
The 2015 U.S. Championship is an elite national championship event, featuring 12 of the strongest chess players in America. Over the course of eleven rounds, these competitors will battle for $175,000 in prize money, qualification into the World Championship cycle, and the coveted title of 2015 U.S. Champion.
U.S. Chess Championship - Round Seven
Table |
White |
Rating |
Black |
Rating |
Result |
1 |
GM Akobian, Varuzhan |
2622 |
GM Troff, Kayden W |
2532 |
0-1 |
2 |
GM Kamsky, Gata |
2683 |
GM Holt, Conrad |
2530 |
1-0 |
3 |
GM So, Wesley |
2788 |
GM Onischuk, Alexander |
2665 |
1-0 |
4 |
GM Naroditsky, Daniel |
2633 |
GM Robson, Ray |
2656 |
0-1 |
5 |
GM Shankland, Samuel L |
2661 |
GM Gareev, Timur |
2604 |
1-0 |
6 |
GM Sevian, Samuel |
2531 |
GM Nakamura, Hikaru |
2798 |
½-½ |
Akobian, Varzuhan 0-1 Troff, Kayden
Akobian obtained a nice edge from this Grunfeld, and it seemed as if Troff would be tortured for some time. However, a big blunder from Akobian allowed a nice combination from Troff. After this Black had a very pleasant endgame that he was able to convert.

After winning his first round, Varzuhan Akobian seems to be completely out of shape
Kamsky, Gata 1-0 Holt, Conrad
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1.Nf3 d5 2.g3 Nf6 3.Bg2 c6 4.d3 Bg4 5.Nbd2 e6 6.h3 Bh5 7.g4!? 7.0-0 Be7 8.e4 7...Bg6 8.Nh4 Be7 9.e3 Qc7 10.Qe2 Nfd7 11.Ndf3 Ne5!? 12.Nxe5 Bxh4 12...Qxe5 13.Nxg6 hxg6 13.Nxg6 hxg6 14.Bd2 Nd7 15.0-0-0 0-0-0 16.Kb1 Rhe8 17.Rc1 Nc5?! 17...Kb8 18.f4 18.c4 dxc4 19.d4! 18...e5 18...Be7 19.h4 Kb8 20.h5 19.g5 f5?! 19...Ne6 20.Qg4 Rh8 20.gxf6 Bxf6 21.fxe5 Qxe5 22.Qg4+ Ne6 23.c3! 23.d4 Qg5 23...Qf5 24.Qxf5 gxf5 25.h4 g6?! 25...Rh8 26.h5 Rdf8 27.Rcf1 26.h5 gxh5 27.Rxh5 Ng7 28.Rh7 Rh8 29.Rch1 Rxh7 30.Rxh7 Kd7 31.Kc2 Ke7 31...Re8 32.Bh3 Kd6 32.e4! dxe4 33.dxe4 fxe4 34.Bxe4 Kf7 35.a4 Kg8?! 35...Re8 36.Bd3 Ke6 36.Rh1 Ne6 37.Be3 a6 38.Bd3 Nc7?! 38...Kf7 39.Bc4 b5 40.Rh7+ Kg8 41.Rh6 Kg7! 42.Bd3 42.Bxe6?! Re8 39.Bb6 39.Rg1+ 39...Rd7 40.Bf5 Re7 41.Bc8 Kg7 42.a5! Nd5 43.Bc5 Rc7 43...Re2+ 44.Kc1 Bg5+ 45.Kb1 44.Bf5 Be5 45.Kd3 Nf6 46.Re1 46.Ke3! 46...Nd7 47.Bf2 Bd6 48.Bd4+ Kf7 49.Kc4 Nf8 50.Bg4 Re7 50...c5 51.Rf1+ Kg6 52.Bf5+ 51.Bh5+ Kg8 52.Rg1+ Kh7 53.Bg4 Kg6 54.Bc8+ Kh5 55.Rg7 1–0
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Kamsky,G | 2683 | Holt,C | 2530 | 1–0 | 2015 | A06 | U.S. Championship 2015 | 7 |
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So, Wesley 1-0 Onischuk, Alexander
A cool game: So was able to put a lot of pressure on Onischuk in a position that seemed relatively harmless at first. Black had regained his gambited pawn in the Marshall, but So proved that the piece placement was still dangerous for Black. Onischuk blundered a piece in a position where he was already under severe pressure.
Naroditsky, Daniel 0-1 Robson, Ray
Naroditsky's attempt in this Grunfeld was double-edged. His attack on the kingside was beat back, and Robson obtained a positional initiative with a monster bishop on d5. The Californian kept trying to invade and put pressure on his opponent's position, threatening checks and counter play, but Robson had it all under control. At one point, Robson was completely winning, but missed the excellent resource 54.g4! turning a completely won position into a draw.

Tied for first: Ray Robson
Naroditsky had the chance to give a perpetual and end the game, but he missed it and Robson was able to get some new winning chances. In horrible time pressure for both players Robson won the game, again, and this time finished it off.

A marathon game, but Ray pulled it off in the end
Shankland, Sam 1-0 Gareev, Timur
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1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 f5 4.d3 fxe4 5.dxe4 Nf6 6.0-0 Bc5 7.Bxc6 7.Qd3 7...bxc6 8.Nxe5 0-0 9.Nc3 d6 10.Na4 10.Nd3 Bd4 10.Nxc6 Qe8 10...Qe8 11.Nd3 Bg4 12.Qe1 Bd4 13.c3 Bb6 14.Nxb6 axb6 15.c4!? 15.f3 Be6 15...Be6 16.b3 b5! 17.e5 17.cxb5 Bxb3 18.Qc3 Ba4 17...Bf5! 17...bxc4 18.exf6 cxd3 19.fxg7 Rf5! 18.Nb4! 18.exf6 Bxd3 19.fxg7 Rf7 20.Qxe8+ Rxe8 21.Rd1 18...dxe5 19.Qe3 19.cxb5 cxb5 20.Be3 19...bxc4 20.bxc4 Qe6 21.Bb2 Qxc4?! 21...Rab8! 22.a3 c5! 23.Qxc5 Nd7 24.Qxc7 Rfc8 25.Qa5 Be4 22.a3 Ng4 23.Qc1! Qe2 23...Qxc1 24.Raxc1 24.h3 Be4! 25.Qe1! 25.hxg4? Bxg2 26.Kxg2 Qxg4+ 27.Kh1 Rf5 25...Qxb2?! 25...Qxe1 26.Raxe1 Nf6 27.Bxe5 26.Qxe4 Nf6 27.Qc4+ Kh8 28.Nxc6 Rxa3 29.Rxa3 Qxa3 30.Nxe5 Qa5 31.Nf7+ Kg8 32.Rd1! Qh5 32...g6 33.Ng5+ Kh8 34.f4! 33.Ne5+ Kh8 34.Re1 Ng8?! 34...Qe8 35.Qxc7 Qf5 36.Qc5 Nh6 37.g4! Qf4? 37...Qc8 38.Qd5 38.Re4! Qf6 38...Qxe4 39.Qxf8+ Ng8 40.Nf7# 39.Nd7 Qa1+ 40.Kh2 Ra8 41.g5 Qa7 41...Nf7 42.Qe7 41...Ng8 42.Ne5 Qa2 42...Qa7 43.Ra4! 43.Rf4 Ra7 44.Ng6+! hxg6 45.Rh4+ Nh6 46.gxh6 1–0
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Shankland,S | 2661 | Gareev,T | 2604 | 1–0 | 2015 | C63 | U.S. Championship 2015 | 7 |
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Sam Shankland played a fantastic game today
Sevian, Samuel ½-½ Nakamura, Hikaru
Nakamura got the better of Sevian in the opening, with his Berlin threat he forced Sevian into a passive Ruy Lopez. Sevian might have outplayed Nakamura slightly after that, and the players agreed to a draw in an equal position around move 40.

Sam Sevian draws number one seed Hikaru Nakamura
Pairings for Round Eight
Table |
White |
Score |
Rating |
Black |
Score |
Rating |
1 |
GM Troff, Kayden W |
4.0 |
2532 |
GM Nakamura, Hikaru |
5.0 |
2798 |
2 |
GM Gareev, Timur |
2.0 |
2604 |
GM Sevian, Samuel |
4.0 |
2531 |
3 |
GM Robson, Ray |
5.0 |
2656 |
GM Shankland, Samuel L |
3.5 |
2661 |
4 |
GM Onischuk, Alexander |
3.5 |
2665 |
GM Naroditsky, Daniel |
1.5 |
2633 |
5 |
GM Holt, Conrad |
2.5 |
2530 |
GM So, Wesley |
4.5 |
2788 |
6 |
GM Akobian, Varuzhan |
2.5 |
2622 |
GM Kamsky, Gata |
4.0 |
2683 |
Standings

Replay Round Seven Games

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1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 d6 5.c3 g6 6.0-0 Bg7 7.Re1 0-0 8.Nbd2 a6 9.Ba4 h6 10.Nf1 b5 11.Bb3 Na5 12.Bc2 c5 13.d4 exd4 14.cxd4 Bg4 15.d5 Nc4 16.Ne3 Nxe3 17.Rxe3 Re8 18.h3 Bxf3 19.Qxf3 Nd7 20.Rb1 Qh4 21.Re2 c4 22.Qf4 Qe7 23.Bd2 a5 24.Qg3 Nc5 25.b3 cxb3 26.Bxb3 Nxe4 27.Qd3 f5 28.Qxb5 Bd4 29.Be1 Qf7 30.Qd3 Qf6 31.Rd1 Be5 32.Qf3 a4 33.Bc4 Rec8 34.Bb5 Nc3 35.Bxc3 Rxc3 36.Re3 Rc2 37.Re2 Rxe2 38.Qxe2 Qh4 39.Qc2 Bd4 40.Bd7 Kh7 ½–½
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Sevian,S | 2531 | Nakamura,H | 2798 | ½–½ | 2015 | C65 | ch-USA 2015 | 7 |
Naroditsky,D | 2633 | Robson,R | 2656 | 0–1 | 2015 | D85 | ch-USA 2015 | 7 |
So,W | 2788 | Onischuk,A | 2665 | 1–0 | 2015 | C89 | ch-USA 2015 | 7 |
Kamsky,G | 2683 | Holt,C | 2530 | 1–0 | 2015 | A07 | ch-USA 2015 | 7 |
Akobian,V | 2622 | Troff,K | 2532 | 0–1 | 2015 | D85 | ch-USA 2015 | 7 |
Shankland,S | 2661 | Gareev,T | 2604 | 1–0 | 2015 | C63 | ch-USA 2015 | 7 |
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U.S. Women's Championship - Round Seven
Table |
White |
Rating |
Black |
Rating |
Result |
1 |
WGM Nemcova, Katerina |
2279 |
WCM Virkud, Apurva |
2132 |
1-0 |
2 |
WGM Foisor, Sabina |
2235 |
WFM Yu, Jennifer R |
2180 |
½-½ |
3 |
WIM Ni, Viktorija |
2188 |
WGM Abrahamyan, Tatev |
2322 |
½-½ |
4 |
IM Paikidze, Nazi |
2333 |
FM Melekhina, Alisa |
2235 |
1-0 |
5 |
GM Krush, Irina |
2477 |
WIM Wang, Annie |
1901 |
1-0 |
6 |
IM Goletiani, Rusudan |
2311 |
WGM Sharevich, Anna |
2267 |
0-1 |
Nemcova, Katerina 1-0 Virkud, Apurva
Nemcova absolutely destroyed Virkud positionally. The finish with the exchange sacrifice and the total domination of Black's pieces was very fitting.

Katerina running away with the trophies?
Foisor, Sabina ½-½ Yu, Jennifer
Foisor blundered a pawn against Yu, who proceeded to outplay her opponent. With an extra two pawns, it seemed as if the game would surely be over, but somehow Yu failed to convert a very basic endgame. Actually, she did not even really try to make any progress...
Ni, Viktorija ½-½ Abrahamyan, Tatev
A bold Grand Prix attack from two players that were making their way up the rankings in the tournament after a slow start. Abrahamyan had scored the last 3.5/4 and Ni won her last two games. A sharp pawn sacrifice was followed by an exchange sacrifice that forced a perpetual.

Viktorija Ni was slightly lucky Tatev Abrahamyan allowed a perpetual
Paikidze, Nazi 1-0 Melekhina, Alisa
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1.Nf3 g6 2.g3 c5 3.Bg2 Bg7 4.c4 Nc6 5.Nc3 d6 6.0-0 e5 7.d3 7.Ne1 Be6! 8.d3 Nge7 7...Nge7 8.a3 0-0 9.Rb1 a5 10.Bd2 Rb8 11.Ne1 Be6 12.Nc2 d5 13.cxd5 Nxd5 14.Ne4 14.Nxd5 Bxd5 15.Bxd5 Qxd5 16.b4 cxb4 17.axb4 b6∞ 14...b6 15.Ng5 Bc8 16.Ne3 Nxe3 16...Nde7 17.Nc4 17.Bxe3 Nd4 18.b4?! 18.Re1 18...cxb4 19.axb4 Bg4 19...a4 20.f3?! 20.Re1 20...Bd7 21.Ne4 axb4? 21...a4 22.Bxd4 exd4 23.Qb3 Re8 24.f4 Bf8 25.Ng5 Be6? 25...Qf6 26.Bd5 Rxe2 27.Bxf7+ Kh8 26.Nxe6 fxe6 27.f5 gxf5 28.Rxf5 Rc8 29.Bd5!? 29.Rf4 29...Qd6 30.Rg5+ Kh8 31.Be4 Rc5 32.Rg4 b5?! 32...Rec8 33.Rf1 Rc3 34.Rf7! Rc7 35.Rf5! Bh6?! 35...Rc5 36.Rxb5 Be3+ 37.Kg2 Qf8 38.Bf3 Rc1 39.Qxb4 Rg1+?! 39...Qxb4 40.Rxb4 Rc7 40.Kh3 Qf7 41.Qd6 Qf6 42.Rb8 Qh6+ 43.Rh4 Qg6 44.Rxe8+ Qxe8 45.Qe5+ Kg8 46.Rg4+ 1–0
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Paikidze,N | 2333 | Melekhina,A | 2235 | 1–0 | 2015 | A37 | U.S. Womens Championship 2015 | 7 |
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Krush, Irina 1-0 Wang,Annie
Krush destroyed Wang in a positional struggle, and normally that would be sufficient to wrap up the game's summary. However it is almost incomprehensible how a full-fledged grandmaster like Irina Krush, top seed and defending U.S. Women's Champion, was able to miss the simplest combination on move twelve that would simply have won a piece. You can take a look at the game and surely you will find it without any problem.

The moves after this were 9...Qxf6 10. dxc3 Bc5 11. Bxe6 fxe6?? 12.Nf3?? Can you find the missed win?
Goletiani, Rusudan 0-1 Sharevich, Anna
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1.Nf3 d5 2.g3 Nf6 3.Bg2 c6 4.b3 Bg4 5.Bb2 Nbd7 6.0-0 Qc7 6...e6 7.d4 7.c4 7...e6 8.c4 Be7 9.Nc3 0-0 10.h3 10.Rc1 10...Bf5 11.Nd2 11.Nh4 Be4 12.Nxe4 12.f3 12...dxe4 12...Nxe4 13.Nf3 f5 11...Rad8 12.Rc1 Qb8 13.e3 13.e4 Nxe4 14.Ncxe4 dxe4 15.Nxe4 Nf6 13...b5 13...h6 14.cxb5 cxb5 15.Qe2 a6 16.a3 16.e4 dxe4 17.Ncxe4 Nd5 16...h6 17.g4? 17.e4 17...Bh7 18.f4 Rc8 19.Bf3 19.g5 hxg5 20.fxg5 Ne8 21.h4 Nd6 19...Ne8 20.Kg2 20.e4 dxe4 21.Bxe4 Bxe4 22.Ndxe4 20...Nd6 21.Rh1?! Bh4! 22.Rhg1 a5 23.Kh1 Rc7 24.Qh2 b4 25.axb4 axb4 26.Na4 Rfc8 27.Rxc7 Rxc7 28.f5 Rc2 29.Bd1 29.Rc1 Rxc1+ 30.Bxc1 exf5 31.Bxd5 fxg4 32.hxg4 Be7 29...Rc8? 29...Rxd2! 30.Qxd2 Ne4 31.Qh2 Ng3+ 32.Rxg3 32.Kg2 exf5 32...Bxg3 30.Nc5! Nxc5 31.dxc5 Rxc5 32.fxe6 fxe6 32...Qf8 33.Qe5 Rc3! 34.Rf1 Bf6 34...Kh8 35.Qxe6+ Nf7 36.Bf3 Rc2? 36...Kh8 37.Qxf7 Rc7 38.Qxd5 Bxb2 37.Bxd5?? 37.Bxf6 Bg6 37...gxf6 38.Bxd5 37...Rxd2 38.Be5! Qxe5 39.Qc8+ 38.Bxg7! Kxg7 39.Bxd5 Rxd2 40.Rxf7+ Bxf7 41.Qxf7+ Kh8 42.Qf6+ Kh7 43.Be4+ Kg8 44.Qg6+ Kf8 45.Qxh6+ 37...Bg6?? 37...Rxd2 38.Qxf7+ Kh8 39.Be5 Bxe5 40.Qf8+ Bg8 38.Bxf6 Rxd2 39.Be5 Qd8 40.e4?? 40.Rxf7 Qxd5+ 41.Qxd5 Rxd5 42.Rxg7+ Kf8 43.Rxg6 Rxe5 44.Rf6+ Kg7 45.Rf3 40...Qh4 41.g5 Bxe4+ 42.Kg1 Qxg5+ 43.Qg4 Rg2+ 0–1
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Goletiani,R | 2311 | Sharevich,A | 2267 | 0–1 | 2015 | A06 | U.S. Womens Championship 2015 | 7 |
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Pairings for Round Eight
Table |
White |
Rating |
Black |
Rating |
1 |
WCM Virkud, Apurva |
2132 |
WGM Sharevich, Anna |
2267 |
2 |
WIM Wang, Annie |
1901 |
IM Goletiani, Rusudan |
2311 |
3 |
FM Melekhina, Alisa |
2235 |
GM Krush, Irina |
2477 |
4 |
WGM Abrahamyan, Tatev |
2322 |
IM Paikidze, Nazi |
2333 |
5 |
WFM Yu, Jennifer R |
2180 |
WIM Ni, Viktorija |
2188 |
6 |
WGM Nemcova, Katerina |
2279 |
WGM Foisor, Sabina |
2235 |
Standings

Replay Round Seven Games

Replay and check the LiveBook here |
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- 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.
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Commentary provided for the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis by Josh Friedel:
Joshua Friedel
Josh was born in 1986 in New Hampshire, USA and is currently living in Wisconsin. He obtained his international master title in 2005 and his grandmaster in 2008. He has participated in six US Championships, including a tie for fourth in 2008. Major Open tournament victories include: the 2003 Eastern Open, 2005 Berkeley Masters, 2008 National Open, 2009 Edmonton International, 2009 North American Open, 2010 Saint Louis Open, 2010 American Open, 2013 Chicago Open.
Josh will be annotating the games for the Saint Louis Chess Club. |
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Photos by Lennart Ootes