The 2021 U.S. Championship & U.S. Women’s Championship kicked off today, featuring 24 of the country’s top players battling it out for two national titles. In the U.S. Championship, only GM Ray Robson and GM John Burke managed to win their first round games, while in the U.S. Women’s Championship GM Irina Krush, WGM Katerina Nemcova, WIM Ashritha Eswaran, and tournament newcomer WGM Gulrukhbegim Tokhirjonova all started off with a victory.