IM Irina Krush defeated IM Anna Zatonskih in a rapid playoff to clinch her fourth U.S. Women's Championship title. Krush won the first game handily, and took advantage of time-pressure blunder by Zatonskih to seal the victory.
GM Hikaru Nakamura scored a huge victory in round 10 over GM Gata Kamsky, then bested GM Yasser Seirawan in the final round to seal the deal. IMs Irina Krush and Anna Zatonskih both won as well to force a playoff.
Yasser Seirawan got all he could handle from Gata Kamsky who is now in sole possession of first place. In the U.S. Women's field, both Irina Krush and Anna Zatonskih won to maintain a tie with one round to go.
GMs Hikaru Nakamura and Gata Kamsky each won their respective games in round eight, while the blockbuster matchup between IMs Irina Krush and Anna Zatonskih petered out into an uneventful draw.
Gata Kamsky and Anna Zatonskih both scored victories to pull even with the front-runners in their respective fields. Zatonskih has her biggest test tomorrow when she faces tourney co-leader Irina Krush.
Hikaru Nakamura maintained his slim half-point lead while Irina Krush took advantage of draws by Anna Zatonskih and Iryna Zenyuk to take the lead in the U.S Women's event.
Hikaru Nakamura dispatched co-leader Gregory Kaidanov to inch ahead in the U.S. Championships, while the Iri(y)nas played to a draw, as did Anna Zatonskih to keep a three-way tie atop the U.S. Women's leaderboard.
GMs Hikaru Nakamura and Gata Kamsky each won their round three game to pull into a tie for first, and IMs Irina Krush and Anna Zatonskih, were joined by a surprise contender atop the Women's field.
