US Championships under way
5/5/2013 – They are blessed with a $180,000 prize fund plus $65,000 in prize money for the women, and are being staged in the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis. In the open section top seed Gata Kamsky and veteran GM Larry Christiansen lead with 2.0/2 points, as do Irina Krush and Anna Zatonskih, one of whom will win the women's section. Pictorial report after round two.
US Championship under way
The US Chess Championships for men (open section) and women is taking place in Saint Louis from May 3rd to 13th 2013, with May 8 being a rest day, May 13 reserved for possible tiebreaks. Top players are Gata Kamsky, Timur Gareev, Alex Onischuk, Ray Robson, Varuzhan Akobian, Sam Shankland, Robert Hess, Gregory Kaidanov, Larry Christiansen. The women's section is dominated by the rivalry between defending champion IM Irina Krush and IM Anna Zatonskih. The rounds start at 13:00h (01 p.m.) Saint Louis time = 20:00h CEST.
The opening ceremony was held at the Peabody Opera House in Saint Louis. The 24 men and ten women were invited one-by-one on stage to be recognized and to hear who they would match up with in round one.
Alexander Onischuk picks a bag with his start number (on the right WGM Jennifer Shahade)
WGM Tatev Abrahamyan picks the number one in the women's section (on the right Rex and Jeanne Sinquefield, the main organisers and sponsors of the championships)
This is the first time that one city has hosted the championship five years in a row, and this is mainly due to the efforts of the Sinquefields (Rex is President and Chairman of the Board of the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of St. Louis). In addition to the $180,000 prize fund for the U.S. Championship and $65,000 in prize money for the U.S. Women’s Championship, there will once again be a $64,000 “Fischer Prize” to go to any man who runs the table and wins all nine games in the main event. Fischer’s feat was accomplished 50 years ago at the 1963/64 U.S. Championship.
The setup for the 2013 US Championships in the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of St. Louis
Top seed Gata Kamsky defeated Alexander Shabalov in a French Tarrasch in round one
Larry Christiansen defeate Yaacov Norowitz in round one and then ...
... second seed Timur Gareev in round two to join Kamsky in the 2.0/2 lead
The co-editor of our newspage, Alejandro Ramirez, is on equal 3rd-7th with 1.5/2
In round one top seed IM Irina Krush, rated 2470, defeated ...
... WFM Alena Kats, rated more than 320 points below Irina
All photos by Tony Rich, Saint Louis Chess Club
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 12 or any of our Fritz compatible chess programs. |
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