Nakamura Blitzes the ICC

GM Hikaru Nakamura got online in Madrid, Spain to claim the win and the $600 top prize at the 1st ICC Open from June 3-5, 2011. Check out the link for results and PGNs.

Nakamura Defeats Ponomariov

Waiting to Begin (jstrand) / CC BY-SA 3.0

GM Hikaru Nakamura came through with a brutal win with the black pieces in the 3rd rapid round to defeat GM Ponomariov in their match in St. Louis. Having previously won the regular match (3.5-2.5), this win seals the victory in the rapid match (putting the score out of reach at 2.5-0.5) and makes a clean sweep for the full meeting. The players may yet face off in one last rapid game which had been scheduled for today. Tornado warnings have delayed the action today.

Gelfand Will Face Anand for Title

GM Boris Gelfand won with the white pieces against GM Alexander Grischuk in today's final round of the 2011 Candidates Matches to earn the right to face GM Viswanathan Anand next year for the world title. After 5 straight draws, the win in the 6th round sealed the deal for Gelfand.

After drawing twice with the opening move 1.Nf3, Boris switched to 1.d4 when a Grunfeld ensued and revealed a chink in Grischuk's armor. It was an interesting strategy as Grischuk had opened with d4 on all 3 occasions himself. Alexander chose the move 11... Bg4, a favorite of Fritz but not so popular in practice. The game seemed to be in reach for both players until the fatal 32... Qc7. And then the panicked 33. Nxc6 left Gelfand all alone in the driver's seat.

I'm Back!



The view from my daughter's deck!

I've been away: company, back and forth to the hospital (not for me), and a vacation to see my daughter. But now I'm back! Stay tuned ....

Day One Is Drawn Out

A view of Kazan from the middle ages.

The first day of play at the 2011 Candidates Matches being held in Kazan, Russia for the 2012 World Championship cycle ended in draws all around. Notable was the fact that Vladimir Kramnik played only 24 moves with the black pieces in his game against Teimour Radjabov! America's Gata Kamsky drew against Veselin Topalov while Shakhriyar Mamedyarov drew against Boris Gelfand and Lev Aronian drew against Alexander Grischuk.



Replay the day's other scores after the break.

Zatonskih Wins 4th Title!

Uscc finals r103 (jstrand) / CC BY-SA 3.0

IM Anna Zatonskih earned a draw in the Armageddon tiebreak against WFM Tatev Abrahamyan to win her 4th Women's U.S. Chess Championship. At the end, Anna built a fortress that Tatev just couldn't break. See the score below.

Kamsky Repeats As U.S. Champion

Uscc finals r105, by jstrand

GM Gata Kamsky successfully defended his U.S. Championship title today with a draw against GM Yuri Shulman after a win in the first match game yesterday. The same two players came down to an Armageddon game last year before Kamsky took the title with a draw in a draw-odds game. GM-elect Sam Shankland had to win in an Armageddon game to secure 3rd place after drawing the 2nd match game against GM Robert Hess.

The 2011 Women's Championship is still undecided as IM Anna Zatonskih and WFM Tatev Abrahamyan drew again. They will play an Armageddon game tomorrow to settle the title. IM Irina Krush held for a draw today against WGM Camilla Baginskaite which was good for a 3rd place finish after her win yesterday.



See today's other games after the break.

Kamsky and Krush Win First Games

Uscc finals r102 (jstrand) / CC BY-SA 3.0

Defending U.S. Champion GM Gata Kamsky won with White against GM Yuri Shulman to take a lead in their match. Kamsky won the title last year against Shulman in an Armageddon match. The first game in the battle for third place between GM-elect Sam Shankland and GM Robert Hess ended in a draw.

Uscc finals r101 (jstrand) / CC BY-SA 3.0

In the women's tournament, WFM Tatev Abrahamyan drew against IM Anna Zatonskih in their first game in the title match. But IM Irina Krush pressed hard to win with the black pieces in her bid for third place against WGM Camilla Baginskaite.

2011 10k blitz 07 (jstrand) / CC BY-SA 3.0

Yesterday saw World #8 GM Hikaru Nakamura take top honors at the $10,000 Blitz Open played at St. Louis University's Busch Student Center. Hikaru reprised his win from last year.


Replay the other scores from today after the break.

Kamsky vs Shulman / Zatonskih vs Abrahamyan

Uscc semifinals r2playoffs 04 (jstrand) / CC BY-SA 3.0

 IM Anna Zatonskih defeated IM Irina Krush with the black pieces in an Armageddon game (see the score below) to earn the chance to play for the women's title against WFM Tatev Abrahamyan who had won her tiebreak against WGM Camilla Baginskaite. GM Yuri Shulman defeated GM Robert Hess in their tiebreak which will send him into the title match against defending champion GM Gata Kamsky. Kamsky won last year's title in an Armageddon tiebreak game against Shulman.

Kamsky Will Play the Final

GM Gata Kamsky cruised to a win over GM-elect Sam Shankland today to win their match and advance to defend his title in the final. GM Robert Hess and GM Yuri Shulman shook hands and will need to play for tiebreaks tomorrow. In the women's tournament, IM Irina Krush avenged yesterday's loss with a commanding win over IM Anna Zatonskih, forcing them into tomorrow's contests. WFM Tatev Abrahamyan seemed to come from behind to stun WGM Camilla Baginskaite, also forcing a playoff. Check out video of the games from the Latest Chess Videos page. Catch today's game scores after the break.

Men Draw, Women Fight

Uscc semifinals r102 (jstrand) / CC BY-SA 3.0

Today's semi-final matches in the 2011 U.S. Chess Championships ended in draws for the men and wins for IM Anna Zatonskih and WGM Camilla Baginskaite. GM-elect Sam Shankland held a draw with the white pieces against defending champion GM Gata Kamsky and GM Robert Hess did the same with the black pieces against GM Yuri Shulman. Zatonskih snipped a pawn against IM Irina Krush to win with the white pieces and Baginskaite prevailed with the black pieces against WFM Abrahamyan. Tomorrow the colors will reverse in the matches. Check out today's full game scores after the break.

Uscc semifinals r104 (jstrand) / CC BY-SA 3.0

Matches Made in St. Louis

The Commentators (jstrand) / CC BY-SA 3.0

With the tiebreaks decided, players head into the semi-final matches today in the 2011 U.S. Chess Championships. Pairings will be: Kamsky and Shankland, Shulman and Hess, Krush and Zatonskih, and Baginskaite and Abrahamyan. Check here for live coverage with WGM Jennifer Shahade and GM Maurice Ashley starting at 3pm Eastern today.

Shankland and Zatonskih Move Ahead

Uscc prelims 04 (jstrand) / CC BY-SA 3.0

GM-elect Sam Shankland drew his first tiebreak game and won his second with the white pieces against GM Alexander Onischuk to qualify for the final rounds in the 2011 U.S. Chess Championship. In the women's tournament, IM Anna Zatonskih defeated WGM Sabina Foisor in both tiebreak games to move ahead. The game scores follow after the break.

Uscc prelims 01 (jstrand) / CC BY-SA 3.0

Some Will Rest, Some Will Play Tiebreaks

Uscc round seven 19 (jstrand) / CC BY-SA 3.0

After seven rounds of play in the 2011 U.S. Chess Championship, GM Gata Kamsky and GM Yuri Shulman earn an advance in group A with a quick draw and GM Robert Hess moves on from group B after his draw against GM Yasser Seirawan. Also agreeing to a draw, GM-elect Sam Shankland and GM Alexander Onischuck will play tiebreaks today to decide who will go on.

Uscc round seven 03 (jstrand) / CC BY-SA 3.0

In the women's tournament, IM Irina Krush and WGM Camilla Baginskaite agreed to a draw and guaranteed their advancement. WFM Tatev Abrahamyan secured her place with a draw against WIM Irenya Zenyuk. IM Anna Zatonskih defeated IM Sabina Foisor to send the two into a playoff match for the final spot.

See the latest crosstables and results along with PGN's of the games to download here.



See more game scores after the break:

Hess Joins Shankland at the Top

Hess and Shankland, Postgame Day 1 (jstrand) / CC BY-SA 3.0

GM Robert Hess scored a win against GM Alexander Shabalov in the 4th round to join GM-elect Sam Shankland with 3 points for the lead in the B group at the 2011 U.S. Chess Championship. Defending champion GM Gata Kamsky and GM Yuri Shulman are at the top of group A with the same score.

In the women's tournament, WGM Sabina Foisor bested WIM Iryna Zenyuk to go for 3.5 points out of 4 and remain a half point ahead of her nearest competitor, WGM Irina Krush. Foisor had upset Krush in the 1st round. Check out some of the game scores below:





More scores after the break:

Shankland Storms the Barricade !

After drawing against GM Robert Hess and defeating GM Gregory Kaidanov, GM-elect Sam Shankland pulled off a win against GM Larry Christiansen to take the best score so far of 2.5 at the 2011 U.S. Championships! Larry moved his queen to the b8 square twice, a mistake both times, and Sam grabbed the opportunity to  put the game away (game score follows).

Christiansen and Hess are right behind with 2 points in Group B. GM Gata Kamsky, GM Yuri Shulman, and GM Alexander Ivanov lead Group A with 2 points. WGM Sabina Foisor keeps her grip on the lead in the Women's Championship with a draw against WFM Tatev Abrahamyan.

Foisor Earns a 2nd Win



Piercing Stares (jstrand) / CC BY-SA 3.0



Proving the determination that you can see here in her eyes, Sabina Foisor went 79 moves against a King's Indian Defense to win a second point against Alisa Melkhina in the 2nd round of the 2011 U.S. Women's Championsip. While the point seemed in hand for most of the game, it took a lot of hard work to prove the win. Though she might have missed a chance to end it on move 41, Sabina's 72. Rh8 seemed to close the door on Alisa.

Christiansen Perfect Against Seirawan



Staring Down the Barricades (jstrand) / CC BY-SA 3.0



GM Larry Christiansen only made 22 moves, but they were enough to defeat GM Yasser Seirawan and keep a perfect score after 2 rounds of the 2011 U.S. Championship being held at the St. Louis Chess Club. The two grandmasters already hold 7 U.S. Championship titles between them (Larry has 3 and Yasser has 4). If you are unsure about snatching pawns on b2 with your queen, perhaps this game will provide some guidance.

Christiansen Scores in the 1st Round

Larry Christiansen, Day 1 (jstrand) / CC BY-SA 3.0

GM Larry Christiansen scored a win in the first round of the 2011 U.S. Championship in St. Louis against GM Alexander Shabalov to give him a leg up on a shot at this year's title. Christiansen is already a 3-time winner of this title in 1980, 1983 and 2002. Shabalov is himself a 4-time winner of the title. Check out the game score below.




Also winning in the 1st round was the 2006 titleist GM Alexander Onischuk with the black pieces against the local favorite and resident GM Ben Finegold. In the U.S. Women's Championship, winners were WGM Sabina Foisor with the black pieces against 3-time Women's U.S. Champion IM & WGM Irina Krush and WFM Tatev Abrahamyan (tying for a win in 2005 but missing the title in a tiebreak) with white against WGM Camilla Baginskaite (winner of a share of the title in 2000).

Judith Polgar Takes Third

Judith Polgar showed that she's still a top world chess contender with a third place finish at the European Championships 2011, nearly overshadowing 1st place Vladimir Potkin and 2nd place Radoslaw Wotjaszek by becoming the first woman to claim a top spot ever at this tournament.

Entering at a rating of 2686, her performance will likely take her back over the 2700 mark and into super-grandmaster status. The performance also earns her a spot at the World Cup 2011 which will be held at Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia from August 26th-September 21st.


She played boldly in this game against Viorel Iordachescu's (2626) Caro-Kann in the 10th round, and it paid off with a commanding win.