U.S. Chess Champ Hikaru Nakamura: I'll Have Another
By GM Lubomir Kavalek
They fought gallantly and when it was over on Saturday afternoon, the horse,
I'll Have Another, and the chessplayer, Hikaru Nakamura, 24, were declared winners
almost at the same time. The comparison between the Preakness Stakes horse race
held in Baltimore, Maryland, and the 2012 U.S. Chess Championship in Saint Louis,
Missouri, may seem out of place, but both races had a lot of things in common.
Two best U.S. grandmasters, the defending champion Gata Kamsky and the top-rated
American Nakamura, went neck-to-neck in the 11-round robin, leaving others far
behind them. Two best horses at the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes, Bodemeister
and I'll Have Another, trounced the competition by eight horse lengths. An exciting
come-from-behind victory was featured on the chessboard as well as on the race
track.

Nakamura wanted the title badly. He was rated number seven in the world and
it was a matter of prestige for him, although the first prize of $40,000 wasn't
bad either. He was even talking about breaking Bobby Fischer's record. A special
prize of $64,000 to match Fischer's perfect 11-0 record from the 1964 U.S. Championship
was out of his reach - nobody is winning all games these days. But Nakamura
thought he could break Fischer's highest rating record of 2785, although what
Bobby did 40 years ago is not comparable to today's ratings. Fischer still leads
the all time rating list
of 50 best players.
Using unusual opening schemes, attacking left and right, grinding points in
very long games and trying everything possible to score, Hikaru was still a
half point behind Kamsky with two rounds to go. They met in the penultimate
round and the odds were against Hikaru. He had the black pieces against one
of the world's best defenders with world championship experience. But Kamsky
cracked under pressure, played passively and Nakamura scored the most needed
victory.
In the last round, Nakamura defeated the veteran Yasser Seirawan, 52, and with
that remarkable finish, Hikaru clinched his third U.S. title with 8.5 points
in 11 games, a full point ahead of his main rival Kamsky. Alexander Onischuk
finished third with a solid performance, scoring 6.5 points.

Irina Krush won the U.S.Women Championship in the playoff, beating the defending
champion Anna Zatonskih 2-0 after both players finished the tournament with
a 7-2 score.
A championship journey
Nakamura began the championship sharply, outplaying Robert Hess in the Evans
gambit, the only correct gambit among real gambits according to the legendary
David Bronstein.
Replay and check the LiveBook here |
Please, wait...
29.Bxe6! fxe6 29...Rxe6 30.Rd8+ Re8 31.Rxe8# 30.Rd7 Kh8 30...Qf2 31.Qg6 Qf8 32.Rf3+- 31.Rxg7! Kxg7 32.Rg3+ Kf8 33.Qh7 1–0
- Start an analysis engine:
- Try maximizing the board:
- Use the four cursor keys to replay the game. Make moves to analyse yourself.
- Press Ctrl-B to rotate the board.
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Nakamura,H | 2775 | Hess,R | 2635 | 1–0 | 2012 | C51 | ch-USA 2012 | 1 |
Please, wait...
Against the talented youngster Ray Robson, 17, Nakamura composed a beautiful
king's journey, balancing on the edge.
Replay and check the LiveBook here |
Please, wait...
43.Nd5‼ Rg3+ 44.Kf4 44.Kxg3 e1Q+ 44...Bg5+ 45.Ke5‼ e1Q+ 46.Kd6 Bf4+ 46...Be7+ 47.Rbxe7+ Qxe7+ 48.Rxe7+ Kf8 49.c6 47.Nxf4 Rd3+ 48.Nxd3 Qg3+ 49.Ne5 1–0
- Start an analysis engine:
- Try maximizing the board:
- Use the four cursor keys to replay the game. Make moves to analyse yourself.
- Press Ctrl-B to rotate the board.
- Drag the split bars between window panes.
- Download&Clip PGN/GIF/FEN/QR Codes. Share the game.
- Games viewed here will automatically be stored in your cloud clipboard (if you are logged in). Use the cloud clipboard also in ChessBase.
- Create an account to access the games cloud.
Nakamura,H | 2775 | Robson,R | 2614 | 1–0 | 2012 | B75 | 2012 U.S. Championship | 3.2 |
Please, wait...
Nakamura overpowered Gregory Kaidanov with another amazing king's walk, squeezing
life out of the black pieces.
61.f5! Rg8 61...gxf5 62.h5 f6+ 62...Be8 63.Bxd5 exd5 64.h6 Bd7 65.Rh1± 63.exf6 Rg8+ 64.Kh4 Nxf6 65.Bg3+ Kb6 66.Bf4 62.f6! 62.fxg6?? Rxg6+ 63.Kh5 Nf4# 62...Rh8 63.Rc5 Ra8 64.Kh6 Nf4 65.Be3 Nh5 66.Bxh5 gxh5 67.Kg7 Be8 68.Kf8! Kb7 68...Kd7 69.Ke7 Kc7 70.Bd2 70.Bd2 Kb6 71.Rxa5 70.Rc1 Rb8 71.Rg1 1–0
- Start an analysis engine:
- Try maximizing the board:
- Use the four cursor keys to replay the game. Make moves to analyse yourself.
- Press Ctrl-B to rotate the board.
- Drag the split bars between window panes.
- Download&Clip PGN/GIF/FEN/QR Codes. Share the game.
- Games viewed here will automatically be stored in your cloud clipboard (if you are logged in). Use the cloud clipboard also in ChessBase.
- Create an account to access the games cloud.
Nakamura,H | 2775 | Kaidanov,G | 2594 | 1–0 | 2012 | E04 | ch-USA 2012 | 5 |
Please, wait...
– Part two to follow soon –
Original
column here – Copyright
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