2018 USA Chess Championship

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Chris Rice
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2018 USA Chess Championship

Post by Chris Rice » Wed Apr 18, 2018 9:40 am

This starts today and here is a preview on Chess.com. Wesley So is the reigning champion but is a long price to retain it this time whereas Caruana is looking for his third big tournament win a row. Nakamura who seems to have been gone for ages is back. The women's event seems to be very open. The first round pairing has a couple of interesting pairings with the very promising youngster Jennifer Yu who is trained by Larry Christiansen facing 2016 champion Paikidze. Also we see the debut of Dorsa Derakshani, the former Iranian player. She isn't one of the favourites to win it but I think most of us would wish her all the best after all she's been through to get here.

Live games at 7pm UK

Round 1 US Chess Championships:

Nakamura (2787) - Robson (2660)
Zherebukh (2640) - So (2786)
Onischuk (2672) - Akobian (2647)
Liang (2552) - Caruana (2804)
Lenderman (2599) - Shankland (2671)
Xiong (2665) - Izoria (2599)

2018 U.S. Women's Championship

Wang (2321) - Feng (2243)
Abrahamyan (2366) - Foisor (2308)
Goletiani (2306) - Zatonskih (2444)
Yu (2367) - Paikidze (2352)
Gorti (2252) - Krush (2422)
Derakhshani (2306) - Sharevich (2281)

Chris Rice
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Re: 2018 USA Chess Championship

Post by Chris Rice » Thu Apr 19, 2018 12:30 am

Round 1 results with So the only one of the big 3 to win, as both Naka and Caruana have to settle for draws:

Liang, A. (0) 2552 ½ - ½ Caruana, F. (0) 2804
Nakamura, H. (0) 2787 ½ - ½ Robson, Ray (0) 2660
Zherebukh, Y. (0) 2640 0 - 1 So, Wesley (0) 2786
Onischuk, A. (0) 2672 0 - 1 Akobian, V. (0) 2647
Xiong, J. (0) 2665 ½ - ½ Izoria, Zviad (0) 2599
Lenderman, A. (0) 2599 ½ - ½ Shankland, S. (0) 2671

In the women's only two decisive results:

1 FM Wang, Annie 0.0 2321 FM Feng, Maggie 0.0 2243 1-0
2 WGM Abrahamyan, Tatev 0.0 2366 WGM Foisor, Sabina-Francesca 0.0 2308 ½-½
3 IM Goletiani, Rusudan 0.0 2306 IM Zatonskih, Anna 0.0 2444 ½-½
4 FM Yu, Jennifer 0.0 2367 IM Paikidze, Nazi 0.0 2352 0-1
5 FM Gorti, Akshita 0.0 2252 GM Krush, Irina 0.0 2422 ½-½
6 IM Derakhshani, Dorsa 0.0 2306 WGM Sharevich, Anna 0.0 2281 ½-½

Chris Rice
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Re: 2018 USA Chess Championship

Post by Chris Rice » Fri Apr 20, 2018 8:03 am

Round 2 saw Caruana winning his first game and he wasn't particularly impressed with Lenderman "As the world championship challenger explained afterward, he was up one night a few days ago reading "New In Chess" and saw some analysis of an early h-pawn advance in the French. Although he didn't check it and merely knew of its existence, it worked to perfection. In modern times of computer preparation and online databases, Caruana won a game in 1980s style, despite being born in 1992.

"It turned out to be pretty nasty practical preparation," Lenderman said. "I'm sorry that I couldn't really give him a battle today."

Chess.com asked Lenderman if he had skipped over that salient article. Turns out, he doesn't subscribe at all.

"That's why I should not try to save the $100 a year," he said about not paying for New In Chess. "That's a good lesson. Like the quote says in Russian, 'A cheap person pays twice.'"

And for those of you taking Russian lessons, that's "скупой платит дважды. Caruana said, "If [Lenderman] analyzed it, it would have been unpleasant, because I was totally on my own." The winner reasoned that since it was played in a correspondence game, it must have been checked by someone!

Caruana's position was so dominating that he went into the confessional booth to try to rationalize how it came so easily. Only 20 minutes into the game, he already thought he was winning. Lenderman took a pawn, leaving Caruana incredulous that his opponent could be "really cooperative."

Afterward, Caruana put his good fortune this way: "Usually you have to work a lot harder to get a position like this. Usually have to sacrifice more than one pawn. You have to sacrifice a rook, maybe a queen. And then maybe slip him some money under the table as well!" "You almost never get wins like this," Caruana said. He later said he puts a ton of faith in correspondence games like the one he studied because "you know these guys are using engines very methodically."" Akobian and So lead on 2/2. Results:

So, Wesley (1) 2786 1 - 0 Onischuk, A. (0) 2672
Akobian, V. (1) 2647 1 - 0 Liang, A. (½) 2552
Caruana, F. (½) 2804 1 - 0 Lenderman, A. (½) 2599
Nakamura, H. (½) 2787 ½ - ½ Zherebukh, Y. (0) 2640
Shankland, S. (½) 2671 ½ - ½ Xiong, J. (½) 2665
Robson, Ray (½) 2660 1 - 0 Izoria, Zviad (½) 2599

Women's:

Paikidze, N. (1) 2352 ½ - ½ Gorti, A. (½) 2252
Wang, Annie (1) 2321 ½ - ½ Abrahamyan (½) 2366
Krush, Irina (½) 2422 1 - 0 Derakhshani (½) 2306
Foisor, S. (½) 2308 ½ - ½ Goletiani, R. (½) 2306
Zatonskih, A. (½) 2444 1 - 0 Yu, Jennifer (0) 2367
Feng, Maggie (0) 2243 1 - 0 Sharevich, A. (½) 2281

LawrenceCooper
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Re: 2018 USA Chess Championship

Post by LawrenceCooper » Fri Apr 20, 2018 10:01 am

There was a full point swing in Krush-Derakhshani just before the time control with black's material advantage of two bishops against a rook evaporating into a probably lost ending an exchange down.

Chris Rice
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Re: 2018 USA Chess Championship

Post by Chris Rice » Sat Apr 21, 2018 7:59 pm

Round 3 saw Caruana winning and joining So and Akobian in the lead with 2½/3. Just in case we thought it was about the big three of Caruana, So and Nakamura it appears Sam Shankland, handily placed on 2/3 has some advice:

"In case any one of the underdogs is trying to figure out how to buck the odds and win the event, Shankland gave some advice today. He said it is not right to try to draw the "big three" and then beat the others. "They're also human beings," Shankland said about Nakamura, So, and Caruana. "They can die."

In the women's IM Paikidze and FM Annie Wang lead on 2½/3.

The fourth round has been going for about an hour....
Last edited by Chris Rice on Sun Apr 22, 2018 8:21 am, edited 1 time in total.

Steven DuCharme
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Location: West Bend,WI USA

Re: 2018 USA Chess Championship

Post by Steven DuCharme » Sun Apr 22, 2018 12:52 am

Down goes Fabi! Awonder boy draws his 3rd Olympian! Krush(es)!
I float like a pawn island and sting like an ignored knight :mrgreen:

Chris Rice
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Re: 2018 USA Chess Championship

Post by Chris Rice » Sun Apr 22, 2018 8:36 am

Yes in Round 4 Caruana, the world number 2 overpressed against the back marker Izoria and became the world number 3 on the live ratings losing 7.6 points and Awonder Liang has drawn against Caruana, So and Nakamura in the first four rounds. In the only other decisive game Shankland beat Ray Robson.

Leaderboard after Rd 4:

1-3 Shankland, So, Akobian 3
4 Caruana 2½
5-6 Zherebukh, Nakamura 2
7-11 Robson, Izoria, Xiong, Lenderman, Liang 1½
12 Onischuk 1

In the women's IM Paikidze and FM Annie Wang continue to lead on 3½/4. Paikidze faces top seed Krush next. Don't think she will be too worried as she has beaten Krush in the three previous games she has played. "I think I just play normally and I think she overpresses," Paikidze told Chess.com.

Tim Harding
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Re: 2018 USA Chess Championship

Post by Tim Harding » Sun Apr 22, 2018 6:29 pm

Mamedyarov lost today, so does Caruana return to number 2?
Tim Harding
Historian and FIDE Arbiter

Author of 'Steinitz in London,' British Chess Literature to 1914', 'Joseph Henry Blackburne: A Chess Biography', and 'Eminent Victorian Chess Players'
http://www.chessmail.com

LawrenceCooper
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Re: 2018 USA Chess Championship

Post by LawrenceCooper » Sun Apr 22, 2018 6:35 pm

Tim Harding wrote:
Sun Apr 22, 2018 6:29 pm
Mamedyarov lost today, so does Caruana return to number 2?
https://2700chess.com/

Tim Harding
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Re: 2018 USA Chess Championship

Post by Tim Harding » Sun Apr 22, 2018 6:39 pm

Thanks, Lawrence.
Tonight for our entertainment we have:

Shankland (Mr "They can die", on 3 pts) v Caruana (2.5)
Xiong (1.5) v So (3)
Izoria (1.5) v Akobian (3)
Lenderman (1.5) v Nakamura (2, The drawing machine)
Liang (1.5) v Zherebukh (2)
Onischuk (1) - Robson (1.5)

It's not looking good for Robson's prospects of staying on the Olympiad team, but maybe he can win today.
Sam, with his new book out from Quality Chess, is a better bet to keep his place.

"And the ladies, God bless them:"

Krush (2.5) v Paikidze (3.5)
Gorti (1.5) v Wang (3.5)
Sharevich (1.5) v Zakonskih (3)
Yu (10)v Abrahamyan (2)
Derekshani (0.5) v Foisor (2)
Goletiani (1) v Feng (2)
Tim Harding
Historian and FIDE Arbiter

Author of 'Steinitz in London,' British Chess Literature to 1914', 'Joseph Henry Blackburne: A Chess Biography', and 'Eminent Victorian Chess Players'
http://www.chessmail.com

Chris Rice
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Joined: Thu Nov 08, 2012 5:17 am

Re: 2018 USA Chess Championship

Post by Chris Rice » Mon Apr 23, 2018 6:16 am

All draws in the main event. So, Shankland & Akobian lead on 3½/5 and with Feng beating Goletiani there was only one decisive result in the women's section too so Paikidze and Wang continue to lead on 4/5. In fact the only item of interest was Nakamura who was asked to weigh in on his thoughts from Caruana's loss yesterday and the bigger picture.

"I think Fabiano underestimated Zviad (Izoria). He was really good right before Fabiano was getting good. It bodes poorly for the match because Magnus is very good at drawing out long games. That's one of the big weaknesses Fabiano is going to have to work on."

Tim Harding
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Re: 2018 USA Chess Championship

Post by Tim Harding » Mon Apr 23, 2018 6:07 pm

On the menu tonight for our delectation and delight are:

Akobian (3.5) v Shankland (3.5)
So (3.5) v Izoria (2)
Robson (2) v Caruana (3)
Nakamura (2.5) v Xiong (2)
Zherebukh (2.5) v Lenderman (2)
Onischuk (1.5) v Liang (2)

AND for the real action:
Feng (3) v Paikidze (4)
Wang (4) v Derakshani (1)
Zatonskih (3.5) v Krush (3)
Abrahamyan (2.5) v Gorti (2)
Foisor (2.5) v Sharevich (2)
Goletiani (1) v Yu (1.5)
Tim Harding
Historian and FIDE Arbiter

Author of 'Steinitz in London,' British Chess Literature to 1914', 'Joseph Henry Blackburne: A Chess Biography', and 'Eminent Victorian Chess Players'
http://www.chessmail.com

LawrenceCooper
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Re: 2018 USA Chess Championship

Post by LawrenceCooper » Mon Apr 23, 2018 11:09 pm

Shankland (on 4.5/6) and Wang (on 5/6) lead heading into the rest day.

Tim Harding
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Re: 2018 USA Chess Championship

Post by Tim Harding » Wed Apr 25, 2018 9:53 am

Tonight's line-up for round 7 is as follows:
Shankland (4.5) v So (4)
Caruana (4) v Akobian (3.5)
Izoria (2.5) v Nakamura (3)
Xiong (2.5) v Zherebukh (3)
Liang (2.5) v Robson (2)
Lenderman (2.5) v Onishchuk (2)

In the Women's Championship:
Sharevich (3) v Wang (5)
Paikidze (4.5) v Zatonskih (3.5)
Krush (4) v Foisor (2.5)
Yu (2.5) v Feng (3.5)
Derakshani (1) v Abrahamyan (3.5)
Gorti (2) v Goletiani (1)
Tim Harding
Historian and FIDE Arbiter

Author of 'Steinitz in London,' British Chess Literature to 1914', 'Joseph Henry Blackburne: A Chess Biography', and 'Eminent Victorian Chess Players'
http://www.chessmail.com

Steven DuCharme
Posts: 274
Joined: Fri Oct 03, 2014 11:51 pm
Location: West Bend,WI USA

Re: 2018 USA Chess Championship

Post by Steven DuCharme » Thu Apr 26, 2018 2:00 am

Dear Mr.Liang...

The meek shall inherit the earth but not the US Chess Championship

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhmen
I float like a pawn island and sting like an ignored knight :mrgreen: