US Ch. Rd4: Lenderman wins again

For the sixth consecutive year, the best chess players in the U.S. have gathered in Saint Louis to fight for the title of U.S. Champion and U.S. Women's Champion. GM Gata Kamsky is defending his title while recently anointed grandmaster Irina Krush is looking for her sixth title at the 2014 U.S. Women's Championship. The events are being held simultaneously from May 7 through May 20 at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis (CCSCSL). The games start each day at 1 p.m., with every move broadcast live and discussed by the powerful commentary team of GMs Yasser Seirawan, WGM Jennifer Shahade and Maurice Ashley on the official web site.

Round 4: Did someone just wake a sleeping bear?

Four-time U.S. Champion Gata Kamsky, seemingly idle with three ho-hum draws through the first three rounds, suddenly sprang to life on Sunday afternoon and made his mother proud. The reigning king rang the bell in the fourth round, waking up a 2014 U.S. Championship that had seen just four decisions across 18 games. Kamsky’s solid win with white over Sergey Erenberg set a rousing theme to Sunday, with four of the day’s six fighting games finishing with full points.

The dark-blue eminence: top seed Gata Kamsky won his first game in round four

“I decided on the Trompowsky probably a half an hour before the game,” Kamsky said. “I looked at some lines and realized there’s nothing much going on – but its middlegame position, you can exchange a lot of pieces, so there’s a lot of play.”

Kamsky,Gata (2778) - Erenburg,Sergey (2717) [D00]
2014 U.S. Championship Saint Louis, MO, USA (4.3), 11.05.2014

Position after 29.Red1. Erenburg played 29...f4? and was quickly dispatched with 30.Qc4 Kc8 31.gxf4 gxf4 32.R1d5 Qf7 33.Rxc5+ Kb8 34.Rc7 1-0.

Also winning was Alex Onischuck, who has collected 2.5 points in a tie for third with Kamsky; as well as Timur Gareev (3/4), who turned in his second consecutive win to hold clear second. And Aleksandr Lenderman (3.5/4) continued to set pace as tournament frontrunner with his third win of the tournament, after capitalizing on a Ray Robson middlegame mistake.

Third seed Alexander Onischuk defeated Sam Shankland in 35 moves for equal 3-4 (with Kamsky)

Second seed Timur Gareev put together his second solid win on Sunday by waiting out Mac Molner in a 68-move marathon. Gareev responded to Molner’s 1.e4 with the Schliemann Gambit in the Ruy Lopez, a successful choice that earned him several open lanes and good mobility. The game hung forever in balance, with a long-winded middlegame that featured much probing by the knights and a slow build-up toward a pawn break – 14 of them still remained on the board after 60 moves. The climactic breakthrough finally came after more than sixty moves.

Molner,Mackenzie (2634) - Gareev,Timur (2751) [C63]
2014 U.S. Championship Saint Louis, MO, USA (4.2), 11.05.2014

Position after 68.Kg3? This move allowed Black to play 68...Nxc3 and cause White's instant resignation, because of after 69.Rxd7 (or 69.bxc3 Rxd1–+) 69...Nxe2+ 70.Nxe2 Kxd7 the game is over for White. 0-1.

Aleksandr Lenderman may have received a few gifts from his opponents to earn the lead in the tournament’s earlygoing, but to the 24-year-old’s credit he has fully capitalized on each opportunity handed to him. Sunday’s match against Ray Robson was no exception.

Alex Lenderman scored a nice win against Ray Robson (see replay board below) to maintain
his lead in this tournament. With 3.5/4 points we calculate a rating performance of 2934.

Men results

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Report: Brian Jerauld + ChessBase, photos by Lennart Ootes

Men's standings after four rounds

Women results

The U.S. Women’s Championship field enjoyed its first of three rest days on Mother’s Day, set to resume Monday for a potential day of separation: tournament leaders Irina Krush and Anna Zatonskih, with 2.5 points across 3 rounds, match up against Camilla Baginskaite and Viktoria Ni, who lag with just a half-point each.

Women's standings after three rounds

Links Official tournament site All men's games in PGN All women's games in PGN 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.