Mishra In Sole Lead, Becomes World's Youngest 2600+ Player
GM Abhimanyu Mishra shot into the sole lead on 2.5 points by defeating GM Ray Robson in the third round of the 2023 U.S. Championship, while also breaking into the 2600 Elo rating club, with the added distinction of being the youngest player to break that barrier among the current top juniors of the world.
On a day where most of the games were hard fought, GMs Sam Shankland and Fabiano Caruana scored grinding wins over overnight leader GM Hans Niemann and GM Jeffery Xiong, respectively, to follow the leader with two points apiece.
IM Carissa Yip and WGM Gulrukhbegim Tokhirjonova exploited their opponents' errors in time pressure to score victories and remain in the joint lead with 2.5 points at the end of the third round of the 2023 US Women's Chess Championship.
Round four starts on October 8 at 11 a.m. PT/11:00 ET/20:00 CEST.
See what happened
You can follow the games from the US Championships on our Events Pages: Open | Women.
U.S. Championship
The round started with a shocking draw in just eight moves and under ten minutes of play, when the lowest-rated player of the event, GM Andrew Tang, decided to repeat moves against GM Levon Aronian from the white side of a London System. Appearing on the live commentary after the game, Tang revealed, "I did feel bad after yesterday's game—I kind of just beat myself. I was ready to fight, but I expected [Aronian] to take more risks."
As usual, nothing unusual ever escapes a global audience:
Who knew, the Jobava London would become the ultimate drawing weapon!🤷🏻♂️ https://t.co/L8wAhjjGy3
— Anish Giri (@anishgiri) October 7, 2023
But all the other boards were warming up for intense fights, with GM Leinier Dominguez leading the way with an obviously prepared piece sacrifice in the opening against GM Dariusz Swiercz.
The clock proved to be the undoing of Dominguez, whereas Swiercz's quick play, even while facing a difficult position on the board, was commendable.
The most complicated game of the day was between Robson and Mishra, but it was all part of quite deep preparation, courtesy of another participant in the tournament.
Does this position not seem familiar?! I believe you may be able to find it in one of @SamShankland ‘s @chessable courses. #USChessChamps pic.twitter.com/0nA5PaRjtH
— Saint Louis Chess Club (@STLChessClub) October 7, 2023
It was surrealistic watching the black king take up a hike with ...Ke8-e7-d8-c7-b8-b7, a testament to Mishra's defensive skills in a complex position. The game is annotated by GM Dejan Bojkov as our Game of the Day.
Winning such a complex game and jumping into the sole lead were not the only reasons for Mishra to be happy about his result.
Happy to share that 2600 ELO barrier (much awaited) is finally broken. Live rating is 2603.6
— GM Abhimanyu Mishra (@ChessMishra) October 8, 2023
Sole leader after 3 rounds in US Champ at @STLChessClub #USChessChamps @2700chess
The march towards 2700 will continue!
Thanks @Kasparov_Chess @thegiftofchess for the support. pic.twitter.com/4CaCBzLsFK
The Niemann vs. Shankland encounter seemed to be an intense clash, and the latter even admitted after the game that the battle was far from simple: "It is sort of funny that I think I really outplayed my opponents the previous two days, and somehow they defended right when the time came—I didn't manage to get points on the board. But the one game where I am supposed to get crushed is where I win!"
The one game where I am supposed to get crushed is where I win!
— GM Sam Shankland
Indeed, there was one moment in the game where Niemann missed a creative opportunity to press his advantage. But once that opportunity was missed, it was Shankland all the way.
The most hard-working win of the day belonged to the top-seeded Caruana, who scored a win in a queen and pawn ending. It was a typical sword fight of a battle, with many mistakes throughout the game. But it is probably pointless to scrutinize the chess positions that arose with a chess engine, looking for all the mistakes and the moves that should have been. It is an entirely different matter to attack and defend in such a game when you're sitting across the board, facing your opponent.
U.S. Championship | All Games Round 3
Round 3 Open Standings
U.S. Women's Championship
Two joint leaders from the previous round provided the most interesting game of the day. It turned out to be a topsy-turvy encounter where the advantage changed hands throughout the course of the clash before WGM Tatev Abrahamyan finally blundered in time pressure, giving Tokhirjonova her second victory and a share of the lead.
Yip conducted a kingside attack against IM Alice Lee and played energetically when her opponent was under time pressure, scoring a fighting victory.
The most aesthetically pleasing game of the day was played by GM Irina Krush, who showed her class with 28.Kg2, a fine move to behold.
U.S. Women's Championship | All Games Round 3
Round 3 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.
Previous Coverage:
