Aronian and Lee clinch American Cup titles!

Aronian beats So, finishes undefeated

Before reaching the Grand Final, Levon Aronian got the better of Sam Sevian, Fabiano Caruana and Ray Robson. In the deciding match, he faced the winner of the Elimination Bracket, Wesley So, who had been defeated by Robson last Friday, in the semifinals of the Champions Bracket. So then beat Sevian and Caruana to gain the right to face Aronian.

Navigating the Ruy Lopez Vol.1-3

The Ruy Lopez is one of the oldest openings which continues to enjoy high popularity from club level to the absolute world top. In this video series, American super GM Fabiano Caruana, talking to IM Oliver Reeh, presents a complete repertoire for White.

In the Grand Final, three draws were followed by a win with black for Aronian (see analysis of the game below), who did not lose a single game throughout the whole event. Aronian had reached the Grand Final in the first edition of the American Cup back in 2022, while he made it to the Elimination Bracket final last year.

For his efforts, Aronian took home the US$ 90,000 first prize.

Levon Aronian | Photo: Crystal Fuller

All games - Champions Bracket

Women’s: Lee wins in thrilling blitz playoff

While Aronian’s victory was quite smooth, the Grand Finals in the women’s section featured two hard-fought matches between two players who came from facing each other five times in the three editions of the event. Irina Krush had beaten Alice Lee in all of those matches, including the two pairs of Grand Finals in 2022 and 2023.

Attacking with the Jobava London System

The Jobava London System is a minor form of the London System. White tries to play Lf4 quickly followed by Nc3.

Once again, Krush arrived in the deciding stage after winning the Champions Bracket, but this time around her 14-year-old opponent managed to stop the streak, as she won back-to-back matches on Wednesday and Thursday to claim overall victory.

Lee has climbed to world number nine in the girls’ live rating list (for players aged 20 or younger). Only Li Miaoyi is younger than Lee among the top 20 in this list.

Winning the tournament granted Lee a US$ 40,000 monetary prize.

Lee, Alice2356

1–0

Krush, Irina2421

American Cup Women Champions 2024 Saint Louis20.03.2024[Schulz,A]

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 e5 4.Nc3 d6 5.e4 Nbd7 6.Nge2 g6 7.Ng3 h5 Following in Larsen's footsteps. 7...a6 8.Be2 h5 9.h4 Bh6 10.Bxh6 Rxh6 11.Qd2 Rh8 12.Nf1 Qe7 13.Ne3 Nb6 14.f3 Bd7 ½-½ Forintos,G-Larsen,B Europe-Echecs-03 Le Havre GM 1966 (4) 8.Bd3 h4 9.Nge2 Bh6 Exchanges the "bad" bishop. 10.Bxh6 Rxh6 11.Qd2 Rh8 12.a3 Kf8

13.0-0-0 Lee wants to attack on the kingside. Kg7 14.g3 With the idea of opening lines, but White is somewhat unprepared and Black can successfully disrupt the position. a6 15.f4 Ng4 Thretening to gain an exchange. 16.Rdf1 hxg3 17.hxg3 Ndf6 18.Kb1 Bd7 18...Nh2! 19.f5 Rb8 20.a4 Nh2 21.Rd1

21...Nf3 21...Nfg4! 22.Nc1 Qf6 23.Qe2 gxf5 24.exf5 Bxf5 and Black has the advantage. 22.Qc1 Ng4 23.Rxh8 Qxh8 24.Rh1 Qd8?! Better was 24...Nfh2 and White can try 25.Nf4 Nf2 25...exf4 26.Qxf4 with good play for the piece. 26.Ne6+ Bxe6 27.dxe6 Nxh1 28.Qxh1 fxe6 29.Qd1 exf5 with an advantage for Black. 25.Ng1 Nxg1 26.Rxg1 Qf6 The game is now about to start. 27.Rf1 Rh8 28.Be2 Nh6 29.g4 g5 30.Bd1 Ng8 31.Qe3

31...Qh6?! The critical point. Here the game tips in White's favour. 31...Rh4 32.Ne2 32.Rg1 Qh6= 32...Qh6 33.Ng3 Nf6 32.Ne2 b5 33.Ng3 f6 33...Nf6 34.Rh1+- 34.axb5 axb5 35.Qa3 Less precise was 35.Rh1 Qxh1 36.Nxh1 Rxh1 37.Kc1 b4= 35...Kf7 36.Qa7 Ke7 37.Rh1 Stronger was 37.cxb5 Qh4 38.Rh1+- 37...Qxh1 38.Nxh1 Rxh1

39.cxb5 Not 39.Kc2? b4 and White's task is much more difficult. 39...Rxd1+ 40.Ka2 Rd4 41.b6 The game is now decided. Rxe4 42.b7 Rb4 43.b8Q Rxb8 44.Qxb8 Nh6 45.b4 cxb4 46.Qxb4 Nf7 47.Kb3 Be8 48.Qb8 Bd7 49.Qc7 Ke8 50.Kb4 Ke7 51.Ka5 Ke8 52.Kb6 Ke7 53.Qc4 Be8 54.Kc7 Bd7 55.Qb4 Be8 56.Qb7 Bd7 57.Qb8 e4 58.Qb4 Be8 59.Qxe4+ Ne5 60.Qb4 Nf7 61.Qb8 Bd7 62.Qa8 Ne5 63.Qd8+ Kf7 64.Qxd7+ 1–0

An epic confrontation — Alice Lee v. Irina Krush | Photo: Lennart Ootes

Alice Lee next to tournament sponsor Rex Sinquefield | Photo: Crystal Fuller

All games - Champions Bracket

Links

• Official site
• Fabiano Caruana wins American Cup! (2022)
• Hikaru Nakamura wins the American Cup (2023)