US Championship playoff: Wesley So is 2017 champion

by Albert Silver

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4/11/2017 – What a fantastic US Championship it has been, and the last day presented a very exciting playoff match between Wesley So and Alexander Onischuk. After two very exciting games, with game one seeing pawns tossed left and right, and game two almost saw Onischuk come back in a powerful endgame display, it was Wesley So’s turn among the Big Three to hoist the winner trophy. Final report.

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All photos by Lennart Ootes

Wesley So’s win at the 2017 US Championship marks once more the incredible streak he has been enjoying since mid-2016. True, he has now extended his streak of undefeated games to 67, which is remarkable in and of itself, though not unheard of. The biggest issue when compiling such runs is the quality of opposition after all. Sam Shankland himself, one of the participants in this year’s final, had a similar streak extending through 69 games back in 2014-2015, including the Olympiad, the Millionaire Open, and Tata Steel Challengers. However, Wesley So, has not only been playing almost exclusively elite opposition, but he has also been winning every single event he has been in during this streak! This has included the Sinquefield Cup, the Olympic gold, the London Classic, Tata Steel (ahead of Magnus Carlsen), and now the US Championship, in its what was possibly its strongest field ever. Of course, all streaks must end some time, and he certainly faced moments when it seemed as if that day was the day, but ultimately he prevailed.

For those curious as to what his next event is, it will be the Gashimov Memorial starting April 20, But that tale will be reported here at ChessBase soone enough, back to the US Championship!

The colorful setup for the playoff is prepared and ready

Here are the trophies where the players hope to see their names inscribed. Alexander Onischuk has already won it in 2006.

Grandmasters love a good position to debate..... ok, not just grandmasters

Prior to the picking of colors, Yasser Seirawan explained that in a two-game situation, he felt that having black in the first game was clearly desirable. It mean that should things go bad in game one, you could look forward to having white in game two, and if things go well in game one with black, you can control the battle better with white to avoid nasty comebacks. Wesley So got white in game one.

The game is afoot!

In a very exciting game, pawns were chucked as if there were no tomorrow, yet the engines could not find anything to fault, and despite two-pawn deficits, declared the game equal. And no, this was not because of some inevitable repetition in their main lines.

Wesley So vs Alexander Onischuk

A disappointing result for Onischuk, though it must be said he usually favors the quiet technical positions over the middlegame madness that reigned on the board in game one. Still, it did show he was going to play with a positive attitude and not hesitate to take his chances. This is invariably the right approach. No one is suggesting recklessness and machismo, but a player will sleep far better if he takes his chances and fails, than wondering what might have happened had he given it a go, but chickened out.

My turn to have white!

Wesley So's stepmother, Lotis Key, watches the game while reading. The title of the book is "The American Miracle".

Game two saw Alexander Onischuk achieve a very nice middlegame/endgame with a powerful pair of bishops. Wesley So failed to respond best, and found himself in a losing position for a couple of moves. Alexander Onischuk failed to find the blows, and eventually the advantage dissipated. Had he won, the title would have been decided by an Armageddon blitz game.

Alexander Onischuk vs Wesley So

Wesley So wins the 2017 US Championship

Sabina Foisor won the 2017 US Women's championship

Rex Sinquefield, the great benefactor of US chess

Men's standings after eleven rounds

(Click for full size)

Women's standings after eleven rounds

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US Championship pairings/results

Round 1 on 2017/03/29 at 2 PM (EST)
Bo.	No.	Rtg		Name	Result		Name	Rtg	No.
1	1	2666	GM	Shankland Samuel L	½ - ½	GM	Caruana Fabiano	2817	12
2	2	2822	GM	So Wesley	1 - 0	GM	Shabalov Alexander	2556	11
3	3	2667	GM	Onischuk Alexander	½ - ½	GM	Naroditsky Daniel	2646	10
4	4	2605	GM	Zherebukh Yaroslav	½ - ½	GM	Kamsky Gata	2659	9
5	5	2645	GM	Akobian Varuzhan	½ - ½	GM	Xiong Jeffery	2674	8
6	6	2668	GM	Robson Ray	0 - 1	GM	Nakamura Hikaru	2793	7
Round 2 on 2017/03/30 at 2 PM (EST)
Bo.	No.	Rtg		Name	Result		Name	Rtg	No.
1	12	2817	GM	Caruana Fabiano	½ - ½	GM	Nakamura Hikaru	2793	7
2	8	2674	GM	Xiong Jeffery	½ - ½	GM	Robson Ray	2668	6
3	9	2659	GM	Kamsky Gata	0 - 1	GM	Akobian Varuzhan	2645	5
4	10	2646	GM	Naroditsky Daniel	½ - ½	GM	Zherebukh Yaroslav	2605	4
5	11	2556	GM	Shabalov Alexander	0 - 1	GM	Onischuk Alexander	2667	3
6	1	2666	GM	Shankland Samuel L	½ - ½	GM	So Wesley	2822	2
Round 3 on 2017/03/31 at 2 PM (EST)
Bo.	No.	Rtg		Name	Result		Name	Rtg	No.
1	2	2822	GM	So Wesley	½ - ½	GM	Caruana Fabiano	2817	12
2	3	2667	GM	Onischuk Alexander	½ - ½	GM	Shankland Samuel L	2666	1
3	4	2605	GM	Zherebukh Yaroslav	1 - 0	GM	Shabalov Alexander	2556	11
4	5	2645	GM	Akobian Varuzhan	0 - 1	GM	Naroditsky Daniel	2646	10
5	6	2668	GM	Robson Ray	1 - 0	GM	Kamsky Gata	2659	9
6	7	2793	GM	Nakamura Hikaru	½ - ½	GM	Xiong Jeffery	2674	8
Round 4 on 2017/04/01 at 2 PM (EST)
Bo.	No.	Rtg		Name	Result		Name	Rtg	No.
1	12	2817	GM	Caruana Fabiano	½ - ½	GM	Xiong Jeffery	2674	8
2	9	2659	GM	Kamsky Gata	½ - ½	GM	Nakamura Hikaru	2793	7
3	10	2646	GM	Naroditsky Daniel	½ - ½	GM	Robson Ray	2668	6
4	11	2556	GM	Shabalov Alexander	½ - ½	GM	Akobian Varuzhan	2645	5
5	1	2666	GM	Shankland Samuel L	½ - ½	GM	Zherebukh Yaroslav	2605	4
6	2	2822	GM	So Wesley	1 - 0	GM	Onischuk Alexander	2667	3
Round 5 on 2017/04/02 at 2 PM (EST)
Bo.	No.	Rtg		Name	Result		Name	Rtg	No.
1	3	2667	GM	Onischuk Alexander	½ - ½	GM	Caruana Fabiano	2817	12
2	4	2605	GM	Zherebukh Yaroslav	½ - ½	GM	So Wesley	2822	2
3	5	2645	GM	Akobian Varuzhan	1 - 0	GM	Shankland Samuel L	2666	1
4	6	2668	GM	Robson Ray	1 - 0	GM	Shabalov Alexander	2556	11
5	7	2793	GM	Nakamura Hikaru	½ - ½	GM	Naroditsky Daniel	2646	10
6	8	2674	GM	Xiong Jeffery	0 - 1	GM	Kamsky Gata	2659	9
Round 6 on 2017/04/04 at 2 PM (EST)
Bo.	No.	Rtg		Name	Result		Name	Rtg	No.
1	12	2817	GM	Caruana Fabiano	1 - 0	GM	Kamsky Gata	2659	9
2	10	2646	GM	Naroditsky Daniel	½ - ½	GM	Xiong Jeffery	2674	8
3	11	2556	GM	Shabalov Alexander	½ - ½	GM	Nakamura Hikaru	2793	7
4	1	2666	GM	Shankland Samuel L	1 - 0	GM	Robson Ray	2668	6
5	2	2822	GM	So Wesley	½ - ½	GM	Akobian Varuzhan	2645	5
6	3	2667	GM	Onischuk Alexander	½ - ½	GM	Zherebukh Yaroslav	2605	4
Round 7 on 2017/04/05 at 2 PM (EST)
Bo.	No.	Rtg		Name	Result		Name	Rtg	No.
1	4	2605	GM	Zherebukh Yaroslav	1 - 0	GM	Caruana Fabiano	2817	12
2	5	2645	GM	Akobian Varuzhan	½ - ½	GM	Onischuk Alexander	2667	3
3	6	2668	GM	Robson Ray	½ - ½	GM	So Wesley	2822	2
4	7	2793	GM	Nakamura Hikaru	½ - ½	GM	Shankland Samuel L	2666	1
5	8	2674	GM	Xiong Jeffery	0 - 1	GM	Shabalov Alexander	2556	11
6	9	2659	GM	Kamsky Gata	1 - 0	GM	Naroditsky Daniel	2646	10
Round 8 on 2017/04/06 at 2 PM (EST)
Bo.	No.	Rtg		Name	Result		Name	Rtg	No.
1	12	2817	GM	Caruana Fabiano	1 - 0	GM	Naroditsky Daniel	2646	10
2	11	2556	GM	Shabalov Alexander	½ - ½	GM	Kamsky Gata	2659	9
3	1	2666	GM	Shankland Samuel L	0 - 1	GM	Xiong Jeffery	2674	8
4	2	2822	GM	So Wesley	½ - ½	GM	Nakamura Hikaru	2793	7
5	3	2667	GM	Onischuk Alexander	1 - 0	GM	Robson Ray	2668	6
6	4	2605	GM	Zherebukh Yaroslav	0 - 1	GM	Akobian Varuzhan	2645	5
Round 9 on 2017/04/07 at 2 PM (EST)
Bo.	No.	Rtg		Name	Result		Name	Rtg	No.
1	5	2645	GM	Akobian Varuzhan	1 - 0	GM	Caruana Fabiano	2817	12
2	6	2668	GM	Robson Ray	½ - ½	GM	Zherebukh Yaroslav	2605	4
3	7	2793	GM	Nakamura Hikaru	0 - 1	GM	Onischuk Alexander	2667	3
4	8	2674	GM	Xiong Jeffery	0 - 1	GM	So Wesley	2822	2
5	9	2659	GM	Kamsky Gata	½ - ½	GM	Shankland Samuel L	2666	1
6	10	2646	GM	Naroditsky Daniel	½ - ½	GM	Shabalov Alexander	2556	11
Round 10 on 2017/04/08 at 2 PM (EST)
Bo.	No.	Rtg		Name	Result		Name	Rtg	No.
1	12	2817	GM	Caruana Fabiano	1 - 0	GM	Shabalov Alexander	2556	11
2	1	2666	GM	Shankland Samuel L	½ - ½	GM	Naroditsky Daniel	2646	10
3	2	2822	GM	So Wesley	½ - ½	GM	Kamsky Gata	2659	9
4	3	2667	GM	Onischuk Alexander	1 - 0	GM	Xiong Jeffery	2674	8
5	4	2605	GM	Zherebukh Yaroslav	0 - 1	GM	Nakamura Hikaru	2793	7
6	5	2645	GM	Akobian Varuzhan	½ - ½	GM	Robson Ray	2668	6
Round 11 on 2017/04/09 at 2 PM (EST)
Bo.	No.	Rtg		Name	Result		Name	Rtg	No.
1	6	2668	GM	Robson Ray	0 - 1	GM	Caruana Fabiano	2817	12
2	7	2793	GM	Nakamura Hikaru	1 - 0	GM	Akobian Varuzhan	2645	5
3	8	2674	GM	Xiong Jeffery	½ - ½	GM	Zherebukh Yaroslav	2605	4
4	9	2659	GM	Kamsky Gata	½ - ½	GM	Onischuk Alexander	2667	3
5	10	2646	GM	Naroditsky Daniel	½ - ½	GM	So Wesley	2822	2
6	11	2556	GM	Shabalov Alexander	½ - ½	GM	Shankland Samuel L	2666	1

US Women's Championship pairings/results

Round 1 on 2017/03/29 at 2 PM (EST)
Bo.	No.	Rtg		Name	Result		Name	Rtg	No.
1	1	2257	WGM	Sharevich Anna	½ - ½	WGM	Nemcova Katerina	2359	12
2	2	2162	WCM	Feng Maggie	½ - ½	GM	Krush Irina	2444	11
3	3	2272	WGM	Foisor Sabina-Francesca	1 - 0	WFM	Yip Carissa	2234	10
4	4	2364	WGM	Abrahamyan Tatev	1 - 0	WFM	Virkud Apurva	2262	9
5	5	2196	WIM	Yu Jennifer R	1 - 0	IM	Zatonskih Anna	2451	8
6	6	2173	WIM	Nguyen Emily	½ - ½	IM	Paikidze Nazi	2369	7
Round 2 on 2017/03/30 at 2 PM (EST)
Bo.	No.	Rtg		Name	Result		Name	Rtg	No.
1	12	2359	WGM	Nemcova Katerina	0 - 1	IM	Paikidze Nazi	2369	7
2	8	2451	IM	Zatonskih Anna	1 - 0	WIM	Nguyen Emily	2173	6
3	9	2262	WFM	Virkud Apurva	1 - 0	WIM	Yu Jennifer R	2196	5
4	10	2234	WFM	Yip Carissa	½ - ½	WGM	Abrahamyan Tatev	2364	4
5	11	2444	GM	Krush Irina	1 - 0	WGM	Foisor Sabina-Francesca	2272	3
6	1	2257	WGM	Sharevich Anna	½ - ½	WCM	Feng Maggie	2162	2
Round 3 on 2017/03/31 at 2 PM (EST)
Bo.	No.	Rtg		Name	Result		Name	Rtg	No.
1	2	2162	WCM	Feng Maggie	½ - ½	WGM	Nemcova Katerina	2359	12
2	3	2272	WGM	Foisor Sabina-Francesca	1 - 0	WGM	Sharevich Anna	2257	1
3	4	2364	WGM	Abrahamyan Tatev	0 - 1	GM	Krush Irina	2444	11
4	5	2196	WIM	Yu Jennifer R	½ - ½	WFM	Yip Carissa	2234	10
5	6	2173	WIM	Nguyen Emily	0 - 1	WFM	Virkud Apurva	2262	9
6	7	2369	IM	Paikidze Nazi	0 - 1	IM	Zatonskih Anna	2451	8
Round 4 on 2017/04/01 at 2 PM (EST)
Bo.	No.	Rtg		Name	Result		Name	Rtg	No.
1	12	2359	WGM	Nemcova Katerina	½ - ½	IM	Zatonskih Anna	2451	8
2	9	2262	WFM	Virkud Apurva	0 - 1	IM	Paikidze Nazi	2369	7
3	10	2234	WFM	Yip Carissa	1 - 0	WIM	Nguyen Emily	2173	6
4	11	2444	GM	Krush Irina	0 - 1	WIM	Yu Jennifer R	2196	5
5	1	2257	WGM	Sharevich Anna	½ - ½	WGM	Abrahamyan Tatev	2364	4
6	2	2162	WCM	Feng Maggie	1 - 0	WGM	Foisor Sabina-Francesca	2272	3
Round 5 on 2017/04/02 at 2 PM (EST)
Bo.	No.	Rtg		Name	Result		Name	Rtg	No.
1	3	2272	WGM	Foisor Sabina-Francesca	1 - 0	WGM	Nemcova Katerina	2359	12
2	4	2364	WGM	Abrahamyan Tatev	1 - 0	WCM	Feng Maggie	2162	2
3	5	2196	WIM	Yu Jennifer R	0 - 1	WGM	Sharevich Anna	2257	1
4	6	2173	WIM	Nguyen Emily	0 - 1	GM	Krush Irina	2444	11
5	7	2369	IM	Paikidze Nazi	1 - 0	WFM	Yip Carissa	2234	10
6	8	2451	IM	Zatonskih Anna	1 - 0	WFM	Virkud Apurva	2262	9
Round 6 on 2017/04/04 at 2 PM (EST)
Bo.	No.	Rtg		Name	Result		Name	Rtg	No.
1	12	2359	WGM	Nemcova Katerina	1 - 0	WFM	Virkud Apurva	2262	9
2	10	2234	WFM	Yip Carissa	1 - 0	IM	Zatonskih Anna	2451	8
3	11	2444	GM	Krush Irina	0 - 1	IM	Paikidze Nazi	2369	7
4	1	2257	WGM	Sharevich Anna	1 - 0	WIM	Nguyen Emily	2173	6
5	2	2162	WCM	Feng Maggie	1 - 0	WIM	Yu Jennifer R	2196	5
6	3	2272	WGM	Foisor Sabina-Francesca	1 - 0	WGM	Abrahamyan Tatev	2364	4
Round 7 on 2017/04/05 at 2 PM (EST)
Bo.	No.	Rtg		Name	Result		Name	Rtg	No.
1	4	2364	WGM	Abrahamyan Tatev	½ - ½	WGM	Nemcova Katerina	2359	12
2	5	2196	WIM	Yu Jennifer R	½ - ½	WGM	Foisor Sabina-Francesca	2272	3
3	6	2173	WIM	Nguyen Emily	0 - 1	WCM	Feng Maggie	2162	2
4	7	2369	IM	Paikidze Nazi	½ - ½	WGM	Sharevich Anna	2257	1
5	8	2451	IM	Zatonskih Anna	½ - ½	GM	Krush Irina	2444	11
6	9	2262	WFM	Virkud Apurva	1 - 0	WFM	Yip Carissa	2234	10
Round 8 on 2017/04/06 at 2 PM (EST)
Bo.	No.	Rtg		Name	Result		Name	Rtg	No.
1	12	2359	WGM	Nemcova Katerina	1 - 0	WFM	Yip Carissa	2234	10
2	11	2444	GM	Krush Irina	1 - 0	WFM	Virkud Apurva	2262	9
3	1	2257	WGM	Sharevich Anna	½ - ½	IM	Zatonskih Anna	2451	8
4	2	2162	WCM	Feng Maggie	½ - ½	IM	Paikidze Nazi	2369	7
5	3	2272	WGM	Foisor Sabina-Francesca	1 - 0	WIM	Nguyen Emily	2173	6
6	4	2364	WGM	Abrahamyan Tatev	½ - ½	WIM	Yu Jennifer R	2196	5
Round 9 on 2017/04/07 at 2 PM (EST)
Bo.	No.	Rtg		Name	Result		Name	Rtg	No.
1	5	2196	WIM	Yu Jennifer R	½ - ½	WGM	Nemcova Katerina	2359	12
2	6	2173	WIM	Nguyen Emily	0 - 1	WGM	Abrahamyan Tatev	2364	4
3	7	2369	IM	Paikidze Nazi	½ - ½	WGM	Foisor Sabina-Francesca	2272	3
4	8	2451	IM	Zatonskih Anna	1 - 0	WCM	Feng Maggie	2162	2
5	9	2262	WFM	Virkud Apurva	1 - 0	WGM	Sharevich Anna	2257	1
6	10	2234	WFM	Yip Carissa	½ - ½	GM	Krush Irina	2444	11
Round 10 on 2017/04/08 at 2 PM (EST)
Bo.	No.	Rtg		Name	Result		Name	Rtg	No.
1	12	2359	WGM	Nemcova Katerina	½ - ½	GM	Krush Irina	2444	11
2	1	2257	WGM	Sharevich Anna	1 - 0	WFM	Yip Carissa	2234	10
3	2	2162	WCM	Feng Maggie	½ - ½	WFM	Virkud Apurva	2262	9
4	3	2272	WGM	Foisor Sabina-Francesca	1 - 0	IM	Zatonskih Anna	2451	8
5	4	2364	WGM	Abrahamyan Tatev	0 - 1	IM	Paikidze Nazi	2369	7
6	5	2196	WIM	Yu Jennifer R	1 - 0	WIM	Nguyen Emily	2173	6
Round 11 on 2017/04/09 at 2 PM (EST)
Bo.	No.	Rtg		Name	Result		Name	Rtg	No.
1	6	2173	WIM	Nguyen Emily	½ - ½	WGM	Nemcova Katerina	2359	12
2	7	2369	IM	Paikidze Nazi	0 - 1	WIM	Yu Jennifer R	2196	5
3	8	2451	IM	Zatonskih Anna	½ - ½	WGM	Abrahamyan Tatev	2364	4
4	9	2262	WFM	Virkud Apurva	0 - 1	WGM	Foisor Sabina-Francesca	2272	3
5	10	2234	WFM	Yip Carissa	½ - ½	WCM	Feng Maggie	2162	2
6	11	2444	GM	Krush Irina	½ - ½	WGM	Sharevich Anna	2257	1

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Albert Silver Born in the US, he grew up in Paris, France, where he completed his Baccalaureat, and after college moved to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He had a peak rating of 2240 FIDE, and was a key designer of Chess Assistant 6. In 2010 he joined the ChessBase family as an editor and writer at ChessBase News. He is also a passionate photographer with work appearing in numerous publications.

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