US Championship Rd6: Nazi Paikidze beats Irina Krush

by Elshan Moradiabadi
4/5/2017 – Round 6 of US championship saw another topsy-turvy turn of events especially in the women’s section, when Irina Krush declined a draw against Nazi Paikidze, and ended up losing instead. In the men’s, Wesley So came close to losing against Varuzhan Akobian, but held, while Kamsky blundered a pawn early and lost to Caruana. Illustrated report and analyses by Elshan Moradiabadi.

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All photos by Lennart Ootes

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
0 - 1
 IM Zatonskih Anna 2451 8
3 11 2444 GM Krush Irina
1 - 0
 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

In the Women’s section all six games were decisive with white dominating with five wins. That said, it was precisely Black’s only success that was also the most impactful, in which the reigning champion Nazi Paikidze won against seven-time US champion Irina Krush with black after the latter declined her draw offer and immediately blundered into a worse  position (although possible to hold) and finally succumbed to the weakness of her pawn on g3.

The game of the round saw Irina Krush lose for the third time to Nazi Paikidze who seems to have her number at the moment

Irina Krush - Nazi Paikidze

[Event "U.S. Championships Women 2017"] [Site "Saint Louis"] [Date "2017.04.04"] [Round "6"] [White "Krush, Irina"] [Black "Paikidze, Nazi"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "E15"] [WhiteElo "2444"] [BlackElo "2369"] [Annotator "Elshan Moradiabadi"] [SetUp "1"] [FEN "3r4/p2nkp2/4p3/2p3N1/1n3Pp1/1PN1P1P1/P3K3/7R b - - 0 36"] [PlyCount "35"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventCountry "USA"] [SourceTitle "playchess.com"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceQuality "1"] [TimeControl "40/5400+30:1800+30"] {[#]} 36... Nf6 {53 In an uneventful game. The players had reached this position close to the time control. Krush had already declined Paikidze's drawn offer but her move is a grave blunder.} 37. Nge4 $2 {132 Completely misses} Nxa2 $1 {63 Game is far from over but I think the psychological effect of this blunder on Irina was so much that she lost thread the in a few moves.} 38. Ra1 {28} Nxc3+ {36} 39. Nxc3 {6} Rd7 {51} 40. Ra5 {0} Rb7 {42} 41. Rxc5 { 503} (41. Na4 Ne4 (41... Rxb3 42. Nxc5 Rb2+ 43. Kd1 Rg2 44. Rxa7+ Kf8 {I think Krush might have missed the counter play.} (44... Kd6 45. Rxf7 $11) 45. Ra8+ Kg7 46. Ra7 Kg6 47. Nd3 $11 Rxg3 48. Ne5+ Kf5 49. Rxf7 Rxe3 50. Rxf6+ Kxf6 51. Nxg4+ Kf5 52. Nxe3+ Kxf4 {[#]}) 42. Nxc5 $11) 41... Rxb3 {54} 42. Rc7+ {24} Kf8 {65} 43. Kd1 {469} Ra3 {537} 44. Kc2 {44} Ra1 {45 Now the g3 pawn is White's Achilles Heel.} 45. Kd3 {155} Rg1 {87} 46. Rxa7 {350} Rxg3 {39} 47. Ne4 $6 { 105 This loses by force.} Nxe4 {250} 48. Kxe4 {7} Rf3 {85} (48... f5+ 49. Kd3 Rg2 {should be a simpler win although Paikidze's choice does the deed too.}) 49. Ra5 {438} (49. Kd3 Rf2 50. Ra5 f6 51. Ra1 (51. Ra8+ Kg7) 51... g3 52. Rg1 g2 53. e4 Rf3+ $1 54. Ke2 Rxf4 {and Black wins.}) 49... f5+ {361} 50. Ke5 {33} Kf7 {14} 51. e4 {218} Re3 {52 The game is over.} 52. Ra7+ {25} Kg6 {7} 53. Ra4 {30} (53. Kxe6 Rxe4+ {loses anyways}) 53... Rxe4+ {136 Kd4} 0-1

This important victory had put Paikidze on +3 score and sole lead after six rounds. Irina Krush graciously participated in the post-game interview and shared her thoughts, from which, I concluded that she overestimated her chances after she got some edge to eventually succumbing to a cheap tactic Nxa2.

Another important shocking result came at the hand of youngest player in the women section, where youngster Carissa Yip, aged barely fourteen, played a creative ( although unsound) opening against top-seed IM Anna Zatonskih to uncork a strong attack along the g-file over black’s king to deliver an important victory.

Carissa Yip - Anna Zatonskih

[Event "U.S. Championships Women 2017"] [Site "Saint Louis"] [Date "2017.04.04"] [Round "6"] [White "Yip, Carissa"] [Black "Zatonskih, Anna"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C10"] [WhiteElo "2234"] [BlackElo "2451"] [Annotator "Elshan Moradiabadi"] [PlyCount "97"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventCountry "USA"] [SourceTitle "playchess.com"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceQuality "1"] [TimeControl "40/5400+30:1800+30"] {After a difficult loss in the first round, Anna Zatonskih had a great comeback and was in shared first before the beginning of this round. However, things went sour for her in this game after she got into a difficult position against the youngest participant of the event, Carissa Yip, who showed an excellent feel for attacking chess and managed to score a decisive win for herself. Carissa is a gifted young girl to be watched in future!} 1. e4 {0} e6 {5} 2. d4 {0} d5 {4} 3. Nd2 {0} dxe4 {12} 4. Nxe4 {0 Rubinstein French is today's recipe of Anna against her young opponent.} Bd7 {7} (4... Nd7 {is more common and is considered as the main line. If you want to study this line put 1.e4 and black "George Meier" in your ChessBase Engine. The German GM is the world renowned expert in this line!}) 5. Nf3 {18} Bc6 {33} 6. Bd3 {6} Nd7 {49} 7. Be3 {341} (7. O-O Ngf6 8. Ned2 { is the best line in my opinion!} Be7 9. Re1 O-O 10. Nc4) 7... Ngf6 {281} 8. Nxf6+ {14} (8. Ng3 Be7 {is also possible.}) 8... Qxf6 {279} 9. c3 {229} h6 { 1273 came after a long thought by Anna. She might have been surprised by the handling of the opening by the youngster, which although far from optimal is nonetheless very creative!} 10. Qc2 {167} Bxf3 {503} 11. gxf3 {12} c6 {74} 12. f4 {308} Bd6 {1183 the f4 pawn proved not to be that loose!} (12... g6 13. d5 {and things suddenly gets critical along a1-h8 diagonal!}) 13. f5 {144} e5 $6 {4} ( 13... exf5 $1 14. Bxf5 Nb6 15. O-O-O O-O {and Nd5 is pretty strong.}) 14. O-O-O {35} O-O {447} (14... exd4 15. Bxd4 Be5 {would have been my choice}) 15. Kb1 { 217} Qh4 $6 {311 A weird move from Anna. Obviously White wants to place her pieces on the kingside along the h- and g- files. I am not sure if Black wants the same thing. Although I am criticizing Anna here, the truth is that it is hard to really propose a great continuation for Black: the pressure along the g-file is just overwhelming.} (15... exd4 16. Bxd4 Be5 17. Be3 Bc7 18. Rhg1 Bb6 19. Bf4 Nc5 ( 19... Ne5) 20. b4 Nxd3) 16. Rdg1 {574} Nf6 {183} 17. f3 {83} Rfe8 {43} 18. Qg2 {83} Bf8 {131} 19. dxe5 {271} Rxe5 {118} 20. Bf2 {5} Qg5 {329} 21. Qf1 {108} ( 21. Qxg5 hxg5 22. h4 {looks like to be even stronger!}) 21... Qh5 {187} 22. Bd4 {16} Rxf5 {1} 23. Bxf5 {8} Qxf5+ {4} 24. Ka1 {9} Re8 {69} 25. Qb1 $1 {71 You wouldn't believe a thirteen year old could make such a mature move!} Qf4 {108} 26. Qc1 {81} Qf5 {26} 27. Re1 $1 {288 with rooks off the board, things going to be much easier to exploit Black's queenside.} Rxe1 {30} 28. Qxe1 {135} b6 {68} 29. Rg1 {157} Nh5 {152} 30. Qe4 {279} Qxe4 {187} 31. fxe4 {2} f6 {97} 32. Be3 {235} (32. Rd1 {is stronger because Bd6 will be met with Bxb6.}) 32... Kf7 {6} 33. Rd1 {26} Ke8 {50} 34. b4 {33} (34. a4 g5 35. Ka2 Nf4 36. a5 {is easier but Carissa's choice is good enough for a win!}) 34... g5 {29} 35. a4 {48} Ng7 {16} 36. a5 {58} bxa5 {136} 37. bxa5 {6} a6 {4} 38. Rb1 {243} Bd6 {4} 39. h3 {22} ( 39. Rb6 Bxh2 40. Rxc6 {is winning.}) 39... Bc7 {93} 40. Rb7 {0} Ne6 {0} 41. Bb6 {131} Kd8 {539} 42. Rb8+ {169} Kd7 {39} 43. Ra8 {238} Bxb6 {182} 44. axb6 {9} Nc5 {6} 45. Rh8 {122} h5 {25} 46. e5 {170} fxe5 {117} 47. Rxh5 {35 It is all over now!} Ne6 {20} 48. Rh8 {23} Nd8 {6} 49. Rg8 {11 Great win for Carissa!} 1-0

Carissa Yip described her win as smooth and her control of her nerve after such a huge victory was amazing to me. I am sure we will hear of this young lady a lot in a near future.

This result denied Zatonskih from her fantastic run after her shocking first round loss and dropped her to tie for third as WGM Sabina Foisor scored her fourth victory with white against WGM Tatev Abrahamyan and moved to clear 2nd with 4.0/6.

Sabina Foisor has had a great event so far, winning four games with white and is now clear second

Women's standings after six rounds

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

In the men’s section, results were less drastic but the roller-coaster games were present here too. Although, incumbent champion and current world no. 3 Fabiano Caruana posted a win which he explained as an ‘easy’ one against ultra-aggressive and somewhat out of shape Gata Kamsky, who blundered a pawn on move 16, the other games of the day were anything but smooth.

Gata Kamsky vs Fabiano Caruana

[Event "U.S. Championships Men 2017"] [Site "Saint Louis"] [Date "2017.04.04"] [Round "6"] [White "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Black "Kamsky, Gata"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B33"] [WhiteElo "2817"] [BlackElo "2659"] [Annotator "Elshan Moradiabadi"] [PlyCount "79"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventCountry "USA"] [SourceTitle "playchess.com"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceQuality "1"] [TimeControl "40/5400+30:1800+30"] {The world no. 3 and defending champion scored his first victory of the tournament by essaying a number of strong moves in 'always firey' white side of the Sicilian Sveshnikov to move to joint second place at the hand of Gata Kamsky, whose enterprising chess has not paid off so far as he is on -2 after 6 rounds.} 1. e4 {0} c5 {6} 2. Nf3 {0} Nc6 {4} 3. d4 {0} cxd4 {62} 4. Nxd4 {0} Nf6 {188} 5. Nc3 {0} e5 {5} 6. Ndb5 {0} d6 {4} 7. Bg5 {9} a6 {4} 8. Na3 {4} b5 {4} 9. Bxf6 $5 {14 No more 'Karpov' style of handling Sveshnikov. Caruana wants blood!} (9. Nd5 Be7 10. Bxf6 Bxf6 11. c3 {is of course the most common way of handling the Sveshnikov.}) 9... gxf6 {278} 10. Nd5 {9} Bg7 {271} 11. Bd3 $5 {14 Another less common choice by Caruana. He might have caught Gata off-guard as the development of the game from here is all in Caruana's favor.} Ne7 {16} 12. Nxe7 {6} Qxe7 {4} 13. c3 {9} f5 {273} 14. Nc2 {33} f4 {1113 After a long thought, Kamsky chose a rare and a bit passive move. By pushing this pawn, Black kills all of his active play in the center with d5 and f5 as we will see in the game. Recent handling of this line by two strong teenagers of the chess world seem to promise more chances for black than Kamsky's choice. Although, I am sure Fabiano might have something there.} (14... Qg5 15. O-O (15. g3 $6 Bb7 16. Qe2 O-O 17. h4 Qf6 18. O-O-O d5 19. f3 Rfc8 20. Kb1 a5 21. Ne3 b4 22. cxb4 axb4 23. Nxf5 Bf8 24. Rc1 b3 25. a3 Rcb8 26. Qe3 Kh8 27. exd5 Bxd5 28. Rhe1 Re8 29. g4 Qe6 30. Rc3 Ra5 31. Kc1 Bc5 32. Qh6 Qg6 33. Be4 Be6 34. h5 Qxh6+ 35. Nxh6 Be7 36. Nf5 Bg5+ 37. Ne3 Rd8 38. Kb1 Ra4 39. Rd1 Rad4 40. Rdc1 h6 41. Ka1 Rd2 42. Rb1 Kg7 43. Nc4 Re2 44. Bf5 Bxf5 45. gxf5 Rc8 46. Rg1 Rc2 47. Rg4 e4 48. Rxb3 R2xc4 49. fxe4 Re8 50. Re3 Re5 51. b3 Rc2 52. b4 Kf6 53. Re1 Re8 54. Rd1 Ra8 55. Rd3 Re2 56. b5 Rc8 57. Rb3 Rc1+ 58. Rb1 Rcc2 59. Rb3 Be3 60. e5+ Kxe5 {0-1 (60) Firouzja,A (2475)-Aravindh,C (2506) Moscow 2016}) 15... Bb7 16. f3 O-O 17. exf5 d5 {if I were to try my chances I would have chosen this line but Kamsky might think that it is not a wise decision to opt for the main line against a player like Caruana.}) 15. Qh5 {826} h6 {617 Extremely rare.} (15... O-O 16. O-O-O Be6 17. g3 {1-0 (69) Lafarga Santorroman,D (2639)-Kerr,S (2580) ICCF email 2007 In fact there are only four games in this line, three of which are in correspondence chess with two draws and a win for white.}) 16. Nb4 {182} Be6 $4 {1131 After almost 20 minutes thought, Kamksy blunders a pawn! The game is basically over after this!} (16... Bb7 17. O-O O-O 18. Rfe1 Qg5 19. Qxg5 hxg5 20. f3 Rab8 21. a4 a5 22. Nc2 {1/2-1/2 (22) Besztercsenyi,T (2270)-Ladanyi,T (2215) Hungary 1999}) 17. Nxa6 {579} O-O {50} 18. Nb4 {37} f5 {15 Kamsky tries to complicate matters but Caruana's technique is flawless in this game.} 19. O-O $1 {570} (19. exf5 Bf7 20. Qe2 (20. Qf3 e4 {with complications}) 20... d5 { is unnecessary}) 19... fxe4 {375} 20. Bxe4 {6} Rac8 {13} 21. Rad1 {213 White is dominating light squares. The game is strategically over!} Rc4 {554} 22. Qg6 {304} Rxe4 {304 desparation....} 23. Qxe4 {7} f3 {2} 24. Nd5 {683} Qg5 {257} 25. g3 {47} Rf7 {76} 26. Kh1 {417} Bh3 {172} 27. Rfe1 {96} Bf5 {43} 28. Qb4 {79 } Bf8 {137} 29. Qxb5 {133} h5 {14} 30. Ne3 {64} Bh3 {39} 31. Qc4 {34} Qg6 {19} 32. a4 {94} Kh8 {135} 33. Qh4 {194} Be6 {39} 34. a5 {145} e4 {47} 35. Qd8 {57} Kh7 {63} 36. a6 {39} Bh6 {18} 37. Qb6 {236} h4 {13} 38. g4 {66} Bxg4 {21} 39. Rg1 {36} Bxe3 {50} 40. Qxe3 {0 Time control is reached and Gata decides that he has had 'enough'.} 1-0

Right after he had made his pawn-losing blunder, Gata Kamsky was seen utterly aghast at what he had done, even before Fabiano Caruana grabbed it

In fact, early on in the game, world no.2 and current leader Wesley So got into a lot of trouble against Varuzhan Akobian and twice got into a nearly lost position only to save the day by squeezing Akobian on time.

Wesley So vs Varuzhan Akobian

[Event "U.S. Championships Men 2017"] [Site "Saint Louis"] [Date "2017.04.04"] [Round "6"] [White "So, Wesley"] [Black "Akobian, Varuzhan"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D31"] [WhiteElo "2822"] [BlackElo "2645"] [Annotator "Elshan Moradiabadi"] [SetUp "1"] [FEN "r1q1kn2/pp2b1p1/2p2n2/3p2B1/3P2b1/2N1PNR1/PP3P2/R2QKB1r w Qq - 0 18"] [PlyCount "56"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventCountry "USA"] [SourceTitle "playchess.com"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceQuality "1"] [TimeControl "40/5400+30:1800+30"] {[#]} 18. Qb3 {312 Akobian had uncorked a very important novelty early on in this game. Here, he could have played two very important move which would have earned him the brilliancy prize of the year (I doubt such a prize still exists but we would have given one to 'Var' had he found it!).} N8h7 {950 In extreme time pressure, Akobian did not find the winning continuation despite spending sixteen minutes trying to find the idea. I think he believed deep down that his position is winning but he was unable to fully realize the potential of the maneuver Qf5-d3} ({The winning maneuver would have been} 18... Bd6 19. Ne5 Bxe5 20. dxe5 {[#]} Qf5 $3 {[#]} 21. Qxb7 (21. f3 N6d7 22. O-O-O Qxg5 23. fxg4 O-O-O {and Black would win all of the White's pawn in the center! }) (21. e4 Nxe4 {And Black is winning.}) 21... Qd3 22. Qxc6+ Kf7 {and mate follows}) 19. Bxf6 {151} gxf6 {28} 20. O-O-O {122} Bd6 {120} 21. Rxg4 {221} Qxg4 {2} 22. Qxb7 {6} Rc8 {49} 23. Qa6 {564} Rc7 {104} 24. Be2 {308} Rxd1+ {14} 25. Kxd1 {9} Qf5 {154} 26. Nd2 {333} Ng5 {591} 27. f4 {403} Nh3 {10} 28. Bf3 { 709} Bb4 {188} 29. Nxd5 {542} cxd5 {15} 30. Qb5+ {1} Kf7 {24} 31. Qxb4 {2} Qd3 {303} 32. Bxd5+ {142} Kg7 {7} 33. Qb3 {71} Nf2+ {50} 34. Ke1 {5} Rc1+ {80} 35. Kxf2 {2} Qxd2+ {5} 36. Kf3 {3} Re1 {284} 37. Bc4 {313} Qh2 {30} 38. Qb7+ {283} Kh6 {5} 39. Qe7 {17} Qh1+ {62} 40. Kf2 {0} Qh4+ {13} 41. Kf3 {82} Qh1+ {497} 42. Kf2 {24} Qh4+ {72} 43. Kf3 {30} Qh3+ {151} 44. Kf2 {4} Qh4+ {30} 45. Kf3 {3 } Qh3+ {50} 1/2-1/2

Varuzhan did not express disappointment with the draw during the interview but I am sure he really wished he had been able to pull off this important win with black.

Varuzhan Akobian (right) came close to being the one who ended Wesley So's great streak

In another decisive game of the day in the open section, Sam Shankland did not get much out of the opening against Ray Robson but Robson showed a self-destructive tendency in this game by giving up his pawn voluntarily and then weakening his king, leaving Shankland to choose with a wealth of ways to finish him off, which he did.

Sam Shankland had to be wondering what his opponent was thinking as he self-destructed on the board

Sam Shankland vs Ray Robson

[Event "U.S. Championship"] [Site "Playchess.com"] [Date "2017.04.04"] [Round "6.6"] [White "Shankland, Samuel L"] [Black "Robson, Ray"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D45"] [WhiteElo "2666"] [BlackElo "2668"] [Annotator "Elshan Moradiabadi"] [SetUp "1"] [FEN "r5k1/pb3ppp/2q1pn2/2p5/2P5/4QN2/PP1RBPPP/6K1 w - - 0 20"] [PlyCount "55"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] {[#]} 20. Bf1 {This is the position out of the opening where the tension in the center had somewhat fizzled out. The position is even and there is not much going on in here, except for a few weak pawns for Black which are in no danger where they are! A draw could be expected from two GMs at this level. In the following moves the players improved their positions.} h6 21. Ne5 Qc7 22. h3 a5 23. f4 a4 $6 {A strange move from Robson. I wonder whether he was playing for a win or something else was going on in his mind!} 24. Be2 Rd8 25. Bd1 { Shankland addresses the pawn on a4. I doubt it may pose any issue to Black yet, but it at least creates a headache for Robson.} a3 $2 {Robson voluntarily gives away a pawn. I do not know why.} (25... Rxd2 26. Qxd2 Bc6 27. Bc2 (27. Nxc6 Qxc6 28. Qd8+ Kh7 29. Bf3 Qa6 30. Qd3+ g6 {is also equal.}) 27... g6 (27... Be8 28. Qe3 (28. Nd3 Qc6 29. Qe3 Qe4 30. Qxc5 Bc6 31. Qf2 Qxc4 {is also equal}) 28... Qb7) 28. Qe3 Be8) 26. bxa3 Qa5 27. Rxd8+ Qxd8 28. Bc2 h5 $6 {From bad to worse.} 29. g4 $6 {A bit hasty but I like it!} (29. Kh2 {was probably better.}) 29... hxg4 $2 (29... Ne8 {should have given Black chances to hold.}) 30. hxg4 Qc7 31. g5 Nd7 32. Kf2 f6 $2 {weakens the king even more! This is the last nail in the coffin for Robson!} 33. gxf6 Nxf6 34. a4 Qa5 35. Ke2 Ba6 36. Qh3 Qb6 37. a5 Qd6 38. Bd3 Bb7 39. Ng6 Nh7 40. Ne5 Nf8 41. Qh8+ $1 {[#] Not the strongest but very elegant!} Kxh8 42. Nf7+ Kg8 43. Nxd6 Ba6 44. Be4 Nd7 45. Bc6 Nb8 46. Bb5 Kf8 47. Ne4 1-0

Men's standings after six rounds

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   GM Caruana Fabiano 2817 12
2 5 2645 GM Akobian Varuzhan   GM Onischuk Alexander 2667 3
3 6 2668 GM Robson Ray   GM So Wesley 2822 2
4 7 2793 GM Nakamura Hikaru   GM Shankland Samuel L 2666 1
5 8 2674 GM Xiong Jeffery   GM Shabalov Alexander 2556 11
6 9 2659 GM Kamsky Gata   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   GM Naroditsky Daniel 2646 10
2 11 2556 GM Shabalov Alexander   GM Kamsky Gata 2659 9
3 1 2666 GM Shankland Samuel L   GM Xiong Jeffery 2674 8
4 2 2822 GM So Wesley   GM Nakamura Hikaru 2793 7
5 3 2667 GM Onischuk Alexander   GM Robson Ray 2668 6
6 4 2605 GM Zherebukh Yaroslav   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   GM Caruana Fabiano 2817 12
2 6 2668 GM Robson Ray   GM Zherebukh Yaroslav 2605 4
3 7 2793 GM Nakamura Hikaru   GM Onischuk Alexander 2667 3
4 8 2674 GM Xiong Jeffery   GM So Wesley 2822 2
5 9 2659 GM Kamsky Gata   GM Shankland Samuel L 2666 1
6 10 2646 GM Naroditsky Daniel   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   GM Shabalov Alexander 2556 11
2 1 2666 GM Shankland Samuel L   GM Naroditsky Daniel 2646 10
3 2 2822 GM So Wesley   GM Kamsky Gata 2659 9
4 3 2667 GM Onischuk Alexander   GM Xiong Jeffery 2674 8
5 4 2605 GM Zherebukh Yaroslav   GM Nakamura Hikaru 2793 7
6 5 2645 GM Akobian Varuzhan   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   GM Caruana Fabiano 2817 12
2 7 2793 GM Nakamura Hikaru   GM Akobian Varuzhan 2645 5
3 8 2674 GM Xiong Jeffery   GM Zherebukh Yaroslav 2605 4
4 9 2659 GM Kamsky Gata   GM Onischuk Alexander 2667 3
5 10 2646 GM Naroditsky Daniel   GM So Wesley 2822 2
6 11 2556 GM Shabalov Alexander   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
0 - 1
 IM Zatonskih Anna 2451 8
3 11 2444 GM Krush Irina
1 - 0
 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   WGM Nemcova Katerina 2359 12
2 5 2196 WIM Yu Jennifer R   WGM Foisor Sabina-Francesca 2272 3
3 6 2173 WIM Nguyen Emily   WCM Feng Maggie 2162 2
4 7 2369 IM Paikidze Nazi   WGM Sharevich Anna 2257 1
5 8 2451 IM Zatonskih Anna   GM Krush Irina 2444 11
6 9 2262 WFM Virkud Apurva   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   WFM Yip Carissa 2234 10
2 11 2444 GM Krush Irina   WFM Virkud Apurva 2262 9
3 1 2257 WGM Sharevich Anna   IM Zatonskih Anna 2451 8
4 2 2162 WCM Feng Maggie   IM Paikidze Nazi 2369 7
5 3 2272 WGM Foisor Sabina-Francesca   WIM Nguyen Emily 2173 6
6 4 2364 WGM Abrahamyan Tatev   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   WGM Nemcova Katerina 2359 12
2 6 2173 WIM Nguyen Emily   WGM Abrahamyan Tatev 2364 4
3 7 2369 IM Paikidze Nazi   WGM Foisor Sabina-Francesca 2272 3
4 8 2451 IM Zatonskih Anna   WCM Feng Maggie 2162 2
5 9 2262 WFM Virkud Apurva   WGM Sharevich Anna 2257 1
6 10 2234 WFM Yip Carissa   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   GM Krush Irina 2444 11
2 1 2257 WGM Sharevich Anna   WFM Yip Carissa 2234 10
3 2 2162 WCM Feng Maggie   WFM Virkud Apurva 2262 9
4 3 2272 WGM Foisor Sabina-Francesca   IM Zatonskih Anna 2451 8
5 4 2364 WGM Abrahamyan Tatev   IM Paikidze Nazi 2369 7
6 5 2196 WIM Yu Jennifer R   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   WGM Nemcova Katerina 2359 12
2 7 2369 IM Paikidze Nazi   WIM Yu Jennifer R 2196 5
3 8 2451 IM Zatonskih Anna   WGM Abrahamyan Tatev 2364 4
4 9 2262 WFM Virkud Apurva   WGM Foisor Sabina-Francesca 2272 3
5 10 2234 WFM Yip Carissa   WCM Feng Maggie 2162 2
6 11 2444 GM Krush Irina   WGM Sharevich Anna 2257 1

Links

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 14 or any of our Fritz compatible chess programs.
Elshan Moradiabadi is a GM born and raised in Tehran, Iran. He moved to the US in 2012. Ever since, he has been active in US college chess scenes and in US chess. is a veteran instructor and teaches chess to every level, with students ranging from beginners to IM. He can be contacted for projects or teaching.