US Ch: Caruana wins, but Nakamura leads

The end of the no-win streak

Hikaru Nakamura notched his second win of this year's U.S. Championship, giving him the clear lead for the first time since he won the title in 2015.

After the sixth round, Fabiano Caruana appears on the list of winners for the first time as well, ending a classical winless streak going back to before his World Championship match in London. Perhaps the bit of ribbing from the World Champion provided that little extra boost of motivation the 26-year-old Caruana needed.

Caruana took on Xiong in an anti-Berlin line of the Ruy Lopez following the lead of Viswanathan Anand in his game against Ivan Cheparinov from the German League earlier this month (and Anand-Nakamura from the 2017 Saint Louis Blitz).

Caruana's prior classical win was in October at the Chess Olympiad | Photo: Lennart Ootes

Xiong was forced to give up the exchange to alleviate the pressure against his kingside in the middlegame and the players reached this critical position.

You can play on the diagram above!

Xiong was evidently of the opinion that the c5-knight was taboo, because otherwise the d-pawn would force White to give up his rook, but in fact 41...♚e8? 42.♗xc5 d2 (not 43.♖a1? ♝c2) 43.♖a8+ ♚d7 49.♗b6! prevents the pawn from queening due to the check on d8. Xiong tried 44...♚c6 and resigned after 45.♗a5 (45...d1♛ 46.♖c8+ ♚d7 47.♖d8+).

Caruana: "It's been a long time...over all I played quite well today."

The encounter between Hikaru Nakamura and Timur Gareyev promised some entertainment as both players are known for originality and a fondness for tactical skirmishes. In terms of the former, Nakamura took the lead as early as the third move: 1.♘f3 c5 2. g3 g6 3.c3. After 3...d5 4.♗g2 ♞f6 5.d4 ♞bd7 6.♘e5 ♛b6 the players reached a position reminiscent of a fianchetto Grünfeld with reversed colours. 

Mega Database 2019

The "Mega" is the database every serious chessplayer needs. The database contains 7.6 million games from 1500 to 2018, in highest quality standard, full of top level analyses and completely classified.

In the Mega Database this position is already unprecedented, but looks better for White. During the middle game, Nakamura gradually built up a superior position.

White is clearly better. But the end came surprisingly fast as Black's queenside disintegrates: 28.♗xf6 exf6 29.♕xb6 ♜e6 30. ♕xa5 ♝c5 31.♘xd5 ♜de8 32.e3 ♚g7 33.♕c7 1-0

The Slav and Semi-Slav revisited

For Shirov the Slav and the Semi-Slav form one huge and common opening. Of course it is a mighty opening complex and the DVD cannot give a complete picture of it, but in the areas he chooses to highlight our author is an absolute expert and capable of giving the deepest possible insights into the secrets of this extremely solid opening.

Timur Gareyev finds himself in last place | Photo: Justin Kellar

Liang vs Akobian gets a nod for producing one of the most unusual positions we've seen lately.

"So close, yet so Var" (H/T IM Eric Rosen)

The nominal top game of the sixth round was the only duel between two 2700s, Wesley So vs Leinier Dominguez. In another anti-Berlin, Dominguez took So down a line that the Filipino-American had twice played from the Black side already in 2019, locked the centre and castled to the queenside trying to keep his position solid. But So found a way to break through:

21.d4 and after 21...exd4 22.cxd4 cxd4 23.♖xd4 ♞a6 24.♖b1 ♝b4 So followed up with 25.c5 ♜xd4 (the pawn can't be taken) 26.c6 + ♚xc6 27.♕xa6, but Black escaped with his king to the kingside and exchanged down into an equal endgame.

So-Dominguez | Foto: Lennart Ootes

Other games ended drawn as well. The fight between Aleksandr Lenderman and Ray Robson yielded a balanced queen ending...twice! 

After 39.b7 ♛c1 40.b8♕ ♛xb2 41.♕xb2 d1♛ two queens were gone and quickly replace but the evaluation of the position remained unchanged.

Results of Round 6

Standings after Round 6

All games

Commentary webcast

Four in a row for Tatev

All but one of the games in the Women's Championship ended decisively, a trend which has produced a very large spread between first and last place — already four points. Carissa Yip and Anna Sharevich drew in 76 moves.

Tatev Abrahamyan could celebrate a victory over seven-time U.S. Women's Champion GM Irina Krush. In a Sicilian Dragon, a frequently played position appeared on the board. 

The Sicilian Dragon 1 & 2

Volume one of the DVD deals with 9.Bc4, White's sharpest option, and shows how Black can counter this ambitious try by White with the main lines of the Soltis variation (12...h5), which was played by Magnus Carlsen regularly as well.

Here, Black did not go for one of the standard moves 11...♜c8 or 11...♞e5, but tried the rarer 11...♞a5 and got a surprisingly good position after 12.0-0-0 ♞xb3 13.cxb3 a5, when Abrahamyan thought for over 40 minutes on 14.♗h6. Both sides were attacking on opposite wings, but the game stayed level until move 39.

Here 38...b5 is the most precise. After (e.g.) 39.♕f2 Black plays 39...♜xd5 40.exd5 ♛c3+ and gives perpetual check. Instead, Krush dilly-dallied: 38...♜b5 39.♕f2 ♜c5? (again taking on d5 was essential) and had to give up soon after 40.♕f7+.

Abrahamyan vs Krush | Photo: Lennart Ootes

No fun for Feng

Leader Jennifer Yu won her fifth game, defeating Maggie Feng who slipped into a mating attack quite quickly as the time control approached, blowing a winning position. 

Improve your Tactics

The aim of this course is to help you understand how to make tactical opportunities arise as well as to sharpen your tactical vision - these selected lectures will help to foster your overall tactical understanding.

White played the careless 37.♕xc6? after which her position is beyond repair. With 37.gxh4 ♛xh4 38.♘e3, White would have retained chances. But in time pressure, suddenly Feng's king was stripped of its defences: 37...hxg3 38.fxg3 f4 39.♕c7 ♛xg3 40.♔g1 ♜d1# mate on the board! Here it is in real time: 

Mating Patterns

On this DVD, Grandmaster and worldrenowned commentator Maurice Ashley reviews some of the most interesting patterns with examples meant to educate and entertain.

Maurice Ashley, Yasser Seirawan and Jennifer Shade with the 'play-by-play'

Results of Round 6

Standings after Round 6

All games

IM Lawrence Trent reviews U.S. Championship highlights:

Lawrence is live most Tuesdays at 18:00 CEST / 5 pm BST time / 12 Noon EDT

Andre Schulz contributed reporting

Links

• Official site
• Round 1: Xiong to early lead
• Round 2: Wesley So's endgame squeeze
• Round 3: Xiong beats the Champ
• Round 4: Four lead after Xiong's defeat
• Round 5: Sevian joins the leading pack
• The U.S. Championships kick off
• All news on the 2018 U.S. Championships