Recap

It was a dramatic penultimate round at the 2021 U.S. Senior and Junior Championships as two out of three leaders, GM Kaidanov and GM Niemann both lost critical games, opening up the chance for their rivals to catch up significantly in the standings. Meanwhile, IM Annie Wang maintained her full-point lead over WCM Ruiyang Yan, keeping good chances to clinch the U.S. Girls’ Junior outright during tomorrow’s championship Sunday.

There were no significant changes to the standings today as all three tournament leaders maintained their position at the top of the standings, with GM Gregory Kaidanov and GM Hans Niemann drawing their opponents while IM Annie Wang won her third game in a row. With two rounds left in the competition, all three leaders remain a point ahead of their nearest rivals going into the championship weekend. 

It was another exciting day at the office as GM Gregory Kaidanov continued his dominant performance in the U.S. Senior, defeating GM Alexander Shabalov to reach 4.5/5 heading into the rest day tomorrow. Meanwhile GM Hans Niemann was held to a draw by GM John Burke, and IM Annie Wang bounced back from her loss yesterday to win against the No. 2 seed in the U.S. Girls’ Junior, FM Thalia Cervantes.

While GM Gregory Kaidanov and GM Hans Niemann continued to lead their sections, top seed in the U.S. Girls’ Junior, IM Annie Wang suffered a shock upset after slipping in a drawn endgame against WIM Rochelle Wu. This means all three tournaments are now wide open, with multiple players still well in contention after four rounds of play.

More decisive action took place today in the 2021 U.S. Senior & Junior Championships as IM Annie Wang was the only player to maintain a perfect score, winning her third straight game in a row. GM Hans Niemann won an essentially flawless game against top rival GM Nicolas Checa, while GM Gregory Kaidanov remained the clear leader in the U.S. Senior.

 It was a decisive day of action in the 2021 U.S. Senior, U.S. Junior, & U.S. Girls’ Junior Championships as several winners from yesterday’s round were not able to win today, while GM Gregory Kaidanov, IM Annie Wang, and FM Thalia Cervantes all won their second round games to stay on a perfect 2/2.

 The 2021 U.S. Senior, U.S. Junior, and U.S. Girls’ Junior Championships kicked off today in Saint Louis, Missouri, featuring 30 of the top junior and senior players in the country battling it out for thousands of dollars in prizes, as well as three individual national titles on the line.

Although Ian Nepomniachtchi already clinched tournament victory yesterday, the candidates still had money and pride to play for in a combative final round. Ding Liren continued his winning streak, defeating Nepo to finish the event with three wins in a row, while Anish Giri ended up losing to Kirill Alekseenko, allowing Maxime Vachier-Lagrave to sneaking into second place thanks to his win over Wang Hao. 

After drawing with Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Ian Nepomniachtchi clinched victory in the 2020/21 FIDE Candidates Tournament, earning the right to challenge Magnus Carlsen in the 2021 World Championship, to take place this November 2021 in Dubai. The win was earned after Alexander Grischuk defeated Ian’s main rival in the final stages of the event, Anish Giri, knocking the Dutch No. 1 out of contention.

It was an exciting day in Yekaterinburg, Russia, as all four games in the 2020/21 FIDE Candidates finished with a decisive result, heading into the final rest day tomorrow.