US Championship Rd8: Akobian and Foisor join leaders

by Elshan Moradiabadi
4/7/2017 – As we reach the final rounds, the 2017 edition of US championship is becoming more and more tenacious. With three rounds to go, the previous leaders were both joined by others. Wesley So drew Nakamura and was joined by Varuzhan Akobian who beat Zherebukh in a brilliant game, while Nazi Paikidze drew Feng and was joined by Sabina Foisor who won her 5th game with white! Report and analyses by GM Elshan Moradiabadi.

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All photos by Lennart Ootes

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

In the open section, the giants’ ‘close encounter’ was indeed of the ‘third kind’ where one of the co-leaders and top seed Wesley So drew an uneventful game against Hikaru Nakamura who is in hot pursuit only a half point shy of the leaders.

It was a fighting opening line, but in the end Hikaru Nakamura's game against Welsey So fizzled out

Wesley So vs Hikaru Nakamura

[Event "U.S. Championships Men 2017"] [Site "Saint Louis"] [Date "2017.04.06"] [Round "8"] [White "So, Wesley"] [Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E10"] [WhiteElo "2822"] [BlackElo "2793"] [Annotator "Elshan Moradiabadi"] [PlyCount "60"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventCountry "USA"] [SourceTitle "playchess.com"] [Source "ChessBase"] [TimeControl "40/5400+30:1800+30"] {The game between the two giants ended peacefully without much of a fight.} 1. d4 {0 It is hard to predict Wesley So's first move.} Nf6 {13} 2. c4 {0} e6 {7} 3. Nf3 {0} d5 {8} 4. g3 {5 Wesley might have good memories from the Catalan against Naka. He won a beautiful technical game against the latter in a trimuphant performance at last year's Sinquefield Cup!} Bb4+ {7 This time Naka opts for one of the two closed versions of the Catalan.} (4... Be7 5. Bg2 O-O 6. O-O dxc4 7. Ne5 Nc6 8. Nxc6 bxc6 9. Na3 Bxa3 10. bxa3 Ba6 11. Qd2 Rb8 12. Qa5 Qc8 13. a4 Rd8 14. Ba3 Rxd4 15. Rfb1 Rb6 16. Bc5 Rd7 17. Rd1 h6 18. Rxd7 Nxd7 19. Bxb6 cxb6 20. Qd2 c5 21. Rd1 Nf6 22. Kf1 Kh7 23. Qc2+ Kg8 24. Qd2 Kh7 25. Qd8 Qxd8 26. Rxd8 c3 27. Ke1 Bc4 28. Kd1 Bxa2 29. Kc2 Bc4 30. e3 b5 31. Kxc3 a6 32. Ra8 Nd5+ 33. Bxd5 exd5 34. a5 b4+ 35. Kd2 Bf1 36. Rc8 c4 37. Rb8 b3 38. Kc3 {1-0 (38) So,W (2771) -Nakamura,H (2791) Saint Louis 2016}) 5. Bd2 {7} Be7 {5} 6. Bg2 {17} O-O {25} 7. O-O {5} Nbd7 {7} 8. Qc2 {7} Ne4 $5 {7 This might have caught Wesley by surprise. This is a less probed but good enough choice.} 9. Bf4 {214} c6 {20} 10. Nc3 {77} g5 $5 {14 Nakamura showes some ambition by playing it like Carlsen.} 11. Bc1 {4} (11. Be3 Nd6 12. b3 Nf5 13. g4 Nxe3 14. fxe3 b5 $5 15. e4 b4 16. exd5 bxc3 17. dxc6 Nb8 $5 {led to a close battle between Eljanov and Carlsen in which the Norwegian outplayed his ambitious opponent} 18. Qe4 f5 19. gxf5 exf5 20. Qd5+ Qxd5 21. cxd5 Na6 22. Rac1 Nc7 23. Ne5 f4 24. Nc4 Rd8 25. Rxc3 Nxd5 26. c7 Nxc7 27. Bxa8 Nxa8 28. e3 Bb4 29. Rc2 Bb7 30. h4 Be4 31. Rh2 Nb6 32. Ne5 fxe3 33. hxg5 Rxd4 34. Ng4 Nd5 {0-1 (34) Eljanov,P (2760)-Carlsen, M (2844) Wijk aan Zee 2016}) 11... f5 {4 Yours truly had some pleasant experience in this line. I won an important game against GM Denes Boros to finish clear first in Washington International last year!} 12. b3 {4 This is a better move than what I played.} (12. Rb1 Bf6 13. e3 b6 $6 (13... Qe7 14. b4 Nb6 15. Nxe4 fxe4 16. Nd2 Bd7 17. c5 Nc8 18. f3 exf3 19. Nxf3 Be8 20. e4 Bg6 21. Ne5 Qg7 22. Be3 Ne7 23. Nxg6 Qxg6 24. Rf2 Bg7 25. Rbf1 a6 26. a4 g4 27. Rxf8+ Rxf8 28. Rxf8+ Bxf8 29. b5 axb5 30. axb5 Bh6 31. Bf2 cxb5 32. Qb1 Kf7 33. Kh1 b4 34. Bg1 Bd2 35. Qf1+ Qf6 36. Qb5 Bc3 37. exd5 exd5 38. Qxb7 Bxd4 39. Qxb4 Bxg1 40. Kxg1 h5 {1/2-1/2 (40) Rozum,I (2581)-Oparin,G (2597) Vladivostok 2016}) 14. b4 g4 15. Nxe4 dxe4 16. Nd2 Bb7 17. Nxe4 fxe4 18. Qxe4 Qe7 19. b5 Rac8 20. Ba3 Qxa3 21. Qxe6+ Kh8 22. bxc6 Bxc6 23. Bxc6 Nb8 24. Bd5 Na6 25. Qxg4 Qe7 26. a3 Rcd8 27. Qe4 Qg7 28. Qc2 Qd7 29. Be4 Qe7 30. Bg2 Rc8 31. Qa4 Nb8 32. Rbc1 Rc7 33. Rc2 Nd7 34. Rd1 Rd8 35. Rcc1 Nf8 36. Qb3 h5 37. a4 Ne6 38. a5 Qd6 39. axb6 axb6 40. Rb1 Qe7 41. Qxb6 Rxc4 42. Qb5 Rc7 43. Qxh5+ Kg7 44. Rb5 Ng5 45. h4 Nf7 46. Rb6 Rd6 47. Rxd6 Nxd6 48. e4 {1-0 (48) Moradiabadi,E (2595) -Boros,D (2441) Rockville 2016}) 12... b6 {832} 13. Bb2 {361} Bb7 {187} 14. Rad1 {259} Qe8 {1310 was played after a long thought. Nakamura decides to stay solid and see what Wesley has up his sleeves.} 15. Nd2 {463} Nd6 {145} 16. Ba3 {157} Rc8 {133} 17. Rfe1 {383} Nf7 {134} 18. Qb2 {268} Nf6 {77} 19. Bxe7 {892} Qxe7 {57 The position is even. The players played cautiously until move 30 and then they agreed on a draw.} 20. b4 {2} Rfd8 {42} 21. e3 {315} g4 {195} 22. cxd5 {76} cxd5 {12} 23. b5 {14} Rc7 {325} (23... h5 24. Ne2 h4 25. Nf4 h3 26. Bf1 Ne4 {is equal as well}) 24. Rc1 {106} Rdc8 {19} 25. Ne2 {9} Nd6 {28} 26. Rxc7 {324} Rxc7 {40} 27. Rc1 {6} Rxc1+ {192} 28. Nxc1 {12} Nfe4 {26} 29. Bxe4 { 262} dxe4 {116} 30. Ne2 {6} Bd5 {24 The position is locked and neither side can improve. Nakamura wanted to try something but Wesley kept things smooth and things fizzled out soon into a draw.} 1/2-1/2

Another giant of the event, Fabiano Caruana, bounced back after yesterday’s disaster at the hands of Daniel Naroditsky who went down for the second time in a row with the black pieces. Fabiano Caruana is a half point behind the co-leaders after dismantling Daniel Naroditsky in a rare line of the French Winawer where things went wrong for Naroditsky early in the game.

Gata Kamsky played the Marshall against Shabalov, but the game never really 'exploded' the way fans had hoped

Nevertheless, the hero of the day was Varuzhan Akobian who won an ‘easy’ game against yesterday’s hero Yaroslav Zherebukh. Varuzhan credited his victory to his form and preparation, mentioning Qxc5 is Kramnik’s move against Hou Yifan and expressing disbelief in the way Zherebukh handled the opening.

Right out of the opening, Akobian equalized and Zherebukh started making strange moves such as giving up his dark squared bishop for the knight on f6 when there were no real attack chances on the kingside. He then exchanged queens after he had already undermined his queenside with b4. Akobian played strong and despite a couple of inaccuracies he won, and move to shared first with Wesley So.

Yaroslav Zherebukh vs Varuzhan Akobian

[Event "U.S. Championships Men 2017"] [Site "Saint Louis"] [Date "2017.04.06"] [Round "8"] [White "Zherebukh, Yaroslav"] [Black "Akobian, Varuzhan"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C07"] [WhiteElo "2605"] [BlackElo "2645"] [Annotator "Elshan Moradiabadi"] [PlyCount "56"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventCountry "USA"] [SourceTitle "playchess.com"] [Source "ChessBase"] [TimeControl "40/5400+30:1800+30"] 1. e4 {0 Akobian played one of the best games of his life to join Wesley So in the first place. Yaroslav was a mere shadow of the person who had dismantled Caruana's position the other day.} e6 {6} 2. d4 {0} d5 {5} 3. Nd2 {0} c5 { 9 Akobian follows Wesley So. This is how he handled this line against Zherebukh.} 4. exd5 {0} Qxd5 {5} 5. dxc5 {1} Nf6 {22} (5... Bxc5 {is how Wesley So played against Yaroslav} 6. Ngf3 Nf6 7. Bc4 Qc6 8. O-O Nbd7 9. Qe2 a6 10. a4 b6 11. Nb3 Bb7 12. Nxc5 Nxc5 13. b4 Ncd7 14. Rd1 O-O 15. b5 Qc8 16. Nd4 Nc5 17. bxa6 Bxa6 18. Nb5 Bxb5 19. Bxb5 Nce4 20. Bb2 Nc3 21. Bxc3 Qxc3 22. Rab1 Rac8 23. Bd3 Qc6 24. Qe1 Ra8 25. Rb4 Qc7 26. Rc4 Qa7 27. Rb1 Rfc8 28. Rcb4 Nd5 29. Rh4 h6 30. Qe4 Nf6 31. Qe3) 6. Ngf3 {6} Qxc5 {20 This is the 'Kramnik move' Varuzhan referred to.} 7. Bd3 {7} Nbd7 {27} 8. O-O {41} (8. Qe2 Qc7 9. Nb3 Be7 10. O-O O-O 11. a4 b6 12. Re1 Bb7 13. a5 bxa5 14. Nfd4 Nc5 15. Nxa5 Nxd3 16. Qxd3 Bb4 17. Bd2 Be4 18. Qe2 Bd6 19. Nb5 Bxh2+ 20. Kh1 Qb8 21. Bg5 Be5 22. Ra4 a6 23. Na3 Bxb2 24. Bxf6 Bxg2+ 25. Kxg2 Bxf6 26. Qe4 Qc7 27. Nc6 Rfc8 28. Rc4 Qd6 29. Re3 Qd5 30. Qxd5 exd5 31. Ne7+ Bxe7 32. Rxc8+ Rxc8 33. Rxe7 g6 34. Re3 Kg7 35. Rd3 Rc5 36. c3 a5 37. Kf3 h5 38. Ke3 h4 39. Kf4 f6 40. Kg4 g5 41. f4 Kg6 42. fxg5 fxg5 43. Re3 a4 44. Rd3 Kf6 45. Rf3+ Kg6 46. Rd3 Kh6 47. Re3 Rc6 48. Rd3 Rf6 49. Rd4 Rf1 50. Nc2 Rg1+ 51. Kh3 Rg3+ 52. Kh2 Rxc3 53. Rd2 a3 54. Nd4 Kg6 55. Ra2 g4 56. Nb5 Rc5 57. Nxa3 Ra5 58. Ra1 d4 59. Rg1 g3+ 60. Kh3 Rxa3 61. Kxh4 Kf5 62. Kh3 Ke4 63. Re1+ Re3 {0-1 (63) Hou,Y (2635)-Kramnik, V (2810) Medias 2016}) 8... Qc7 {132} 9. Qe2 {177} (9. Nb3 Nc5 10. Bb5+ { is Varuzhan's suggestion but after Bd7 it is nothing more than an even position}) 9... Nc5 {386} 10. Bc4 {141} (10. Bb5+ Bd7 11. Bxd7+ Ncxd7 12. Ne4 {and calling it a day would have been my choice.}) 10... Bd6 {668} 11. b3 {820} (11. a4 O-O 12. a5 e5 13. b4 Ne6 14. Bb2 Nf4 15. Qe3 Ng6 16. b5 Bf5 17. b6 axb6 18. axb6 Qc6 19. Rxa8 Rxa8 20. Qb3 Rf8 21. Bb5 Qc5 22. Nc4 Be6 23. Qa3 Qxc4 { 0-1 (23) Sanal,V (2501)-Ganguly,S (2652) Berlin 2015}) 11... a6 $146 {47 Black is threatening b5.} (11... O-O 12. Bb2 b6 13. Rad1 Bb7 14. Ne5 Rad8 15. Ndf3 Nce4 16. a4 Bb4 17. Rxd8 Rxd8 18. Nd3 Be7 19. Be5 Bd6 20. h4 Bxe5 21. Ndxe5 h6 {1/2-1/2 (21) Tan,J (2456)-Roberson,P (2388) Reading 2017}) 12. a4 {14 somewhat forced.} b6 {58} 13. Bb2 {47} Bb7 {32} 14. Rfd1 O-O {258 the position is balanced but Black is much more comfortable and White should play accurately in order to maintain the balance. However, Zherebukh decided to go all self-destructive in the next few moves.} 15. Bxf6 $2 {2025 After 35 minutes of thinking Zherebukh gives up his valuable bishop!} (15. Qe3 Ncd7 ( 15... Rad8 16. Bxf6 gxf6 17. Qh6 {is probably what Zherebukh was after.}) 16. h3 Rfd8 17. Bd3 {And White should be able to hold this uncomfortable middlegame.}) 15... gxf6 {6} 16. Qe3 {444} Bf4 $1 {288 Of course, this move prevents the queen from landing on h6.} 17. Qc3 {4} f5 {429} (17... Nd7 {with the threat of b5 and Ne5 is even stronger.}) 18. Bf1 {8} Rac8 {329} 19. b4 $6 {262 Forcing the queen exchange at while weakening the pawn structure for a worse endgame. Even if this were somehow the best move on the board, it would not make sense practically and alternatives would be sought.} Ne4 {118} 20. Qxc7 {7} Rxc7 {13} 21. Nc4 {204} Rb8 $1 {1229 After a long think, Akobian finds this strong prophylactic move.} 22. Nxb6 {396} Rxc2 {178 } 23. Nd7 {139} Rbc8 {863} 24. Bd3 {121} Rb2 {361} 25. Bxe4 {263} fxe4 {37} 26. Rd4 {23} f5 {125} (26... Rcc2 27. Rf1 Rxf2 {would have won on the spot.}) 27. Rad1 {548} exf3 {54 Akobian finds a nice trick.} 28. Rxf4 {216} Rd2 $1 { 18 With this beautiful tactical trick, Akobian wins the game and joins Wesley in the lead. In this game he was in complete control and is now in hot pursuit of the coveted title.} 0-1

Varuzhan Akobian can't believe what he is seeing

With two out of the three games with white pieces, Akobian should feel confident about his performance, although he is up for a big matchup in round eight with none other than the defending champion, Fabiano Caruana.

In addition to other +1s, we now have Alex Onischuk who won a somewhat easy game after Ray Robson decided to venture with his queen on the black side of the Grunfeld and grabbed a poisoned pawn on a2 which led to the loss of his queen for a rook and some pawns. Still, it was clear Onischuk was going to convert this one comfortably to move to +1, making his round eight game against Nakamura into another big one.

Alexander Onischuk vs Ray Robson

[Event "U.S. Championships Men 2017"] [Site "Saint Louis"] [Date "2017.04.06"] [Round "8"] [White "Onischuk, Alexander"] [Black "Robson, Ray"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D85"] [WhiteElo "2667"] [BlackElo "2668"] [Annotator "Elshan Moradiabadi"] [PlyCount "129"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventCountry "USA"] [SourceTitle "playchess.com"] [Source "ChessBase"] [TimeControl "40/5400+30:1800+30"] 1. d4 {0} Nf6 {13} 2. c4 {0} g6 {11} 3. Nc3 {0} d5 {13} 4. cxd5 {30} Nxd5 {8} 5. e4 {3} Nxc3 {11} 6. bxc3 {3} Bg7 {15} 7. Nf3 {27} c5 {21} 8. Be3 {14} Qa5 { 27} 9. Qd2 {10} O-O {27} 10. Rc1 {24} Nd7 {50} 11. Bd3 {170} b6 {57} 12. O-O { 291} e6 {1193} 13. Qe2 {306} Bb7 {218} 14. Nd2 {270 Onischuk did not ask many theoretical questions from Robson and consequently Black looks fine except for a problem concerning a good square for his queen. Robson decides to solve the problem ... by giving up his queen!} Qxa2 $2 {416 A truly poisoned pawn!} 15. Ra1 {441} Qb2 {6} 16. Rfb1 {68} Qxc3 {9} 17. Nc4 {134} Nf6 {1694} (17... b5 18. Ra3 Qb4 19. dxc5 Qxb1+ 20. Bxb1 bxc4 {Was Robson's only chance although the position should be objectively lost.} 21. Qxc4) 18. Ra3 {192} Nxe4 {61} 19. Bxe4 {176} Bxe4 {9} 20. Rxc3 {69 Queen for rook and three pawn is not usually enough!} Bxb1 {4} 21. Rc1 {610} cxd4 {20} 22. Bg5 {567} d3 {544} 23. Qd2 {53} Rfc8 {714} 24. Rxb1 {266} Rxc4 {6} 25. Qxd3 {18} Rc5 {148} 26. h4 {135 White is completely winning and Onischuk gradually and assuredly converts his advantage!} h5 {459} 27. Rd1 {156} Rd5 {77} 28. Qf3 {49} Rxd1+ {39} 29. Qxd1 {6 } a5 {114} 30. Qf3 {109} Ra7 {239} 31. Be3 {54} Rc7 {104} 32. Bxb6 {188} Rc1+ { 27} 33. Kh2 {9} Rc4 {30} 34. g3 {95} a4 {29} 35. Qa8+ {113} Kh7 {3} 36. Qa7 {40 } Kg8 {46} 37. Qa6 {35} Rb4 {43} 38. Bc5 {38} Rb8 {28} 39. Qxa4 {66} Bf6 {35} 40. Qf4 {0} Rc8 {21} 41. Qxf6 {178} Rxc5 {8} 42. Qd8+ {2} Kh7 {3} 43. Qf8 {4} Rf5 {40} 44. Kg2 {11} Rf6 {140} 45. Kf1 {57} Rf5 {80} 46. Ke2 {10} e5 {40} 47. Kf1 {253} Rf6 {275} 48. Kg2 {12} Rf5 {45} 49. f3 {156} Rf6 {27} 50. Qe7 {26} Rf5 {14} 51. g4 {26} hxg4 {15} 52. fxg4 {4} Rf4 {11} 53. Kg3 {7} Rf1 {492} 54. Qxe5 {69} Rg1+ {601} 55. Kf3 {159} Rb1 {219} 56. Qd4 {60} Rc1 {138} 57. Kf4 { 121} Re1 {99} 58. Qb4 {53} Rf1+ {75} 59. Ke5 {39} Kg7 {48} 60. Kd6 {109} Rf6+ { 39} 61. Kd7 {15} Re6 {29} 62. Qc4 {40} g5 {31} 63. h5 {94} Re5 {28} 64. Qd4 {48 } f6 {4} 65. Kd6 {31} 1-0

Men's standings after eight rounds

(Click for full size)

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

In the Women section, the match between first and second in the current ranking was a dull encounter where Nazi Paikidze failed to force the pace despite Maggie Fang’s inaccuracies and the game ended in a draw in 30 moves. This gave the chance to Sabina Foisor to take advantage of her white pieces again to beat youngster Emiley Nguyen to share first with Paikidze. Sabina has had a fantastic run with white scoring five wins out of five games!

Nazi Paikidze is en route to a second straight title, but is not without challengers

Irina Krush played a great game against Apruva Virkud but once again almost let her opponent off until Virkud blundered in time pressure in a difficult position and lost. Nemcova beat Yip after the teenage prodigy blundered a piece in one move! The close battle between the two ‘experienced’ Anna ( Sharevich and Zatonskih) ended in a draw after both players turned the table in their favor on different occasions.  The topsy-turvy game between Tatev Abrahamyan and Jennifer Yu ended in a draw where both players had near winning positions but time pressure took its toll and the game ended in a draw eventually.

Round eight will see several important matchups: Akobian facing reigning champion Fabiano Caruana, while Nakamura faces ultra-solid and in-shape Alex Onischuk. World junior champion Jeffrey Xiong faces world No2.  Wesley So.

In the Women section things are a bit more exciting as the two co-leaders face each other: Nazi Paikidze has white against Sabina Foisor while Anna Zatonskih should play against another leading player Maggie Feng with white pieces.

Women's standings after eight rounds

(click for full size)

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   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
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   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.

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