2013 U.S. Women's Chess Championship: R6

Play resumed today with R6, and the ladies wasted no time (or some of the gents, either, for that matter), mixing things up and adding some exciting possibilities for grand denouements a few rounds from now!  Too tired to cut and paste out of this shot from the live coverage, so here are all of the players' match-ups and results:

Here are the women's standings after R6:

Rank	Name	Score	M/F	Rating	TPR	W-We	1	2	3	4	5	6
1	IM Krush, Irina	5.5	F	2470	2657	+0.95	1	1	1	1	1	½
2	WGM Abrahamyan, Tatev	5.0	F	2280	2555	+2.02	1	1	½	1	½	1
3	IM Zatonskih, Anna	4.5	F	2466	2471	+0.12	1	1	0	1	½	1
4	WIM Zenyuk, Iryna	3.0	F	2243	2255	+0.09	1	0	1	0	½	½
5	WGM Foisor, Sabina	2.5	F	2300	2199	-0.86	0	0	0	1	1	½
6	WGM Baginskaite, Camilla	2.5	F	2278	2226	-0.48	½	0	1	½	½	0
7	WGM Belakovskaia, Anjelina	2.0	F	2263	2188	-0.62	0	1	1	0	0	0
8	WIM Ni, Viktorija	2.0	F	2262	2124	-1.13	½	½	0	0	1	0
9	WFM Kats, Alena	2.0	F	2144	2181	+0.24	0	½	½	½	0	½
10	WFM Chiang, Sarah	1.0	F	2098	2054	-0.33	0	0	0	0	0	1

I'll leave it to the chess pros to analyze Irina Krush drawing Sabina Foisor in 31 moves in their game today when she has Tatev Abrahamyan breathing down her neck.  Abrahamyan, meanwhile, had a long game on her hands with Anjelina Belakovskaia because Anjelina doesn't resign easily (more on this in a few moments).  In the end though, Belakovskaia resigned and Tatev took the full point.  She is now within half a point of Krush.  The round 8 match between Krush and Abrahamyan now looms large but, as Tatev pointed out in her post-game interview with GM Maurice Ashley, she could lose her game tomorrow. 

Tomorrow Tatev plays Sarah Chiang, who scored her first point today, a victory with black against Viktorija Ni.  Anna Zatonskih also had a victory today with the black pieces against Camilla Baginskaite to pull within half a point of second place and one point away from Krush.  Alena Kats' game against Iryna Zenyuk ended in a draw, despite Kats having an earlier large time advantage, but coming up with a winning strategy was not going to be easy according to some commentary I was able to listen to shortly after 4 p.m. while still at the office. 

What I've found most interesting about this championship is what appears to be the total lack of intimidation factor on the part of the newcomers to the championship.  Earlier today, GM Maurice Ashley made a point of talking about the high percentage of decisive games played by the women -- it was in the high 70's percentage wise, higher than the 60's percentage of men's decisive games which he had previously noted as being higher than normal, and particularly noting the fighting spirit and take-no-prisoners attitude of the young players like Sevian and Troff!  He also made a point in earlier commentary (it was either in this past Saturday or Sunday's live online coverage) about how he approved of the Sofia rules in place for the U.S. Championships (no draw before move 30 unless an arbiter agrees it's a drawn position) because implementation of the rule has sent a strong message to the higher-rated players that "grandmaster draws" are frowned upon and will actively be discouraged, and he indicated he had seen a sort of "sea change" in player attitudes toward draws at the top levels of chess as a result of more high-powered tournaments adopting the Sofia rule to discourage quick draws.

But then today he turned around and made what I consider a totally out of line comment during his post-game interview with Tatev Abrahamyan (who defeated Belakovskaia about whether Belakovskaia's continuing to play on after she was "down a major piece and a pawn" instead of resigning was a sign of disrespect!  Of course Tatev refused to answer such a ridiculous question.  Has Ashley forgotten that Belakovskaia is a three-time U.S. Women's Chess Champion?  A player doesn't achieve three national champion titles without having a strong fighting spirit, and he should know all about fighting spirit, after all, as he was the very first black chessplayer in the United States to earn a GM title.

So maybe Belakovskaia could have - should have? - resigned somewhat earlier?  Maybe, but when, then?  Would a majority of players agree as to WHEN she "should have" resigned?  Then, I took a look at her games thus far in this championship, and few of them are 36-move decisive games.  Speaking of which, many of the other players' games aren't either!  What about Kats v. Krush in Round 1, which went 82 moves before Krush received the point?  Also in Round 1, Abrahamyan v. Foisor went 87 moves before Abrahamyan won with white.  In Round 2 Foisor v. Belakovskaia resulted in victor to Belakovskaia in 63 moves.  In Round 4 Baginskaite v. Kats was 79 moves that ended in a draw.  And in R5 Belakovskaia v. Ni lasted 73 moves before Ni won the point.  It's not just one particular player in this Women's Championship who is playing long drawn out games!

So where does GM Ashley get off suggesting that Belakovskaia should have rolled over and played dead long before she resigned in her Round 6 game against Abrahamyan?  Badly done, sir, badly done. 

Here are the pairings for R7:

Table	White	Score	Rating	Black	Score	Rating	Result
1	WIM Zenyuk, Iryna	3.0	2243	WGM Foisor, Sabina	2.5	2300
2	IM Zatonskih, Anna	4.5	2466	WFM Kats, Alena	2.0	2144
3	WGM Belakovskaia, Anjelina	2.0	2263	WGM Baginskaite, Camilla	2.5	2278
4	WFM Chiang, Sarah	1.0	2098	WGM Abrahamyan, Tatev	5.0	2280
5	IM Krush, Irina	5.5	2470	WIM Ni, Viktorija	2.0	2262

2013 U.S. Women's Chess Championship: R5

Hola darlings!

A day off today, unfortunately, feeling decidedly under the weather. Well, that will happen from time to time with my heart condition, but it still fricking sucks!

The plus is that I was able to boot up a laptop and listen to the live coverage, and sometimes managed to watch some of it (exhausting).

But I'm feeling better this evening.  Much to report, no energy though.  So, cutting to the chase, here is the poop scoop at the moment:

Krush defeated Sharah Chiang, as expected, but Chiang made it easier making a blunderous queen move, from c4 to b3 on white's move 29.  Krush goes into the rest day at 5-0.  Kudos to Krush.

It appeared for awhile that Kats was surprising the hell out of Foisor, but with little commentary on the game and my analyzing skills non-existent, can't really tell you anything other than that Kats went down to defeat behind white before making her 42nd move.

Zenyuk-Baginskaite was a peaceful draw. 

Belakovskaia v. Ni is still going on, woo woo!  Neither lady will back down... (...and I won't back down, no, I won't back down. I will stand my ground...)

The marquis game of the day, at least in my eyes, was Zatonskih v. Abrahamyan, which ended in a draw after move 30.  Only in order to satisfy the Sophia rules in force for this tournament.  I can only wonder what Abrahamyan will do in the second half.  Oh, and I was shocked to Hell and back today (not good for my heart, darlings) when I saw that Tatev had cut off her luxorious gorgeous thick dark long hair to a - bob - of all things.  Holy Hathor!  Not to say it's not a flattering cut, but I haven't seen a photo of her front on yet, so I'm reserving judgment.  But - Holy Hathor!  To my mind, this is a totally rad move and can only signal - a rad shift in mind set...

Tatev Abrahamyan (in pale aqua blouse) - check out the new do! 
Well, it's new to me, anyway. 

That draw is significant, BTW.

Update at 6:38 p.m.:

Belakovskaia lost!  She succumbed to Ni after Ni made her 73rd move with the black pieces.  Quite a battle.

Here are the standings after R5:

Rank	Name	Score	M/F	Rating	TPR	W-We	1	2	3	4	5
1	IM Krush, Irina	5.0	F	2470	2982	+1.17	1	1	1	1	1
2	WGM Abrahamyan, Tatev	4.0	F	2280	2526	+1.54	1	1	½	1	½
3	IM Zatonskih, Anna	3.5	F	2466	2427	-0.14	1	1	0	1	½
4	WGM Baginskaite, Camilla	2.5	F	2278	2246	-0.22	½	0	1	½	½
5	WIM Zenyuk, Iryna	2.5	F	2243	2278	+0.23	1	0	1	0	½
6	WGM Foisor, Sabina	2.0	F	2300	2141	-1.08	0	0	0	1	1
7	WGM Belakovskaia, Anjelina	2.0	F	2263	2247	-0.14	0	1	1	0	0
8	WIM Ni, Viktorija	2.0	F	2262	2207	-0.41	½	½	0	0	1
9	WFM Kats, Alena	1.5	F	2144	2169	+0.10	0	½	½	½	0
10	WFM Chiang, Sarah	0.0	F	2098	1605	-1.05	0	0	0	0	0

Abrahamyan's draw today secured her clear second place and crucial hours more than Krush to rest and restore herself, as well as study-up on the remaining opponents. Round 8 is now looming large for Krush and Abrahamyan, as Krush is perfect with 5-0. 

2012 FIDE Women's World Chess Championship

HOLY CAISSA! 
Hou Yifan crashes and burns! Monika Socko, who earned her GM title the traditional way, is knocking off all comers INCLUDING HOU and is on fire, but will these play-off games take a toll? 

Maybe not!!! Irina Krush advanced into R3 after battling through a second straight play-off (she also battled through a play-off in R1), whomping veteran GM Pia Cramling, who also earned her title the traditional way.  Krush was taking no prisoners today.

Some favorites have been eliminated; indeed, if they're betting on this in Las Vegas, the odds have no doubt gone absolutely nut-so after elimination of the favorites (Hou and Koneru, among others).  WOW!  One American is left (Krush) -- Anna Zatonskih battled Ju Wenjun for FOUR play-off games, trying to find a way to advance.  She couldn't.  She goes home bruised and battered, but I hope she feels good about herself.  She fought her heart out!  This sure is turning into one damn interesting Women's World Championship, woo woo!

Results from R2 play-offs.  Players advancing are in bold, Americans in red.

Name	G1	G2	R1	R2	r3	r4	B1	B2	SD	Tot
Round 2 Match 01
Socko, Monika (POL)	0	1	1	1						3
Hou, Yifan (CHN)	1	0	0	0						1
Round 2 Match 03
Ushenina, Anna (UKR)	½	½	1	1						3
Muzychuk, Anna (SLO)	½	½	0	0						1
Round 2 Match 04
Zhao, Xue (CHN)	1	0	1	½						2.5
Khurtsidze, Nino (GEO)	0	1	0	½						1.5
Round 2 Match 06
Kosintseva, Nadezhda (RUS)	½	½	0	1	1	½				3.5
Mkrtchian, Lilit (ARM)	½	½	1	0	0	½				2.5
Round 2 Match 10
Cramling, Pia (SWE)	1	0	0	0						1
Krush, Irina (USA)	0	1	1	1						3
Round 2 Match 15
Zatonskih, Anna (USA)	½	½	½	½	0	0				2
Ju, Wenjun (CHN)	½	½	½	½	1	1				4

Smokin' Hot Krush!

Wowsers!  IM Irina Krush, reigning U.S. Women's Chess Championship, looks fabulous on the 2012 August edition of the USCF's print (and online) magazine, Chess Life:

Nakamura?  Meh.  Looks like a slumped over Willy Loman. Well, a youngish Willy Loman.  Too many St. Louis ribs?  the photographer did not due (pun!) our reigning U.S. Champ any favors by placing his black suit clad bod against black silk covering his chair.  Naka looks er, legless. Okay, I'm not going any further with that. 

This is the "cover" for a grand announcement found at Chessbase online -- all Chess Life mags will now be in full, glorious raging color.  Ta Da! 

Now, we all know, darlings, why Chessbase published this at all.  It's because of that absolutely spectacular photo of Krush!  They always have such a soft spot for gorgeous female chessplayers :)

The Winner of the 2011 Goddesschess Fighting Chess Award Is...

Sabina Foisor!  A full announcement was made at the chess blog of our judge, GM Alexandra Kosteniuk.  Our sincere congratulations to WGM Foisor! 

It was a very tough decision this year because so many of the women played tough uncompromising chess and just never gave up, no matter how "doomed" their games seemed to be.  How many times did Krush, Zatonskih and Abrahamyan pull wins out of seemingly lost positions?  It was just amazing to listen to/watch the games this year.  I even took off work yesterday figuring that I would see the end of the women's competition resolved in the two game match between Zatonskih and Abrahamyan.  I should have known better!

I thought I couldn't see anymore excitement in the women's matches than yesterday.  I was wrong.  Today it was even crazier!  I'm surprised I didn't have heart failure listening to these games and trying to catch snatches of the board action while at the office today!  It came down to the final Armageddon game to decide the 2011 Women's Champion.  Congratulations to IM Anna Zatonskih, who must be exhausted and running only on adrenaline at this point, after playing 19 straight games without a break!  I sincerely hope that Tatev Abrahamyan is not too disappointed.  This is the second year in a row she has finished in second place.  She's been knocking at the door.  Perhaps next year she'll bring a war engine to the Women's Championship and blow that damn door to smithereens. 

We wish there were more than one Fighting Chess Award but, alas, there is only one.  Therefore, in honor of Irina Krush, who greatly impressed with her five-game winning streak and clear first in the preliminary round-robin part of the Championship, and in honor of the never-say-die spirit exemplified in the chess of Tatev Abrahamyan and Anna Zatonskih throughout the entire championship series, we have donated $100 in each of their names to 9Queens. 

Yesterday's play-off action between Zatonskih and Abrahamyan:

Our thanks to our judge, GM Alexandra Kosteniuk, who helped us out despite her busy schedule - indeed, she was playing in tournaments in Russia during most of the U.S. Women's Chess Championship!

Big Think: Irina Krush on Chess

At Big Think, ten women talk about breaking into male-dominated areas of endeavor.

10 Top Women in Male-Dominated Fields
Max Miller on November 3, 2010, 12:00 AM

Despite the strides women have made toward equality in the past 50 years, they remain underrepresented in a variety of professions. Today we salute ten female pioneers in traditionally male-dominated fields:

1. Irina Krush (Chess Master): Unlike most competitive pursuits, chess allows women to compete alongside men, yet a woman has never won a world chess championship. In fact, only one woman, Judit Polgar, has ever cracked the Top 10 in chess's world rankings. Big Think spoke recently with Irina Krush, who at age 14 became the youngest U.S. Women's Champion, and she told us that chess requires masculine characteristics that most women don't naturally have.

"Chess is a very solitary game," she says. "I think women or girls when they were growing up were more social animals; [they] prefer to do things in groups." She also points to traits like competitiveness and analytic thinking, which are crucial for success in chess but are more commonly associated with men. "For a woman to be successful in chess, she basically has to develop in herself more masculine qualities than she would if she was involved in another profession," says Krush.



The short list of qualities that Irina started rattling off as indicative of male chess players dribbled to a stop when she realized that all of those qualities are also embodied in the female of the species, as she then graciously acknowledged. I believe it's just a matter of time and further breaking down the socialization that says females "should not" or "cannot" perform in certain areas of endeavor and we'll have hundreds of Judit Polgars. And dads will have to start taking care of the kids while mom is travelling the tournament circuit.

Chess Femme News

Several photos taken by IM Irina Krush during the Chess Olympiad in Mansky Kamsky were published at Chess Life Online:

Irina Krush's Siberia Photo Gallery
By IM Irina Krush
September 28, 2010

Irina also made the cover of the October, 2010 Chess Life Magazine.  I've got to say, I thought the cover looked - well - strange.  But then I don't know diddly sqat about yoga.  Featuring Krush as the benign(?) aspect of Kali - but with eight arms rather than four...hmmm...  Photo of cover from ebookee.com


At the Huffingtonpost.com (Huffington carries GM Lubomir Kavalek's excellent chess column) Claire Wasserman did an interesting short blog about her involvement in Chess in Schools:

Claire Wasserman
Development Associate at Chess-in-the-Schools
Posted: October 5, 2010 01:47 PM
How to Make Chess Cool (and Other Marketing Conundrums)


The press in Malayasia loves young WIM Irene Kharisma Sukandar - check out the list of articles on WIM Sukandar at the end of the linked article

From the Jakarta Post: SPORTS
Irene closes on men’s chess title, RI team rank plunges

Agnes Winarti, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Tue, 10/05/2010 1:18 PM | Sports

Indonesian Woman Grandmaster Irene Kharisma Sukandar edged closer on Sunday to her goal to win a men’s International Master title, as the 18-year-old university student collected significant points to add to her current 2372 rating at the 39th World Chess Olympiad in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia...

The individual Gold Medal won in the Olympiad by a female Cuban chessplayer, along with the excellent results of the Cuban Women's Chess Team is also big news in her home country.  I don't understand not dating an important article like this but here it is - with no date on it:

Cuba's Yaniet Marrero won Gold Medal at World Chess Olympiad 2010 

WGM Yaniet Marrero

Cuban Women’s Squad: an historic forth place
Las Tunas, Cuba, Oct 4, (P26).- Cuban Grandmaster Yaniet Marrero won Gold Medal in the third board in the World Chess Olympiad 2010, which ended in the Russian city of Khanty-Mansysk.  Marrero gave an excellent performance in the defense of the third board to take first place with 87.5 percent of effectiveness with seven of eight possible points. 

Cuban Women’s Chess Squad Excelled at Chess Olympiad The Cuban women’s squad achieved the forth spot on Sunday at the Chess Olympiad, described by Caribbean specialists as a historic feat, taking into account their 25th place achieved  in the competition  held in Dresden 2008. 

2010 Chess Olympiad - It's Over!

Open - final top 10:

Rk. SNo Team Team Games + = - TB1 TB2 TB3 TB4
1 2 Ukraine UKR 11 8 3 0 19 380,5 31,0 143,00
2 1 Russia 1 RUS1 11 8 2 1 18 379,5 28,0 157,00
3 11 Israel ISR 11 7 3 1 17 367,5 29,0 148,00
4 5 Hungary HUN 11 8 1 2 17 355,5 26,5 157,00
5 3 China CHN 11 7 2 2 16 362,0 29,0 147,00
6 4 Russia 2 RUS2 11 8 0 3 16 355,0 29,5 144,00
7 6 Armenia ARM 11 7 2 2 16 345,0 27,0 147,00
8 16 Spain ESP 11 7 2 2 16 332,0 28,5 137,00
9 9 United States of America USA 11 7 2 2 16 315,5 27,0 141,00
10 10 France FRA 11 6 4 1 16 311,5 25,0 149,00

Ivanchuk on Board 1 was incredible for Ukraine (8.0/10 points, with 1 draw and 1 loss), as was Board #4 Efimenko (8.5/11 with no losses)!  Both players will add double digits to their ELOs.  Well done!

Team Hungary - one can only ask "what if" - Leko had performed up to his rating - in this Olympiad, he did not, with 4.5/10 including two losses.  Judit Polgar also had 2 losses, but she still garnered 6.0/10 and a PR of 2703, above her ELO of 2682.  The star of the Hungarian team was GM Zoltan Almasi on Board 2 who will add about 12 points to his ELO.  Well done! 

Team USA - Kamsky played well, the others were - disappointing (except for youngster and Olympiad rookie Hess, who didn't have much opportunity to play). 

A great medal for Team Israel, who came in ranked 11th.  As for Russia 1, well, they should have medaled - good thing for them they did.  One can only imagine what Putin would have done if they did not - is there anyone left to fire in the whole of Mother Russia?

And the ladies - here are the top 10 final:

Rk. SNo Team Team Games + = - TB1 TB2 TB3 TB4
1 1 Russia 1 RUS1 11 11 0 0 22 439,5 34,0 147,00
2 2 China CHN 11 9 0 2 18 386,5 31,5 146,00
3 4 Georgia GEO 11 7 2 2 16 384,0 29,0 155,00
4 18 Cuba CUB 11 8 0 3 16 348,5 30,0 136,00
5 6 United States of America USA 11 7 2 2 16 336,5 28,5 140,00
6 10 Poland POL 11 7 2 2 16 336,0 29,5 132,00
7 26 Azerbaijan AZE 11 8 0 3 16 320,0 28,0 136,00
8 12 Bulgaria BUL 11 7 2 2 16 296,5 24,5 147,00
9 3 Ukraine UKR 11 7 1 3 15 366,5 28,5 156,00
10 5 Russia 2 RUS2 11 6 3 2 15 335,5 26,5 152,00

China and Georgia battled back (some news accounts had writtten off both teams in earlier rounds after some match losses) to earn well-deserved medals. Well done, Ladies. Cuba and particularly Azerbaijan are pleasant surprises in the top 10 relative to their start positions.  Both of those teams should be very proud of the way they played.

In the final round, Russia 1 played Russia 2. :

Bo. 5 Russia 2 (RUS2) Rtg - 1 Russia 1 (RUS1) Rtg 1½:2½ 1.1 WGM Pogonina Natalija 2491 - GM Kosintseva Tatiana 2573 ½ - ½
1.2 WGM Girya Olga 2414 - GM Kosteniuk Alexandra 2524 ½ - ½
1.3 IM Bodnaruk Anastasia 2399 - IM Galliamova Alisa 2482 ½ - ½
1.4 WGM Kashlinskaya Alina 2358 - WGM Gunina Valentina 2465 0 - 1

I guess Gunina didn't get the memo. Will Putin banish her to Mansky Kamsky for not drawing her final game against a much lower rated player, hmmm???

USA Women met Indian Women in the final round:

Round 11 on 2010/10/03 at 11:00
Bo. 6 United States of America (USA) Rtg - 8 India (IND) Rtg 2½:1½
5.1 IM Krush Irina 2490 - IM Harika Dronavalli 2515 ½ - ½
5.2 IM Zatonskih Anna 2480 - IM Tania Sachdev 2382 ½ - ½
5.3 WFM Abrahamyan Tatev 2352 - IM Karavade Eesha 2365 1 - 0
5.4 WGM Baginskaite Kamile 2328 - WGM Meenakshi Subbaraman 2336 ½ - ½

The match loss by India dropped the team out of the top 10 to 17th place, which must be a bitter disappointment for a team that started ranked 8th. I wish USA and India had been able to play other teams, because I like both teams very much.

As this is a USA-oriented blog, here are the individual totals for the USA Women's Team:

5. United States of America (USA / RtgAvg:2413, Captain: Khodarkovsky, Michael / TB1: 16 / TB2: 336,5)
Bo. Name Rtg FED 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Pts. Games Rp w we w-we K rtg+/-
1 IM Krush Irina 2490 USA 1 1 1 1 ½ 0 ½ ½ 0 1 ½ 7,0 11 2494 7 6,55 0,45 10 4,5
2 IM Zatonskih Anna 2480 USA 1 ½ 0 ½ 1 1 ½ ½ 1 ½ 6,5 10 2454 6,5 6,72 -0,22 10 -2,2
3 WFM Abrahamyan Tatev 2352 USA 1 1 0 1 0 ½ 0 ½ 1 1 6,0 10 2358 6 5,82 0,18 15 2,7
4 WGM Baginskaite Kamile 2328 USA 1 ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 1 ½ 6,0 8 2354 6 5,48 0,52 15 7,8
5 WGM Foisor Sabina-Francesca 2293 USA 1 ½ 1 ½ 0 3,0 5 2279 3 2,85 0,15 15 2,3

It was, perhaps, fitting, that Abrahamyan had the decisive game in the final round.  She often pushes the envelope and sometimes goes over the edge, resulting in a ZERO where another player would play for a draw - one has only to look at her game line in this Olympiad.  She earned 6.0/10 on Board 3 despite 3 losses!  Abrahamyan has won two Goddesschess Fighting Chess Award prizes for her performances at U.S. Women's Chess Championship.  A leopard cannot change her spots.  Do she and Nakamura date?  Just saying - chesswise - they seem a perfect match...

Irina Krush was a rock-solid Board 1 and had no games off.  Zatonskih disappointed, although her game did seem to pick up a bit in the second half of the Olympiad.  Baginskaite delivered, as she has in many past Olympiads for the American women.  She played 8 games on Board 4 and garnered 6.0, with no losses. 

Women playing on Open teams:

GM Judit Polgar - see above (Team Hungary).

GM Victoria Cmilyte, Lithuania, Board 3:
Cmilyte had a sub-par performance, with 5.0/9 including 3 losses, but she did win her game in R11.  Her performance rating of 2424 is quite a bit below her ELO of 2513.

GM Zhu Chen, Qatar, Board 3:
Zhu Chen garnered 7.0/11 (1 loss but 6 draws).  Her performance rating of 2366 is well below her ELO of 2480.

GM Keti Arakhamia-Grant, Scotland, Board 2:
5.5/10, with 3 wins, 2 losses, and 5 draws.  Her performance rating was 2395.  Her ELO is 2451.

WIM Fiona Steil-Antoni, Luxembourg, Board 5:
Finished her Olympiad appearance with a draw (her team won 3.0/1.0 against Wales).  Her score was 5.0/8 (3 wins, 3 draws and 1 loss) for a PR of 2014, below her ELO of 2152. 

Canadian Women, disappointed by their 67th place finish (started at 58th), despite fine performances by Boards 1 and 2:

67. Canada (CAN / RtgAvg:2054, Captain: Shi, Shao Min / TB1: 10 / TB2: 217)
Bo. Name Rtg FED 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Pts. Games Rp w we w-we K rtg+/-
1 WIM Yuan Yuanling 2189 CAN 1 0 1 ½ 1 0 1 1 1 1 0 7,5 11 2271 6,5 4,43 2,07 15 31,0
2 WIM Kagramanov Dina 2086 CAN 1 1 1 0 1 0 ½ 0 1 5,5 9 2111 4,5 3,50 1,00 15 15,0
3 Lacau-Rodean Iulia 2024 CAN ½ ½ 0 1 0 0 1 ½ 0 3,5 9 1908 3 3,32 -0,32 15 -4,8
4 Orlova Yelizaveta 1917 CAN 1 1 0 ½ 1 0 0 0 3,5 8 1915 2,5 2,18 0,32 15 4,8
5 Kagramanov Dalia 1866 CAN 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 3,0 7 1810 2 2,21 -0,21 15 -3,2

Who won individual medals for board performances? Info from the official website:

Board 1
Rk. Name Rtg Team % Pts Rc Rp
1 GM Kosintseva Tatiana 2573 Russia 1 70 7/10 2479 2628
2 WGM Mamedjarova Zeinab 2234 Azerbaijan 81.8 9/11 2361 2623
3 GM Hou Yifan 2578 China 72.7 8/11 2398 2573

Board 2
Rk. Name Rtg Team % Pts Rc Rp
1 IM Kosintseva Nadezhda 2565 Russia 1 85 8.5/10 2366 2662
2 WGM Ju Wenjun 2516 China 86.4 9.5/11 2327 2636
3 WIM Pham Le Thao Nguyen 2304 Vietnam 85 8.5/10 2185 2481

Board 3
Rk. Name Rtg Team % Pts Rc Rp
1 WGM Marrero Lopez Yaniet 2324 Cuba 87.5 7/8 2175 2511
2 IM Melia Salome 2439 Georgia 70 7/10 2309 2458 (a personal favorite player)
3 WGM Berzina Ilze 2283 Latvia 81.8 9/11 2188 2450

Board 4
Rk. Name Rtg Team % Pts Rc Rp
1 IM Gaponenko Inna 2469 Ukraine 93.8 7.5/8 2247 2691
2 IM Bodnaruk Anastasia 2399 Russia 2 87.5 7/8 2233 2569
3 WIM Vasiliev Olga 2293 Israel 77.8 7/9 2159 2379

Board 5
Rk. Name Rtg Team % Pts Rc Rp
1 IM Muzychuk Mariya 2464 Ukraine 72.2 6.5/9 2265 2431
2 WGM Kashlinskaya Alina 2358 Russia 2 61.1 5.5/9 2247 2327
3 IM Khotenashvili Bela 2464 Georgia 62.5 5/8 2194 2289

Open Section medals:

Board 1
Rk. Name Rtg Team % Pts Rc Rp
1 GM Ivanchuk Vassily 2754 Ukraine 80 8/10 2650 2890 (a personal favorite player)
2 GM Aronian Levon 2783 Armenia 75 7.5/10 2695 2888
3 GM Nepomniachtchi Ian 2706 Russia 2 72.2 6.5/9 2655 2821

Board 2
Rk. Name Rtg Team % Pts Rc Rp
1 GM Sutovsky Emil 2665 Israel 81.3 6.5/8 2644 2895
2 GM Almasi Zoltan 2707 Hungary 70 7/10 2652 2801
3 GM Wang Hao 2724 China 75 7.5/10 2590 2783

Board 3
Rk. Name Rtg Team % Pts Rc Rp
1 GM Teterev Vitaly 2511 Belarus 87.5 7/8 2517 2853
2 GM Eljanov Pavel 2761 Ukraine 70 7/10 2588 2737
3 GM Rublevsky Sergei 2683 Russia 3 72.7 8/11 2552 2727
4 GM Polgar Judit 2682 Hungary 60 6/10 2631 2703 (a personal favorite player)
(honorable mention for Polgar)

Board 4
Rk. Name Rtg Team % Pts Rc Rp
1 GM Karjakin Sergey 2747 Russia 1 80 8/10 2619 2859
2 GM Efimenko Zahar 2683 Ukraine 77.3 8.5/11 2572 2783
3 GM Giri Anish 2677 Netherlands 72.7 8/11 2555 2730

Board 5
Rk. Name Rtg Team % Pts Rc Rp
1 GM Feller Sebastien 2649 France 66.7 6/9 2583 2708
2 GM Bartel Mateusz 2599 Poland 77.8 7/9 2486 2706
3 GM Babula Vlastimil 2515 Czech Republic 77.8 7/9 2448 2668

Two New U.S. Chess Champions, Two Diverging Paths

From Gambit, The New York Time's chess blog by Dylan Loeb McClain
Published: July 24, 2010

(Excerpted)
The two newest United States champions have very different future plans.

On Monday [July 19], Irina Krush, 26, won the women’s championship for the third time, earning $16,000, her biggest payday. Krush said of her prospects of earning a living as a professional player, “I am actually at the stage where I am going to get into it more than ever.”

Samuel Shankland, 18, who won the junior championship in a playoff on Tuesday [July 20], plans to quit playing professionally for the time being, and perhaps for good. He is beginning studies at Brandeis University in Boston in the fall. “I’m going to go down the other road and see where it goes,” he said.

Krush, who also won in 1998 and 2007, finished a half-point ahead of Anna Zatonskih, the 2006, 2008 and 2009 champion, and Tatev Abrahamyan. The rivalry between Krush and Zatonskih has become quite intense, partly because of the playoff between the two that decided the 2008 title. Krush said of the rivalry, “There is nothing too friendly about it.” But she added that they were on speaking terms. “It is important to me that things are cordial,” she said.

Krush said that she had worked hard over the last 18 months with her coach, Giorgi Kacheishvili, and that the work was bearing fruit. “I am trying to play more dynamic chess,” she said. Krush, an international master, said her immediate goal was to become a grandmaster — she already has one of the three norms needed for the title.

For Shankland, who is also an international master, the obstacles to becoming a grandmaster are one reason he is quitting. He has two norms, but said he had two other tournament performances that would have been norms, except for technical issues. He said of becoming a grandmaster, “Everybody says it is not supposed to be easy, which is fine by me. But it is supposed to be fair.”

Not being a grandmaster has hurt him financially. Shankland estimated that he has earned one-third less than he would have if he had the higher title.

Though Shankland’s victory qualifies him for the world junior championship, which begins Aug. 2 in Poland, he said he was not going. “I’m not turning my life upside down on such short notice,” he said.

2010 U.S. Chess Championship

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...

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

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. 


A few other players, including IM Irina Krush and her quest for her second GM norm, were mentioned in today's article at Chess Life Online by FM Mike Klein, who has been providing excellent reports throughout the tournament.  According to Klein, Krush needs to score 1 point in her final 2 games - so they're only playing 9 games, not 10?  Whatever.  As Christiansen said, "the real tournament is over."  Personally, it doesn't much matter to me what dude wins the Men's Championship since Krush doesn't have a chance at the title, but I am rooting for her to get that second GM norm.

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

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.

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.

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.

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...

SPICE Spring Invitational

IM Irina Krush is back at SPICE!  She is the lone woman playing in this exciting event, and she is gunning for a second GM norm.  To earn it, she will need to score 6.0 in 9 rounds - a tall order.  I am rooting for her.  Good luck to Irina. 

Round 1 action begins this afternoon.  Susan Polgar's blog and Monroi.com will be providing coverage. (Hmmm, as of the time of making this post, I could not find any link to coverage of the SPICE Spring Invitational at the Monroi website).  Here are the match-ups for Round 1:

2:00 pm - 6:30 pm Round 1 (FIDE ratings listed)
IM Krush (2461) - GM Finegold (2534)
IM Antal (2511) - FM Yang (2378)
IM Kuljasevic (2552) - GM Kraai (2508)
FM Hansen (2415) - IM Ippolito (2466)
IM Papp (2542) - GM Becerra (2538)

2009 Canadian Open Chess Championship

Final standings at Monroi - corrected 7/20/09 (203 players) Winner: GM Mark Bluvshtein 2598 7.5 (won on tie-breaks) 1 GM Mark Bluvshtein 2598 7.5 2 IM Edward Porper 2510 7.5 3 GM Alexei Shirov 2748 7.0 4 GM Michael Adams 2699 7.0 5 GM Eugene Perelshteyn 2588 7.0 6 IM Irina Krush 2481 7.0 14 GM Xue Zhao (Zhao Xue) 2544 31 WFM Dina Kagramanov 2140 6.0 35 WIM Alisa Melekhina 2315 5.5 73 Dalia Kagramanov 1941 5.0 98 Gabrielle Nadeau 1912 4.5 115 Nicka Kalaydina 1879 4.0 120 Jasmine Du 1810 4.0 202 Leah Green 1298 0.5 Our friend, Wayne Mendryk (CAN 1440), finished in 161st place with 3.5. A comment received under Round 7 pointed out that I left off GM Zhao Xue - oops! Thanks for the tip. Anonymous, I added her here in the final standings.

2009 Canadian Open Chess Championship

Chess femme standings after Round 7 - 2 more rounds to go! Top female wins $550. Places 1 through 4 tied with 6.0 (all chess dudes) Our friend, Wayne Mendryk (CAN 1440), is also playing. He is currently in 145th place with 3.0. There are 202 players. Apologies to any chess femmes I may have omitted from the standings: 14 IM Irina Krush 2481 5.5 23 WIM Alisa Melekhina 2315 5.0 61 Dalia Kagramanov 1941 4.0 62 WFM Dina Kagramanov 2140 4.0 74 Jasmine Du 1810 4.0 96 Gabrielle Nadeau 1912 3.5 202 Leah Green 1298 0.5