GMs Kamsky and Krush: please return your crowns!

by ChessBase
5/8/2014 – The 2014 US Championship and the US Women's Championship begin today at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis. At the opening ceremony the reigning champions Gata Kamsky and Irina Krush will try to regain their titles and a lion's share of the $172,000 prize fund. The competition is twelve male and ten female players. Watch it live with GM commentary.

ChessBase 17 - Mega package - Edition 2024 ChessBase 17 - Mega package - Edition 2024

It is the program of choice for anyone who loves the game and wants to know more about it. Start your personal success story with ChessBase and enjoy the game even more.

More...

For the sixth consecutive year, the best chess players in the U.S. will gather in Saint Louis to fight for the title of U.S. Champion and U.S. Women’s Champion.

GM Gata Kamsky will defend his title at the 2014 U.S. Championship while recently anointed grandmaster Irina Krush will look for her sixth title at the 2014 U.S. Women’s Championship. The events will be held simultaneously May 7 through May 20 at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis (CCSCSL). On the official tournament site By Brian Jerauld writes:

Grandmasters Gata Kamsky and Irina Krush: please return your crowns! Time expired on both champions’ reign over the nation Wednesday night in Saint Louis, with the opening ceremonies of the 2014 U.S. Championship and U.S. Women’s Championship ringing the bell for a new round of challengers to the national title. To earn his crown back – and the lion’s share of $172,000 in prizes – Kamsky will need to beat out eleven of America’s top grandmasters, including U.S. Open winner Josh Friedel and wildcard Mackenzie Molner; while Krush will be up against nine of the nation’s best females, including 13-year-old Ashritha Eswaran, for the U.S Women’s Championship.

Both tournaments begin Thursday afternoon at 1 p.m., with every move broadcast live and discussed by the powerful commentary team of GMs Yasser Seirawan, WGM Jennifer Shahade (photo above) and Maurice Ashley on the official web site. Local viewers may enjoy live commentary by GMs Ben Finegold and Robert Hess. Entry to the event is free for annual members of the Chess Club but costs just $10 per day for non-members.

2014 U.S. Championship Prize Fund

Place Prize   Place Prize
1st $45,000   7th $9,000
2nd $30,000   8th $8,000
3rd $20,000   9th $7,000
4th $15,000   10th $6,000
5th $12,000   11th $5,000
6th $10,000   12th $4,000

Best Game Prize: $1,000 – Total Prize Fund: $172,000

The 2014 U.S. Championship will offer a $64,000 “Fischer prize” to any player in the U.S. Championship who runs the table with all victories. The prize honors the 50th anniversary of the American legend accomplishing such a feat with a 11-0 score in the 1963-64 U.S. Championship. It has never been repeated.

Wednesday’s opening ceremonies were held at the World Chess Hall of Fame, which sits directly across the street from the venue for the tournaments, the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis. The event featured the drawing of lots to determine pairings and colors for both round-robin tournaments. Here are the pairings for Wednesday’s first round, highlighted by an instant clash between top-seeded Kamsky and number two seed Timur Gareev.

Men: Pairings round 1

White Rtng Result Black Rtng
GM Molner, Mackenzie 2522   GM Onischuk, Alexander 2668
GM Akobian, Varuzhan 2643   IM Naroditsky, Daniel 2543
GM Friedel, Joshua E 2505   GM Lenderman, Aleksandr 2582
GM Gareev, Timur 2653   GM Kamsky, Gata 2713
GM Ramirez, Alejandro 2595   GM Shankland, Samuel L 2634
GM Robson, Ray 2631   GM Erenburg, Sergey 2633

Women: Pairings round 1

White Rtng Result Black Rtng
WGM Nemcova, Katerina 2282   GM Krush, Irina 2489
CM Zenyuk, Iryna 2249   IM Zatonskih, Anna 2469
WGM Abrahamyan, Tatev 2366   FM Melekhina, Alisa 2151
WGM Foisor, Sabina-F. 2238   WGM Baginskaite, Camilla 2267
WIM Ni, Viktorija 2206   NM Eswaran, Ashritha 1979

Schedule


Links

The games are being broadcast live on the official web site and on the chess server Playchess.com. If you are not a member you can download a free Playchess client there and get immediate access. You can also use ChessBase 12 or any of our Fritz compatible chess programs.

Reports about chess: tournaments, championships, portraits, interviews, World Championships, product launches and more.

Discuss

Rules for reader comments

 
 

Not registered yet? Register