U. S. Chess Championships 2019

[Hans Jung]

In the final position diagram of Gorti - Yip above white is tied in knots (bad position bind) More accurate is 24.Qc1 Bg4 and if 25.Qc2 Rd4 and white should not escape the bind.

[Hans Jung]

Thanks to Jeffery Xiong (and Sam Shankland) for the entertainment. In rd 3 Jeffery Xiong played uncompromising chess out of the opening. First sacrificing one then two pawns and the exchange as Black and an amazing attack. Sam Shankland also got creative with his king. In the interview later Jeffery admitted he got to a position where he wasnt sure how to proceed and didnt see Re5 (as Fabiano also admitted). Crazily complicated tactics and a lot of inaccuracies but Sam hankland finally cracked. Jeffery Xiong now leads the field by himself with + 2 with both wins as black!

[Hans Jung]

Jennifer Yu beat Irina Krush to go 3-0 leading the women's section.

[Hans Jung]

Carissa Yip got 3 minors for a queen but couldnt find a way to coordinate her pieces and lost to Tatev Abrahamian

[Wayne Komer]

U.S. Championships 2019

March 22, 2019

Round Three

Round 3, Mar. 22
Akobian, Varuzhan – So, Wesley
D85 Grunfeld, Exchange variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e4 Nxc3 6.bxc3 Bg7 7.Be3 c5 8.Rc1 Qa5 9.Qd2 O-O 10.Nf3 Rd8 11.d5 e6 12.Bg5 f6 13.Be3 Nc6 14.h4 exd5 15.exd5 Bg4 16.Be2 c4 17.Bxc4 Bxf3 18.gxf3 Ne5 19.Be2 Qxd5 20.Qxd5+ Rxd5 21.Rd1 Rxd1+ 22.Bxd1 Rc8 23.h5 f5 24.Bb3+ Kf8 25.Ke2 b6 26.hxg6 hxg6 27.Rh7 Re8 28.Bc1 Nd7+ 29.Kd2 Nc5 30.Ba3 Re7 31.Bxc5 bxc5 32.Kd3 Re1 33.Rh4 Rf1 34.Ra4 Be5 35.Rxa7 Rc1 36.Kc4 Rxc3+ 37.Kd5 c4 38.Bxc4 Bh2 39.a4 Bg1 40.a5 Bxf2 1/2-1/2

Round 3, Mar. 22
Nakamura, Hikaru – Sevian, Samuel
A28 English, Four Knights, Nimzowitsch variation

1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.e4 Bb4 5.d3 d6 6.a3 Bc5 7.b4 Bb6 8.Na4 Bg4 9.Be2 Nd7 10.Nxb6 axb6 11.Bb2 O-O 12.h3 Bxf3 13.Bxf3 Nd4 14.O-O Nxf3+ 15.Qxf3 Qg5 16.Rae1 Nb8 17.d4 Nc6 18.dxe5 dxe5 19.Rd1 Rfd8 20.Rd5 Rxd5 21.cxd5 Nd4 22.Bxd4 exd4 23.Qd3 c5 24.dxc6 bxc6 25.Qxd4 c5 26.Qd6 cxb4 27.axb4 Qb5 28.Rc1 h6 29.Qc6 Qa6 30.b5 Qa5 31.Rd1 Rb8 32.Kh2 Qa2 33.Qc7 Qa8 34.Rd7 Rf8 35.Qxb6 Qxe4 36.Qd6 Qe6 37.Qxe6 fxe6 38.b6 Kh7 39.b7 Kg6 40.Rc7 Rb8 41.Kg3 Kf5 42.Rxg7 Rd8 43.f3 e5 44.Rc7 Rb8 45.Kf2 e4 46.fxe4+ Kxe4 47.Kg3 Kf5 48.Kh4 Kg6 49.Rc6+ 1-0

Round 3, Mar. 22
Shankland, Samuel – Xiong, Jeffery
C45 Scotch game

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Qf6 5.Nb3 Qg6 6.f3 Nf6 7.Bf4 Bb4+ 8.Kf2 O-O 9.a3 Be7 10.Bd3 Nh5 11.Bxc7 d6 12.e5 Bh4+ 13.Kf1 Qh6 14.exd6 Re8 15.Nc3 Ne5 16.Nc5 Nxf3 17.N3e4 Bg4 18.d7 Re5 19.Bxe5 Nxe5 20.Qd2 Qc6 21.h3 Bxd7 22.Nxd7 Nxd7 23.Qc3 Qh6 24.g4 f5 25.gxf5 Re8 26.Qc4+ Kh8 27.Rg1 Qe3 28.Rg2 Nf4 29.Rh2 Nxh3 30.Kg2 Nf4+ 31.Kh1 Qf3+ 32.Kg1 Qg4+ 33.Kh1 Qf3+ 34.Kg1 Bd8 35.Rf1 Bb6+ 36.Nf2 Qg3+ 37.Kh1 Qf3+ 38.Kg1 Nh3+ 39.Rxh3 Qxh3 40.Qf4 Nf6 41.Bb5 Re4 0-1

- What a wild game!
- shankland has been worst in each of the three games. He has depended on blunders of other players
- The position itself is pretty crazy. Easy for humans to go wrong.
- lots of black pieces hunting the white king
- nothing wrong with depending on blunders of other players

Round 3, Mar. 22
Liang, Awonder – Caruana, Fabiano
B22 Sicilian-Alekhine-Alapin

1.e4 c5 2.c3 Nf6 3.e5 Nd5 4.Nf3 e6 5.d4 cxd4 6.cxd4 d6 7.Bc4 Nb6 8.Bd3 Nc6 9.O-O Nb4 10.Bg5 Be7 11.Bxe7 Qxe7 12.Nc3 dxe5 13.dxe5 Nxd3 14.Qxd3 Bd7 15.Ne4 O-O 16.Nd4 Rad8 17.Rad1 Bc6 18.Nxc6 bxc6 19.Nd6 Nd5 20.Qc2 f6 21.Qxc6 fxe5 22.Ne4 Rc8 23.Qa4 Rb8 24.Nc3 Rxb2 25.Nxd5 exd5 26.Rxd5 Qf7 27.Rd7 Rxa2 28.Qb5 a6 29.Qb1 Qxd7 30.Qxa2+ Qf7 31.Qxa6 h6 32.Qe2 Qf5 33.Qe3 Qf4 34.Qxf4 exf4 1/2-1/2

Round 3, Mar. 22
Robson, Ray – Dominguez, Leinier
C65 Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defence

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.Bxc6 dxc6 6.Nbd2 Be6 7.O-O Bd6 8.Nb3 Qe7 9.Na5 O-O-O 10.Bd2 Bg4 11.Rb1 Nd7 12.Nc4 Qf6 13.b4 Nf8 14.h3 Bxf3 15.Qxf3 Qxf3 16.gxf3 Ne6 17.Be3 Rhf8 18.c3 f5 19.Rfd1 Rf6 20.d4 exd4 21.cxd4 fxe4 22.Nxd6+ cxd6 23.fxe4 d5 24.e5 Rf5 25.b5 c5 26.dxc5 d4 27.Bd2 Nxc5 28.b6 axb6 29.Rxb6 Rxe5 30.Rc1 Rdd5 31.Rb5 Kd7 32.Ba5 d3 33.Kf1 d2 34.Bxd2 Rxd2 35.Rcxc5 Rxc5 36.Rxc5 Rxa2 37.Rh5 h6 38.Rf5 Kc6 39.Rf7 b5 40.Rxg7 b4 41.Rg3 Kb5 42.Kg2 Ra3 43.Rg8 Ra6 44.Kf3 b3 45.Rg1 Kb4 46.Ke4 b2 47.Rb1 Kc3 48.f4 Ra1 49.Rxb2 Kxb2 50.f5 Rf1 51.Ke5 Rh1 0-1

Round 3, Mar. 22
Gareyev, Timur – Lenderman, Aleksandr
E46 Nimzo-Indian

1.d4 e6 2.c4 Nf6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 O-O 5.Bd2 c5 6.Bd3 cxd4 7.exd4 d5 8.cxd5 exd5 9.Nge2 Nc6 10.O-O Bd6 11.h3 h6 12.Rc1 Re8 13.Be3 a6 14.a3 Bc7 15.Re1 Nh5 16.Qd2 Qd6 17.Nf4 Nf6 18.g3 Bd7 19.Bf1 Bf5 20.Nd3 Bb6 21.Nc5 Bxc5 22.dxc5 Qd7 23.Bd4 Ne4 24.Nxe4 dxe4 25.Bc3 Bxh3 26.Qxd7 Bxd7 27.Bg2 Bf5 28.Rcd1 Re7 29.Rd5 Bg6 30.Bh3 f6 31.b4 Na7 32.a4 Be8 33.Ra1 e3 34.Rd3 exf2+ 35.Kxf2 Bc6 36.Bg4 Rf8 37.Bf5 Kf7 38.Rd6 Rfe8 39.Bg4 Kg6 40.Bd2 Re5 41.Ra3 Nc8 42.Rd4 Ne7 43.Bd1 Nf5 44.Rg4+ Kh7 45.Rd3 h5 46.Rc4 Nh6 47.Rcd4 Ng4+ 48.Bxg4 hxg4 49.Re3 Rf5+ 50.Ke1 Rxe3+ 51.Bxe3 Rf3 52.Bf2 f5 53.b5 axb5 54.axb5 Bxb5 55.Rf4 Rxf4 56.gxf4 Kg6 57.Bg3 Kf6 58.Bh4+ Ke6 59.Kf2 Kd5 60.Be7 g5 61.Kg3 gxf4+ 62.Kxf4 Bd7 63.Bf8 Bc8 64.Be7 Ke6 65.Bf8 Bd7 66.Bh6 Bc6 67.Bf8 Be4 68.Bh6 Kd5 69.Bf8 Kd4 70.Bd6 Kd3 71.Kg3 Bc6 72.Bf8 Ke4 73.Bd6 Bd7 74.Bf4 Kd4 75.Bd6 Kd5 76.Bf8 1/2-1/2

Standings

1 Xiong 2.5
2-4 So, Nakamura, Dominguez 2
5-8 Caruana, Sevian, Lenderman, Akobian 1.5
9-11 Robson, Shankland, Liang 1
12 Gareyev 0.5

Women’s Championship

Round 3, Mar. 22
Krush, Irina – Yu, Jennifer
B13 Caro-Kann, Exchange

1.c4 c6 2.e4 d5 3.exd5 cxd5 4.d4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Bg5 Be6 7.a3 Qd7 8.Be2 Rd8 9.Bxf6 exf6 10.c5 g6 11.Nf3 h5 12.b4 Bh6 13.b5 Ne7 14.h4 Kf8 15.a4 Kg7 16.a5 Nc8 17.b6 a6 18.Na2 Ne7 19.Nb4 Qc8 20.Ra3 Rde8 21.Rc3 Bd7 22.O-O Bc6 23.Ne1 Nf5 24.Nxc6 Qxc6 25.Nc2 Nxh4 26.Nb4 Qe6 27.Bd3 Bf4 28.c6 Bd6 29.Rc5 Bxc5 30.dxc5 bxc6 31.Nxa6 Qe5 32.Nc7 Re7 33.Qa4 Qg5 34.g3 Nf3+ 35.Kg2 Ne1+ 36.Rxe1 Rxe1 37.Qf4 Qg4 38.f3 Qd7 39.a6 Qe7 40.Qd2 Ra1 0-1

Round 3, Mar. 22
Yip, Carissa – Abrahamyan, Tatev
C00 French, Labourdonnais variation

1.e4 e6 2.f4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.Nf3 Nc6 5.c3 Nh6 6.Na3 Nf5 7.Nc2 d4 8.Bd3 Be7 9.Qe2 h5 10.Be4 Bd7 11.Qd3 Qb6 12.b3 Rd8 13.Bb2 c4 14.Qxc4 Nxe5 15.Nxe5 Bb5 16.Bxf5 Bxc4 17.Nxc4 Qc6 18.Bh3 b5 19.Ne5 Qe4+ 20.Kd1 dxc3 21.Bxc3 b4 22.Bb2 Qxf4 23.Nc4 Bf6 24.Kc1 Bc3 25.Kb1 Bxd2 26.Bxg7 Bc3 27.Bxc3 bxc3 28.a3 Qf2 29.Rc1 O-O 30.Ra2 Qc5 31.Ka1 Rb8 32.Nb4 a5 33.Na6 Qg5 34.Rxc3 Qf6 35.Kb2 Rbc8 36.g4 Rfd8 0-1

Round 3, Mar. 22
Zatonskih, Anna – Feng, Maggie
D02 Queen’s Pawn game, Krause variation

1.Nf3 d5 2.d4 c5 3.e3 Nf6 4.c4 cxd4 5.exd4 g6 6.cxd5 Bg7 7.Bc4 O-O 8.Nc3 Nbd7 9.O-O Nb6 10.Bb3 Nbxd5 11.Re1 Re8 12.Ne5 Be6 13.Qf3 Qd6 14.Bd2 a6 15.h3 Red8 16.Nd3 Nxc3 17.bxc3 Bxb3 18.axb3 b5 19.Nc5 Rdc8 20.b4 Nd5 21.Ra5 Nb6 22.Rea1 Nc4 23.Bf4 e5 24.Rxa6 Rxa6 25.Rxa6 Qd8 26.dxe5 Nxe5 27.Bxe5 Bxe5 28.g3 Qd2 29.Ra7 Rf8 30.Nd7 Qxc3 31.Qxc3 Bxc3 32.Nxf8 Kxf8 33.Rb7 Bxb4 34.Rxb5 Bd2 35.g4 h6 36.Kg2 Kg7 37.h4 Bc3 38.Kg3 Bd4 39.Rd5 Bc3 40.Kf3 Kf6 41.Rb5 Kg7 42.h5 gxh5 43.Rxh5 Kg6 44.Ke4 Bb2 45.Kd5 Bc1 46.Ke4 Bb2 47.Rb5 Bc3 48.Rb6+ Kg7 49.Rc6 Be1 50.f3 Bd2 51.Kd5 Bf4 52.Ra6 Be3 53.Kd6 Bg5 54.Ke5 Bd2 55.f4 Bc3+ 56.Kd5 Bd2 57.f5 Bg5 58.Kd6 Kf6 59.Kd7+ Ke5 60.Ke8 f6 61.Kf7 Kf4 62.Ra4+ Kg3 63.Kg6 Kh4 64.Rc4 Kg3 65.Kh5 Kf3 66.Rc8 Kf4 67.Rh8 Kf3 68.Rxh6 Bxh6 69.Kxh6 Kxg4 70.Kg6 Kh4 71.Kxf6 Kh5 72.Ke7 Kh6 73.f6 Kh7 74.f7 1-0

Round 3, Mar. 22
Nguyen, Emily – Wang, Annie
C01 French, Exchange

1.d4 e6 2.e4 d5 3.exd5 exd5 4.Nf3 Nf6 5.Bd3 Bd6 6.O-O O-O 7.h3 h6 8.Nc3 Nc6 9.Nb5 Nb4 10.Nxd6 Qxd6 11.Ne5 Nxd3 12.Qxd3 Ne4 13.Bf4 Qf6 14.Bh2 Nd6 15.Rfe1 c6 16.Re2 Bf5 17.Qf3 Rad8 18.Rae1 Qh4 19.Qa3 Nb5 20.Nf3 Qf6 21.Qe3 Be4 22.Ne5 Nd6 23.b3 Qh4 24.c3 Rfe8 25.Bg3 Qh5 26.Qd2 Re6 27.Nd3 Rf6 28.Nc5 Qg6 29.Nxe4 Nxe4 30.Rxe4 dxe4 31.Bh4 Rdd6 32.Bxf6 Rxf6 33.Qe3 Re6 34.c4 f5 35.Qf4 Rd6 36.Rd1 b6 37.Rd2 Kh7 38.d5 Qf6 39.dxc6 Rxd2 40.Qxd2 Qxc6 41.Kh2 1/2-1/2

Round 3, Mar. 22
Sharevich, Anna – Gorti, Akshita
E09 Catalan, Closed, slow Sokolsky variation

1.d4 e6 2.c4 Nf6 3.g3 d5 4.Bg2 Be7 5.Nf3 O-O 6.O-O Nbd7 7.Qc2 c6 8.Nbd2 b6 9.b3 Bb7 10.Bb2 a5 11.e4 Rc8 12.Rad1 c5 13.exd5 exd5 14.dxc5 Bxc5 15.Qb1 Qc7 16.cxd5 Bxd5 17.Nc4 Bxc4 18.bxc4 h6 19.Nh4 Ne5 20.Nf5 Rfe8 21.Qa1 Neg4 22.Bxf6 Nxf2 23.Bd4 Nxd1 24.Qxd1 Qe5 25.Bxc5 Qxc5+ 26.Kh1 Qe5 27.Bd5 Rc7 28.Qg4 Kh8 29.Qd4 Qxd4 30.Nxd4 f6 31.Rb1 Rb8 32.Nc6 Re8 33.a4 Re3 34.Rxb6 Ra3 35.Ra6 Rxa4 36.Rxa5 Rxa5 37.Nxa5 g6 38.Nb3 Kg7 39.Nd4 Ra7 40.Ne6+ Kf7 41.Nf4+ Kg7 42.c5 f5 43.c6 Kf6 44.Bf3 g5 45.Nd3 g4 46.Bd5 Ke7 47.Nf4 Kd6 48.Kg2 Ra1 49.Kf2 Rc1 50.Ke3 Re1+ 51.Kd2 Re7 52.Bg2 Ra7 53.Kc3 Ra2 54.Kd4 Rd2+ 55.Ke3 Ra2 56.Ne2 Ra3+ 57.Kd2 Ra2+ 58.Kd3 Rb2 59.Nf4 Ra2 60.Kc4 Rb2 61.Kc3 Rf2 62.Kd4 Rd2+ 63.Ke3 Rb2 64.h3 Rxg2 0-1

Round 3, Mar. 22
Eswaran, Ashritha – Foisor, Sabina
B08 Pirc, Classical System

1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.Be2 O-O 6.O-O a6 7.a4 Nc6 8.d5 Nb4 9.a5 e6 10.Bg5 h6 11.Bh4 g5 12.Bg3 exd5 13.exd5 Bd7 14.Bc4 Bb5 15.Nxb5 axb5 16.Bb3 Na6 17.Nd4 Nc5 18.Nf5 Qd7 19.Nxg7 Kxg7 20.Qd4 Rfe8 21.f4 Re4 22.Qd2 g4 23.f5 Rae8 24.Bf4 Ng8 25.f6+ Kh7 26.Bg3 Re2 27.Qd1 R8e4 28.Ba2 Kh8 29.Bb1 c6 30.c3 Re8 31.Bf5 Qd8 32.Bxg4 Rxb2 33.Bh5 Ne4 34.Qc1 Rd2 35.Bxf7 Rf8 36.Bxg8 Kxg8 37.Re1 Qxf6 38.Rxe4 Rxg2+ 39.Kxg2 Qf3+ 40.Kg1 Qxe4 41.Qxh6 Qxd5 42.Qxd6 Qf5 43.Re1 Rf7 44.Qd4 Rd7 45.Qe5 Qxe5 46.Bxe5 Rd2 47.Bd4 b4 48.Be3 Rb2 49.cxb4 Rxb4 50.Bb6 Kf7 51.Re7+ 1-0

Standings

1 Yu 3
2 Zatonskih 2.5
3-4 Wang, Yip 2
5-7 Feng, Abrahamyan, Krush 1.5
8-10 Nguyen, Gorti, Eswaran 1
11-12 Foisor, Sharevich 0.5

[Hans Jung]

I want to thank Timur Gareev for the entertainment. How much entertainment can you have in one game!? Rxb2 is a nasty, nasty shot.

[Hans Jung]

Poor Jeffery Xiong finally went to far. Although time pressure must have played a role.

[Hans Jung]

The good news is that Jeffery Xiong is still tied for first after his traumatic loss in round 4 to Ray Robson, mainly because all other games were drawn. The championship is becoming very, very interesting.

[Hans Jung]

Lenier Dominguez can defend like Houdini and showed his best fighting form against Caruana. What a draw!

[Hans Jung]

Jennifer Yu and Anna Zatonskih keep winning and its starting to look like a race between the two of them.

[Wayne Komer]

U.S. Championships 2019

March 23, 2019

Round Four

Round 4, Mar. 23
Xiong, Jeffery – Robson, Ray
C67 Ruy Lopez, open Berlin Defence, L’Hermet variation

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.O-O Nxe4 5.d4 Nd6 6.dxe5 Nxb5 7.a4 Nbd4 8.Nxd4 Nxd4 9.Qxd4 d5 10.Qd3 g6 11.Nc3 c6 12.Be3 Bf5 13.Qd2 Qa5 14.Rfe1 O-O-O 15.e6 Bxe6 16.Bg5 Rd7 17.Bf6 Rg8 18.Qe3 Bb4 19.Red1 Bf5 20.Nb5 Bxc2 21.Rdc1 Bf5 22.Nxa7+ Kb8 23.Nb5 Ka8 24.Bc3 Bxc3 25.bxc3 Be6 26.Re1 Re8 27.h3 h5 28.Kh2 Rde7 29.Qc5 Kb8 30.Qd6+ Kc8 31.Qc5 Kd8 32.g3 cxb5 33.axb5 Qc7 34.Qd4 Kd7 35.Ra4 Rc8 36.c4 Qc5 37.cxd5 Bf5 38.Rxe7+ Kxe7 39.Qe5+ Kd7 40.Rf4 Qd6 41.Qxd6+ Kxd6 42.g4 Ke5 43.Rf3 hxg4 44.hxg4 Bxg4 45.Rxf7 Rb8 0-1

Round 4, Mar. 23
Caruana, Fabiano – Dominguez, Leinier
E05 Catalan, open, Classical line

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 d5 4.Bg2 Be7 5.Nf3 O-O 6.O-O dxc4 7.Qa4 a6 8.Qxc4 b5 9.Qc2 Bb7 10.Bd2 Be4 11.Qc1 c6 12.a4 Nbd7 13.Nc3 Bg6 14.Nh4 Bh5 15.h3 Nd5 16.axb5 axb5 17.Rxa8 Qxa8 18.e4 Nb4 19.Bg5 Qd8 20.Bxe7 Qxe7 21.Qe3 Rd8 22.Rc1 Nf8 23.Bf3 Bxf3 24.Nxf3 Nd7 25.Kg2 h6 26.h4 Nb6 27.b3 Nd7 28.Rd1 Ra8 29.Qe2 Nf6 30.Ne5 Nd7 31.Ng4 Nf6 32.Ne3 Ra3 33.e5 Nd7 34.Ne4 Nb6 35.Qh5 Rxb3 36.Ng4 N4d5 37.Ra1 Ra3 38.Nxh6+ gxh6 39.Nf6+ Nxf6 40.exf6 Rxg3+ 41.fxg3 Qxf6 42.Qg4+ Kh8 43.Ra6 Qd8 44.Ra7 Qf8 45.Qf3 Kg8 46.Qxc6 Qd8 47.Kh2 Qf6 48.Qe4 Qf2+ 49.Kh3 Qf1+ 50.Qg2 Qf5+ 51.g4 Qd3+ 52.Qg3 Qxd4 53.g5 h5 54.g6 Nd7 55.Ra8+ Kg7 56.gxf7+ Kxf7 57.Qg8+ Ke7 58.Re8+ Kd6 59.Rxe6+ Kc5 60.Qg5+ Kb4 61.Qxh5 Nc5 62.Re7 Nd3 63.Qf3 Kc3 64.h5 b4 65.h6 b3 66.h7 b2 67.Rb7 Kd2 68.Qg2+ Kc1 69.Rc7+ Kb1 70.Qh1+ Nc1 71.Qa8 Qe3+ 72.Kg4 Qe6+ 73.Kf3 Qe2+ 74.Kg3 Qe5+ 75.Kh3 Qh5+ 76.Kg2 Qe2+ 77.Kh1 Qh5+ 78.Kg1 Qd1+ 79.Kh2 Qh5+ 80.Kg3 Qe5+ 81.Kg4 Qe6+ 82.Kh5 Qf5+ 83.Kh4 Qf4+ 84.Kh5 Qf5+ 85.Kh4 Qf4+ 1/2-1/2

Position after Black’s 70…..Nc1



- Difficult position to play correctly
- Qa8??
- Caruana blew it totally
- Magnus just tweeted “when your winless streak matches your age”
- that’s kind of mean. Why would he tweet that?

Round 4, Mar. 23
So, Wesley – Shankland, Samuel
B12 Caro-Kann, Advance variation

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 Bf5 4.Nf3 e6 5.Be2 c5 6.Be3 cxd4 7.Nxd4 Ne7 8.Nd2 Nbc6 9.N2f3 Bg4 10.O-O Bxf3 11.Nxf3 Qc7 12.c4 dxc4 13.Bxc4 Nf5 14.Bf4 Be7 15.Bd3 O-O 16.Be4 Rfd8 17.Qc2 g6 18.Rfd1 Qb6 19.Bxc6 bxc6 20.Rac1 Rxd1+ 21.Rxd1 Rd8 22.b3 Bc5 23.Rxd8+ Qxd8 24.h3 Qd5 25.Qe2 Nd4 26.Nxd4 Bxd4 27.Kh2 h5 28.Bg3 Kg7 29.Bf4 Qc5 30.Bg3 Qd5 31.Bf4 Qc5 1/2-1/2

Round 4, Mar. 23
Liang, Awonder – Nakamura, Hikaru
C53 Giuoco Piano

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.d4 exd4 6.e5 d5 7.Bb5 Ne4 8.cxd4 Bb6 9.Nc3 O-O 10.Be3 Bg4 11.h3 Bh5 12.Qc2 Bg6 13.Qb3 Ne7 14.O-O c6 15.Bd3 Nd2 16.Nxd2 Bxd3 17.Rfe1 Bg6 18.Nf3 Nf5 19.Na4 f6 20.Nxb6 Qxb6 21.Qc3 Rae8 22.Bf4 fxe5 23.Bxe5 Qd8 24.Re2 Rf7 25.Rae1 Rfe7 26.Qd2 Nh6 27.Bf4 Nf7 28.Rxe7 Rxe7 29.Ne5 Nxe5 30.Bxe5 Qd7 31.Re3 h6 1/2-1/2

Round 4, Mar. 23
Lenderman, Aleksandr – Akobian, Varuzhan
D37 QGD, Hastings variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Be7 5.Bf4 O-O 6.e3 Nbd7 7.Be2 dxc4 8.O-O c5 9.dxc5 Nxc5 10.Qc2 a6 11.Rfd1 Qe8 12.Bxc4 b5 13.Be2 Bb7 14.a3 Rc8 15.Rac1 Na4 16.Qb3 Nxc3 17.bxc3 Nd5 18.Be5 Nb6 19.c4 Bxf3 20.gxf3 Nxc4 21.Bxc4 bxc4 22.Rxc4 Qb5 23.Qxb5 axb5 24.Rxc8 Rxc8 25.Rb1 f6 26.Bg3 Rc5 27.e4 g5 28.Bb8 f5 29.Ba7 Rc7 30.Be3 f4 31.Bd2 Rc2 32.Bb4 Bc5 33.Bxc5 Rxc5 34.Kg2 Kf7 35.Rb4 h5 36.a4 bxa4 37.Rxa4 Kf6 38.h3 1/2-1/2

Round 4, Mar. 23
Sevian, Samuel – Gareyev, Timur
C67 Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defence, open variation

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.O-O Nxe4 5.d4 Nd6 6.Bxc6 dxc6 7.dxe5 Nf5 8.Qxd8+ Kxd8 9.h3 Be6 10.g4 Ne7 11.Ng5 Bd5 12.Nc3 Ke8 13.f4 f6 14.Nxd5 Nxd5 15.Ne6 Kf7 16.f5 fxe5 17.c4 Nf6 18.Be3 Bd6 19.Rad1 b6 20.g5 Ne4 21.Kg2 Rae8 22.Kf3 Nc5 23.Nxc5 bxc5 24.Ke4 Rb8 25.Rf2 a5 26.h4 h6 27.g6+ Ke7 28.h5 Rb4 29.Rc2 Rhb8 30.Rdd2 Ra4 31.a3 Rb3 32.Rd3 Rxb2 33.f6+ Kxf6 34.Rxd6+ cxd6 35.Rxb2 d5+ 36.Kf3 Rxa3 37.Ke2 d4 38.Bd2 e4 39.Rb7 e3 40.Be1 Ra2+ 41.Kf3 Rh2 42.Rf7+ Kg5 43.Rxg7 Kxh5 44.Rg8 Rh1 45.Bxa5 Rg1 46.g7 Kg6 47.Rc8 Kxg7 48.Rc7+ Kg8 49.Rxc6 h5 50.Rxc5 h4 51.Rh5 Rc1 52.c5 h3 53.Bc7 Rf1+ 54.Ke2 Rf2+ 55.Kd3 Rd2+ 56.Ke4 e2 57.Bg3 h2 58.c6 Rc2 59.Kxd4 Rxc6 60.Rxh2 Re6 61.Rh1 Ra6 62.Re1 Ra4+ 63.Kc5 Ra2 64.Kc4 Ra4+ 65.Kb3 Rg4 66.Bf2 Rg2 67.Rxe2 Kf7 68.Kc4 Rh2 69.Kd5 Rg2 70.Ke4 Rg4+ 71.Kf5 Rb4 72.Bc5 Rb7 73.Rh2 Rd7 74.Ke5 Rd1 75.Bd6 Rf1 76.Ra2 Rf6 77.Ra7+ Kg6 78.Be7 Rf2 79.Ra6+ Kh5 80.Bc5 Rg2 81.Kf4 Rg6 82.Ra1 Rf6+ 83.Ke4 Rg6 84.Be3 Kg4 85.Bf4 Re6+ 86.Be5 Rg6 87.Rf1 Rg5 88.Bf6 Rg6 89.Rf4+ Kg3 90.Ke3 Kh3 91.Rf5 Rg3+ 92.Kf4 Rg4+ 93.Ke5 Rg2 94.Rh5+ Kg4 95.Rh4+ Kg3 96.Re4 Kf3 97.Rf4+ Ke3 98.Ra4 Kd3 99.Kd5 Ke2 100.Ra3 Rg4 101.Be5 Kf2 102.Bd4+ Kg2 103.Ke5 Rg3 104.Ra2+ Kf3 105.Kf5 Rh3 106.Rf2+ Kg3 107.Rf4 Rh2 108.Ke4 Rh3 109.Rf3+ Kg2 110.Rf8 Rh4+ 111.Ke3 Rh3+ 112.Ke2 Rh4 113.Rg8+ Kh3 114.Be5 Rg4 115.Rf8 Rg2+ 116.Kf3 Rg3+ 117.Bxg3 1/2-1/2


Final position



Standings

1-4 Nakamura, So, Dominguez, Xiong 2.5
5-9 Caruana, Robson, Akobian, Lenderman, Sevian 2
10-11 Shankland, Liang 1.5
12 Gareyev 1

Women’s Championship

Round 4, Mar. 23
Yu, Jennifer – Nguyen, Emily
C50 Giuoco Piano

1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nf6 3.d3 Nc6 4.Nf3 Bc5 5.O-O d6 6.c3 O-O 7.Bg5 Be6 8.Nbd2 a5 9.a4 Re8 10.Re1 d5 11.Bxf6 gxf6 12.exd5 Bxd5 13.Bxd5 Qxd5 14.Ne4 Be7 15.Nh4 Qe6 16.Qh5 Bf8 17.Nf5 Ne7 18.Nxe7+ Bxe7 19.Ng3 Kh8 20.Re4 f5 21.Nxf5 Qg6 22.Qxg6 hxg6 23.Nxe7 Rxe7 24.d4 Rd8 25.f4 f6 26.fxe5 fxe5 27.Rae1 c5 28.Rxe5 Rxe5 29.dxe5 Kg7 30.e6 Kf6 31.e7 Re8 32.Kf2 1-0

Round 4, Mar. 23
Zatonskih, Anna – Yip, Carissa
D77 Neo-Grunfeld

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 g6 3.g3 Bg7 4.Bg2 O-O 5.c4 d5 6.O-O dxc4 7.Na3 Nc6 8.Nxc4 Be6 9.b3 Bd5 10.Bb2 a5 11.Ne3 Be4 12.a3 Qc8 13.Nc4 h6 14.Re1 Rd8 15.Ncd2 Qe6 16.Nxe4 Nxe4 17.Qc2 a4 18.bxa4 Na5 19.e3 Qc6 20.Rac1 Nd6 21.Bc3 Nac4 22.Bb4 Qxa4 23.Bxd6 Nxd6 24.Qxa4 Rxa4 25.Rxc7 Bf8 26.Ne5 Rxa3 27.Rb1 b5 28.Bf1 Rb8 29.Nd7 Rba8 30.Bxb5 Ra1 31.Rcc1 R1a2 32.Bc6 Rc8 33.Bd5 Rxc1+ 34.Rxc1 Rb2 35.Ra1 Bg7 36.Ra8+ Kh7 37.Ra7 g5 38.Ne5 Rb5 39.Bc4 Rb1+ 40.Kg2 Nxc4 41.Nxc4 Bf6 42.Nd2 Rb6 43.Ne4 Kg6 44.g4 e6 45.Rd7 Bg7 46.Nd6 f6 47.Nc8 Rb8 48.Ne7+ Kh7 49.d5 exd5 50.Nf5 Rg8 51.Rxd5 Bf8 52.Rd8 Rh8 53.Ng3 Ba3 54.Rd7+ Kg6 55.Nh5 Bf8 56.Rb7 Rg8 57.e4 Bd6 58.h3 Be5 59.Kf3 Bd6 60.Kg2 Be5 61.h4 Bd6 62.Kh3 Be5 63.Rd7 Bb8 64.Rb7 Be5 65.Ng3 gxh4 66.Nh5 Kg5 67.Rb5 Kg6 68.f4 Rb8 69.Rxb8 Bxb8 70.Kxh4 Bc7 71.Kg3 Bb8 72.Kf3 Bc7 73.Ke3 Bb8 74.Kd4 Bc7 75.Kd5 Bb6 76.Ke6 Bd4 77.Ng3 Bb2 78.Nf5 h5 79.Ne7+ Kh6 80.Ng8+ Kg7 81.Nxf6 Bxf6 82.gxh5 Bc3 83.e5 Bb4 84.f5 Kh6 85.Kf7 Kg5 86.e6 Kxf5 87.h6 1-0

Position after 84…Kh6 White wins in 16 moves after 85.Kf7



(continued on next post)

[Wayne Komer]

U.S. Championships 2019

March 23, 2019

Round Four

Women’s Championship (continued)

Round 4, Mar. 23
Feng, Maggie – Wang, Annie
A08 Reti, King’s Indian Attack


1.Nf3 d5 2.g3 c5 3.c4 d4 4.e3 Nc6 5.exd4 cxd4 6.d3 Nf6 7.Bg2 e5 8.O-O Nd7 9.Na3 Be7 10.Nc2 O-O 11.a3 a5 12.Rb1 a4 13.Bd2 Nc5 14.Bb4 Bf5 15.Bxc5 Bxc5 16.b4 axb3 17.Rxb3 Qc7 18.Nb4 Nxb4 19.axb4 Be7 20.Re1 f6 21.Nh4 Be6 22.f4 Ra4 23.f5 Bf7 24.b5 Rfa8 25.Qf3 Qa5 26.Rbb1 Rb8 27.Qg4 Bb4 28.Red1 Bd2 29.Be4 Ra2 30.Ng2 Bc3 31.Qf3 Qb6 32.Rf1 Kf8 33.Rf2 Rxf2 34.Qxf2 Be8 35.Qa2 Qc5 36.Rb3 Bb4 37.Qa4 Bc3 38.Qa3 Qxa3 39.Rxa3 b6 40.Ra7 Rd8 41.Kf2 Rd7 42.Ra6 Ba5 43.c5 Rd8 44.c6 Rc8 45.Bd5 Rc7 46.Kf3 Ke7 47.Ke4 Kd6 48.Ra8 Bh5 49.Rd8+ Ke7 50.Rh8 h6 51.Nh4 Kd6 52.Bc4 Bd2 53.Rb8 Ra7 54.Rxb6 Kc5 55.c7 Rxc7 56.Rb8 Bf7 57.Be6 Re7 58.b6 Bxe6 59.fxe6 Rxe6 60.b7 Kc6 61.Rg8 Kxb7 62.Rxg7+ Kb6 63.Rg6 Rc6 64.Nf5 Kb5 65.Ne7 Ra6 66.h4 Be3 67.g4 Bf2 68.h5 Be3 69.Nf5 Bg5 70.Kd5 Ra3 71.Nxh6 Rxd3 72.Nf7 Bf4 73.Rxf6 Re3 74.Rxf4 exf4 75.Kxd4 Re7 76.Ng5 Re8 77.Nf3 Re3 78.Ng5 Rg3 79.Ne6 Rxg4 80.Ke4 Rh4 81.Nxf4 Kc5 82.Kf5 Kd6 83.Kg5 Rh1 84.h6 Ke5 85.Ng6+ Ke6 86.h7 Rxh7 87.Nf8+ Kf7 88.Nxh7 Kg7 1/2-1/2

Position after 81.Nxf4 Draw



Round 4, Mar. 23
Foisor, Sabina – Krush, Irina
B62 Sicilian, Richter-Rauzer, Keres variation

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Bg5 e6 7.Qd3 a6 8.Nxc6 bxc6 9.O-O-O Be7 10.h4 O-O 11.Qg3 e5 12.Bc4 Be6 13.Qd3 Qb6 14.Bxe6 fxe6 15.Qh3 Kf7 16.f4 Rab8 17.b3 Rfd8 18.Rhf1 Qc5 19.f5 exf5 20.Rxf5 a5 21.Bxf6 gxf6 22.Rh5 Rh8 23.Rd3 a4 24.Nxa4 Qa3+ 25.Kd2 Qxa2 26.Qf5 h6 27.g4 Rbd8 28.g5 hxg5 29.Rh7+ Rxh7 30.Qxh7+ Ke6 31.hxg5 d5 32.Qf5+ Kf7 33.exd5 Rxd5 34.Rxd5 cxd5 35.g6+ Kg7 36.Qh5 Bb4+ 37.Kd3 f5 38.Qh7+ Kf6 39.g7 Qa1 40.g8=N+ Kg5 41.Qh6+ Kg4 42.Nf6+ Kg3 43.Qg5+ Kh2 44.Qh4+ Kg2 45.Qxb4 e4+ 46.Nxe4 dxe4+ 47.Kd2 Qe5 48.Qc5 Qxc5 49.Nxc5 Kf2 50.Kc3 e3 51.b4 e2 52.Nd3+ Ke3 53.b5 f4 54.b6 f3 55.b7 f2 56.b8=Q e1=Q+ 57.Nxe1 fxe1=Q+ 58.Kb2 Qa5 59.Qg3+ Ke2 60.Qd3+ Kf2 61.Qd4+ Kg2 62.c3 Kh1 63.c4 Qb4+ 64.Kc2 Qa4+ 65.Kd2 Qb4+ 66.Qc3 Qd6+ 67.Kc2 Qg6+ 68.Qd3 Qg2+ 69.Kc3 Qg7+ 70.Qd4 Qg3+ 71.Kb4 Qb8+ 72.Ka5 Qa8+ 73.Kb5 Qe8+ 74.Kb4 Qb8+ 75.Kc3 Qg3+ 76.Kc2 Qg2+ 77.Kc1 Qg5+ 78.Qd2 Qe7 79.Qd5+ Kg1 80.c5 Qe3+ 81.Kd1 Qc3 82.Qg5+ Kh1 83.Qh5+ Kg1 84.Qg4+ Kh2 85.Qf4+ Kh3 86.Qf5+ Kg3 87.Qc2 Qd4+ 88.Kc1 Qf4+ 89.Kb2 Qc7 90.c6 Kh4 91.Qc4+ Kg3 92.Kb3 Kh2 93.Qc2+ Kh1 94.Qd1+ Kh2 95.Qd7 Qb6+ 96.Kc4 Qa6+ 97.Kc5 Qa5+ 98.Kd6 Qa3+ 99.Kc7 Qa7+ 100.Kd8 Qb8+ 101.Ke7 Qe5+ 102.Qe6 Qc7+ 103.Ke8 Kh1 104.Kf8 Qd8+ 105.Kf7 Qc7+ 106.Kg6 Qg3+ 107.Kh7 Qd3+ 108.Qg6 Qc4 109.Qh6+ Kg1 110.Qd6 Kh1 111.c7 Qc2+ 112.Kg7 Qc3+ 113.Kf7 Qc4+ 114.Ke7 Qe4+ 115.Qe6 Qh7+ 116.Kd6 Qh2+ 117.Kc6 Qc2+ 118.Kb7 Qb2+ 119.Qb6 Qg7 120.Ka8 Qf8+ 121.Ka7 Qa3+ 122.Kb8 Qg3 123.Qb1+ Kh2 124.Qb2+ Kh1 125.Kb7 Qf3+ 126.Ka7 Qe3+ 127.Ka6 Qd3+ 128.Qb5 Qa3+ 129.Kb6 Qe3+ 130.Kb7 Qe7 131.Qd5+ Kh2 132.Qd4 Qf7 133.Qd3 Qe7 134.Qd2+ Kh1 135.Qh6+ Kg1 136.Qf4 Qd7 137.Qg5+ Kh1 138.Qh6+ Kg1 139.Kb8 Qb5+ 140.Ka7 Qa5+ 141.Kb7 Qd5+ 142.Qc6 Qf7 143.Ka8 Qa2+ 144.Kb8 Qb3+ 145.Qb7 Qg3 146.Ka8 1-0

Final position White wins in 12 moves after 146..Kf1




Round 4, Mar. 23
Abrahamyan, Tatev – Sharevich, Anna
B23 Sicilain, Closed

1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 e6 3.Nge2 a6 4.g3 Nc6 5.Bg2 d6 6.d4 cxd4 7.Nxd4 Bd7 8.O-O h5 9.Re1 Be7 10.Nxc6 Bxc6 11.Ne2 h4 12.Nd4 hxg3 13.hxg3 Bd7 14.c4 Qc7 15.b3 Bf6 16.Bb2 Ne7 17.Qd2 Qc5 18.Nf3 Bxb2 19.Qxb2 e5 20.Qd2 Rd8 21.Qg5 Kf8 22.Rad1 f6 23.Qe3 Qc7 24.Rd2 Kf7 25.Rc1 Be6 26.Ne1 g5 27.Rcd1 Nc6 28.Nc2 Bg4 29.Bf3 Be6 30.Qe2 Kg6 31.Qe3 Qh7 32.Rxd6 Qh2+ 33.Kf1 Nd4 34.R6xd4 exd4 35.Nxd4 Bh3+ 36.Ke1 Rhe8 37.Kd2 Bg2 38.Kc3 Bxf3 39.Qxf3 Qh5 40.g4 Qh2 41.Rh1 Qf4 42.Qxf4 gxf4 43.f3 Rd7 44.Ne2 b5 45.Nxf4+ Kg7 46.Nd5 bxc4 47.bxc4 Rd6 48.Rb1 Kg6 49.c5 Rc6 50.Kd4 Kg5 51.Rb6 Rxb6 52.Nxb6 Kf4 53.c6 Kxf3 54.c7 Rxe4+ 55.Kc5 Re8 56.Nd5 Rc8 57.Kd6 Kxg4 58.Nxf6+ Kf3 59.Nd5 Ke4 60.Nb6 Rh8 61.c8=Q Rxc8 62.Nxc8 Kd4 63.Nb6 Kc3 64.Kc5 Kb2 65.a4 Kb3 66.a5 1-0

Position after White’s 63.Nb6 White wins in 17 moves after 63..Kc3




Round 4, Mar. 23
Gorti, Akshita – Eswaran, Ashritha
A61 Benoni Defence

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 c5 4.d5 exd5 5.cxd5 d6 6.Nf3 g6 7.Bf4 a6 8.Nd2 Nh5 9.Be3 Bg7 10.a4 f5 11.Nc4 O-O 12.Qb3 f4 13.Bd2 Qe7 14.e3 Nd7 15.a5 Ne5 16.Nb6 Rb8 17.O-O-O Ng4 18.exf4 Nxf2 19.Re1 Qh4 20.Nxc8 Rfxc8 21.Rg1 Qxh2 22.Bc4 Nxf4 23.Bxf4 Qxf4+ 24.Kb1 Re8 25.Ka1 Ne4 26.Nxe4 Rxe4 27.Rxe4 Qxe4 28.Bxa6 Ra8 29.Qxb7 Qe8 30.Qb6 Qa4+ 31.Kb1 Qe4+ 32.Ka1 Qd4 33.Rf1 h5 0-1

Standings

1 Yu 4
2 Zatonskih 3.5
3-4 Wang, Abrahamyan 2.5
5-7 Feng, Yip, Eswaran 2
8-9 Foisor, Krush 1.5
10-11 Nguyen, Gorti 1
12 Sharevich 0.5

[Hans Jung]

Sam Sevian recovered from his nightmare game against Timur Gareev and with black beat Varusz Akobian.

[Hans Jung]

As a result Sam Sevian is in a 5 way tie for first place after 5 rounds.

[Hans Jung]

Jeffery Xiong saved a difficult draw against Lenier Dominguez and they are both in that tie for first place. (Wesley So and Hikaru Nakamura as well)