Kavalek in Huffington: US Chess Champ Hikaru Nakamura (Part 1)

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.

Against the talented youngster Ray Robson, 17, Nakamura composed a beautiful king's journey, balancing on the edge.

Nakamura overpowered Gregory Kaidanov with another amazing king's walk, squeezing life out of the black pieces.

– Part two to follow soon –

Original column here – Copyright Huffington Post

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