2012 U.S. Women's Chess Championship

As you no doubt know by now, Irina Krush is the new U.S. Women's Chess Champion after Anna Zatonskih hung a rook in a won game and immediately resigned game 2 of the rapid chess play-off (Krush had won the first game with the black pieces).  Zatonskih had black in Game 2 and the commentators (Jennifer Shahade and Ben Feingold) had pretty much called the win for Zatonskih at the point in the game where she had plenty of time left on her clock and Krush was playing on increment and was down material.

I turned the live coverage off after Zatonskih hung her rook and resigned, leaving the title to Krush.  So, no Armageddon game was played after all.  And I was wrong in predicting that Zatonskih would repeat as champion.  I'm sure she felt like shit yesterday and today even worse.  That's how I'd feel!  Because, before hanging her rook in the final indignity, Zatonskih had evidently missed an earlier crushing blow against Krush - I think it was grabbing her queen with no compensation on Krush's part.  I was out cutting the grass and ran in now and then to watch the action on the laptop, and missed that part.

You can find the games in PGN at uschesschamps. There is video at U.S. Chess Champs but not of the games - you evidently have to buy a subscription elsewhere to view the games if you were not able to watch them live.  What crap.

Congratulations to Irina Krush for getting lucky.  I feel badly for Anna Zatonskih, but that's the way it goes sometimes. 

2012 U.S. Women's Chess Championship

Watching the action live, it's nearly finished for the ladies.  It appears that Zatonskih and Krush are once again headed toward a play-off for the Women's title tomorrow at noon.

Updated 4:38: Krush defeated Baginskaite.

Updated 4:39:  After move 40 Tatev Abrahamyan resigned and Zatonskih also wins her game!

Play-off for those fighting chess femmes tomorrow.  Loving it!

Added May 20, 2012:

Here are the R9 results:

Table	White	Score	Rating	Black	Score	Rating	Result
1	IM Zatonskih, Anna	6.0	2510	WGM Abrahamyan, Tatev	4.5	2329	1-0
2	WFM Kats, Alena	1.5	2137	IM Goletiani, Rusudan	4.5	2333	0-1
3	WGM Baginskaite, Camilla	2.0	2358	IM Krush, Irina	6.0	2457	0-1
4	WGM Foisor, Sabina-Francesca	4.5	2364	WIM Zenyuk, Iryna	3.5	2224	0-1
5	FM Melekhina, Alisa	3.5	2242	WIM Ni, Viktorija	4.0	2228	0-1

Here is the cross-table:

Rank	Name	Score	M/F	Rating	TPR	W-We	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
1	IM Zatonskih, Anna	7.0	F	2510	2519	+0.16	1	1	½	½	½	1	½	1	1
2	IM Krush, Irina	7.0	F	2457	2523	+0.74	1	½	1	½	1	½	½	1	1
3	IM Goletiani, Rusudan	5.5	F	2333	2397	+0.80	1	0	1	0	1	½	1	0	1
4	WIM Ni, Viktorija	5.0	F	2228	2371	+1.66	½	0	0	1	½	1	½	½	1
5	WGM Foisor, Sabina-Francesca	4.5	F	2364	2313	-0.60	0	1	½	1	½	0	1	½	0
6	WGM Abrahamyan, Tatev	4.5	F	2329	2317	-0.14	½	1	0	1	0	1	0	1	0
7	WIM Zenyuk, Iryna	4.5	F	2224	2329	+1.21	½	1	1	½	0	0	½	0	1
8	FM Melekhina, Alisa	3.5	F	2242	2247	-0.02	½	½	0	½	1	1	0	0	0
9	WGM Baginskaite, Camilla	2.0	F	2358	2094	-3.02	0	0	0	0	½	0	½	1	0
10	WFM Kats, Alena	1.5	F	2137	2063	-0.79	0	0	1	0	0	0	½	0	0

Victorija Ni had a wonderful tournament, finishing in clear 4th place. Not bad for a first-timer!   Goletiani was in good form, and Camilla -- what the hell happened to you?  I thought you must be fighting flu or some other nasty illness but, evidently not.  It was just a bad event for you this time around.  I think this was also Alena Kats' first trip to the U.S. championship.  She kind of got beat-up on, but that wasn't unexpected seeing as she is the lowest rated player on the list. 

I wish we had better opportunities (besides the championship) for these chess femmes to develop their playing skills here in the U.S.  I don't see us standing a snowball's chance in hell of winning a medal in the chess Olympiad later this year; there's just too much of a drop-off in talent after Zatonskih and Krush compared to the teams we know will be fielded by chess powerhouses China, Russia, and Georgia, among other countries.  It's the same old story; you're not going to get players, particularly promising female players, to go into chess as a full-time profession when they can't make a decent living at it.  There are no Rex Sinquefields stepping forward to subsidize any of them.  Instead, we've got Nakamura.  Oh geez.

Soooooo, today is the play-off for the actual title of U.S. Women's Champion between Zatonskih and Krush.  Hmmmm, haven't we seen this action before...  It's warm here, over 80 F already and just about 10 a.m., must be even worse down in St. Louis - I'm going to look at the weather forecast, for thunderstorms (big ones with lots of lightning and building-shaking booms) must be anticipated in St. Louis...  Euuuuwwww!  84 F right now in St. Louis with a sticky 62 dewpoint. Even worse than here, and I am definitely contemplating shutting down the house and turning on the AC.  Lots of warm moist air is hovering over St. Louis and, indeed, being pumped upward throughout the middle section of the country, and that always means there is a chance for severe storms to bloom.  Those of you in St. Louis may see your skies echoing the stormy battle OTB starting at noon today between Zatonskih and Krush.

I'm sticking with my prediction that Zatonskih will retain her title.  We'll see what kind of prognosticator I am.  Ha! 

2012 U.S. Women's Chess Championship

Zatonskih v. Krush, R7. From U.S. Chesschamps.com.

Zatonskih continues to lead by a narrow margin.  The pairings have done her no favors, she has white in R9 against Abrahamyan.  I expect her to win - that is to say, she should win, given the relative difference in ELO and the advantage of white over black; I cannot imagine Abrahamyan rolling over so I expect a tough, intense game. 

Results R8:

Table	White	Score	Rating	Black	Score	Rating	Result
1	WGM Abrahamyan, Tatev	3.5	2329	FM Melekhina, Alisa	3.5	2242	1-0
2	WIM Ni, Viktorija	3.5	2228	WGM Foisor, Sabina-Francesca	4.0	2364	½-½
3	WIM Zenyuk, Iryna	3.5	2224	WGM Baginskaite, Camilla	1.0	2358	0-1
4	IM Krush, Irina	5.0	2457	WFM Kats, Alena	1.5	2137	1-0
5	IM Goletiani, Rusudan	4.5	2333	IM Zatonskih, Anna	5.0	2510	0-1

Standings after R8:

Rank	Name	Score	M/F	Rating	TPR	W-We	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
1	IM Zatonskih, Anna	6.0	F	2510	2489	-0.10	1	1	½	½	½	1	½	1
2	IM Krush, Irina	6.0	F	2457	2489	+0.38	1	½	1	½	1	½	½	1
3	WGM Foisor, Sabina-Francesca	4.5	F	2364	2367	+0.09	0	1	½	1	½	0	1	½
4	IM Goletiani, Rusudan	4.5	F	2333	2382	+0.55	1	0	1	0	1	½	1	0
5	WGM Abrahamyan, Tatev	4.5	F	2329	2336	+0.12	½	1	0	1	0	1	0	1
6	WIM Ni, Viktorija	4.0	F	2228	2339	+1.14	½	0	0	1	½	1	½	½
7	FM Melekhina, Alisa	3.5	F	2242	2296	+0.50	½	½	0	½	1	1	0	0
8	WIM Zenyuk, Iryna	3.5	F	2224	2281	+0.52	½	1	1	½	0	0	½	0
9	WGM Baginskaite, Camilla	2.0	F	2358	2103	-2.66	0	0	0	0	½	0	½	1
10	WFM Kats, Alena	1.5	F	2137	2085	-0.54	0	0	1	0	0	0	½	0

Pairings for R9 (will be on Saturday - tomorrow is a rest day for the ladies):

Table	White	Score	Rating	Black	Score	Rating	Result
1	IM Zatonskih, Anna	6.0	2510	WGM Abrahamyan, Tatev	4.5	2329
2	WFM Kats, Alena	1.5	2137	IM Goletiani, Rusudan	4.5	2333
3	WGM Baginskaite, Camilla	2.0	2358	IM Krush, Irina	6.0	2457
4	WGM Foisor, Sabina-Francesca	4.5	2364	WIM Zenyuk, Iryna	3.5	2224
5	FM Melekhina, Alisa	3.5	2242	WIM Ni, Viktorija	4.0	2228

2012 U.S. Women's Chess Championship

Results R7:

Table	White	Score	Rating	Black	Score	Rating	Result
1	IM Goletiani, Rusudan	3.5	2333	WGM Abrahamyan, Tatev	3.5	2329	1-0
2	IM Zatonskih, Anna	4.5	2510	IM Krush, Irina	4.5	2457	½-½
3	WFM Kats, Alena	1.0	2137	WIM Zenyuk, Iryna	3.0	2224	½-½
4	WGM Baginskaite, Camilla	0.5	2358	WIM Ni, Viktorija	3.0	2228	½-½
5	WGM Foisor, Sabina-Francesca	3.0	2364	FM Melekhina, Alisa	3.5	2242	1-0

Ouch!  Abrahamyan had a chance to get within 1/2 point of the leaders, who drew their game today (anti-climax!)  Instead, she's stuck with 3.5, Goletiani takes over 3rd place and Foisor springs into 4th place with her win against Melekhina.

Standings after R7:

Rank	Name	Score	M/F	Rating	TPR	W-We	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
1	IM Zatonskih, Anna	5.0	F	2510	2448	-0.37	1	1	½	½	½	1	½
2	IM Krush, Irina	5.0	F	2457	2477	+0.25	1	½	1	½	1	½	½
3	IM Goletiani, Rusudan	4.5	F	2333	2417	+0.82	1	0	1	0	1	½	1
4	WGM Foisor, Sabina-Francesca	4.0	F	2364	2388	+0.27	0	1	½	1	½	0	1
5	WGM Abrahamyan, Tatev	3.5	F	2329	2300	-0.26	½	1	0	1	0	1	0
6	FM Melekhina, Alisa	3.5	F	2242	2340	+0.88	½	½	0	½	1	1	0
7	WIM Ni, Viktorija	3.5	F	2228	2335	+0.96	½	0	0	1	½	1	½
8	WIM Zenyuk, Iryna	3.5	F	2224	2319	+0.84	½	1	1	½	0	0	½
9	WFM Kats, Alena	1.5	F	2137	2089	-0.41	0	0	1	0	0	0	½
10	WGM Baginskaite, Camilla	1.0	F	2358	1997	-2.98	0	0	0	0	½	0	½

R8 pairings:

Table	White	Score	Rating	Black	Score	Rating	Result
1	WGM Abrahamyan, Tatev	3.5	2329	FM Melekhina, Alisa	3.5	2242
2	WIM Ni, Viktorija	3.5	2228	WGM Foisor, Sabina-Francesca	4.0	2364
3	WIM Zenyuk, Iryna	3.5	2224	WGM Baginskaite, Camilla	1.0	2358
4	IM Krush, Irina	5.0	2457	WFM Kats, Alena	1.5	2137
5	IM Goletiani, Rusudan	4.5	2333	IM Zatonskih, Anna	5.0	2510

R6 Zatonskih in Angst. Zenyuk had white. Photo from
U.S. Chesschamps.com. 

Well, ujnless Alena Kats has the game of her life, put 1.0 up in Krush's column of Ws!  Zatonskih, on the other hand, is going to have her hands full with a fired up Goletiani who will also have the white pieces.  Goletiani has 4 wins already, Zatonskih (and Krush), 3.  Uh uh.  Could my prediction of a Zatonskih repeat be ill-fated?  Could I be - gulp - wrong?  We'll see.

2012 U.S. Women's Chess Championship

Results R6:

Table	White	Score	Rating	Black	Score	Rating	Result
1	WGM Abrahamyan, Tatev	2.5	2329	WGM Foisor, Sabina-Francesca	3.0	2364	1-0
2	FM Melekhina, Alisa	2.5	2242	WGM Baginskaite, Camilla	0.5	2358	1-0
3	WIM Ni, Viktorija	2.0	2228	WFM Kats, Alena	1.0	2137	1-0
4	WIM Zenyuk, Iryna	3.0	2224	IM Zatonskih, Anna	3.5	2510	0-1
5	IM Krush, Irina	4.0	2457	IM Goletiani, Rusudan	3.0	2333	½-½

Standings after R6 (cross-table):

Rank	Name	Score	M/F	Rating	TPR	W-We	1	2	3	4	5	6
1	IM Zatonskih, Anna	4.5	F	2510	2456	-0.30	1	1	½	½	½	1
2	IM Krush, Irina	4.5	F	2457	2480	+0.18	1	½	1	½	1	½
3	IM Goletiani, Rusudan	3.5	F	2333	2369	+0.33	1	0	1	0	1	½
4	WGM Abrahamyan, Tatev	3.5	F	2329	2352	+0.23	½	1	0	1	0	1
5	FM Melekhina, Alisa	3.5	F	2242	2394	+1.21	½	½	0	½	1	1
6	WGM Foisor, Sabina-Francesca	3.0	F	2364	2354	-0.06	0	1	½	1	½	0
7	WIM Ni, Viktorija	3.0	F	2228	2332	+0.78	½	0	0	1	½	1
8	WIM Zenyuk, Iryna	3.0	F	2224	2350	+0.96	½	1	1	½	0	0
9	WFM Kats, Alena	1.0	F	2137	2062	-0.53	0	0	1	0	0	0
10	WGM Baginskaite, Camilla	0.5	F	2358	1918	-2.80	0	0	0	0	½	0

Pairings for R7:

Table	White	Score	Rating	Black	Score	Rating	Result
1	IM Goletiani, Rusudan	3.5	2333	WGM Abrahamyan, Tatev	3.5	2329
2	IM Zatonskih, Anna	4.5	2510	IM Krush, Irina	4.5	2457
3	WFM Kats, Alena	1.0	2137	WIM Zenyuk, Iryna	3.0	2224
4	WGM Baginskaite, Camilla	0.5	2358	WIM Ni, Viktorija	3.0	2228
5	WGM Foisor, Sabina-Francesca	3.0	2364	FM Melekhina, Alisa	3.5	2242

Tomorrow a much-anticipated game between Zatonskih with white against Krush with black at Table 2.  I also expect the Table 1 match-up to be intense.  Abrahamyan wants to move into the first or second position after being a bridesmaid for several years running.  I don't know if she's strong enough to do it, but she sure as hell is STUBBORN, a trait I admire (gee, I wonder why) :) 
Abrahamyan won't give up. 

Really, except for Baginskaite's performance, I am pleasantly surprised by how tight the scores actually are after 6 games, with only 3 more to go, with Alena Kats being somewhat of an outlyer.

Jen Shahade commenting during R4 of the U.S. Chess
Championship.  Leopard Print?  Soooo Judit Polgar!

Zatonskih scored a "must win" game today against  the "other" Iryna, Iryna Zenyk, in order to stay in first place after Krush's draw.  Iryna is a good friend of the Irina with whom Zatonskih keeps trading the U.S. Women's title back and forth.  I don't know if Krush took it "easy" today in agreeing to a draw, I haven't looked at the games and, frankly, I probably wouldn't be able to tell anything from it anyway without hearing live commentary from the pros! 

In any event, we all know she'll have her hands full tomorrow with black against Zatonskih, who will be looking to make another definitive move by taking the full point.  The final 3 games should be where the leaders pull away from the pretenders -- and that doesn't mean someone pretending to play chess, that means someone who hasn't been there before trying to move as high up the ranks as possible and possible take over one of the top spot -- as in "pretender to the throne."  That sort of pretender. 

2012 U.S. Women's Chess Championship

Results from R5:

Table	White	Score	Rating	Black	Score	Rating	Result
1	IM Krush, Irina	3.0	2457	WGM Abrahamyan, Tatev	2.5	2329	1-0
2	IM Goletiani, Rusudan	2.0	2333	WIM Zenyuk, Iryna	3.0	2224	1-0
3	IM Zatonskih, Anna	3.0	2510	WIM Ni, Viktorija	1.5	2228	½-½
4	WFM Kats, Alena	1.0	2137	FM Melekhina, Alisa	1.5	2242	0-1
5	WGM Baginskaite, Camilla	0.0	2358	WGM Foisor, Sabina-Francesca	2.5	2364	½-½

Standings after R5 (cross-table):

Rank	Name	Score	M/F	Rating	TPR	W-We	1	2	3	4	5
1	IM Krush, Irina	4.0	F	2457	2517	+0.35	1	½	1	½	1
2	IM Zatonskih, Anna	3.5	F	2510	2419	-0.46	1	1	½	½	½
3	WGM Foisor, Sabina-Francesca	3.0	F	2364	2431	+0.49	0	1	½	1	½
4	IM Goletiani, Rusudan	3.0	F	2333	2355	+0.16	1	0	1	0	1
5	WIM Zenyuk, Iryna	3.0	F	2224	2390	+1.12	½	1	1	½	0
6	WGM Abrahamyan, Tatev	2.5	F	2329	2281	-0.32	½	1	0	1	0
7	FM Melekhina, Alisa	2.5	F	2242	2332	+0.55	½	½	0	½	1
8	WIM Ni, Viktorija	2.0	F	2228	2299	+0.40	½	0	0	1	½
9	WFM Kats, Alena	1.0	F	2137	2116	-0.15	0	0	1	0	0
10	WGM Baginskaite, Camilla	0.5	F	2358	1969	-2.14	0	0	0	0	½

Pairings for R6 - getting up their now, ladies, now's the time to make your mooooovvvveeessss....

Table	White	Score	Rating	Black	Score	Rating	Result
1	WGM Abrahamyan, Tatev	2.5	2329	WGM Foisor, Sabina-Francesca	3.0	2364
2	FM Melekhina, Alisa	2.5	2242	WGM Baginskaite, Camilla	0.5	2358
3	WIM Ni, Viktorija	2.0	2228	WFM Kats, Alena	1.0	2137
4	WIM Zenyuk, Iryna	3.0	2224	IM Zatonskih, Anna	3.5	2510
5	IM Krush, Irina	4.0	2457	IM Goletiani, Rusudan	3.0	2333