Tweet
Awonder Liang leads thanks to some great endgame play.
-
-
One slip and Awonder Liang loses from an equal position. In tournament chess at the GM level you have to be eternally vigilant. A big set back but Awonder is a fighter. Hope he recovers soon. -
Awonder Liang didnt take long to recover. Next round (rd 4) he wins as black against GM John Burke and is back in the hunt for first place.Comment
-
https://www.uschesschamps.com/2019-u...irings-results At the half way Nicolas Checa, Awonder Liang, and Joshua Sheng are setting a torrid pace ahead of the rest of the field.Comment
-
https://www.chessbomb.com/arena/2019...s-Sheng_Joshua Joshua Sheng played an impressive game dominating hs opponent (look at those knights in the final position) to tie for first in rd 6.Comment
-
https://www.chessbomb.com/arena/2019...-Checa_Nicolas In the battle for first place a big win for Nicholas Checa. If you looked at the position at move 25 you would ask how can White lose this?? Sometimes its a combination of will to win and lack of playing a good plan.Comment
-
https://www.chessbomb.com/arena/2019...cobson_Brandon A combination of good opening prep (opening surprise?) and resourceful moves led to spicy variations and a big win for Awonder Liang.Comment
-
Going into the last round GM Awonder Liang and GM Nicholas Checa are tied for first. Should be an interesting finish.Comment
-
In a fitting finish Awonder Liang wins the playoff match against Nicholas Checa. Congratulations to Awonder for his third US Junior title.Comment
-
U.S. Junior 2019
July 21, 2019
The best U.S. Juniors met this summer at the St. Louis Chess Club from July 11-20. The event is the most prestigious chess tournament in the country for junior players under the age of 21.
The Final Standings
1-2 Liang, Checa 7
3 Sheng 6.5
4 Tang 5
5 Jacobson 4.5
6-7 Burke, Niemann 4
8 Hilby 3.5
9 Vaidya 3
10 Yu 0.5
This result filled me with sadness.
You will recall that in the 2019 U.S. Women’s Chess Championship in April, Jennifer scored 10/12 and won $25,000 first prize.
She was 17 years old and in Grade 10. Her rating was 2398.
From ChessBase by Alexey Root:
https://en.chessbase.com/post/jennif...ain-her-result
“The 2019 U.S. Women’s Chess Champion Jennifer Yu was the wildcard invite for the U.S. Junior Championship which concluded on Saturday, July 20th. She finished last in the 10-player round robin with ½ out of 9. In her post-tournament interview, Jennifer Yu mentioned, “Maybe there is a little more pressure or something.”
In the words of one ChessBase reader, Yu is “a role model for young women with [her] current title” and her U.S. Junior Championship result “will find its way in future articles/books/essays regarding the relative strength of female vs male players and be fodder for that debate.” Even before the event, some questioned why Yu got the wildcard invite rather than higher-rated boys. One “Chess fan” wrote, “What a terrible pick for wildcard. I want to see the best junior players in the US Junior, male or female. It’s a shame the wildcard wasn’t used to reward another 2500+ Junior.”
Despite her chess qualifications, then, Yu perhaps felt pressure on her from some chess fans. Her qualifications include the FM and WGM titles. Yu won the U.S. Women’s with nine wins and two draws, a performance rating of 2663.
Yu’s invitational rating (US Chess rating) for the U.S. Junior Championship was listed as 2455, which meant the only player rated lower than her was Atulya Vaidya. Vaidya had an invitational rating of 2299 and earned his spot by winning the 2018 U.S. Junior Open. So Vaidya finishing ahead of Yu was not predicted by their ratings. Yu’s score of just one draw out of nine rounds was lower than expected.”
Interested readers should read the whole of Root’s article.
Should she have been invited? Will this result affect her future?
One reader had an upbeat comment on the situation:
What's there to say? Jennifer Yu is a really good player up against a field of even stronger players, include 3 GM's. In addition, any chess player can have a bad tournament. Any male player with the same rating could have gotten the same result. Jennifer is also a full-time student who currently doesn't have a coach. I love the way she plays and that she is not afraid of complications. I am sure Jennifer will have a very bright future.
Comment
Comment