Press release by the Saint Louis Chess Club
By IM Kostya Kavutskiy
It was a volatile day at the top of the standings as GM Irina Krush first lost the lead before regaining it during a dramatic third day at the 2020 U.S. Women’s Championship. Things were looking good for the recent U.S. Girls’ Junior Champion, WGM Carissa Yip, who grabbed the lead after winning her first two games of the day, but a critical Round 9 loss to WIM Ashritha Eswaran left Carissa in a tie for second with IM Dorsa Derakhshani.
In the first round of the penultimate day, GM Irina Krush squandered a large advantage and drew against IM Annie Wang, opening the door for WGM Carissa Yip to catch up with a win. Carissa did manage to defeat WGM Sabina Foisor, winning a pawn in the opening and never looking back, converting into a full point.
The 2020 U.S. Girls’ Junior Champion started off strong with two wins today.
Select an entry from the list to switch between games
The second round of the day saw Carissa continue to surge, slowly grinding down WIM Emily Nguyen in a Fianchetto Grunfeld. Meanwhile, Krush was held to a draw by IM Dorsa Derakhshani, allowing Carissa to take the clear lead heading into Round 9.
Carissa used her slightly better structure to grind out another point in the endgame.
Another highlight saw WGM Tatev Abrahamyan sacrifice a piece for a decisive attack against WFM Martha Samadashvili:
After 26.Bxg6!, opening up Black’s king for good.
The final round of the day saw a complete turnaround as WGM Carissa Yip misplayed her position and ended up losing to WIM Ashritha Eswaran, despite a hail-mary attempt in the late middlegame:
Carissa tried to turn the tables with 28.Rxg7+!?, but Eswaran was able to defend after 28...Kxg7 29.Bh6+ Kxh6 30.Rxe4 Qxh3!
Yip’s loss opened the door for Krush to overtake the lead, which she managed to do thanks to a fantastic attacking game against WGM Tatev Abrahamyan, where the 7-time champion sacrificed a full rook to checkmate Black’s king:
GM Krush bounced back with a nice demonstration of the power of two bishops.
In the meantime IM Dorsa Derakhshani won her game against IM Annie Wang, continuing the 12th seed’s remarkable run in this year’s championships to tie for second with just two rounds left to go.
IM Dorsa Derakhshani won her 4th game of the event to stay within half a point of first place.
The final two rounds of the 2020 U.S. Women’s Championship will take place tomorrow, October 24, with live coverage from WGM Jennifer Shahade, GM Yasser Seirawan, and GM Maurice Ashley starting at 12:50 PM CDT on USChessChamps.com, YouTube, and Twitch.
