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On the Verge Of Blundering While Running Out Of Time, Niemann Defeats Leader
The two youngest competitors, Niemann and Mishra, are the leaders. Photo: Lennart Ootes/Saint Louis Chess Club.

On the Verge Of Blundering While Running Out Of Time, Niemann Defeats Leader

NM_Vanessa
NM NM_Vanessa
Staff
| 88 | Chess Event Coverage

GMs Hans Niemann and Abhimanyu Mishra have taken the lead at the U.S. Championships after round two. Niemann came within inches of blundering and running out of time but fought back to defeat the previous leader, GM Sam Sevian. Contrastingly, Mishra caught GM Andrew Tang in opening preparation, achieving a winning position by move 25. 

The leaderboard in the women's section expanded when IM Nazi Paikidze drew while IM Carissa Yip, WGM Tatev Abrahamyan, and WGM Gulrukhbegim Tokhirjonova scored their first victories. 

Round three starts on October 7 at 2 p.m. ET/20:00 CEST/11.30 p.m IST.

See what happened
You can follow the games from the U.S. Championships on our Events Page: Open | Women.

U.S. Championship

After round one, Niemann shared a special connection he has with a former U.S. Champion, IM John Grefe. 

The round-two matchup between Sevian and Niemann was a throwback to one of the most bizarre U.S. Championship moments in history. When the players faced each other last year, Sevian absentmindedly picked up Niemann's king and broke it. 

In this year's game, Neimann followed through on his reflection after round one to play for the win at all costs. He refused two repetition opportunities, playing on in complicated positions with Black.

On move 39, he nearly blundered while in severe time pressure but caught himself at the last moment and played a better move with just one second left on his clock. After the game, Niemann shared his inner dialogue from those moments: "I’m thinking Ng4. Then in a split second, I see Rf5, and I’m like oh no, what do I do? Where can the knight go?"

After making the time control, Niemann continued to face a challenging defensive task. Sevian's queen and rook sunk into his back rank, simultaneously creating pressure against the black king and the weak queenside pawns. Yet, Niemann generated counterplay and snatched a knight that looked poisoned, unafraid of allowing Sevian's major pieces to surround his king. 

This hair-raising clash is our Game of the Day, with annotations by GM Rafael Leitao.

Mishra's thorough opening preparation in the Italian Game posed problems for Tang in the endgame. Afterward, the young grandmaster shared the depth of his knowledge: “He played a very good opening. The first 20 moves were all preparation for me. He actually found all the top engine moves. I thought these would be quite difficult to find, but he managed to do it. But even after that, it’s quite a difficult ending.”

Mishra shared: "Playing this tournament itself is like a dream come true." Photo: Lennart Ootes/Saint Louis Chess Club.

GM Fabiano Caruana reached a curious position vs. GM Leinier Dominguez. Though he was ahead a pawn with his pieces all on aesthetically pleasing squares, his forces lacked targets and coordination. With his blockade on the d5-outpost, Dominguez had no trouble holding the balance.

After each missing critical opportunities in the previous round, GMs Sam Shankland and Ray Robson looked to right the ship this round. They fought out an ending with an extra pawn for Shankland vs. greater activity for Robson, eventually finishing in a draw. 

GMs Dariusz Swiercz and Wesley So drew the shortest game of the round. After the game, Swiercz shared his approach:

Yesterday's game was insane. At some point, I was of course lost. I suppose I was also winning. After such a rollercoaster ride, I was thinking to take this game in a solid manner, especially since I have a bad memory of playing against Wesley two years ago in the Sinquefield Cup where I was overly ambitious, and I got punished for that. So I wanted to take this day more calmly. 

Taking it easy on his birthday, GM Levon Aronian also drew fairly quickly vs. GM Jeffery Xiong. 

U.S. Championship | All Games Round 2

Round 2 Open Standings

U.S. Women's Championship

In the middlegame, Yip gained an initiative and used it to set up an octopus knight on d6. WGM Jennifer Yu sacrificed an exchange to eliminate the invasive knight. Yet, the material deficit proved to be too costly, and Yip seamlessly converted the rook vs. knight ending. 

Abrahamyan gained the initiative early in her game vs. IM Alice Lee and continued to press as the players traded into an ending. In the midst of defending a difficult position, Lee blundered. Abrahamyan was in jovial spirits after the round, sharing: "I feel very happy. She has been a problematic opponent for me. I lost two games to her in the American Cup last year. Of course, I'm very happy about this result. She's a very good player."

The joy of victory. Photo: Lennart Ootes/Saint Louis Chess Club.

Inspired by her bishop pair, Tokhirjonova pressed on both sides of the board vs. FM Ashritha Eswaran. When her opponent made a fatal inaccuracy, Tokhirjonova leaped at the chance to decide the game by tactical means. Can you find how?

GM Irina Krush created dynamic play vs. FM Thalia Cervantes. Yet, she reached time trouble in the critical positions and overlooked opportunities to capitalize on her advantage.

WGM Atousa Pourkashiyan showed aggressive intentions vs FM Ruiyang Yan when she sacrificed a pawn for the initiative in the Najdorf. Yet, the game fizzled into equality when Yan gave it back and much of the material was traded away. 

Paikidze vs. IM Anna Zatonskih was the last game to finish in either section. They jockeyed for position for 84 moves before agreeing to a draw in a queen ending. 

U.S. Women's Championship | All Games Round 2

Round 2 Women's Standings

The 2023 U.S. Chess Championship is an invitational classical event that determines the chess champion of the United States. The 2022 U.S. Women's Championship is being held concurrently. Both events start on October 5 and have the same format: a 12-player, 11-round tournament with a $250,000 prize fund for the U.S. Championship, and $152,000 for the U.S. Women’s Championship.

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NM_Vanessa
NM Vanessa West

Vanessa West is a National Master, a chess teacher, and a writer for Chess.com. In 2017, they won the Chess Journalist of the Year award.

You can follow them on X: Vanessa__West

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