2017 U.S. Championships

Today was the day after the free day, the day for which players have the most time to prepare for, the day where the biggest volume of opening novelties get released. That was what everybody expected going into round 6 of the 2017 U.S. Championships, and that was the product that was delivered! Wesley So fell under severe pressure after Akobian unleashed a deep and dynamic opening idea; in the women’s section, Nazi mastered the endgame and outplayed her biggest rival, Irina Krush, in the battle of the leaders.

It is a well-known fact in the chess world, every player wants to go into the free day on a high note. This usually translates into sharp games that lead to decisive results. That was my prediction at the beginning of the round and the players did not disappoint. 

It was a sunny day in Saint Louis as the players arrived one by one for round 4 of the 2017 U.S. Championship & U.S. Women’s Championship at the Saint Louis Chess Club and Scholastic Center. 

In the longest and bloodiest round so far at the U.S. Championships, the leaders in both section had a difficult time dealing with the pressure. In the open section, Wesley So fell behind early in the game and had to pull a Houdini escape in his game against Fabiano Caruana.