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Defending champion Carissa Yip continues her impressive run at the US Women's Chess Championship, having scored six consecutive wins to take a commanding 2-point lead over her closest rivals. Yip defeated Tatev Abrahamyan with the black pieces in Thursday's round 6, a crucial victory that widened the gap between her and the chasing pack. The game featured a sharp variation of the Italian Opening, where Abrahamyan, who had been in sole second place, seemed to forget her home preparation, allowing Yip to capitalise and secure the win.
Already the highest-rated woman player in the US, Yip has gained 21.3 rating points in this tournament, boosting her standing to 29th in the live ratings list among women. Also a student at Stanford University, the 21-year-old is aiming to win her third US Women's Championship title, having previously claimed the crown in 2021 and 2023. Her stellar performance thus far puts her on course for another triumph.
Attacking with the Jobava London System
The Jobava London System is a minor form of the London System. White tries to play Lf4 quickly followed by Nc3.
The three players tied for second place with 4/6 points - Alice Lee, Irina Krush, and Gulrukhbegim Tokhirjonova - all scored wins with the white pieces in round 6. Lee defeated Jennifer Yu, Krush overcame Rose Atwell and Tokhirjonova got the better of Thalia Cervantes, keeping themselves within reach of Yip as the championship enters its second half.
Alice Lee | Photo: Lennart Ootes
By playing 6.b4 out of an Italian Opening, Abrahamyan agreed to enter what is known as the Dubov Variation - not surprisingly, given Daniil Dubov's reputation as one of the most creative players in the circuit, a very sharp line.
This was a brave attempt by the player with the white pieces, especially facing an in-form Yip, but things quickly went south, as apparently Abrahamyan forgot her preparation when she played 10.fxg7
The move order is crucial here, as 10.b5 here would force Black to place her knight on a5 or to further complicate matters with ...Nb4 - and only then should Black capture on g7. In the line seen in the game, on the other hand, after 10.fxg7 Rg8 11.b5 there is 11...Ne7, and the knight finds a better square.
Master Class Vol.16 - Judit Polgar
In this video course, experts (Pelletier, Marin, Müller and Reeh) examine the games of Judit Polgar. Let them show you which openings Polgar chose to play, where her strength in middlegames were, or how she outplayed her opponents in the endgame.
Yip was thus in the driver's seat right out of the opening. The conversion was not trivial at all, but she managed to outplay her opponent until getting a 52-move victory, her sixth consecutive win of the event!
Tatev Abrahamyan and Carissa Yip | Photo: Lennart Ootes
More details emerged on Thursday regarding the shocking incident involving Christopher Yoo during round 5 of the US Chess Championship. It has been revealed that the videographer Yoo attacked was a 24-year-old woman, and that the young grandmaster acted completely unprovoked. The St. Louis Police have charged Yoo with assault, and his case will be handled in juvenile courts. In response, the US Chess Federation has temporarily suspended Yoo's membership, pending further investigation.
Replying to a social media post by Ivan Sokolov, Levon Aronian noted:
Ivan, I saw the video and it's awful. It was a well-prepared punch to a completely innocent person. The club's action is very mild, I assure you. We need to acknowledge that chess is a very tough mental sport. Mental health awareness and training for our young players is a must.
Middlegame Secrets Vol.1 + Vol.2
Let us learn together how to find the best spot for the queen in the early middlegame, how to navigate this piece around the board, how to time the queen attack, how to decide whether to exchange it or not, and much more!
In chess action, defending champion Fabiano Caruana continued his dominant run, scoring his fourth victory of the tournament (including his win over Yoo). Caruana, playing white, displayed excellent endgame technique to defeat Grigoriy Oparin, maintaining his position at the top of the standings. Caruana now leads with 4/5 points, half a point ahead of Hans Niemann, who has 3½/6 points. Following Yoo's expulsion from the tournament, his previous results were annulled.
Leinier Dominguez and Sam Shankland also found success in round 6 with impressive endgame victories. Dominguez earned his first win of the event by defeating Abhimanyu Mishra, while Shankland rebounded from his round-5 loss to Levon Aronian with a win over Ray Robson.
Sam Shankland beat Ray Robson | Photo: Lennart Ootes
Facing a player who has often assisted him as a second in the past, Caruana entered a slightly superior endgame (with material balance) and found the perfect time to break through with a pawn push on move 41.
41.c5 dxc5 42.d6 leaves White with a strong passer on the d-file.
Oparin continued trying to defend the position until move 54, but Caruana's technique was all but flawless in the conversion of his advantage.
Navigating the Ruy Lopez Vol.1-3
The Ruy Lopez is one of the oldest openings which continues to enjoy high popularity from club level to the absolute world top. In this video series, American super GM Fabiano Caruana, talking to IM Oliver Reeh, presents a complete repertoire for White.
The final position.
Fabiano Caruana playing white against Grigoriy Oparin | Photo: Lennart Ootes
