US Championship: Big Point for Caruana

by André Schulz
4/18/2016 – In round four of the US Championships in St. Louis Fabiano Caruana scored a big point in the fight for title and money: he won against Hikaru Nakamura to become sole leader with 3.5/4. Wesley So, who drew against Sam Shankland, is half a point behind. In the women's tournament Irina Krush, Tatev Abrahamyan and Nazi Paikidze share the lead with 3.0/4 each.

ChessBase 18 - Mega package ChessBase 18 - Mega package

Winning starts with what you know
The new version 18 offers completely new possibilities for chess training and analysis: playing style analysis, search for strategic themes, access to 6 billion Lichess games, player preparation by matching Lichess games, download Chess.com games with built-in API, built-in cloud engine and much more.

More...

 

Follow the games live on playchess.com (rounds start at 1 pm local time)

 
New ...
Open...
Share...
Layout...
Flip Board
Settings
MoveNResultEloPlayers
Replay and check the LiveBook here
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.f3 6.h3 e5 7.Nde2 h5 8.g3 Nbd7 9.Bg5 Be7 10.a4 Nc5 11.Bg2 Be6 12.a5 b5 13.axb6 Qxb6 14.b3 0-0 15.0-0 a5 16.Qd2 Rfc8 17.Rfd1 a4 18.bxa4 Bc4 19.a5 Qd8 20.Bxf6 Bxf6 21.Qxd6 Qxd6 22.Rxd6 Nb7 23.Rd2 Rxa5 24.Rb1 Nc5 25.Nd5 Bd8 26.h4 Ra3 27.Nec3 Rca8 28.Rdd1 Ba5 29.Nb5 Ra2 30.Bf3 g6 31.Ne7+ Kg7 32.Nc6 Na4 33.Nd6 Be6 34.Rb7 Rxc2 35.Nxe5 Nc5 36.Re7 Kf8 37.Nc6 Nb3 38.e5 Bb6 39.Rb7 Bxf2+ 40.Kg2 Bc5+ 41.Kh1 Raa2 0-1 (41) Caruana,F (2811)-Nakamura,H (2776) Zuerich 2015 6...e6 7.Be3 h5 The immediate 7...b5 is more popular. 8.a4 Black stopped White from advancing on the kingside with g4 and White now stops Black from advancing on the queenside with ...b5, quickly reaching unchartered territory. More common is 8.Qd2 Nbd7 9.0-0-0 b5 8...Nc6 9.Bc4 The novelty comes on move nine. 9.Be2 d5 10.exd5 Nxd5 11.Nxd5 Qxd5 12.Nxc6 bxc6 13.f4 Rb8 14.Bf3 Qc4 15.Qd4 Qxd4 16.Bxd4 Bb7 17.0-0-0 c5 18.Be5 Bxf3 19.Bxb8 Bxd1 20.Rxd1 h4 21.Rd3 Rh6 22.Kd2 1/2-1/2 (22) Hracek,Z (2610) -Georgiev,K (2695) Herceg Novi 2001 9...Qc7 10.Qe2 Be7 11.0-0 Ne5 12.Bb3 Bd7 13.f4 Parting with the black-squared bishop. 13.h3 Rc8= 13.Kh1 Rc8 14.f4 Nc4= 13...Neg4 14.Kh1 Nxe3 15.Qxe3 Qc5 16.Rad1 g6 17.Qe2 0-0-0
18.f5!? It is not often that you see a Najdorf with 6. f3 in which Black castled queenside and White castled kingside. After completing his development Caruana now initiates complications on the kingside. Worth considering was also 18.e5!? dxe5 18...Ne8 19.Ne4 19.fxe5 Ng4 20.Rxf7 Rde8 21.h3 Qxe5 22.Qxe5 Nxe5 23.Rf2± 18...e5 Maybe it was better to play 18...gxf5!? 19.exf5 e5 20.Nf3 h4!? to answer 21.Ng5 with 21.Bxf7 h3∞ leads to an unclear position. 21...h3 . 19.Nf3 gxf5 20.Ng5 Now White can attack f7 immediately. f4 20...Rdf8 21.Nxf7 Rh7 22.Ng5 Rg7 23.Ne6 Bxe6 24.Bxe6+ Kb8 25.Rxf5± 21.Rd3 21.Nxf7 Bg4 21...Kb8 Black does not even try to save the exchange. Apparently Nakamura did not like the complications arising after 21...Rdf8 22.Nxf7 Rh7 23.Ng5 Rg7 24.Ne6 Bxe6 25.Bxe6+ Kb8 when White has 26.b4!? and other promising moves. 22.Nxf7 h4 23.Nxh8 Rxh8 24.Qf2 White is an exchange up but the game is not over yet. But Black fails to make full use of his chances. Qb4? The b-file is not the place where the black queen should be - as White is quick to demonstrate. An interesting attempt to get counterplay was 24...d5!? to open lines, e.g. 25.Bxd5 Qxf2 26.Rxf2 Bc5 with the idea 27.Rf1 27.Rff3 Bg4 28.h3 Bxf3 29.gxf3 27...Nh5 and White has to be careful - if he, for example, carelessly continues with 28.Nd1?? Black has Ng3+ 29.hxg3?? hxg3# 24...Qc8 was also better than the text-move. 25.Nd5 Nxd5 26.Bxd5 27.Rb3. Bxa4 27.Ra3 Threatening 28.Rfa1 followed by Rb3. h3 28.c3 Qb5 29.b3 Bh4 30.bxa4 30.g3 fxg3 31.hxg3+- 30...Qd3 31.g3 Cold-blooded! 31.g3 fxg3 32.hxg3 Bxg3 33.c4! Qxa3 34.Qb6 Rh7 35.Rf8# 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.
WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Caruana,F2795Nakamura,H27871–02016B90ch-USA 20164.1

Game over

Caruana was the only player to win in round four - all other games ended in a draw. Caruana now leads the field with 3.5/4, Wesley So and Ray Robson follow half a point behind with 3.0/4. With 2.5/4 Sam Shankland is still on +1 while Jeffery Xiong, the youngest participant in this year's championship has not yet lost a single game but drew in all four rounds. However, he still has to play against the elo-heavyweights.

Fabiano Caruana

Results of round 4

Br. Tit Name Coun ELO Ergebnis Titel Name Coun ELO
1 GM Fabiano Caruana
 
 2794 1 - 0 GM Hikaru Nakamura
 
 2790
2 GM Samuel L Shankland
 
 2648 ½ - ½ GM Wesley So
 
 2773
3 GM Varuzhan Akobian
 
 2610 ½ - ½ GM Ray Robson
 
 2663
4 GM Gata Kamsky
 
 2667 ½ - ½ GM Alexander Onischuk
 
 2664
5 GM Aleksandr Lenderman
 
 2623 ½ - ½ GM Jeffery Xiong
 
 2588
6 IM Akshat Chandra
 
 2501 ½ - ½ GM Alexander Shabalov
 
 2520

Games of rounds 1 to 4

 
New ...
Open...
Share...
Layout...
Flip Board
Settings
MoveNResultEloPlayers
Replay and check the LiveBook here
1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Nf6 3.Bb5+ Bd7 4.Bc4 Bg4 5.f3 Bf5 6.Nc3 Nbd7 7.g4 Nb6 8.b3 Bc8 9.Bb2 Nfxd5 10.Nxd5 Nxd5 11.Qe2 e6 12.0-0-0 b6 13.Nh3 Bb7 14.f4 Bd6 15.f5 Qe7 16.Bxg7 Rg8 17.Bb2 0-0-0 18.Rhf1 Rde8 19.f6 Qf8 20.g5 h6 21.Rg1 hxg5 22.Nxg5 Rh8 23.h3 Rh6 24.Rdf1 a5 25.Kb1 Kb8 26.Rg4 Rd8 27.h4 Ka7 28.Be5 Rd7 29.Bb5 Rd8 30.Bxd6 cxd6 31.Bc4 Nc7 32.Nxf7 Qxf7 33.Rg7 Qf8 34.Rxc7 Rxf6 35.Rxf6 Qxf6 36.Qxe6 Qxh4 37.Bd5 Rb8 38.Qf7 Qe1+ 39.Kb2 Qe5+ 40.c3 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.
WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Caruana,F2795Akobian,V26151–02016B01ch-USA 20161.1
Nakamura,H2787Lenderman,A26181–02016D43ch-USA 20161.2
So,W2773Kamsky,G26781–02016C95ch-USA 20161.3
Shankland,S2656Chandra,A24771–02016C07ch-USA 20161.4
Onischuk,A2664Xiong,J2618½–½2016D20ch-USA 20161.5
Shabalov,A2528Robson,R26630–12016D43ch-USA 20161.6
Caruana,F2795Shankland,S26561–02016C19ch-USA 20162.1
Kamsky,G2678Nakamura,H2787½–½2016A45ch-USA 20162.2
Chandra,A2477So,W27730–12016B12ch-USA 20162.3
Robson,R2663Onischuk,A26641–02016A46ch-USA 20162.4
Akobian,V2615Xiong,J2618½–½2016D83ch-USA 20162.5
Lenderman,A2618Shabalov,A2528½–½2016D45ch-USA 20162.6
So,W2773Caruana,F2795½–½2016A35ch-USA 20163.1
Xiong,J2618Robson,R2663½–½2016D00ch-USA 20163.2
Nakamura,H2787Chandra,A2477½–½2016A13ch-USA 20163.3
Shankland,S2656Akobian,V26151–02016C10ch-USA 20163.4
Shabalov,A2528Kamsky,G2678½–½2016A05ch-USA 20163.5
Onischuk,A2664Lenderman,A26181–02016D10ch-USA 20163.6
Caruana,F2795Nakamura,H27871–02016B90ch-USA 20164.1
Shankland,S2656So,W2773½–½2016D37ch-USA 20164.2
Akobian,V2615Robson,R2663½–½2016D45ch-USA 20164.3
Kamsky,G2678Onischuk,A2664½–½2016A45ch-USA 20164.4
Lenderman,A2618Xiong,J2618½–½2016D83ch-USA 20164.5
Chandra,A2477Shabalov,A2528½–½2016B19ch-USA 20164.6

 

Standings after round 4

Women's Tournament

Before the start of the tournament Irina Krush and Anna Zatonskih, who have been dominating the US Women's Championships for the last ten years, were considered to be the biggest favorites. But after four rounds it is Irina Krush who shares the lead with Tatev Abrahamyan and Nazi Paikidze - they all have 3.0/4. In round three Irina Krush, the defending champion, was lucky to escape with a draw against Alisa Melekhina but in round four she was back in form and won against Agata Bykovtsev.

Anna Zatonskih is half a point behind the three leaders and shares fourth and fifth place with Carissa Yip. After three draws Anna Zatonskih scored her first full point in round four by winning against Alisa Melekhina.

Tense: Irina Krush during the game

Irina Krush during the press conference

Jennifer Yu, one of the young talents

Results of round four

Br. Tit Name Coun ELO Ergebnis Titel Name Coun ELO
1 WGM Tatev Abrahamyan
 
 2324 ½ - ½ IM Nazi Paikidze
 
 2346
2 WFM Jennifer R Yu
 
 2102 1 - 0   Carissa Yip
 
 2109
3 WIM Agata Bykovtsev
 
 2176 0 - 1 GM Irina Krush
 
 2458
4 IM Anna Zatonskih
 
 2469 1 - 0 FM Alisa Melekhina
 
 2205
5 FM Akshita Gorti
 
 2242 0 - 1 WGM Sabina Francesca Foisor
 
 2258
6 WIM Ashritha Eswaran
 
 2149 ½ - ½ WGM Katerina Nemcova
 
 2367

Games of rounds 1 to 4

 
New ...
Open...
Share...
Layout...
Flip Board
Settings
MoveNResultEloPlayers
Replay and check the LiveBook here
1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.c4 e6 4.g3 Bb4+ 5.Bd2 Be7 6.Bg2 0-0 7.0-0 c6 8.Qc2 b6 9.b3 Ne4 10.Bf4 Bb7 11.Ne5 f6 12.Nd3 Na6 13.Nd2 f5 14.Be5 Nb4 15.Nxb4 Bxb4 16.Nxe4 fxe4 17.f3 exf3 18.exf3 Qe7 19.c5 bxc5 20.a3 Ba5 21.dxc5 Ba6 22.Rf2 Rad8 23.Qb2 Bc7 24.Bxc7 Qxc7 25.Re1 Rfe8 26.f4 d4 27.Re5 d3 28.Rd2 Rb8 29.Qc3 Qb7 30.b4 Qd7 31.Be4 Rbd8 32.Kg2 Re7 33.Rh5 g6 34.Re5 Bb5 35.h4 Qd4 36.Qxd4 Rxd4 37.Kf2 a5 38.bxa5 Kf7 39.h5 Ra7 40.Ke3 Ra4 41.hxg6+ hxg6 42.Rg5 R4xa5 43.Rxg6 Rxa3 44.Rh6 R7a4 45.Rh7+ Kg8 46.Rd7 Rc4 47.R2xd3 Rxd3+ 48.Bxd3 Rc3 49.Ke4 Bxd3+ 50.Rxd3 Rxc5 51.Rd7 Kf8 52.g4 Rd5 53.Rc7 Rc5 54.Kd4 Rd5+ 55.Ke3 Rc5 56.Ke4 Ke8 57.g5 Kf8 58.g6 Rf5 59.Rxc6 Rf6 60.Ke5 Rf5+ 61.Ke4 Rf6 62.Ke5 Rf5+ 63.Kxe6 Rxf4 64.Rc7 Kg8 65.Ke5 Rf1 ½–½
  • 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.
WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Paikidze,N2346Zatonskih,A2470½–½2016D02ch-USA w 20161.1
Nemcova,K2367Krush,I2465½–½2016B47ch-USA w 20161.2
Abrahamyan,T2342Bykovtsev,A22191–02016B90ch-USA w 20161.3
Foisor,S2258Melekhina,A2205½–½2016B39ch-USA w 20161.4
Yu,J2157Eswaran,A2225½–½2016A18ch-USA w 20161.5
Yip,C2164Gorti,A21841–02016C04ch-USA w 20161.6
Abrahamyan,T2342Yu,J21571–02016B90ch-USA w 20162.1
Eswaran,A2225Yip,C21640–12016B92ch-USA w 20162.2
Zatonskih,A2470Nemcova,K2367½–½2016E10ch-USA w 20162.3
Krush,I2465Foisor,S22581–02016A07ch-USA w 20162.4
Gorti,A2184Paikidze,N23460–12016D45ch-USA w 20162.5
Bykovtsev,A2219Melekhina,A22051–02016B27ch-USA w 20162.6
Yip,C2164Abrahamyan,T2342½–½2016C03ch-USA w 20163.1
Melekhina,A2205Krush,I2465½–½2016B00ch-USA w 20163.2
Paikidze,N2346Eswaran,A22251–02016A46ch-USA w 20163.3
Foisor,S2258Zatonskih,A2470½–½2016E14ch-USA w 20163.4
Nemcova,K2367Gorti,A21840–12016C06ch-USA w 20163.5
Yu,J2157Bykovtsev,A2219½–½2016E62ch-USA w 20163.6
Abrahamyan,T2342Paikidze,N2346½–½2016B06ch-USA w 20164.1
Yu,J2157Yip,C21641–02016A16ch-USA w 20164.2
Bykovtsev,A2219Krush,I24650–12016B88ch-USA w 20164.3
Zatonskih,A2470Melekhina,A22051–02016A58ch-USA w 20164.4
Gorti,A2184Foisor,S22580–12016D37ch-USA w 20164.5
Eswaran,A2225Nemcova,K2367½–½2016C41ch-USA w 20164.6

 

Standings after round four

 

Spring time in St. Louis

Outdoor commentator Alejandro Ramirez

Photos: Spectrum Studios (Tournament page...)

André Schulz started working for ChessBase in 1991 and is an editor of ChessBase News.

Discuss

Rules for reader comments

 
 

Not registered yet? Register

We use cookies and comparable technologies to provide certain functions, to improve the user experience and to offer interest-oriented content. Depending on their intended use, analysis cookies and marketing cookies may be used in addition to technically required cookies. Here you can make detailed settings or revoke your consent (if necessary partially) with effect for the future. Further information can be found in our data protection declaration.