7 -- yet one that brought white rolling downhill with 28. e5!
Nakamura vs. Aronian Round 1 Analysis by GM Yasser Seirawan
In the surrounding GM norm invtitational at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis, all eyes remain on 13-year-old Sam Sevian. Entering St. Louis with his three GM norms already secured and just 16 points away from FIDE’s necessary 2500 watermark, Sevian knocked down both GMs Denes Boros and Samy Shoker in the tournament’s first two rounds on Friday. The two wins push Sevian’s rating to 2493, tantalizingly close to breaking the record as the youngest American Grandmaster in history. The statistic is currently held by GM Ray Robson, at 14 years, 11 months, 16 days.
The bell rings Friday for a battle between two of the world’s heavyweights.
The United States’ super Grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura is set to square off against GM Levon Aronian, the World No. 4, in the Showdown in Saint Louis, a five-round contest for the lion’s share of a $100,000 purse. The special head-to-head exhibition will include four classical games of chess and a final round featuring 16 games of Blitz. The event will run from Friday, Nov. 21 to Tuesday, Nov. 25, with each round’s first move made at 2:00 p.m. daily.
Nakamura, the top American player ranked No. 9 in the world according to FIDE’s November 2014 rating list, is in the hunt for his first Candidates Tournament appearance and today holds second place, halfway through the 2014-2015 FIDE Grand Prix cycle. Aronian, a veteran to the world ranks, has long-been regarded as the main rival to World Champion Magnus Carlsen and reached his career-peak rating of 2830 earlier this year. Along with providing both players with elite head-to-head match experience, the Showdown in Saint Louis will also settle the score from the players’ last meeting: drawing twice at the 2014 Sinquefield Cup in the U.S. Capital of Chess last September.
GM HIKARU NAKAMURA vs. GM LEVON ARONIAN, SHOWDOWN IN SAINT LOUIS
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Friday, November 21, 2:00 p.m. |
Classical Round 1 |
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Saturday, November 22, 2:00 p.m. |
Classical Round 2 |
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Sunday, November 23, 2:00 p.m. |
Classical Round 3 |
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Monday, November 24, 2:00 p.m. |
Classical Round 4 |
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Tuesday, November 25, 2:00 p.m. |
Blitz Round (16 games, one every 15 minutes) |
Alongside the Showdown are two specialized invitational tournaments designed for up-and-coming players attempting to earn chess’ elite master titles: International Master and, the superior, Grandmaster. The 2014 GM/IM Invitational events are two 10-player, round-robin tournaments designed to award title “norms,” or superior performances required by FIDE for player titles.
Of special focus in the GM norm event is Samuel Sevian and Ashwin Jayaram, two players who have already collected three Grandmaster norms and need just a handful of rating points to pass the necessary FIDE watermark of 2500. If Sevian clears the mark, the 13-year-old will become the youngest American Grandmaster in the history of chess.
The Showdown in Saint Louis will be streamed live in its entirety on www.uschesschamps.com, featuring live play-by-play commentary and analysis from the renowned commentary team of GM Yasser Seirawan, GM Maurice Ashley and WGM Jennifer Shahade. Live spectators may take in all the action as it unfolds in the upstairs tournament hall of the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis, with admission free-of-charge for annual, monthly and day members.