I am REALLY bummed that Irina Krush was not able to convert to a win in her final game with the white pieces against GM Jesse Kraai, taking nothing away from the GM. Damn! She needed half a point. Half a fricking lousy point.
Event "2010 US Championship"]
[Site "St Louis"]
[Date "2010.05.23"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Krush, Irina"]
[Black "Kraai, Jesse"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[WhiteELO "2494"]
[WhiteTitle "IM"]
[BlackELO "2560"]
[BlackTitle "GM"]
[Source "MonRoi"]
1.c4 b6 2.d4 Bb7 3.a3 Nf6 4.d5 e6 5.Nc3 Bd6 6.Nf3 O-O 7.g3 c6 8.Bg2 cxd5 9.cxd5 Nxd5 10.Nxd5 exd5 11.b4 Qf6 12.Ra2 Nc6 13.O-O a5 14.b5 Ne7 15.Bb2 Qh6 16.a4 Rac8 17.Bd4 Rc4 18.Ne5 Bxe5 19.Bxe5 Rfc8 20.Qd3 Rc1 21.Bf4 Rxf1 22.Bxf1 Qe6 23.Rc2 Rc4 24.e3 Ng6 25.Qd1 Nxf4 26.exf4 Rxc2 27.Qxc2 Qd6 28.Bg2 Qc5 29.Qd1 Kf8 30.h4 d6 31.Qd3 Kg8 32.Qe2 Kf8 33.Qd3 Kg8 34.Qf5 Qc1 35.Kh2 Qc8 36.Qg5 Qe8 37.f5 h6 38.Qc1 Qc8 39.Qf4 Qd8 40.Qd4 Kf8 41.Kg1 f6 42.Bxd5 Bxd5 43.Qxd5 Qc7 44.Qa8 Kf7 45.Qd5 Kf8 46.Qa8 Kf7 47.Qd5 1/2-1/2
So, the also-rans finished up their tournament yesterday, except for those who may be playing in the blitz tournament. Here are the standings and their prize money:
5 GM Shabalov, Alexander 6.0 M 2585 2688 $10,000
6 GM Stripunsky, Alexander 5.5 M 2570 2642 $7,500
7 GM Akobian, Varuzhan 5.0 M 2599 2617 $6,600
8 GM Hess, Robert L 5.0 M 2590 2595 $6,000
9 GM Christiansen, Larry 5.0 M 2578 2639 $5,400
10 GM Finegold, Benjamin 5.0 M 2539 2607 $5,000
11 GM Yermolinsky, Alex 5.0 M 2528 2612 $4,800
12 GM Kaidanov, Gregory 4.5 M 2577 2551 $4,600
13 GM Benjamin, Joel 4.5 M 2565 2553 $4,400
14 GM Kraai, Jesse 4.5 M 2492 2575 $4,200
15 IM Krush, Irina 4.5 F 2455 2575 $4,000
16 GM Ehlvest, Jaan 4.0 M 2591 2503 $3,800
17 GM Robson, Ray 4.0 M 2569 2511 $3,700
18 GM Lenderman, Alex 3.5 M 2598 2447 $3,600
19 GM Bhat, Vinay S 3.5 M 2547 2463 $3,500
20 GM Khachiyan, Melikset 3.5 M 2539 2496 $3,400
21 IM Altounian, Levon 3.5 M 2454 2474 $3,300
22 GM Kudrin, Sergey 2.5 M 2571 2385 $3,200
23 IM Shankland, Samuel 2.5 M 2507 2381 $3,100
24 GM Gurevich, Dmitry 2.5 M 2488 2382 $3,000
All in all, Krush had a great tournament. It's too bad there are not more opportunities for players of her level to make GM norms in events in the United States.
Besides the fight for 5th place and Krush's quest for her second GM norm, the big story of Round 9 was GM Yuri Shulman's defeat of GM Hikaru Nakamura. Yeah yeah, I know, poetic justice and all that after Nakamura was honest enough to say in an earlier post-mortem with Shahade and Ashley that he, Onischuk and Kamsky were going to beat up on Shulman (the "I can't get no respect" 2008 U.S. Champion) in the quad. Duh! Of course they would, if they could! I mean, it's an obvious strategy. Single out and get rid of the weakest player. But in the quad since they couldn't get rid of him, keeping him in 4th would do as well, and the top 2700 plus players would battle it out for the top money and title.
Shulman's "defining move" - 24. ... Rxg5 - what can I say. Well, I will say this. I know you won't believe me, but it's exactly the move I made in my head. Not, of course, for the same reasons Shulman made the move - but what the hell! LOL! For one shining moment afterwards I saw in giant uber-lit rhinestones flashing above my head PLAYED LIKE A GRANDMASTER" as Shahade and Ashley went through endless analyses of the move while the videocam in the playing room which was focused right in on Nakamura told the true tale of an overlooked move. Oh, how well I know that feeling. And it was much easier to feel sympathy for a Nakamura with that gunky-looking smut shaved off his face and his hair cropped into submission. He is a nice-looking young dude when he cleans himself up. Why do so many of the male players these days go for the gutter grunge oh puke on me look?
Today's quad action was quiet - both games ended in draws. That means tomorrow, Shulman and Kamsky go into a play-off to determine the title. I think the format for the play-off sucks but hey, I know nuthink! The players "bid" minutes for black and draw odds? Fine - but then the "losing" player gets a full 60 minutes on his clock with the white pieces? Oh please. This is rational? Come on, dudes. GM Ashley had it right when he said Shulman would basically be insane to "bid" less than 30 minutes - and I think he would be insane bidding less than 59 minutes.
So - tomorrow, tomorrow, there's always tomorrow...
Showing posts with label 2010 U.S. Chess Championships. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2010 U.S. Chess Championships. Show all posts
Monday, May 24, 2010
Sunday, May 23, 2010
2010 U.S. Chess Championship
R8: Krush lost her game with Shabalov. If she hopes to gain her second GM norm, she must win today. In today's final game she has white against GM Jesse Kraai.
Event "2010 US Championship"]
[Site "St Louis"]
[Date "2010.05.22"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Shabalov, Alexander"]
[Black "Krush, Irina"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteELO "2669"]
[WhiteTitle "GM"]
[BlackELO "2494"]
[BlackTitle "IM"]
[Source "MonRoi"]
1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 dxc4 4.e3 b5 5.a4 b4 6.Ne4 Qd5 7.Ng3 Nf6 8.Be2 Ba6 9.e4 Qa5 10.Nf3 e6 11.O-O Nbd7 12.Bg5 h6 13.Bxf6 Nxf6 14.Rc1 c3 15.bxc3 Bxe2 16.Qxe2 Qxa4 17.e5 Nd7 18.Ra1 Qb5 19.c4 Qb7 20.c5 a5 21.Ne4 Be7 22.Ra4 O-O 23.Rfa1 b3 24.Nfd2 Rfb8 25.Nc4 f5 26.Nc3 Nxc5 27.dxc5 Bxc5 28.Rb1 Qc7 29.Nd2 b2 30.Rc4 Ba3 31.Qe3 Be7 32.Na4 Rb5 33.Nf3 Rab8 34.Qc3 Rb3 35.Qc2 Qd7 36.Nd4 R3b4 37.Nxc6 Rxc4 38.Qxc4 Rb7 39.Nxe7 Qxe7 40.Rxb2 Rc7 41.Qf4 Qh4 42.g3 Qxf4 43.gxf4 Rc4 44.Rb8 Kf7 45.Nb2 Rxf4 46.Rb7 Kg6 47.Re7 Re4 48.Nd3 f4 49.Rxe6 Kf5 50.Rd6 f3 51.h3 h5 52.Rd7 Kg6 53.Kf1 a4 54.Ra7 Kg5 55.Rxg7 Kh4 56.Ne1 1-0
Standings after R8:
Rank Name Score M/F Rating TPR W-We 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
1 GM Nakamura, Hikaru 5.5 M 2733 2759 +0.29 1 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½
2 GM Kamsky, Gata 5.5 M 2702 2770 +0.71 1 1 ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ ½
3 GM Onischuk, Alexander 5.5 M 2699 2763 +0.66 1 ½ 1 ½ 1 ½ ½ ½
4 GM Shulman, Yuri 5.5 M 2613 2751 +1.47 ½ ½ 1 1 ½ 1 ½ ½
5 GM Stripunsky, Alexander 5.5 M 2570 2701 +1.38 0 1 1 1 ½ 0 1 1
6 GM Shabalov, Alexander 5.0 M 2585 2657 +0.75 ½ 1 0 0 1 1 ½ 1
7 GM Hess, Robert L 4.5 M 2590 2598 +0.12 1 0 1 0 0 1 1 ½
8 GM Christiansen, Larry 4.5 M 2578 2646 +0.77 1 ½ ½ 1 0 1 ½ 0
9 GM Finegold, Benjamin 4.5 M 2539 2605 +0.74 ½ 0 ½ ½ 1 1 ½ ½
10 GM Yermolinsky, Alex 4.5 M 2528 2609 +0.94 0 1 ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ ½
11 GM Akobian, Varuzhan 4.0 M 2599 2575 -0.26 ½ 1 1 ½ 0 ½ 0 ½
12 GM Ehlvest, Jaan 4.0 M 2591 2542 -0.54 1 ½ ½ 0 0 ½ 1 ½
13 GM Robson, Ray 4.0 M 2569 2548 -0.24 0 0 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ 1
14 GM Kraai, Jesse 4.0 M 2492 2590 +1.06 ½ 0 1 1 1 0 0 ½
15 IM Krush, Irina 4.0 F 2455 2586 +1.42 1 ½ 0 ½ 1 0 1 0
16 GM Kaidanov, Gregory 3.5 M 2577 2503 -0.84 0 ½ ½ ½ 1 0 ½ ½
17 GM Benjamin, Joel 3.5 M 2565 2508 -0.66 0 ½ 1 0 1 0 0 1
18 GM Lenderman, Alex 3.0 M 2598 2437 -1.81 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 1 0 ½
19 GM Bhat, Vinay S 3.0 M 2547 2450 -1.13 ½ 0 0 ½ ½ 1 0 ½
20 GM Khachiyan, Melikset 3.0 M 2539 2497 -0.51 1 0 0 ½ 0 ½ 1 0
21 GM Kudrin, Sergey 2.5 M 2571 2409 -1.73 ½ 1 0 0 0 0 ½ ½
22 GM Gurevich, Dmitry 2.5 M 2488 2419 -0.72 0 0 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½
23 IM Altounian, Levon 2.5 M 2454 2422 -0.32 ½ ½ 0 ½ 0 0 1 0
24 IM Shankland, Samuel 2.0 M 2507 2355 -1.55 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ 0 0 ½
Event "2010 US Championship"]
[Site "St Louis"]
[Date "2010.05.22"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Shabalov, Alexander"]
[Black "Krush, Irina"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteELO "2669"]
[WhiteTitle "GM"]
[BlackELO "2494"]
[BlackTitle "IM"]
[Source "MonRoi"]
1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 dxc4 4.e3 b5 5.a4 b4 6.Ne4 Qd5 7.Ng3 Nf6 8.Be2 Ba6 9.e4 Qa5 10.Nf3 e6 11.O-O Nbd7 12.Bg5 h6 13.Bxf6 Nxf6 14.Rc1 c3 15.bxc3 Bxe2 16.Qxe2 Qxa4 17.e5 Nd7 18.Ra1 Qb5 19.c4 Qb7 20.c5 a5 21.Ne4 Be7 22.Ra4 O-O 23.Rfa1 b3 24.Nfd2 Rfb8 25.Nc4 f5 26.Nc3 Nxc5 27.dxc5 Bxc5 28.Rb1 Qc7 29.Nd2 b2 30.Rc4 Ba3 31.Qe3 Be7 32.Na4 Rb5 33.Nf3 Rab8 34.Qc3 Rb3 35.Qc2 Qd7 36.Nd4 R3b4 37.Nxc6 Rxc4 38.Qxc4 Rb7 39.Nxe7 Qxe7 40.Rxb2 Rc7 41.Qf4 Qh4 42.g3 Qxf4 43.gxf4 Rc4 44.Rb8 Kf7 45.Nb2 Rxf4 46.Rb7 Kg6 47.Re7 Re4 48.Nd3 f4 49.Rxe6 Kf5 50.Rd6 f3 51.h3 h5 52.Rd7 Kg6 53.Kf1 a4 54.Ra7 Kg5 55.Rxg7 Kh4 56.Ne1 1-0
Standings after R8:
Rank Name Score M/F Rating TPR W-We 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
1 GM Nakamura, Hikaru 5.5 M 2733 2759 +0.29 1 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½
2 GM Kamsky, Gata 5.5 M 2702 2770 +0.71 1 1 ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ ½
3 GM Onischuk, Alexander 5.5 M 2699 2763 +0.66 1 ½ 1 ½ 1 ½ ½ ½
4 GM Shulman, Yuri 5.5 M 2613 2751 +1.47 ½ ½ 1 1 ½ 1 ½ ½
5 GM Stripunsky, Alexander 5.5 M 2570 2701 +1.38 0 1 1 1 ½ 0 1 1
6 GM Shabalov, Alexander 5.0 M 2585 2657 +0.75 ½ 1 0 0 1 1 ½ 1
7 GM Hess, Robert L 4.5 M 2590 2598 +0.12 1 0 1 0 0 1 1 ½
8 GM Christiansen, Larry 4.5 M 2578 2646 +0.77 1 ½ ½ 1 0 1 ½ 0
9 GM Finegold, Benjamin 4.5 M 2539 2605 +0.74 ½ 0 ½ ½ 1 1 ½ ½
10 GM Yermolinsky, Alex 4.5 M 2528 2609 +0.94 0 1 ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ ½
11 GM Akobian, Varuzhan 4.0 M 2599 2575 -0.26 ½ 1 1 ½ 0 ½ 0 ½
12 GM Ehlvest, Jaan 4.0 M 2591 2542 -0.54 1 ½ ½ 0 0 ½ 1 ½
13 GM Robson, Ray 4.0 M 2569 2548 -0.24 0 0 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ 1
14 GM Kraai, Jesse 4.0 M 2492 2590 +1.06 ½ 0 1 1 1 0 0 ½
15 IM Krush, Irina 4.0 F 2455 2586 +1.42 1 ½ 0 ½ 1 0 1 0
16 GM Kaidanov, Gregory 3.5 M 2577 2503 -0.84 0 ½ ½ ½ 1 0 ½ ½
17 GM Benjamin, Joel 3.5 M 2565 2508 -0.66 0 ½ 1 0 1 0 0 1
18 GM Lenderman, Alex 3.0 M 2598 2437 -1.81 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 1 0 ½
19 GM Bhat, Vinay S 3.0 M 2547 2450 -1.13 ½ 0 0 ½ ½ 1 0 ½
20 GM Khachiyan, Melikset 3.0 M 2539 2497 -0.51 1 0 0 ½ 0 ½ 1 0
21 GM Kudrin, Sergey 2.5 M 2571 2409 -1.73 ½ 1 0 0 0 0 ½ ½
22 GM Gurevich, Dmitry 2.5 M 2488 2419 -0.72 0 0 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½
23 IM Altounian, Levon 2.5 M 2454 2422 -0.32 ½ ½ 0 ½ 0 0 1 0
24 IM Shankland, Samuel 2.0 M 2507 2355 -1.55 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ 0 0 ½
Friday, May 21, 2010
2010 U.S. Chess Championship
It couldn't be clearer from this Round 7 video recap from the offical website for the 2010 U.S. Chess Championship - only the top 4 count. The only other player who was mentioned in the recap was GM Larry Christiansen, who had a chance to make a break-through into the "quad." A sound bite from Christiansen after the game was telling. To paraphrase, he said that the tournament was over for everyone else except the top 4. He's right. Everyone else is second thought, including Christiansen. For a national championship set-up, that is pathetic. And an insult to the players who didn't make the "quad." They didn't come to St. Louis to pick their noses, but they may as well have.
Here is the video recap.
Here is the video recap.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
2010 U.S. Chess Championship
Round 7 Krush v. Lenderman:
Event "2010 US Championship"]
[Site "St Louis"]
[Date "2010.05.20"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Krush, Irina"]
[Black "Lenderman, Alex"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteELO "2494"]
[WhiteTitle "IM"]
[BlackELO "2649"]
[BlackTitle "GM"]
[Source "MonRoi"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.Bd2 Bg7 6.e4 Nb6 7.Be3 O-O 8.Bb5 Bd7 9.Bxd7 Qxd7 10.Nf3 Nc4 11.Qe2 Nxe3 12.Qxe3 Nc6 13.Rd1 e6 14.O-O Rfd8 15.e5 Nb4 16.Ng5 h6 17.Nf3 Nd5 18.Qc1 Nxc3 19.Qxc3 Qd5 20.a3 Bf8 21.Rc1 c6 22.Rc2 a5 23.Rfc1 Rd7 24.Qc4 Qxc4 25.Rxc4 Rd5 26.Kf1 Ra6 27.Ne1 Rb6 28.Nd3 Rb3 29.Ke2 Be7 30.R1c2 h5 31.f4 Rd7 32.Nc1 Rb5 33.Ke3 f5 34.a4 Rb6 35.Nd3 Kf7 36.g3 Rd8 37.h4 Ra6 38.R4c3 Rd5 39.Rb3 b5 40.axb5 cxb5 41.Rbc3 Ra7 42.Rc7 Rd7 43.Rxa7 Rxa7 44.Rc6 Rd7 45.Rb6 Rd5 46.Nc1 b4 47.Nd3 Bf8 48.b3 Be7 49.Nb2 Rc5 50.Nc4 Rc7 51.Ra6 Bd8 52.Kd3 Ke7 53.Ra8 Rc6 54.Kd2 Kd7 55.Ra7 Bc7 56.Kd3 Ke8 57.Rb7 Bd8 58.Nd6 Kf8 59.Nc4 Ke8 60.Rg7 Ra6 61.Nd6 Kf8 62.Rf7 Kg8 63.Rd7 Ra8 64.Nb7 Bb6 65.Rd6 Bc7 66.Rc6 a4 67.bxa4 Ba5 68.Rxe6 b3 69.Nxa5 Rb8 70.Nxb3 Rxb3 71.Kc4 1-0
Good for Irina! She is still in the hunt for her second GM norm. Not sure - I thought I read somewhere (in Ben's blog?) that she needs to score 2 points in her last 3 games to get it.
Now the bifurcated championship stuff happens. The following top four dudes go into some kind of quad thingy: Nakamura, Onischuk, Kamsky, Shulman, all with 5.0/7. Everyone else is now fighting for 5th place over 3 final games. Whoop de doo.
R7 Standings:
Rank Name Score M/F Rating TPR W-We 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
1 GM Nakamura, Hikaru 5.0 M 2733 2764 +0.33 1 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 ½
2 GM Kamsky, Gata 5.0 M 2702 2773 +0.67 1 1 ½ ½ 1 ½ ½
3 GM Onischuk, Alexander 5.0 M 2699 2781 +0.78 1 ½ 1 ½ 1 ½ ½
4 GM Shulman, Yuri 5.0 M 2613 2755 +1.35 ½ ½ 1 1 ½ 1 ½
5 GM Christiansen, Larry 4.5 M 2578 2710 +1.28 1 ½ ½ 1 0 1 ½
6 GM Stripunsky, Alexander 4.5 M 2570 2659 +0.87 0 1 1 1 ½ 0 1
7 GM Hess, Robert L 4.0 M 2590 2607 +0.19 1 0 1 0 0 1 1
8 GM Shabalov, Alexander 4.0 M 2585 2627 +0.43 ½ 1 0 0 1 1 ½
9 GM Finegold, Benjamin 4.0 M 2539 2608 +0.67 ½ 0 ½ ½ 1 1 ½
10 GM Yermolinsky, Alex 4.0 M 2528 2627 +0.99 0 1 ½ 1 ½ ½ ½
11 IM Krush, Irina 4.0 F 2455 2636 +1.74 1 ½ 0 ½ 1 0 1
12 GM Akobian, Varuzhan 3.5 M 2599 2572 -0.25 ½ 1 1 ½ 0 ½ 0
13 GM Ehlvest, Jaan 3.5 M 2591 2534 -0.55 1 ½ ½ 0 0 ½ 1
14 GM Kraai, Jesse 3.5 M 2492 2599 +1.01 ½ 0 1 1 1 0 0
15 GM Kaidanov, Gregory 3.0 M 2577 2496 -0.80 0 ½ ½ ½ 1 0 ½
16 GM Robson, Ray 3.0 M 2569 2500 -0.70 0 0 1 ½ ½ ½ ½
17 GM Khachiyan, Melikset 3.0 M 2539 2536 -0.05 1 0 0 ½ 0 ½ 1
18 GM Lenderman, Alex 2.5 M 2598 2427 -1.66 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 1 0
19 GM Benjamin, Joel 2.5 M 2565 2462 -1.01 0 ½ 1 0 1 0 0
20 GM Bhat, Vinay S 2.5 M 2547 2429 -1.17 ½ 0 0 ½ ½ 1 0
21 IM Altounian, Levon 2.5 M 2454 2460 +0.03 ½ ½ 0 ½ 0 0 1
22 GM Kudrin, Sergey 2.0 M 2571 2398 -1.64 ½ 1 0 0 0 0 ½
23 GM Gurevich, Dmitry 2.0 M 2488 2396 -0.87 0 0 0 ½ ½ ½ ½
24 IM Shankland, Samuel 1.5 M 2507 2314 -1.64 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ 0 0
Event "2010 US Championship"]
[Site "St Louis"]
[Date "2010.05.20"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Krush, Irina"]
[Black "Lenderman, Alex"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteELO "2494"]
[WhiteTitle "IM"]
[BlackELO "2649"]
[BlackTitle "GM"]
[Source "MonRoi"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.Bd2 Bg7 6.e4 Nb6 7.Be3 O-O 8.Bb5 Bd7 9.Bxd7 Qxd7 10.Nf3 Nc4 11.Qe2 Nxe3 12.Qxe3 Nc6 13.Rd1 e6 14.O-O Rfd8 15.e5 Nb4 16.Ng5 h6 17.Nf3 Nd5 18.Qc1 Nxc3 19.Qxc3 Qd5 20.a3 Bf8 21.Rc1 c6 22.Rc2 a5 23.Rfc1 Rd7 24.Qc4 Qxc4 25.Rxc4 Rd5 26.Kf1 Ra6 27.Ne1 Rb6 28.Nd3 Rb3 29.Ke2 Be7 30.R1c2 h5 31.f4 Rd7 32.Nc1 Rb5 33.Ke3 f5 34.a4 Rb6 35.Nd3 Kf7 36.g3 Rd8 37.h4 Ra6 38.R4c3 Rd5 39.Rb3 b5 40.axb5 cxb5 41.Rbc3 Ra7 42.Rc7 Rd7 43.Rxa7 Rxa7 44.Rc6 Rd7 45.Rb6 Rd5 46.Nc1 b4 47.Nd3 Bf8 48.b3 Be7 49.Nb2 Rc5 50.Nc4 Rc7 51.Ra6 Bd8 52.Kd3 Ke7 53.Ra8 Rc6 54.Kd2 Kd7 55.Ra7 Bc7 56.Kd3 Ke8 57.Rb7 Bd8 58.Nd6 Kf8 59.Nc4 Ke8 60.Rg7 Ra6 61.Nd6 Kf8 62.Rf7 Kg8 63.Rd7 Ra8 64.Nb7 Bb6 65.Rd6 Bc7 66.Rc6 a4 67.bxa4 Ba5 68.Rxe6 b3 69.Nxa5 Rb8 70.Nxb3 Rxb3 71.Kc4 1-0
Good for Irina! She is still in the hunt for her second GM norm. Not sure - I thought I read somewhere (in Ben's blog?) that she needs to score 2 points in her last 3 games to get it.
Now the bifurcated championship stuff happens. The following top four dudes go into some kind of quad thingy: Nakamura, Onischuk, Kamsky, Shulman, all with 5.0/7. Everyone else is now fighting for 5th place over 3 final games. Whoop de doo.
R7 Standings:
Rank Name Score M/F Rating TPR W-We 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
1 GM Nakamura, Hikaru 5.0 M 2733 2764 +0.33 1 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 ½
2 GM Kamsky, Gata 5.0 M 2702 2773 +0.67 1 1 ½ ½ 1 ½ ½
3 GM Onischuk, Alexander 5.0 M 2699 2781 +0.78 1 ½ 1 ½ 1 ½ ½
4 GM Shulman, Yuri 5.0 M 2613 2755 +1.35 ½ ½ 1 1 ½ 1 ½
5 GM Christiansen, Larry 4.5 M 2578 2710 +1.28 1 ½ ½ 1 0 1 ½
6 GM Stripunsky, Alexander 4.5 M 2570 2659 +0.87 0 1 1 1 ½ 0 1
7 GM Hess, Robert L 4.0 M 2590 2607 +0.19 1 0 1 0 0 1 1
8 GM Shabalov, Alexander 4.0 M 2585 2627 +0.43 ½ 1 0 0 1 1 ½
9 GM Finegold, Benjamin 4.0 M 2539 2608 +0.67 ½ 0 ½ ½ 1 1 ½
10 GM Yermolinsky, Alex 4.0 M 2528 2627 +0.99 0 1 ½ 1 ½ ½ ½
11 IM Krush, Irina 4.0 F 2455 2636 +1.74 1 ½ 0 ½ 1 0 1
12 GM Akobian, Varuzhan 3.5 M 2599 2572 -0.25 ½ 1 1 ½ 0 ½ 0
13 GM Ehlvest, Jaan 3.5 M 2591 2534 -0.55 1 ½ ½ 0 0 ½ 1
14 GM Kraai, Jesse 3.5 M 2492 2599 +1.01 ½ 0 1 1 1 0 0
15 GM Kaidanov, Gregory 3.0 M 2577 2496 -0.80 0 ½ ½ ½ 1 0 ½
16 GM Robson, Ray 3.0 M 2569 2500 -0.70 0 0 1 ½ ½ ½ ½
17 GM Khachiyan, Melikset 3.0 M 2539 2536 -0.05 1 0 0 ½ 0 ½ 1
18 GM Lenderman, Alex 2.5 M 2598 2427 -1.66 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 1 0
19 GM Benjamin, Joel 2.5 M 2565 2462 -1.01 0 ½ 1 0 1 0 0
20 GM Bhat, Vinay S 2.5 M 2547 2429 -1.17 ½ 0 0 ½ ½ 1 0
21 IM Altounian, Levon 2.5 M 2454 2460 +0.03 ½ ½ 0 ½ 0 0 1
22 GM Kudrin, Sergey 2.0 M 2571 2398 -1.64 ½ 1 0 0 0 0 ½
23 GM Gurevich, Dmitry 2.0 M 2488 2396 -0.87 0 0 0 ½ ½ ½ ½
24 IM Shankland, Samuel 1.5 M 2507 2314 -1.64 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ 0 0
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
2010 U.S. Chess Championship
Krush lost R6 game to Christiansen:
Event "2010 US Championship"]
[Site "St Louis"]
[Date "2010.05.19"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Christiansen, Larry"]
[Black "Krush, Irina"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteELO "2556"]
[WhiteTitle "GM"]
[BlackELO "2494"]
[BlackTitle "IM"]
[Source "MonRoi"]
1.e4 c5 2.b3 d6 3.Bb2 Nf6 4.Bb5 Nbd7 5.Qe2 e6 6.f4 a6 7.Bxd7 Bxd7 8.Nc3 Bc6 9.Nf3 Be7 10.O-O O-O 11.Rae1 b5 12.d3 Qc7 13.e5 Nd5 14.Nxd5 Bxd5 15.c4 Bb7 16.exd6 Bxd6 17.Ne5 f6 18.Ng4 Rae8 19.Qf2 Kh8 20.Re3 Qf7 21.Qe2 Re7 22.Rf2 Ree8 23.Rh3 Qg6 24.Rg3 Qh5 25.h3 Qf7 26.Qd2 Qc7 27.Qe3 Re7 28.h4 h5 29.Ne5 Bxe5 30.fxe5 f5 31.Qg5 Kg8 32.Rf4 Rd7 33.Qxh5 Rfd8 34.Qg6 Rxd3 35.Qxe6 Qf7 36.Qxf7 Kxf7 37.e6 Kxe6 38.Rg6 Kd7 39.Rxg7 Kc8 40.Rxf5 1-0
Standings After R6:
Rank Name Score M/F Rating TPR W-We 1 2 3 4 5 6
1 GM Nakamura, Hikaru 4.5 M 2733 2804 +0.54 1 1 ½ ½ ½ 1
2 GM Kamsky, Gata 4.5 M 2702 2813 +0.83 1 1 ½ ½ 1 ½
3 GM Onischuk, Alexander 4.5 M 2699 2818 +0.90 1 ½ 1 ½ 1 ½
4 GM Shulman, Yuri 4.5 M 2613 2773 +1.23 ½ ½ 1 1 ½ 1
5 GM Christiansen, Larry 4.0 M 2578 2712 +1.07 1 ½ ½ 1 0 1
6 GM Akobian, Varuzhan 3.5 M 2599 2626 +0.26 ½ 1 1 ½ 0 ½
7 GM Shabalov, Alexander 3.5 M 2585 2613 +0.27 ½ 1 0 0 1 1
8 GM Stripunsky, Alexander 3.5 M 2570 2625 +0.48 0 1 1 1 ½ 0
9 GM Finegold, Benjamin 3.5 M 2539 2620 +0.69 ½ 0 ½ ½ 1 1
10 GM Yermolinsky, Alex 3.5 M 2528 2640 +0.97 0 1 ½ 1 ½ ½
11 GM Kraai, Jesse 3.5 M 2492 2660 +1.40 ½ 0 1 1 1 0
12 GM Hess, Robert L 3.0 M 2590 2550 -0.32 1 0 1 0 0 1
13 IM Krush, Irina 3.0 F 2455 2584 +1.05 1 ½ 0 ½ 1 0
14 GM Lenderman, Alex 2.5 M 2598 2485 -0.97 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 1
15 GM Ehlvest, Jaan 2.5 M 2591 2475 -0.99 1 ½ ½ 0 0 ½
16 GM Kaidanov, Gregory 2.5 M 2577 2485 -0.79 0 ½ ½ ½ 1 0
17 GM Robson, Ray 2.5 M 2569 2488 -0.71 0 0 1 ½ ½ ½
18 GM Benjamin, Joel 2.5 M 2565 2512 -0.47 0 ½ 1 0 1 0
19 GM Bhat, Vinay S 2.5 M 2547 2464 -0.73 ½ 0 0 ½ ½ 1
20 GM Khachiyan, Melikset 2.0 M 2539 2465 -0.59 1 0 0 ½ 0 ½
21 GM Kudrin, Sergey 1.5 M 2571 2374 -1.53 ½ 1 0 0 0 0
22 IM Shankland, Samuel 1.5 M 2507 2367 -1.07 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ 0
23 GM Gurevich, Dmitry 1.5 M 2488 2359 -0.98 0 0 0 ½ ½ ½
24 IM Altounian, Levon 1.5 M 2454 2379 -0.54 ½ ½ 0 ½ 0 0
One more game and the top four go into some kind of "quad" championship - what? This format sucks. What's the point of having a "championship" if all of the invited players don't have a chance to play everyone else? If you want to shorten the championship, invite less players, but give them a chance to play. Geez! If you don't want to do that, why not just divy up the money right now among Onischuk, Kamsky and Nakamura, give Shulman a pat on the head and 4th place $$$, and send everyone home. Next year, just invite the top 3, have them shoot some craps because I don't care to see these guys play chess with each other, give them the prize money and send them home. Boring. I sure hope they don't screw up the Women's Championship like this.
Event "2010 US Championship"]
[Site "St Louis"]
[Date "2010.05.19"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Christiansen, Larry"]
[Black "Krush, Irina"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteELO "2556"]
[WhiteTitle "GM"]
[BlackELO "2494"]
[BlackTitle "IM"]
[Source "MonRoi"]
1.e4 c5 2.b3 d6 3.Bb2 Nf6 4.Bb5 Nbd7 5.Qe2 e6 6.f4 a6 7.Bxd7 Bxd7 8.Nc3 Bc6 9.Nf3 Be7 10.O-O O-O 11.Rae1 b5 12.d3 Qc7 13.e5 Nd5 14.Nxd5 Bxd5 15.c4 Bb7 16.exd6 Bxd6 17.Ne5 f6 18.Ng4 Rae8 19.Qf2 Kh8 20.Re3 Qf7 21.Qe2 Re7 22.Rf2 Ree8 23.Rh3 Qg6 24.Rg3 Qh5 25.h3 Qf7 26.Qd2 Qc7 27.Qe3 Re7 28.h4 h5 29.Ne5 Bxe5 30.fxe5 f5 31.Qg5 Kg8 32.Rf4 Rd7 33.Qxh5 Rfd8 34.Qg6 Rxd3 35.Qxe6 Qf7 36.Qxf7 Kxf7 37.e6 Kxe6 38.Rg6 Kd7 39.Rxg7 Kc8 40.Rxf5 1-0
Standings After R6:
Rank Name Score M/F Rating TPR W-We 1 2 3 4 5 6
1 GM Nakamura, Hikaru 4.5 M 2733 2804 +0.54 1 1 ½ ½ ½ 1
2 GM Kamsky, Gata 4.5 M 2702 2813 +0.83 1 1 ½ ½ 1 ½
3 GM Onischuk, Alexander 4.5 M 2699 2818 +0.90 1 ½ 1 ½ 1 ½
4 GM Shulman, Yuri 4.5 M 2613 2773 +1.23 ½ ½ 1 1 ½ 1
5 GM Christiansen, Larry 4.0 M 2578 2712 +1.07 1 ½ ½ 1 0 1
6 GM Akobian, Varuzhan 3.5 M 2599 2626 +0.26 ½ 1 1 ½ 0 ½
7 GM Shabalov, Alexander 3.5 M 2585 2613 +0.27 ½ 1 0 0 1 1
8 GM Stripunsky, Alexander 3.5 M 2570 2625 +0.48 0 1 1 1 ½ 0
9 GM Finegold, Benjamin 3.5 M 2539 2620 +0.69 ½ 0 ½ ½ 1 1
10 GM Yermolinsky, Alex 3.5 M 2528 2640 +0.97 0 1 ½ 1 ½ ½
11 GM Kraai, Jesse 3.5 M 2492 2660 +1.40 ½ 0 1 1 1 0
12 GM Hess, Robert L 3.0 M 2590 2550 -0.32 1 0 1 0 0 1
13 IM Krush, Irina 3.0 F 2455 2584 +1.05 1 ½ 0 ½ 1 0
14 GM Lenderman, Alex 2.5 M 2598 2485 -0.97 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 1
15 GM Ehlvest, Jaan 2.5 M 2591 2475 -0.99 1 ½ ½ 0 0 ½
16 GM Kaidanov, Gregory 2.5 M 2577 2485 -0.79 0 ½ ½ ½ 1 0
17 GM Robson, Ray 2.5 M 2569 2488 -0.71 0 0 1 ½ ½ ½
18 GM Benjamin, Joel 2.5 M 2565 2512 -0.47 0 ½ 1 0 1 0
19 GM Bhat, Vinay S 2.5 M 2547 2464 -0.73 ½ 0 0 ½ ½ 1
20 GM Khachiyan, Melikset 2.0 M 2539 2465 -0.59 1 0 0 ½ 0 ½
21 GM Kudrin, Sergey 1.5 M 2571 2374 -1.53 ½ 1 0 0 0 0
22 IM Shankland, Samuel 1.5 M 2507 2367 -1.07 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ 0
23 GM Gurevich, Dmitry 1.5 M 2488 2359 -0.98 0 0 0 ½ ½ ½
24 IM Altounian, Levon 1.5 M 2454 2379 -0.54 ½ ½ 0 ½ 0 0
One more game and the top four go into some kind of "quad" championship - what? This format sucks. What's the point of having a "championship" if all of the invited players don't have a chance to play everyone else? If you want to shorten the championship, invite less players, but give them a chance to play. Geez! If you don't want to do that, why not just divy up the money right now among Onischuk, Kamsky and Nakamura, give Shulman a pat on the head and 4th place $$$, and send everyone home. Next year, just invite the top 3, have them shoot some craps because I don't care to see these guys play chess with each other, give them the prize money and send them home. Boring. I sure hope they don't screw up the Women's Championship like this.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
2010 U.S. Chess Championship
Ah HA! Krush comes back with a vengence and kicks butt in her Round 5 game against Robert Hess. The lady is tired. She wants to get to bed and get a good night's sleep tonight after two in a row head-banger games with Akobian and the USA's youngest GM Ray Robson on May 16th and May 17th.
[Event "2010 US Championship"]
[Site "St Louis"]
[Date "2010.05.18"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Krush, Irina"]
[Black "Hess, Robert"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteELO "2494"]
[WhiteTitle "IM"]
[BlackELO "2641"]
[BlackTitle "GM"]
[Source "MonRoi"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 O-O 5.e4 d6 6.a3 Bxc3 7.bxc3 e5 8.Bd3 Nc6 9.Ne2 b6 10.O-O Ba6 11.f4 Nd7 12.f5 f6 13.Rf3 Na5 14.g4 Qe7 15.Rg3 Bxc4 16.g5 Bxd3 17.Qxd3 fxg5 18.Bxg5 Nf6 19.Kh1 Kh8 20.Rag1 Rae8 21.d5 Nb7 22.Qf3 Qf7 23.Be3 Rg8 24.Rg5 Nc5 25.Bxc5 bxc5 26.Ng3 c6 27.dxc6 d5 28.exd5 e4 29.Qg2 h6 30.Rg6 Qxd5 31.Ne2 Re7 32.c4 Qe5 33.Nf4 Qxf5 34.Nd5 Qe5 35.Nxf6 1-0
Game from Monroi
Standings after Round 5:
Rank Name Score M/F Rating TPR W-We 1 2 3 4 5
1 GM Kamsky, Gata 4.0 M 2702 2844 +0.83 1 1 ½ ½ 1
2 GM Onischuk, Alexander 4.0 M 2699 2849 +0.90 1 ½ 1 ½ 1
3 GM Nakamura, Hikaru 3.5 M 2733 2784 +0.34 1 1 ½ ½ ½
4 GM Shulman, Yuri 3.5 M 2613 2731 +0.79 ½ ½ 1 1 ½
5 GM Stripunsky, Alexander 3.5 M 2570 2708 +0.92 0 1 1 1 ½
6 GM Kraai, Jesse 3.5 M 2492 2726 +1.60 ½ 0 1 1 1
7 GM Akobian, Varuzhan 3.0 M 2599 2649 +0.36 ½ 1 1 ½ 0
8 GM Christiansen, Larry 3.0 M 2578 2685 +0.74 1 ½ ½ 1 0
9 GM Yermolinsky, Alex 3.0 M 2528 2652 +0.87 0 1 ½ 1 ½
10 IM Krush, Irina 3.0 F 2455 2657 +1.38 1 ½ 0 ½ 1
11 GM Shabalov, Alexander 2.5 M 2585 2552 -0.22 ½ 1 0 0 1
12 GM Kaidanov, Gregory 2.5 M 2577 2534 -0.30 0 ½ ½ ½ 1
13 GM Benjamin, Joel 2.5 M 2565 2575 +0.07 0 ½ 1 0 1
14 GM Finegold, Benjamin 2.5 M 2539 2563 +0.15 ½ 0 ½ ½ 1
15 GM Ehlvest, Jaan 2.0 M 2591 2453 -0.96 1 ½ ½ 0 0
16 GM Hess, Robert L 2.0 M 2590 2497 -0.64 1 0 1 0 0
17 GM Robson, Ray 2.0 M 2569 2464 -0.74 0 0 1 ½ ½
18 GM Lenderman, Alex 1.5 M 2598 2387 -1.43 0 ½ ½ ½ 0
19 GM Kudrin, Sergey 1.5 M 2571 2412 -1.07 ½ 1 0 0 0
20 GM Bhat, Vinay S 1.5 M 2547 2375 -1.17 ½ 0 0 ½ ½
21 GM Khachiyan, Melikset 1.5 M 2539 2461 -0.52 1 0 0 ½ 0
22 IM Shankland, Samuel 1.5 M 2507 2413 -0.63 0 ½ 0 ½ ½
23 IM Altounian, Levon 1.5 M 2454 2419 -0.22 ½ ½ 0 ½ 0
24 GM Gurevich, Dmitry 1.0 M 2488 2314 -1.05 0 0 0 ½ ½
Krush has black against Christiansen in Round 6.
[Event "2010 US Championship"]
[Site "St Louis"]
[Date "2010.05.18"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Krush, Irina"]
[Black "Hess, Robert"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteELO "2494"]
[WhiteTitle "IM"]
[BlackELO "2641"]
[BlackTitle "GM"]
[Source "MonRoi"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 O-O 5.e4 d6 6.a3 Bxc3 7.bxc3 e5 8.Bd3 Nc6 9.Ne2 b6 10.O-O Ba6 11.f4 Nd7 12.f5 f6 13.Rf3 Na5 14.g4 Qe7 15.Rg3 Bxc4 16.g5 Bxd3 17.Qxd3 fxg5 18.Bxg5 Nf6 19.Kh1 Kh8 20.Rag1 Rae8 21.d5 Nb7 22.Qf3 Qf7 23.Be3 Rg8 24.Rg5 Nc5 25.Bxc5 bxc5 26.Ng3 c6 27.dxc6 d5 28.exd5 e4 29.Qg2 h6 30.Rg6 Qxd5 31.Ne2 Re7 32.c4 Qe5 33.Nf4 Qxf5 34.Nd5 Qe5 35.Nxf6 1-0
Game from Monroi
Standings after Round 5:
Rank Name Score M/F Rating TPR W-We 1 2 3 4 5
1 GM Kamsky, Gata 4.0 M 2702 2844 +0.83 1 1 ½ ½ 1
2 GM Onischuk, Alexander 4.0 M 2699 2849 +0.90 1 ½ 1 ½ 1
3 GM Nakamura, Hikaru 3.5 M 2733 2784 +0.34 1 1 ½ ½ ½
4 GM Shulman, Yuri 3.5 M 2613 2731 +0.79 ½ ½ 1 1 ½
5 GM Stripunsky, Alexander 3.5 M 2570 2708 +0.92 0 1 1 1 ½
6 GM Kraai, Jesse 3.5 M 2492 2726 +1.60 ½ 0 1 1 1
7 GM Akobian, Varuzhan 3.0 M 2599 2649 +0.36 ½ 1 1 ½ 0
8 GM Christiansen, Larry 3.0 M 2578 2685 +0.74 1 ½ ½ 1 0
9 GM Yermolinsky, Alex 3.0 M 2528 2652 +0.87 0 1 ½ 1 ½
10 IM Krush, Irina 3.0 F 2455 2657 +1.38 1 ½ 0 ½ 1
11 GM Shabalov, Alexander 2.5 M 2585 2552 -0.22 ½ 1 0 0 1
12 GM Kaidanov, Gregory 2.5 M 2577 2534 -0.30 0 ½ ½ ½ 1
13 GM Benjamin, Joel 2.5 M 2565 2575 +0.07 0 ½ 1 0 1
14 GM Finegold, Benjamin 2.5 M 2539 2563 +0.15 ½ 0 ½ ½ 1
15 GM Ehlvest, Jaan 2.0 M 2591 2453 -0.96 1 ½ ½ 0 0
16 GM Hess, Robert L 2.0 M 2590 2497 -0.64 1 0 1 0 0
17 GM Robson, Ray 2.0 M 2569 2464 -0.74 0 0 1 ½ ½
18 GM Lenderman, Alex 1.5 M 2598 2387 -1.43 0 ½ ½ ½ 0
19 GM Kudrin, Sergey 1.5 M 2571 2412 -1.07 ½ 1 0 0 0
20 GM Bhat, Vinay S 1.5 M 2547 2375 -1.17 ½ 0 0 ½ ½
21 GM Khachiyan, Melikset 1.5 M 2539 2461 -0.52 1 0 0 ½ 0
22 IM Shankland, Samuel 1.5 M 2507 2413 -0.63 0 ½ 0 ½ ½
23 IM Altounian, Levon 1.5 M 2454 2419 -0.22 ½ ½ 0 ½ 0
24 GM Gurevich, Dmitry 1.0 M 2488 2314 -1.05 0 0 0 ½ ½
Krush has black against Christiansen in Round 6.
Monday, May 17, 2010
2010 U.S. Chess Championship
I am so ticked off! Last night I cut off listening to the Round 3 live coverage of IM Irina Krush's game against GM Varuzhan Akobian at the last possible moment I could because a particular favorite t.v. show was coming on that was not going to be repeated. At that point, Krush had a promising position. And yet - several GMs in the audience where Jen Shahade and Maurice Ashley were giving commentary declined to pick Krush at the winner.
White: Krush, Irina
Black: Akobian, Varuzhan
1.d4 d6 2.e4 Nf6 3.Nc3 c6 4.f4 Qa5 5.e5 Ne4 6.Qf3 d5 7.Bd3 Nxc3 8.Bd2 Qb6 9.bxc3 e6 10.Ne2 c5 11.f5 Nc6 12.O-O Nxe5 13.dxe5 c4+ 14.Be3 Bc5 15.Nd4 cxd3 16.Rab1 Qc7 17.Nb5 Qc6 18.cxd3 a6 19.f6 g6 20.Bxc5 axb5 21.Qf2 Bd7 22.Rb2 Rc8 23.Bd4 Qc7 24.Qe3 h5 25.h4 Ra8 26.Rfb1 Ra4 27.Qd2 Bc6 28.Rb4 Ra6 29.R1b2 Kd7 30.Qe3 Kc8 31.Bc5 Rd8 32.Bd6 Rxd6 33.exd6 Qxd6 34.d4 Ra3 35.R4b3 Ra4 36.Re2 Qd8 37.Qf4 Qc7 38.Qxc7+ Kxc7 39.Kf2 Kd6 40.Kg3 Rc4 41.a3 Ra4 42.Kf4 Ra8 43.Kg5 Rh8 44.Rb1 Rh7 45.Re5 Rh8 46.g4 Bd7 47.Rbe1 hxg4 48.Kxg4 Ra8 49.Ra1 Rc8 50.Rc1 Ra8 51.Kg5 Rh8 52.Rh1 Rh5+ 53.Kf4 Rh6 54.Rg5 Bc8 55.Kg3 Bd7 56.Rf1 Rh8 57.h5 gxh5 58.Kh4 e5 59.Rxe5 Be6 60.Rb1 Rh6 61.Rxb5 Rxf6 62.Rxb7 Rf3 63.a4 Rxc3 64.Rb4 Ke7 65.Re1 Kf6 66.Rf1+ Kg6 67.Rg1+ Kh6 68.Rg3 Rc1 69.Rg2 Rh1+ 70.Kg3 h4+ 71.Kf2 h3 72.Rg3 Ra1 73.Rb8 Kh7 74.Rbb3 Ra2+ 75.Kg1 Rxa4 76.Rbd3 Ra1+ 77.Kh2 Ra2+ 78.Kh1 Bf5 79.Rdf3 Be4 80.Rxh3+ Kg7 81.Rhg3+ Kf8 82.Kg1 Bxf3 83.Rxf3 Ke7 84.Rf5 Ke6 85.Re5+ Kd6 86.Rf5 Ra7 87.Kf2 Rd7 88.Ke3 Ke6 89.Re5+ Kd6 90.Rf5 Re7+ 91.Kd3 Ra7 92.Rf6+ Ke7 93.Rf5 Ra3+ 94.Kd2 Ra5 95.Re5+ Kf6 96.Ke3 Kg6 97.Kf4 f6 98.Re1 Ra2 99.Re7 Ra4 100.Ke3 Kf5 101.Re8 Ra3+ 102.Ke2 Kf4 103.Re6 Ra2+ 104.Kd3 f5 105.Re5 Ra5 106.Re1 Ra3+ 107.Kd2 Kg4 108.Rb1 Kf3 109.Re1 Ra2+ 110.Kd3 f4 111.Re5 Ra5 112.Rf5 Ra3+ 113.Kd2 Ke4 0-1
Turns out, they were right, but I'll bet for all the wrong reasons, the jerks! Hope they choke on their Spaghettios next meal.
Krush lost Game 3 and went down in the standings, but she was still at 50%. So, what happened in Round 4?
She played the black pieces against GM Ray Robson, who is not having a good event thus far. They battled and battled and battled, and probably exhausted, finally agreed to a draw:
Event "2010 US Championship"]
[Site "St Louis"]
[Date "2010.05.17"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Robson, Ray"]
[Black "Krush, Irina"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[WhiteELO "2623"]
[WhiteTitle "GM"]
[BlackELO "2494"]
[BlackTitle "IM"]
[Source "MonRoi"]
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 Qc7 6.Be3 a6 7.Qd2 Nf6 8.O-O-O Bb4 9.f3 Ne5 10.Nb3 b5 11.Kb1 Nc4 12.Bxc4 bxc4 13.Nc1 Rb8 14.Bf4 e5 15.Bg5 Qb6 16.N1e2 O-O 17.Bxf6 Ba3 18.b3 Qxf6 19.Nd5 Qd8 20.f4 exf4 21.Qxf4 Bb7 22.Rhf1 a5 23.Nec3 Bc6 24.Rd4 cxb3 25.axb3 Bb4 26.e5 Bxc3 27.Nxc3 Qe7 28.Kb2 Rbe8 29.Re1 f6 30.Nd5 Qc5 31.Red1 fxe5 32.Qg5 Rf2 33.Rc4 Qf8 34.Rg4 Kh8 35.Ne3 Qf6 36.Rd6 Qxg5 37.Rxg5 g6 38.h4 Kg7 39.Ng4 Rf5 40.Ne3 Rxg5 41.hxg5 h6 42.gxh6 Kxh6 43.Kc3 Kg5 44.Kd2 Rf8 45.Ke2 Rf4 46.c3 Rf8 47.Ke1 Rb8 48.Nc4 Rxb3 49.Nxe5 Rxc3 50.Nxd7 Bxg2 51.Nf8 Be4 52.Nxg6 Bxg6 53.Rd5 Kf4 54.Rxa5 Ke3 55.Kf1 Kf3 56.Ke1 Rc1 57.Kd2 Rc2 58.Kd1 Bd3 59.Ra8 Rg2 60.Rh8 Ke3 61.Rh3 Kd4 62.Rh8 Kc3 63.Rc8 Bc4 64.Ke1 Re2 65.Kd1 Re7 66.Rc5 Rf7 67.Re5 Kd3 68.Kc1 Ra7 69.Kb2 Ra2 70.Kb1 Rf2 71.Kc1 Kc3 72.Kd1 Bd3 73.Rc5 Kd4 74.Rc8 Rb2 75.Kc1 Ra2 76.Kd1 Bc4 77.Re8 Kd3 78.Ke1 Bd5 79.Rd8 Ke4 80.Kd1 Ra5 81.Kd2 Rc5 82.Rd7 Kd4 83.Rd8 Ra5 84.Ke2 Ra2 85.Ke1 Ke4 86.Kd1 Bc4 87.Rd2 Ra3 88.Ke1 Bd3 89.Kf2 Kf4 90.Ke1 Kg3 91.Rb2 Kf3 92.Rf2 Ke3 93.Re2 Bxe2 1/2-1/2
Krush currently stands in 12th place (exactly at the half-way point of the 24 players) with 2.0 after Round 4. In Round 5 she will have white against GM Robert Hess, also at 2.0 and currently in 11th place.
White: Krush, Irina
Black: Akobian, Varuzhan
1.d4 d6 2.e4 Nf6 3.Nc3 c6 4.f4 Qa5 5.e5 Ne4 6.Qf3 d5 7.Bd3 Nxc3 8.Bd2 Qb6 9.bxc3 e6 10.Ne2 c5 11.f5 Nc6 12.O-O Nxe5 13.dxe5 c4+ 14.Be3 Bc5 15.Nd4 cxd3 16.Rab1 Qc7 17.Nb5 Qc6 18.cxd3 a6 19.f6 g6 20.Bxc5 axb5 21.Qf2 Bd7 22.Rb2 Rc8 23.Bd4 Qc7 24.Qe3 h5 25.h4 Ra8 26.Rfb1 Ra4 27.Qd2 Bc6 28.Rb4 Ra6 29.R1b2 Kd7 30.Qe3 Kc8 31.Bc5 Rd8 32.Bd6 Rxd6 33.exd6 Qxd6 34.d4 Ra3 35.R4b3 Ra4 36.Re2 Qd8 37.Qf4 Qc7 38.Qxc7+ Kxc7 39.Kf2 Kd6 40.Kg3 Rc4 41.a3 Ra4 42.Kf4 Ra8 43.Kg5 Rh8 44.Rb1 Rh7 45.Re5 Rh8 46.g4 Bd7 47.Rbe1 hxg4 48.Kxg4 Ra8 49.Ra1 Rc8 50.Rc1 Ra8 51.Kg5 Rh8 52.Rh1 Rh5+ 53.Kf4 Rh6 54.Rg5 Bc8 55.Kg3 Bd7 56.Rf1 Rh8 57.h5 gxh5 58.Kh4 e5 59.Rxe5 Be6 60.Rb1 Rh6 61.Rxb5 Rxf6 62.Rxb7 Rf3 63.a4 Rxc3 64.Rb4 Ke7 65.Re1 Kf6 66.Rf1+ Kg6 67.Rg1+ Kh6 68.Rg3 Rc1 69.Rg2 Rh1+ 70.Kg3 h4+ 71.Kf2 h3 72.Rg3 Ra1 73.Rb8 Kh7 74.Rbb3 Ra2+ 75.Kg1 Rxa4 76.Rbd3 Ra1+ 77.Kh2 Ra2+ 78.Kh1 Bf5 79.Rdf3 Be4 80.Rxh3+ Kg7 81.Rhg3+ Kf8 82.Kg1 Bxf3 83.Rxf3 Ke7 84.Rf5 Ke6 85.Re5+ Kd6 86.Rf5 Ra7 87.Kf2 Rd7 88.Ke3 Ke6 89.Re5+ Kd6 90.Rf5 Re7+ 91.Kd3 Ra7 92.Rf6+ Ke7 93.Rf5 Ra3+ 94.Kd2 Ra5 95.Re5+ Kf6 96.Ke3 Kg6 97.Kf4 f6 98.Re1 Ra2 99.Re7 Ra4 100.Ke3 Kf5 101.Re8 Ra3+ 102.Ke2 Kf4 103.Re6 Ra2+ 104.Kd3 f5 105.Re5 Ra5 106.Re1 Ra3+ 107.Kd2 Kg4 108.Rb1 Kf3 109.Re1 Ra2+ 110.Kd3 f4 111.Re5 Ra5 112.Rf5 Ra3+ 113.Kd2 Ke4 0-1
Turns out, they were right, but I'll bet for all the wrong reasons, the jerks! Hope they choke on their Spaghettios next meal.
Krush lost Game 3 and went down in the standings, but she was still at 50%. So, what happened in Round 4?
She played the black pieces against GM Ray Robson, who is not having a good event thus far. They battled and battled and battled, and probably exhausted, finally agreed to a draw:
Event "2010 US Championship"]
[Site "St Louis"]
[Date "2010.05.17"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Robson, Ray"]
[Black "Krush, Irina"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[WhiteELO "2623"]
[WhiteTitle "GM"]
[BlackELO "2494"]
[BlackTitle "IM"]
[Source "MonRoi"]
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 Qc7 6.Be3 a6 7.Qd2 Nf6 8.O-O-O Bb4 9.f3 Ne5 10.Nb3 b5 11.Kb1 Nc4 12.Bxc4 bxc4 13.Nc1 Rb8 14.Bf4 e5 15.Bg5 Qb6 16.N1e2 O-O 17.Bxf6 Ba3 18.b3 Qxf6 19.Nd5 Qd8 20.f4 exf4 21.Qxf4 Bb7 22.Rhf1 a5 23.Nec3 Bc6 24.Rd4 cxb3 25.axb3 Bb4 26.e5 Bxc3 27.Nxc3 Qe7 28.Kb2 Rbe8 29.Re1 f6 30.Nd5 Qc5 31.Red1 fxe5 32.Qg5 Rf2 33.Rc4 Qf8 34.Rg4 Kh8 35.Ne3 Qf6 36.Rd6 Qxg5 37.Rxg5 g6 38.h4 Kg7 39.Ng4 Rf5 40.Ne3 Rxg5 41.hxg5 h6 42.gxh6 Kxh6 43.Kc3 Kg5 44.Kd2 Rf8 45.Ke2 Rf4 46.c3 Rf8 47.Ke1 Rb8 48.Nc4 Rxb3 49.Nxe5 Rxc3 50.Nxd7 Bxg2 51.Nf8 Be4 52.Nxg6 Bxg6 53.Rd5 Kf4 54.Rxa5 Ke3 55.Kf1 Kf3 56.Ke1 Rc1 57.Kd2 Rc2 58.Kd1 Bd3 59.Ra8 Rg2 60.Rh8 Ke3 61.Rh3 Kd4 62.Rh8 Kc3 63.Rc8 Bc4 64.Ke1 Re2 65.Kd1 Re7 66.Rc5 Rf7 67.Re5 Kd3 68.Kc1 Ra7 69.Kb2 Ra2 70.Kb1 Rf2 71.Kc1 Kc3 72.Kd1 Bd3 73.Rc5 Kd4 74.Rc8 Rb2 75.Kc1 Ra2 76.Kd1 Bc4 77.Re8 Kd3 78.Ke1 Bd5 79.Rd8 Ke4 80.Kd1 Ra5 81.Kd2 Rc5 82.Rd7 Kd4 83.Rd8 Ra5 84.Ke2 Ra2 85.Ke1 Ke4 86.Kd1 Bc4 87.Rd2 Ra3 88.Ke1 Bd3 89.Kf2 Kf4 90.Ke1 Kg3 91.Rb2 Kf3 92.Rf2 Ke3 93.Re2 Bxe2 1/2-1/2
Krush currently stands in 12th place (exactly at the half-way point of the 24 players) with 2.0 after Round 4. In Round 5 she will have white against GM Robert Hess, also at 2.0 and currently in 11th place.
Saturday, May 15, 2010
2010 U.S. Chess Championship
After a draw in Round 2, IM Irina Krush jumps from 8th place to 4th place. Way to go - but still a long way to go...
Event "2010 US Championship"]
[Site "St Louis"]
[Date "2010.05.15"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Ehlvest, Jaan"]
[Black "Krush, Irina"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[WhiteELO "2673"]
[WhiteTitle "GM"]
[BlackELO "2494"]
[BlackTitle "IM"]
[Source "MonRoi"]
1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.g3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.Bg2 Nb6 6.d3 Be7 7.Nf3 Nc6 8.O-O O-O 9.a3 Be6 10.Ne4 f6 11.b4 Qd7 12.Bb2 Rfd8 13.Rc1 a5 14.Nc5 Bxc5 15.bxc5 Nd5 16.Qc2 Nde7 17.Qb1 Nf5 18.Rfd1 Nfd4 19.Bxd4 exd4 20.Rd2 a4 21.Rb2 Na5 22.Rb4 Nb3 23.Rc2 c6 24.Qb2 Ra5 25.h4 b5 26.Kh2 Ra7 27.Kg1 Rc7 28.Kh2 Bg4 29.Nd2 Be6 30.Nf3 Bg4 31.Nd2 Be6 32.Nf3 Bg4 1/2-1/2
Event "2010 US Championship"]
[Site "St Louis"]
[Date "2010.05.15"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Ehlvest, Jaan"]
[Black "Krush, Irina"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[WhiteELO "2673"]
[WhiteTitle "GM"]
[BlackELO "2494"]
[BlackTitle "IM"]
[Source "MonRoi"]
1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.g3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.Bg2 Nb6 6.d3 Be7 7.Nf3 Nc6 8.O-O O-O 9.a3 Be6 10.Ne4 f6 11.b4 Qd7 12.Bb2 Rfd8 13.Rc1 a5 14.Nc5 Bxc5 15.bxc5 Nd5 16.Qc2 Nde7 17.Qb1 Nf5 18.Rfd1 Nfd4 19.Bxd4 exd4 20.Rd2 a4 21.Rb2 Na5 22.Rb4 Nb3 23.Rc2 c6 24.Qb2 Ra5 25.h4 b5 26.Kh2 Ra7 27.Kg1 Rc7 28.Kh2 Bg4 29.Nd2 Be6 30.Nf3 Bg4 31.Nd2 Be6 32.Nf3 Bg4 1/2-1/2
2010 U.S. Chess Championship - Krush defeats Kaidanov
Round 1 action of the U.S. Chess Championship once again being hosted by the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of St. Louis with a LOT of money on the line, so most of the top players in the US. and wild-card qualifier IM Irina Krush are going for the big bucks. Thanks to Rex Sinquefield, et al for hosting and funding the championship again this year at the fabulous St. Louis digs.
The dudes were actually playing fighting chess - all right! Eight out of 12 games were decisive and of course Krush was going for the win all the way behind the white pieces. That's just how women play, ahem...
2010 US Chess Championships, Saint Louis
White: IM Krush
Black: GM Kaidanov
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Be7 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Bf4 Nf6 6.e3 Bf5 7.Nge2 O-O 8.Rc1 c6 9.Ng3 Bg6 10.h4 h6 11.h5 Bh7 12.Bd3 Bxd3 13.Qxd3 Bd6 14.Bxd6 Qxd6 15.Nf5 Qe6 16.f3 Nbd7 17.Kf2 Rfe8 18.g4 Nh7 19.Na4 b6 20.Nc3 Ndf6 21.Ne2 Ng5 22.Nf4 Qd7 23.Qa3 a5 24.Rc2 Rad8 25.Rhc1 c5 26.dxc5 bxc5 27.Rxc5 Ne6 28.Nxe6 Qxe6 29.Kg2 d4 30.e4 d3 31.Qc3 d2 32.Rd1 Qb6 33.a4 Qa6 34.Rb5 Qa8 35.Rxa5 Qb8 36.Ra6 Rc8 37.Qd4 Qb3 38.Rxd2 Rc2 39.Rd6 Rxd2+ 40.Qxd2 Qxa4 41.Rxf6 1-0
Report at the U.S. Chess Federation website with playable games and photos.
Official website.
IM Jen Shahade and GM Maurice Ashley are providing live commentary of the action this year.
I won't lie, darlings - I've been up to my neck in yard work ever since the sun rose this morning - with a 50 minute trek to the supermarket and back and periodic breaks to catch my breath. After raking for hours in the backyard, which is an absolute disaster area, I'm about 2/3rds done and now must pull out yet another yard waste container (good thing I have so many, heh heh) cuz there are still tons more branches to rake up before I can pull out the mower. Must get it done today cuz rain is forecast once again for tomorrow. The grass is already almost a foot tall in parts so I MUST chop it down today. On a happier note, the front yard looks pretty spiffy, but I must get new weed/feed as the old stuff from last year did not kill the weeds at all! I was out there for 2 plus hours today (before the trek to the supermarket) doing a much-needed trimming around the edges of the curbs, walks and driveway and then sweeping everything up. Took forever!
My neighbors to the north decided they're going to put in a fence so their doggies can roam free (that was Numero Uno when I built this place back in 1990) and so today Mr. Neighbor was out there with a power saw chopping down EVERYTHING - and I do mean EVERYTHING - in sight. I stayed well away from the lot line, LOL! Not sure exactly when the fence guys are coming - I heard the surveyor was out yesterday so it will take a few days for the survey to arrive, so perhaps mid-week. Well, I won't be sorry to see those overgrown shrubs and spruces gone, replaced by a nice tall privacy fence. I'll finally be able to get a clean edge to my grass!
Speaking of which - that backyard is calling my name...
The dudes were actually playing fighting chess - all right! Eight out of 12 games were decisive and of course Krush was going for the win all the way behind the white pieces. That's just how women play, ahem...
2010 US Chess Championships, Saint Louis
White: IM Krush
Black: GM Kaidanov
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Be7 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Bf4 Nf6 6.e3 Bf5 7.Nge2 O-O 8.Rc1 c6 9.Ng3 Bg6 10.h4 h6 11.h5 Bh7 12.Bd3 Bxd3 13.Qxd3 Bd6 14.Bxd6 Qxd6 15.Nf5 Qe6 16.f3 Nbd7 17.Kf2 Rfe8 18.g4 Nh7 19.Na4 b6 20.Nc3 Ndf6 21.Ne2 Ng5 22.Nf4 Qd7 23.Qa3 a5 24.Rc2 Rad8 25.Rhc1 c5 26.dxc5 bxc5 27.Rxc5 Ne6 28.Nxe6 Qxe6 29.Kg2 d4 30.e4 d3 31.Qc3 d2 32.Rd1 Qb6 33.a4 Qa6 34.Rb5 Qa8 35.Rxa5 Qb8 36.Ra6 Rc8 37.Qd4 Qb3 38.Rxd2 Rc2 39.Rd6 Rxd2+ 40.Qxd2 Qxa4 41.Rxf6 1-0
Report at the U.S. Chess Federation website with playable games and photos.
Official website.
IM Jen Shahade and GM Maurice Ashley are providing live commentary of the action this year.
I won't lie, darlings - I've been up to my neck in yard work ever since the sun rose this morning - with a 50 minute trek to the supermarket and back and periodic breaks to catch my breath. After raking for hours in the backyard, which is an absolute disaster area, I'm about 2/3rds done and now must pull out yet another yard waste container (good thing I have so many, heh heh) cuz there are still tons more branches to rake up before I can pull out the mower. Must get it done today cuz rain is forecast once again for tomorrow. The grass is already almost a foot tall in parts so I MUST chop it down today. On a happier note, the front yard looks pretty spiffy, but I must get new weed/feed as the old stuff from last year did not kill the weeds at all! I was out there for 2 plus hours today (before the trek to the supermarket) doing a much-needed trimming around the edges of the curbs, walks and driveway and then sweeping everything up. Took forever!
My neighbors to the north decided they're going to put in a fence so their doggies can roam free (that was Numero Uno when I built this place back in 1990) and so today Mr. Neighbor was out there with a power saw chopping down EVERYTHING - and I do mean EVERYTHING - in sight. I stayed well away from the lot line, LOL! Not sure exactly when the fence guys are coming - I heard the surveyor was out yesterday so it will take a few days for the survey to arrive, so perhaps mid-week. Well, I won't be sorry to see those overgrown shrubs and spruces gone, replaced by a nice tall privacy fence. I'll finally be able to get a clean edge to my grass!
Speaking of which - that backyard is calling my name...
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Press Release: 2010 U.S. Chess Championship
I had seen this news reported elsewhere, here is a new press release from the St. Louis Business Journal:
Thursday, August 27, 2009, 3:07pm CDT
Chess Club to host 2010 championship
St. Louis Business Journal
The Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis will host the 2010 U.S. Chess Championship. The event, to be held April 23 to May 6, will feature 24 of the best chess players in the country.
The club also hosted the 2009 championship last May and will host the 2009 U.S. Women's Championship Oct. 3-13.
"It was our privilege to host the 2009 U.S. Chess Championship and we're honored to be chosen again," said Tony Rich, executive director of the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis.
The non-profit Chess Club was founded by retired investment company executive Rex Sinquefield and opened in July 2008. It has more than 500 members.
My question: Is the 2010 U.S. Women's Chess Championship included in the sponsorship deal?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
