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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.
| 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.
| 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 |
| 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 |
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