JUDIT GOING THROUGH TO ROUND 5!!!!

I just checked the results at the official website for the 2011 FIDE World Cup and Judit Polgar has defeated Dominguez after four rapid games and two blitz games, 3.5 to 2.5.  Wow!  GO JUDIT GO!

Judit has made it into the quarter finals and will be playing tomorrow and Saturday, so she's not going to be appearing in the Kings v. Queens Tournament here in St. Louis.  You know that's a disappointment but I would only be able to see the games Saturday and Sunday anyway.  I wish the "Queens" good luck!

Now it's time to find some food!

2011 FIDE World Cup

R4, G2:  Judit Polgar won with the black pieces to force play-offs tomorrow with Dominguez.  Here is what The Week in Chess said:

Judit Polgar recovered from a loss to Leinier Dominguez Perez in the first game to beat him in 112 moves with black to take the match to a playoff. But this was a fluctuating struggle to say the least.

Polgar will have very decent chances in the rapid where she has major scalps including Topalov last year but the faster the time rates after that will probably favour Dominguez.

There's much more in TWIC's report.  I'm pressed for time tonight, darlings.  I leave for the airport tomorrow a.m. at 5:30 for St. Louis.  GO JUDIT GO.  I will follow her play-offs as I can on my brand new little Acer notebook! 

One note - notice that she was wearing the "leopard print" trimmed black jacket in today game!

Check out the leopard print trim on GM Judit Polgar's black jacket :)

Unfortunately, GM Gata Kamsky for the USA did not fare as well.  He lost again and is going home.  So, the USA has no more representatives playing in the World Cup. 

Chess Femme News

2011 FIDE World Cup

Well, crap, Judit Polgar lost her first game with the white pieces against Leinier Dominguez Perez of Cuba , which means she has to win with black tomorrow in order to go to play-offs on Thursday. 

Polgar is presently scheduled to play in St. Louis at the Kings v. Queens Chess Tournament at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of St. Louis.  Play begins Saturday, September 10th.  If she makes it through to Round 5, she won't be in St. Louis!  I checked last night at the chess club's website - Martha Fierro is a substitute player for the chess femmes.  If that happens, those women won't stand a chance in hell of a team win for the femmes.  Fierro just is not in the same league as a player of Polgar's caliber.  Polgar was the women's team only chance of winning against Nakamura; I can't see any of the other players, much as I like them, doing anything against Nakamura, or even Anatoly Karpov, a last minute substitute for the men's team.

So, this event has gone from MUST SEE to something much less exciting.

In the meantime, the last US player in the World Cup, GM Gata Kamsky, also lost his game today.  A draw tomorrow sends him home.

Shenzhen FIDE Women's Grand Prix 2011

Shenzhen WGP 2011 Shenzhen CHN Thu 1st Sep 2011 - Thu 15th Sep 2011 Leading Round 0 (of 11) Standings:
Rk	Name	Ti	FED	Rtg
1	Hou Yifan	GM	CHN	2578
2	Ju Wenjun	WGM	CHN	2536
3	Victorija Cmilyte	GM	LTU	2525
4	Zhu Chen	GM	QAT	2490
5	Anna Muzychuk	IM	SLO	2545
6	Zhao Xue	GM	CHN	2497
7	Yildiz, Betul Cemre	WIM	TUR	2308
8	Munguntuul Batkhuyag	IM	MGL	2465
9	Elina Danielian	GM	ARM	2517
10	Alisa Galliamova	IM	RUS	2498
11	Ruan Lufei	WGM	CHN	2477
12	Ekaterina Kovalevskaya	IM	RUS	2421

Gee, wonder who will win this one?

Botvinnik Memorial (Women)

I can't make heads or tails out of the official website, which is in Russian!  But there are photos of the four chess femmes who played, and I know from The Week in Chess that GM Viktorija Cmilyte won.  The other femmes were GM Koneru Humpy of India, GM Tatiana Kosintseva of Russia, and IM Elina Danielian of Armenia. 

This does not bode well for Humpy:  Viktorija Cmilyte won the women's event and there too the top seed finished last.  That's from The Week in Chess, oh my. 

Botvinnik Memorial w Moscow (RUS), 2-3 ix 2011											cat. XII (2545)
					1		2		3		4
1.	Cmilyte, Viktorija	g	LTU	2525	*	*	0	1	1	0	1	1	4	2676
2.	Danielian, Elina	g	ARM	2517	1	0	*	*	0	1	½	1	3½	2610
3.	Kosintseva, Tatiana	g	RUS	2536	0	1	1	0	*	*	0	½	2½	2490
4.	Koneru, Humpy	g	IND	2600	0	0	½	0	1	½	*	*	2	2401

Round 1 (September 2, 2011)
Danielian, Elina	- Cmilyte, Viktorija	1-0	53	E60	King's Indian without Nc3
Kosintseva, Tatiana	- Koneru, Humpy	0-1	46	C84	Ruy Lopez Centre Attack
Round 2 (September 2, 2011)
Kosintseva, Tatiana	- Danielian, Elina	1-0	41	B12	Caro Kann Advanced
Koneru, Humpy	- Cmilyte, Viktorija	0-1	45	A61	Benoni
Round 3 (September 2, 2011)
Cmilyte, Viktorija	- Kosintseva, Tatiana	1-0	33	D38	QGD Ragozin
Danielian, Elina	- Koneru, Humpy	½-½	66	D02	Queen's Pawn Game
Round 4 (September 3, 2011)
Cmilyte, Viktorija	- Danielian, Elina	1-0	61	A35	English Symmetrical
Koneru, Humpy	- Kosintseva, Tatiana	½-½	69	E46	Nimzo Indian Rubinstein
Round 5 (September 3, 2011)
Cmilyte, Viktorija	- Koneru, Humpy	1-0	32	D38	QGD Ragozin
Danielian, Elina	- Kosintseva, Tatiana	1-0	24	A09	Reti Opening
Round 6 (September 3, 2011)
Kosintseva, Tatiana	- Cmilyte, Viktorija	1-0	38	B77	Sicilian Modern Dragon
Koneru, Humpy	- Danielian, Elina	0-1	52	D11	Slav Defence

2011 Montreal Open Chess Championships

Website.  I would be remiss if I did not remind you of this great event that starts on Friday, September 9, 2011 in beautiful Montreal, Quebec.  Goddesschess has underwritten expenses since the 2009 Championnat for female chessplayers of merit to appear and play for the title.  This year WGM Alina L'Ami (ROU 2368) will be appearing.

I'm happy to report that at present there are 179 pre-registered players!  This year, for the first time, there is a separate "A" group that will be FIDE rated.  Goddesschess also provides prizes for the top two chess femmes in Sections B, C and D. 

Can we break a record?  2010's Championnat saw 204 players!  In 2009 there were 191 players! 

We'd also like to see a record number of chess femmes participating.  Thus far, here are the names of pre-registered players:

Group A (besides WGM L'Ami):
Myriam Roy (2102)

Group C:
Nicole Chantale (1172)
Diana Serban (1052)
Alika Utepova (?)

Group D:
Lorraine Dubois (1066)
Marie E. Eduoard (unr?)
Roberta A. Fleurisca (unr?)
Yodeline Francois (unr?)
Lauriane Roussel (954)
Sabina Tinica (unr?)
Alison Tsypin (762)

I will check with the organizers to confirm pre-registered femmes.  I'd love to break a record for female participation this year!

2011 FIDE World Cup

Oh yeah - here's what some of the dudes did:

My man, Morozevich, offered Grischuk a draw in Game 2, accepted with some shock on Grischuk's part, and he's out of the World Cup.  Oh Moro!  Hey, I totally understand.  You play chess like I wish I could, sigh.

The last U.S. player standing, Gata Kamsky, is going to tie-breaks, along with a hell of a lot of other top players.  Holy Hathor!

Round 3 Match 02
Ivanchuk, Vassily (UKR)	0	1								1
Sutovsky, Emil (ISR)	1	0								1
Round 3 Match 03
Zherebukh, Yaroslav (UKR)	½	½								1
Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar (AZE)	½	½								1
Round 3 Match 04
Ponomariov, Ruslan (UKR)	½	½								1
Efimenko, Zahar (UKR)	½	½								1

Round 3 Match 08
Kamsky, Gata (USA)	1	0								1
Nepomniachtchi, Ian (RUS)	0	1								1
Round 3 Match 09
Caruana, Fabiano (ITA)	½	½								1
Svidler, Peter (RUS)	½	½								1

Round 3 Match 11
Potkin, Vladimir (RUS)	½	½								1
Vitiugov, Nikita (RUS)	½	½								1
Round 3 Match 12
Parligras, Mircea-Emilian (ROU)	½	½								1
Nielsen, Peter Heine (DEN)	½	½								1
Round 3 Match 13
Le, Quang Liem (VIE)	½	½								1
Bruzon Batista, Lazaro (CUB)	½	½								1
Round 3 Match 14
Navara, David (CZE)	½	½								1
Moiseenko, Alexander (UKR)	½	½								1

Round 3 Match 16
Dominguez Perez, Leinier (CUB)	1	0								1
Lysyj, Igor (RUS)	0	1								1

So, 20 players are going into tie-breaks tomorrow.  Eek!  Quick, somebody, what the hell is Kamsky's record in rapid chess and faster play-offs?  What is Nepomniachtchi's record? 

Of the 16 pairs going into today's game, only 6 had clear results to advance to Round 4, including the last woman standing, GM Judit Polgar.  GO JUDIT! 

JUDIT POLGAR ADVANCES TO ROUND 4!

OHMYGODDES, call the paramedics, I'm having a heart seizure! 

JUDIT DREW GAME 2 WITH KARJAKIN.  That's all she needed - a draw - in order to advance to Round 4.

Round 3 Match 01
Polgar, Judit (HUN)	1	½								1.5
Karjakin, Sergey (RUS)	0	½								0.5

GO JUDIT GO!

Play through the game at the official website. 

1. e4 e5

2. Nf3 Nc6

3. Bb5 a6

4. Ba4 Nf6

5. O-O Nxe4

6. d4 b5

7. Bb3 d5

8. dxe5 Be6

9. Nbd2 Be7

10. c3 O-O

11. Bc2 f5

12. Nb3 Qd7

13. Nbd4 Nxd4

14. Nxd4 c5

15. Nxe6 Qxe6

16. f3 Ng5

17. a4 Rad8

18. axb5 axb5

19. Ra7 Rd7

20. Rxd7 Qxd7

21. f4 Ne4

22. Bxe4 fxe4

23. f5 d4

24. f6 gxf6

25. Bh6 Rf7

26. cxd4 fxe5

27. Rxf7 Kxf7

28. Qh5+ Kg8

29. dxe5 c4

30. e6 Qa7+

31. Kf1 Qa1+

32. Kf2 Qxb2+

33. Kg3 Qf6

34. Qe8+ Bf8

35. Bxf8 Qg5+

36. Kh3 Qf5+

37. Kh4 Qf4+

38. Kh3 Qf5+

39. g4 Qxf8

40. Qd7 Qf3+

41. Kh4 Qf6+

42. g5 Qf4+

43. Kh5 Qf3+

44. Kh4 Qf4+ 1/2-1/2

2011 FIDE World Cup: Judit's R3, G1 Win Against Karjakin Analyzed

Thanks to The Week in Chess for this, which also contains analyses of three other interesting games from R3, G1:

Judit Polgar won a pawn on the white side of a Berlin and converted it. As she said in the press conference if you make a small mistake in this line it can be fatal.

Polgar,Judit (2699) - Karjakin,Sergey (2788) [C67]
FIDE World Cup 2011 Khanty-Mansiysk RUS (3.1), 03.09.2011

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.0-0 Nxe4 5.d4 Nd6 6.Bxc6 dxc6 7.dxe5 Nf5 8.Qxd8+ Kxd8 9.Nc3 Ke8 10.h3 h5 11.Rd1 Be7 12.Ne4

A rare sideline in the Berlin.

12...Bd7

[12...Be6; 12...Nh4]

13.b3 h4

A very commital decision with all sorts of ramifications. Black restricts white's options to expand on the Kingside but the h-pawn is in danger of being weak and maybe ties to the rook to h8.

14.Bg5

White doesn't fianchetto her bishop.

14...Rd8 15.c4 b6 16.Rd2 Bc8 17.Rxd8+ Kxd8 18.Rd1+ Ke8 19.Bf4 c5

Another commital move, black will have to watch out for a knight landing on d5.

20.e6 Bxe6 21.Bxc7 f6

[21...Rh6]

22.Bb8 a6 23.Ba7 Bd8 24.Nc3

Polgar thought that Karjakin missed this and perhaps collapsed psychologically. She felt that he played far too quickly following this move.

24...Kf7 25.Na4 b5 26.Nxc5 Bc8 27.cxb5 axb5 28.a4 bxa4 29.bxa4 Re8 30.Rb1

White is a pawn up with very good winning chances.

30...g5 31.Bb6 Be7 32.a5 Bxc5 33.Bxc5

Setting up the potential defence of bishops of opposite colour. The fact his pawns are on dark squares however means this defence may be harder the usual to set up.

33...Re6 34.Rb6 Ng7 35.Be3 Nf5 36.Rb8 Re8 37.Ra8 Bb7

This loses quickly but there no longer seems a defence.

[37...Nxe3 38.fxe3 Bf5 39.Rxe8 Kxe8 40.a6 Kd7 41.a7 Be4 42.Nh2 Kc7 43.Ng4 f5 44.Ne5 Kb6 45.Nf7 g4 46.Nd6 just wins.]

38.Ra7 Re7 39.Bc5 Rd7 40.a6 Bc6 41.Rxd7+ Bxd7 42.Nd2 Ke6 43.Nc4 Bc6 44.Nb6 Nd6 45.Bxd6

The simplest, Polgar has it all worked out.

45...Kxd6 46.a7 Kc7 47.a8Q Bxa8 48.Nxa8+ Kb7 49.f4

The black king cannot return in time.

1-0

2011 FIDE World Cup

The American contingent of players has been whittled down further after the play-offs at the end of Round 2:

Round 2 Match 17
Ivanov, Alexander (USA)	½	½	½	0						1.5
Lysyj, Igor (RUS)	½	½	½	1						2.5

Gata Kamsky was through based on his 1.5 score so he had a rest day.  Alexander Onischuk was out after losing Game 2 with the white pieces to David Navara, to go down 0.5/1.5.  Sam Shankland lost Game 2 (also with the white pieces) to Gupta of India, to go down 0.5/1.5.  I will miss his shaggy hair, grizzled beard and sharp dressing :)

So, the only US dude left standing is Kamsky.  Today, he did what he had to do, winning his first game of Round 3 with the white pieces against Ian Nepomniachtchi of Russia.  Thirty-two players are left, including the only female player (the best in the world), Judit Polgar.  She only happened to defeat the highest rated player in the tournament, a day's work for the indomitable Judit!  (Separate post with Judit's R3 game below). 

Judit Rocks Karjakin!

Report and photo from the official website:

The first games of the Round 3 of the World Chess Cup were played on Saturday, September 3 in Khanty-Mansiysk. At this stage the strongest players begin to meet each other. All the remaining participants undoubtedly belong to the world chess elite.

In two games Black faced 1.e4 and selected the super-solid Berlin Defense, which was nicknamed “The Berlin Wall” after the Kramnik-Kasparov match in London, 2000.

The majority of games in this variation indeed ends in a draw, but today the wall was breached: the highest rated player Sergey Karjakin (Russia) fell under pressure of Judit Polgar (Hungary), and Igor Lysyj (Russia) lost to Leinier Dominguez (Cuba). Polgar played an inspired game – carried out the standard e5-e6 break, invaded Black’s queenside with her bishop, and literally traded down the opponent’s soldiers.

Play through the game (Judit had white): 
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. Nc3 Ke8

10. h3 h5

11. Rd1 Be7

12. Ne4 Bd7

13. b3 h4

14. Bg5 Rd8

15. c4 b6

16. Rd2 Bc8

17. Rxd8+ Kxd8

18. Rd1+ Ke8

19. Bf4 c5

20. e6 Bxe6

21. Bxc7 f6

22. Bb8 a6

23. Ba7 Bd8

24. Nc3 Kf7

25. Na4 b5

26. Nxc5 Bc8

27. cxb5 axb5

28. a4 bxa4

29. bxa4 Re8

30. Rb1 g5

31. Bb6 Be7

32. a5 Bxc5

33. Bxc5 Re6

34. Rb6 Ng7

35. Be3 Nf5

36. Rb8 Re8

37. Ra8 Bb7

38. Ra7 Re7

39. Bc5 Rd7

40. a6 Bc6

41. Rxd7+ Bxd7

42. Nd2 Ke6

43. Nc4 Bc6

44. Nb6 Nd6

45. Bxd6 Kxd6

46. a7 Kc7

47. a8Q Bxa8

48. Nxa8+ Kb7

49. f4 1-0

2011 FIDE World Cup

Judit Polgar with the black pieces today defeated Movsesian to advance to the third round.

The USA players results:

Kamsky v. Kasimdzhanov, Kamsky wins with white, advances to third round

Shankland v. Gupta, Shankland loses with white, is knocked out of the event

Onischuk lost with the black pieces, is knocked out of the event

Ivanov v. Lysyj, draw with the black pieces, going to play-off games

2011 FIDE World Cup

Various reports from around the internet:

Chessbase has a report including photos and some games from Round 2, Game 1, including a not too flattering photo of Judit Polgar.  Judit, you need to do some rejuvenation of your look.  You're only 35, you shouldn't be looking 50.

The official website for the 2011 World Cup has interviews of players from Round 1 and 2 available. 

The Week in Chess has ongoing coverage of the World Cup along with some annotated games.

Round 2, Game 1 report at Chessvibes. 

Chessdom also has extensive coverage of the World Cup. 

2011 FIDE World Cup

Quick results R2, Game 1:

USA Players:

Kamsky, black pieces, 0.5

Onischuk, white pieces, 0.5

Ivanov, white pieces, 0.5

Shankland, black pieces, 0.5

Judit Polgar, white pieces, against Sergei Movsesian, 0.5

Updated beginning 7:31 p.m.:

I am really impressed with the contingent of American players.  Although GM Ray Robson is out, he didn't go without a fight!

Round 1 Match 26
Bacrot, Etienne (FRA)	½	½	1	0	1	1				4
Robson, Ray (USA)	½	½	0	1	0	0				2

Already after R1 32 players were deleted! Now 32 remain, and many more will be eliminated without further ado after Game 2 tomorrow. How far can Kamsky go? How far will Shankland go? Bet he's got his own all-female fan club :)

In the 2009 World Cup, Boris Gelfand knocked Judit Polgar out in the Third Round, and Gata Kamsky was knocked out also in Round 3 by Wesley So.

Today's Hottie is GM Sam Shankland, the undisputed star of this photo - nice shirt and tie, too :)

2011 FIDE World Cup

Holy Hathor, Batman!  Sam Shankland advances after offering Leko a draw in their second game today, and Leko goes home!  That's a shockeroo (but not for fans of Shankland).  Well done!

I just took a quick glimpse - this is not a thorough report.  Kamsky and Robson both going to play-offs.  GM Hou Yifan was eliminated after losing her second game to Movsesian, while GM Judit Polgar cruised into the next round with two victories under her belt.

More after work --

Updated beginning at 6:56 p.m.

USA Team: Alexander Ivanov advances 2.0 over Wang Hao (CHN), who was unable to appear due to health problems - Ivanov really caught a break there; Ray Robson is going to play-off with Etienne Bacrot (FRA), tied 1.0 each; Yuri Shulman is going to play-off with Vladimir Potkin (RUS), tied 1.0 each; Alexander Onischuk advances over Ivan Ivanisevic (RUS), 1.5 to 0.5.  Play-offs will be 2 games each played tomorrow.

Today's Hottie:

Commentator Anna Sharevich

2011 FIDE World Cup - Round 1 Results

For this version of the World Cup, which used to be a sort of candidates' tournament to determine the player who would have the right to challenge for the world chess championship title, the ultimate prize has deteriorated to three spots in something-or-other -- I can't keep up with these continual changes but, frankly, it didn't sound all that important to me.  The players who participate in the FIDE events these days are in it for the money, and the top players in the world don't need FIDE to feed their pocketbooks, that is a large reason why they've bowed out.

That being said, there is still a hell of lot of chess - and good chess - being played, by the participants in these FIDE events.  We may even see brilliancy.  That is the lure, of course, to spectators.  Not that I would recognize it, my level of play doesn't allow me to do so, but I do appreciate it when it is reported on by others who know a hell of a lot more about the nuts and bolts of actually playing the game than I do! If you're interested in more than bare result reporting, by all means darlings, do look up other chess websites to read reports and/or discussion on the games:  Our friends include Susan Polgar's blog, Alexandra Kosteniuk's blog, Chessdom, Chess Vibes, and of course, The Week in Chess.  There are many other fine chess sites out on the internet as well. 

Round 1 is complete!  As I learned earlier today, one of the USA's own hotties, GM Sam Shankland, knocked out a venerated GM from Hungary, Peter Leko.  That's like saying Holy Pawn, Batman! some 10,000 times in a row without any time-outs! 

Even more important that Mr. Hunky's success against GM Leko today though, is HOW the ladies did!

GM Fidel Corrales Jimenez (CUB) 0.0 v. GM Judit Polgar (HUN) 1.0
GM Sergei Movsesian (ARM) 1.0 v. GM Hou Yifan (CHN) 0.0


For Team USA:

GM Gata Kamsky (USA) 1.0 v. GM Diego Rafael Di Berardino (BRA) 0.0
GM Alexander Ivanov (USA) 1.0 v. GM Wang Ho (CHN) 0.0 (maybe a default?)
GM Peter Leko (HUN) 0.0 v. GM Samuel S. Shankland (USA) 1.0
GM Etienne Bacrot (FRA) 0.5 v. GM Ray Robson (USA) 0.5
GM Yuri Shulman (USA) 0.5 v. GM Vladimir Potkin (RUS) 0.5
GM Ivan Ivanisevec (SRB) 0.5 v. GM Alexander Onischuk (USA) 0.5

Hope I did not miss any of the USA team.  I took the information above from The Week in Chess. 

Mr. Hottie of the Day:  GM Alexander Morozevich of Russia.  I've been madly in love with this man forever, it seems.  He's sort of an Errol Flynn of chess in his play - a swashbuckler through and through.  You never know what Moro may throw at you (figuratively speaking, of course) on the chess board.  And to think that he nearly retired, oh my!  I'm very happy he decided to re-dedicate himself to our beloved game!  A recently resurgent Moro drew his game today with GM Stelios Halkias (GRE). 

2011 FIDE World Cup

Watch it for fun and Goddess Bless!

Round 1 starts tomorrow (or today, depending on the time zones). This is mostly a dude event which does not interest me unless an American advances into the semi-finals -- not likely to happen (even with GM Gata Kamsky playing) but hey, miracles have been known to occur.  The top players in the world have all bowed out, tsk tsk.  But there are enough hungry GMs available to make an event anyway, and  they will receive a nice paycheck - if the checks don't bounce, ahem.

I will pay attention to see how the few chess femmes do.  GM Judit Polgar, playing for Hungary, has an ELO of 2699 and needs just a squeek to get back into the 2700 club.  Unfortunately, these days, that doesn't mean a whole lot, unless a player is up in the 2750+ range.  GM Polgar comes into the event ranked 33rd on the list of 128 players, and that says something about her incredible endurance as a top level player despite having taken time off to get married and have two children.  You go, Girl!  I'm rooting for Judit all the way!

The only other female player is GM Hou Yifan of China, ranked on the list at the official website at 2575.  Hou is the current women's world chess champion and has been very active in both women-only and mixed events since winning that title in December, 2010.  She is preparing for an upcoming match for the women's title against GM Koneru Humpy of India later this year.

So, let's see how the ladies do.  I will follow them as closely as I can, schedule permitting.

I will try to keep an eye on the US players, this year making up a nice contingent and featuring both seasoned veterans, a few more recent GM-earned titles (five years or younger titles) and some young, fresh bucks:

GM Gata Kamsky (USA 2741), ranked 8th of participants
GM Alexander Onischuk (USA 2675), ranked 51st of participants
GM Yuri Shulman (USA 2617), ranked 86th of participants
GM Ray Robson (USA 2560), ranked 103 of participants.  Ray is the youngest US player to earn a GM title.  He's a cutie and growing so fast his suits aren't keeping up with him.  I would say he's the equivalent of the Justin Bever of chess, but since relatively few girls of certain age follow chess, Ray doesn't have a screaming mad fan base of girls.
GM Samuel L. Shankland (USA 2539), ranked 111th of participants.  Sam Shankland is a hunk. If I were 40 years younger I'd be chasing after him myself, LOL!  He had his ups and downs on the path toward earning that not-so-easy and often elusive GM title and at one point announced to anyone listening that he was going to quit chess, at the ripe old age of 18.  Good thing he changed his mind :)
GM Alexander Ivanov (USA 2538), ranked 112th of participants

Realistically for the American representatives, Kamsky has the best chance to advance, simply by dint of his rating and extensive experience in playing in such events.   But this is a knock-out tournament, and anything can and ususally does happen.

Like the 2010 Chess Olympiad, this event is being held in the wilds of farthest away Russian - in Siberia, maybe even in an old prison camp - Mansky Kamsky.  Okay, that's just what I call it.  It's actually Khanty-Mansiysk.  I prefer Mansky Kamsky, it's easier to remember and it has a certain "ring" to it, if you know what I mean.  And I'm just kidding about the prison camp thing.  Czar for Life Putin made sure it's well hidden and no one without top secret clearance will be allowed anywhere near that area...

Rah rah Judit and Yifan!  Rah rah to the Americans! 

And a shout out to our Canadian friends:

GM Mark Bluvshstein (2611), starting in 89th place
IM Eric Hansen (2449), starting in 124th place.  Eric is one of a relative handful of IMs participating in this momentous event.  Yah, Eric!