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Nearly $200,000 is up for grabs between the 12 players at the 2018 U.S. Championships, of which $50,000 goes to the winner. In the women's championship, the prize fund is half the amount, but still a sizeable $100,000 in total, with $25,000 for the new champion. By comparison, the new European champion among women, Valentina Gunina, will receive 11,000 euros (around $13,600) and she to prevail against a much stronger field.
With the new World Championship challenger Fabiano Caruana, Hikaru Nakamura and Wesley So, there are three absolutely world-class players in the Open Championship. Awonder Liang, just 15 years old, belongs to the next generation of strong US players.
Behind the chess boom in the USA is the multimillionaire Rex Sinquefield, who founded the Chess Club & Scholastic Center in 2007 and has since invested huge sums in US chess as a patron. The national championships have been held in Saint Louis for ten years now organizing team at the CCSCSL now operates like a well-oiled machine. One clear sign is the top-notch live commentary webcasts that have become routine in these top US events.
Replay live commentary of Round 1 | CCSCSL on YouTube
The returning U.S. Champion Wesley So got off to the best possible start, winning with black against Yaroslav Zherebukh. In a Sicilian with 3.Bb5+, So, kept the minor pieces on the board with 3...Nd7, and Zherebukh played the very tame 4.Ba4, relocating the bishop without being asked. The players eventually followed a recent game Boruchovsky vs Yilmaz from last month's European Individual Championship through move 11.
The players manoeuvred for the next 15 moves, but So played both a bit better and a bit faster until this critical position was reached:
Here So gained a clear edge with 26...Nc2. It was imperative for Zherebukh to have played 26.Ra2 — not to control the c2-square, but simply to get the rook off of a1, so that Nc2 fails simply to Bxa7. With the rook on a1, after Nc2 White was forced to play 27.Bxa7 Nxb4 28.Rb1 and Black went up a pawn with a clearly better position to boot: 28...Nxd3 29.Rxb5 Bc6 30.Rb1 Ra8. So converted with ease.
The Rossolimo Variation of the Sicilian Defence (1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5) is always an excellent choice with White if you want to avoid the deeply analysed main lines of the Open Sicilian. Alexei Shirov provides you with the requisite understanding of the opening's subtleties, by annotating extensively his most important games in this variation. During his career, he has played the 3.Bb5 system with both colours and he shares with you on this DVD his valuable experience.
Wesley So
In the game between Alexander Onischuk and Varuzhan Akobian, Black interpreted the Dutch Stonewall variation in a very dynamic way. The game developed very slowly, and in the lively contest that followed, Onischuk grabbed an exchange, but Akobian had full compensation. In the end, Black's advanced d-pawn decided the game:
White could keep fighting with 25.f3 deflecting the bishop 25...Bxf3 26.Rd7 when everything is kept under control for the moment. E.g. 26...Re8 27.Kf2. But 25.Re2? d1(Q) just left Akobian up a full piece, and Onischuk resigned.
The Dutch Stonewall - A fighting repertoire against 1.d4
In the Dutch Stonewall Black from the very first move fights for the initiative. Let Erwin l'Ami take you on a fascinating journey to the depth and attractions of this unique opening. At the end you will be rewarded with a new repertoire against 1.d4!
Oniskuk and Akobian | Photo: Lennart Ootes
After the game, Akobian noted that this was actually his first win in a classical game against Onischuk! Akobian has participated in many US Championships but has never won. He was runner-up in 2014, when he lost a playoff to Gata Kamsky.
Onischuk has been US Champion in 2006, and on Tuesday was inducted into the US Chess Hall of Fame across the street from the Chess Club.
Today Onischuk is primarily a full-time coach at Texas Tech University | Photo: Austin Fuller
Youngster Awonder Liang got off to a good start with a draw against Fabiano Caruana. Liang kept the game in calm waters and scored half a point against the 2800 World Championship challenger.
A practical repertoire against the scotch
On this 60 Minutes renowned and successful coach Adrian Mikhalchishin gives simple practical tips how to neutralize and counter the Scotch.
The women's championship held parallel also saw two decisive games in the opening round. Nazi Paikidze win against Jennifer Yu with black in the first decisive game of either Championship.
White had already spent over an hour on her clock by this point and here played 12.g4, but was already on the back foot after 12...Nxf2! winning the exchange. White was suffering throughout the game with her king in the centre. Paikidze played energetically and forced resignation on move 30.
In the duel of the teenagers, Annie Wang defeated Maggie Feng. Wang outplayed Feng in a double-rook endgame. The key moment was on move 34.
Chess Endgames 13 - Double rook endings
Double rook endings occur frequently and are different from single rook endings in several respects.
At first glance, the connected passed pawns for Black look like they should give her an edge in this ending, but the activity of White's rooks and Black's weak king is actually more significant. Black really should try 35...c5 giving up a pawn to swap off a pair of rooks. After 34...R6b5 35.Rc7 followed by Ree7 gave Wang a strong attack. To defend her king, Feng ended up being forced to give up both her passed pawns leaving her with a hopeless position.
The women play just across the hall from the men | Photo: Austin Fuller
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Translation and additional reporting: Macauley Peterson
