2009 US Chess Championship
Two dozen contestants vie for $130,000 in prizes at new venue
The 2009 U. S. Chess Championship is being held, this year for the first time,
in St. Louis, Missouri, at the brand new St.
Louis Chess Club and Scholastic Center. The Chess Center is fully contained
in a completely renovated three-story town house in the central West End, an
area similar to New York’s Tribeca, the streets lined with trees, small
shops and sidewalk cafes.
The Chess Club itself has several stone chess tables on the sidewalk in front
where passers-by or club members can play outdoors. The interior comprises a
street level entry with reception, library, sales of logo shirts and memorabilia,
chess tables and the director’s office. Basement floor has been devoted
to press corps and a large room for analysis presentation by GM Emil Sutovsky
and WGM Jennifer Shahade.
Most importantly the top floor contains the playing area and a VIP reception
room which is also the players’ analysis and relaxation room after completion
of their games. The entire interior of the building has been tastefully, artfully
and professionally decorated in a black and white motif with warm green accents.
There are custom chairs with the Chess Center emblem throughout as well as embossed
cushions. The chess tables were commissioned to be handmade by a young man who,
at 18, last year won the state woodworking completion.
Two spacious kitchenettes are the base for supplying players and press with
drinks and food throughout the afternoon and evening. Of course, the building
is wireless. The luxury host hotel, the Chase Park Plaza, is a short 1½
block walk, faces a large park, contains a full-sized gym, movie theatre, and
the customary restaurants and bars.
The Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis was founded by retired
investment fund manager Rex Sinquefield, opened in July 2008. It is located
at 4657 Maryland Avenue, just east of the intersection of Euclid and Maryland.
Rex Sinquefield, St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay, GMs Gata Kamsky, Yury Shulman
The chess patron and the Mayor at the start of the US Championship 2009
The Center is a not-for-profit, 501(c)3 organization. Membership dues will
be $80 per year for adults, $30 for students or young people under 21 and $120
for families. Monthly and daily memberships also are available. The Center is
open Tuesday through Sunday.
The Championship
The
US Championship dates back to 1845 and this year offers a purse of more than
$130,000 in prize money. The 24 invited players include:
- the top twelve American players by rating
- the top two female players by rating
- the 2008 U.S. Junior Closed Champion
- the 2008 U.S. Open Champion
- the 2009 U.S. State Champion of Champions
- a total of seven wild card spots
The winner of the Championship receives $35,000, with additional cash prizes
awarded to all participants, including $2,000 to the last-place entrant. Cash
prizes are divided equally among tied competitors. Additionally, top youths
from throughout America will be invited to compete. Spectators will be welcome
at the event.
The Championship is a nine-round Swiss, with one round per day and a rest day
between rounds five and six. Time controls are the classical 40 moves in two
hours, with one hour allowed for all remaining moves. Every comfort has been
considered and no cost has been denied nor improvement delayed with the goal
of making this one of the best, if not the best of all, US Championship events.
Players, organisers and arbiters at the US Championship 2009
Both the first and second days of the U.S. Chess Championship saw big upsets,
with teenagers making the biggest buzz. While it's hardly a surprise that No.
1 ranked Gata Kamsky of Brooklyn, N.Y., is undefeated after round two, it's
shocking that one of the two other undefeated players is Robert Hess, a 17-year-old
from New York.
Hess (pictured above) came into the tournament ranked 37th in the United States.
He has defeated grandmasters in both rounds: sixth-ranked Larry Christiansen,
of Cambridge, Mass., on Friday, and seventh-ranked Julio Becerra of Miami, Fla.,
on Saturday.
It is unfortunate that IM Anna Zatonskih, 2008’s Women’s Champion
(shown above in her round one game against Varuzhan Akobian), suddenly became
ill after round two and has been hospitalized. Unfortunately this meant she
was unable to play her round three game and would have had to automatically
forfeit the loss to her opponent without a move being played. But, in a true
act of sportsmanship, GM Gregory Kaidanov of Lexington, Ky., who could easily
have claimed the win by default, magnanimously offered to postpone their match-up
until the official rest day on Friday, when they will both play catch-up on
the day the rest of the field are on a break.
Unfortunately unable to complete the Championship: IM Anna Zatonskih
In the meantime it has become clear that Zatonskih's medical problems, which
are not life threatening, will prevent her from reentering the tournament. Her
third-round match with Kaidanov was declared a forfeit, and Kaidanov was awarded
one point for a victory. Zatonskih will be replaced in the championship by Doug
Eckert, a Saint Louis native now living in central Illinois. Eckert was attending
the championship as an alternate.
Other Round Two winners included Missourian Michael Brooks (picture above).
The 91st-ranked Brooks, from Kansas City, beat 15th-ranked Alexander Shabalov,
a grandmaster from Glendale, Calif.
Alexander Shabalov at the start of his ill-fated game against Michael Brooks
The youngest player in the tournament, Ray Robson, 14, of Largo, Fla., was
victorious over the oldest player, 12th-ranked Boris Gulko, of Fairlawn, N.J.
The big clash of the contenders and rivals in round three was the early top
board pairing of the defending champion, Yury Shulman from Illinois, and the
#1 seed and favorite for the title, Gata Kamsky from Brooklyn. The top two are
on full points and leading the chase for bonus $64,000 Fischer Memorial Prize
for any player with a perfect sweep of 9-0. The prize is in recognition of the
phenomenal feat of the late American world champion Bobby Fischer, who won 11-0
to take the 1963/64 title – the only player in the long and distinguished
history of the U.S. Championship to win with a sweep.
Serious scanner checks before each round – cheerfully endured by GM
Melikset Khachiyan
IM Irina Krush defeated veteran GM Boris Gulko in 54 moves in round three
The atmosphere is becoming tense at the top in the 2009 U.S. Chess Championship.
Five of the country's leading grandmasters share first place at the conclusion
of round four. The top pairings between overnight leaders, #1 seed Gata Kamsky
vs. Josh Friedel, and defending champion Yury Shulman vs. #2 seed Hikaru Nakamura,
ended in epic draws. The top two seeds held the advantage throughout, as they
tried to press for the sole lead in the $135,000 tournament.
Media-savvy GM Varuzhan Akobian of North Hollywood
The impasse at the top allowed Varuzhan Akobian, who played the best game
of the day, to join the leading pack of five at the top with three points in
four games. Akobian, of North Hollywood, Calif., who is ranked No. 8 in the
country, scored a resounding victory over seventh-ranked Julio Becerra, of Miami.
Akobian, 25, is one of a newer generation of media-savvy chess grandmasters
who is adding more personality to the game. Last year, he was the subject of
the MTV Real Life documentary series, "I'm A Genius . . .."
Top US female players, IM Irina Krush, playing GM Melikset Khachiyan in
round four
After the top five, another large pack is just a half-point behind. The list
includes two teenagers, Robert Hess of New York and Sam Shankland of California.
The youngest player in the 24-player field, 14-year-old Ray Robson from Largo,
Fla., moved to within a point of the lead after he defeated 13th-ranked Ildar
Ibraigimov of New Haven, Conn.
Josh Friedel, a native-born American grandmaster, shares first with four
other GMs
After four rounds of play top seed Gata Kamsky is in the lead, with 3.0/4 points
and a 2777 performance. With him at the top of the table are Yuri Schulman (performance
= 2812), Hikaru Nakamura (2763), Josh Friedel, who beat Gregory Kaidanov and
Joel Benjamin (with black), and drawn to Alexander Onischuk and Gata Kamsky,
for a blistering 2836 performance, and Varuzhan Akobian (performance = 2754).
Note that this is the order given in the official
standings table, while ChessBase generates a slightly different standing
due to its built-in tiebreak system.
Standings after four rounds of play
Credits
All information for this report was provided by the official web site, by special
commentator Jennifer Shahade and by Arbiter Carol Jarecki. The pictures were
provided by the official site, by Zeljka Malobabic of MonRoi,
and by Betsy Dynako. We are very grateful
to all parties for their help and commend the professionalism with which these
Championships are being conducted.
Links
The games are being broadcast live on the official web site and a selection
on the chess server Playchess.com.
If you are not a member you can download
the free PGN reader ChessBase Light, which gives you immediate access.
You can also use the program to read, replay and analyse the PGN games. |
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