US Chess Championship starts

[Hans Jung]

Re: US Chess Championship starts

Another example of how strong the field is and how tough the play is this championship, only 4 players have a plus score going into the last round! Amazing.

[Hans Jung]

Re: US Chess Championship starts

Poor Daniel Naroditsky. A loss against V. Akobian just when I thought he was recovering. This seals his last place finish.

[Hans Jung]

Re: US Chess Championship starts

Was Wesley So making a statement with his play yesterday? He absolutely destroyed Gata Kamsky (world class player and chess legend) I mean WoW! look at the game.

[Hans Jung]

Re: US Chess Championship starts

A valuable but painful lesson to Sam Sevian delivered by Alex Onischuk. When playing positions against Onischuk and evaluating bear in mind what he is going to do to you against shaky and passive defence (tongue in cheek) I keep seeing the awful Bf8 appearing on the board.

[Hans Jung]

Re: US Chess Championship starts

Naka is still the overwhelming betting favourite today, Hans. He's currently 23/25 to win, 6/5 to draw, and Onischuk is the clear dog at 21/2.

https://www.marathonbet.com/en/betting/Chess/

Hey hey Jack thanks! So obviously dont bet on Nakamura (too much risk not enough profit)

[Hans Jung]

Re: US Chess Championship starts

In rd 10 Hikaru Nakamura achieved the draw he needed without much fanfare. Kudos to Ray Robson for staying strong. I think his chances lie in beating Gareev in todays round, a draw in Naka - Onischuk and then playoffs. That would be awesome seeing Ray in a playoff battle against the bullet king.

[Jack Maguire]

Re: US Chess Championship starts

So does that reflect in the betting odds? (Onischuks previous record aagainst Naka) If so put all your money on Naka. On the other hand all he needs is a draw. Hmmmm.

Naka is still the overwhelming betting favourite today, Hans. He's currently 23/25 to win, 6/5 to draw, and Onischuk is the clear dog at 21/2.

https://www.marathonbet.com/en/betting/Chess/

[Hans Jung]

Re: US Chess Championship starts

The 'Star Tribune' has expanded their Wesley So story to a full 3 pages.

http://www.startribune.com/local/west/299466691.html

I think they are revealing the full picture. A real drama but tragic and one Ive seen before in life. I hope Wesley comes out of it stronger.

[Hans Jung]

Re: US Chess Championship starts

Its the last round today already. I wish it would go on for another week at least.

[Jack Maguire]

Re: US Chess Championship starts

The 'Star Tribune' has expanded their Wesley So story to a full 3 pages.

http://www.startribune.com/local/west/299466691.html

[Hans Jung]

Re: US Chess Championship starts

So does that reflect in the betting odds? (Onischuks previous record aagainst Naka) If so put all your money on Naka. On the other hand all he needs is a draw. Hmmmm.

[Jack Maguire]

Re: US Chess Championship starts

We could see some drama in today's final round since Nakamura has never beaten Onischuk in 6 opportunities, losing once and drawing the other 5 encounters.

http://www.chessgames.com/perl/ezsea...ura+-+onischuk

[Jack Maguire]

Re: US Chess Championship starts

[QUOTE=Jack Maguire;93614]

U.S. Chess Championship 2015
Round Seven
April 8, 2015

This announcement today by his club:

SAINT LOUIS (April 7, 2015) – World chess legends Garry Kasparov and Nigel Short will meet later this month for the first Battle of the Legends exhibition match, to be held in Saint Louis.

On April 25-26, former World Chess Champion Garry Kasparov and famed English Grandmaster Nigel Short will play a series of blitz and rapid games at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis (CCSCSL), rekindling the duo’s match at the 1993 World Chess Championship.

“Rapid and blitz chess are - as the name suggests, fast and furious. The smallest mistake can ruin a strategy quickly, ” Kasparov said. “It’s not often that I get to play Nigel and relive that moment on the chess world stage in 1993, and we’re both excited to have Saint Louis as the venue for this exhibition.”

April’s match at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis will feature 10 total games spanning over two days of play, each featuring one game with a rapid time control, and four games with the faster blitz time control. The entire event will be broadcast live on www.uschesschamps.com, featuring live commentary and analysis from a world-renowned commentary team.]

There's a betting line on this 10-game (2 Rapid/8 Blitz) exhibition match. Kasparov is the 47/100 favourite with Short at 143/50. Draw odds (i.e. a 5-5 score) are a whopping 7/1.

https://www.marathonbet.com/en/betting/Chess/

'Twould appear the betting money has been flowing Garry's way since the odds have dropped to 4/11, 15/2, 37/10.

https://www.marathonbet.com/en/betting/Chess/

[Wayne Komer]

Re: US Chess Championship starts

U.S. Chess Championship 2015
Round Ten
April 11, 2015

At the start of the transmission they say that Wesley So was unsuccessful in his appeal. He didn’t appeal the loss of the game just the loss of (seven) elo points.

Round 10, April 11, 2015
Robson, Ray-Nakamura, Hikaru
C47 Four Knights, Scotch Variation

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.d4 exd4 5.Nxd4 Bb4 6.Nxc6 bxc6 7.Bd3 O-O 8.O-O d5 9.exd5 cxd5 10.h3 c6 11.Qf3 Bd6 12.Re1 Rb8 13.b3 Nd7 14.Bf4 Qf6 15.Bxd6 Qxd6 16.Rad1 Nc5 17.Ne2 Re8 18.Nd4 Bd7 19.Bf1 Rxe1 20.Rxe1 Ne4 21.Bd3 Qb4 22.Qe3 Re8 23.Nf3 Nd6 24.Qc1 Rxe1+ 25.Nxe1 c5 26.c3 Qb6 27.Nf3 h6 28.Qf4 Be6 29.b4 cxb4 30.Qxb4 d4 1/2-1/2

Gata has been unbeaten in the 2013 and 2104 U.S. Championships but has gone down twice in this tournament – to Onischuk in Round Six and now to So.

Round 10, April 11, 2015
Kamsky, Gata – So, Wesley
A46 Queen’s Pawn, Fianchetto (Lasker)

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.g3 b5 4.Bg5 c5 5.Bg2 Bb7 6.c3 cxd4 7.cxd4 Be7 8.O-O h6 9.Bxf6 Bxf6 10.e3 O-O 11.Nc3 b4 12.Ne2 Qb6 13.Nf4 Rc8 14.Nh5 Be7 15.Ne5 Bxg2 16.Qg4 Bg5 17.Kxg2 Qb7+ 18.Kg1 d6 19.Nd3 Nd7 20.h4 Bf6 21.Rfc1 a5 22.Ndf4 Qe4 23.Qe2 Be7 24.Qb5 Nf8 25.Qd3 Qb7 26.Ng2 e5 27.dxe5 dxe5 28.g4 Ng6 29.Qf5 Bxh4 30.Ne1 Re8 31.Rd1 Rad8 32.Ng2 Qb5 33.Rxd8 Rxd8 34.Qc2 Qd5 35.Qe2 Qd2 36.Kf1 a4 37.Ne1 Qd5 38.e4 Qe6 39.Nc2 Bg5 40.Ne3 Bxe3 41.fxe3 Nh4 42.Rd1 Rxd1+ 43.Qxd1 Kh7 44.b3 axb3 45.axb3 g6 46.Ng3 h5 47.Qd5 Qf6+ 48.Ke2 hxg4 49.Kd3 Ng2 50.Qb7 Kg7 51.Qb5 Nxe3 52.Ne2 Nf1 53.Kc4 Qd6 54.Qxb4 Nd2+ 55.Kc3 Nb1+ 56.Kc4 Qa6+ 0-1

Round 10, April 11, 2015
Onischuk, Alexander – Sevian, Samuel
D85 Grunfeld, Modern Exchange Variation, 8. Be3

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e4 Nxc3 6.bxc3 Bg7 7.Nf3 c5 8.Be3 Qa5 9.Qd2 Nc6 10.Rb1 a6 11.Rc1 f5 12.Bd3 cxd4 13.Nxd4 Ne5 14.O-O Nxd3 15.Qxd3 e5 16.Nb3 Qc7 17.Qd5 Qc6 18.Qxc6+ bxc6 19.Rfd1 Bf8 20.Bc5 Be6 21.Bxf8 Kxf8 22.Na5 Rc8 23.exf5 gxf5 24.Re1 e4 25.f3 Ke7 26.fxe4 f4 27.Rb1 Rc7 28.Rb6 Kd6 29.e5+ Ke7 30.Nxc6+ Kf7 31.Nd4 Re8 32.Rxa6 1-0

(ChessBase) - What a fight! The anti-Moscow gambits. Shankland's unusual Bb4 idea was interesting, but risky. Holt got into deep time pressure, but kept putting up the pressure. Shankland decided to part with his queen, but he received lots of material in compensation. The two rooks and knight for the queen were uncoordinated and his king was in danger. He didn't find a very accurate way of defending and lost. A fantastic game.

Round 10, April 11, 2015
Holt, Conrad – Shankland, Samuel
D43 QGD, Semi-Slav (6.Bh4)

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 c6 5.Bg5 h6 6.Bh4 dxc4 7.e4 g5 8.Bg3 b5 9.Ne5 Nbd7 10.Be2 Bb7 11.Qc2 Bb4 12.Rd1 a6 13.O-O Nxe5 14.Bxe5 O-O 15.h4 Qe7 16.a3 Bxc3 17.bxc3 Rac8 18.hxg5 hxg5 19.Rfe1 Nd7 20.Bg3 Kg7 21.Bg4 Qf6 22.Re3 Qg6 23.f4 Nf6 24.f5 Nxg4 25.fxg6 Nxe3 26.Qe2 Nxd1 27.gxf7 Nxc3 28.Qh5 Ne2+ 29.Qxe2 Kg6 30.Qg4 Rxf7 31.Bh4 Rcf8 32.Qxg5+ Kh7 33.Qh5+ Kg8 34.Qg6+ Rg7 35.Qxe6+ Kh7 36.Be7 Rg6 37.Qe5 Re8 38.Qh5+ Kg7 39.Bd6 Rg8 40.Be5+ Kf8 41.Qh7 Rxg2+ 42.Kf1 R2g7 43.Qh6 c3 44.Qd6+ 1-0

Round 10, April 11, 2015
Akobian, Varuzhan – Naroditsky, Daniel
D24 QGA, 4.Nc3

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 dxc4 5.e4 Bb4 6.Bxc4 Nxe4 7.O-O Nxc3 8.bxc3 Be7 9.Qc2 Nd7 10.Re1 O-O 11.Bf4 Nf6 12.Ne5 Nd5 13.Bg3 g6 14.Rad1 Bf6 15.Bd3 Bg7 16.Qb3 Ne7 17.Bh4 f6 18.Nf3 Kh8 19.Bg3 a5 20.a4 Nd5 21.h4 Bd7 22.Ra1 Bc6 23.h5 Qe8 24.hxg6 hxg6 25.c4 Nb4 26.d5 Bxa4 27.Rxa4 Nxd3 28.Qxd3 Qxa4 29.dxe6 f5 30.e7 Rfe8 31.Bxc7 Qb4 32.Bd6 Qc3 33.Qd5 Rac8 34.c5 a4 35.Re3 Qc1+ 36.Kh2 f4 37.Re4 Bf6 38.Qf7 Bg7 39.Rxf4 1-0

Round 10, April 11, 2015
Yu, Jennifer – Krush, Irina
A26 English, Closed System, Main Line

1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.g3 g6 5.Bg2 Bg7 6.O-O O-O 7.d3 d6 8.Rb1 a6 9.b4 Nd4 10.a4 Bg4 11.e3 Nxf3+ 12.Bxf3 Bxf3 13.Qxf3 c6 14.d4 Re8 15.d5 e4 16.Qd1 Qd7 17.Kg2 Ng4 18.Bb2 Qf5 19.dxc6 bxc6 20.Na2 Bxb2 21.Rxb2 Ne5 22.Rc2 Nd3 23.Qe2 Rab8 24.Rb1 Re6 25.Kg1 Rf6 26.Rd2 Ne5 27.Kg2 Nf3 28.Rdb2 Ng5 29.Kh1 Qh3 30.Qf1 Qg4 31.Nc3 Nf3 32.b5 g5 33.bxa6 Rxb2 34.Rxb2 Rh6 35.Qg2 Qh3 36.Qxh3 Rxh3 37.Kg2 Rxh2+ 38.Kf1 Rh1+ 39.Kg2 Rg1+ 40.Kh3 h5 0-1

What’s the Black King doing down there on d3?

Round 10, April 11, 2015
Nemcova, Katerina – Paikidze, Nazi
B18 Caro-Kann, Classical, Flohr Variation

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Bf5 5.Ng3 Bg6 6.Nh3 Nf6 7.Bc4 e6 8.O-O Be7 9.f4 Qd7 10.Kh1 O-O 11.Be3 c5 12.f5 Bxf5 13.Nxf5 exf5 14.dxc5 Ng4 15.Bg1 g6 16.Bd5 Qc7 17.b4 Nc6 18.Rb1 Rad8 19.c4 b6 20.Nf4 bxc5 21.bxc5 Rb8 22.Rxb8 Nxb8 23.h3 Ne5 24.Re1 Bh4 25.Re2 Nbc6 26.Bxc6 Nxc6 27.Qd6 Qc8 28.Nd5 Re8 29.Rxe8+ Qxe8 30.Nc7 Qe4 31.Qd5 Bg3 32.Nb5 Qe1 33.Nd6 Ne5 34.Qa8+ Kg7 35.Ne8+ Kh6 36.Nf6 Bf2 37.Qf8+ Kg5 38.Nxh7+ Kf4 39.Qh6+ Ke4 40.Ng5+ Kd3 0-1

Standing After Round Ten (Men)

Nakamura 7
Robson 6.5
Onischuk 6
So 5.5
Kamsky 5
Akobian 5
Troff 5
Sevian 4.5
Shankland 4.5
Holt 4.5
Gareev 4
Naroditsky 2.5

Standing After Round Ten (Women)

Krush 8
Paikidze 7
Nemcova 7
Ni 6
Sharevich 5.5
Abrahamyan 5.5
Goletiani 5.5
Foisor 5
Virkud 3.5
Wang 2.5
Melekhina 2.5
Yu 2

Nakamura plays Onischuk tomorrow and Ray Robson is against Gareev.

Krush plays Nemcova and Paikidze is against Foisor.

[Sam Sharpe]

Re: US Chess Championship starts

I agree; Alejandro brings a lot of energy and insight into the game.