Kaidanov Wins St.Louis Invitational
Gregory Kaidanov has won the St.Louis Invitational to earn himself a place in the 2011 US Championships which take place from 13-28 April.
Kaidanov (pictured) had to work hard to earn the draw he needed against a determined Jesse Kraai in the final round, but after 94 moves the points were shared and Kaidanov pocketed a cheque for $2,000 into the bargain.
The only decisive result in the final round came from 16-year old Ray Robson who beat Joel Benjamin with the black pieces.
This result means that Robson ties with Alexandro Ramirez for second place and forces a playoff to decide who clinches the final qualification spot for the US Championships.
The playoff takes place on 9th March at noon local time. Live coverage at the official site here.
The final standings:
| Name | Elo | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | Pts | |
| 1 | Kaidanov, Gregory |
2569 | # | 0 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6.0 |
| 2 | Ramirez, Alejandro | 2594 | 1 | # | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 1 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 5.5 |
| 3 | Robson, Ray | 2522 | 0.5 | 0.5 | # | 0 | 1 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 1 | 1 | 5.5 |
| 4 | Kraai, Jesse | 2509 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 1 | # | 0 | 0 | 0.5 | 1 | 0.5 | 1 | 5.0 |
| 5 | Benjamin, Joel | 2564 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0 | 1 | # | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0 | 4.0 |
| 6 | Becerra, Julio | 2549 | 0.5 | 0 | 0.5 | 1 | 0.5 | # | 0.5 | 0 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 4.0 |
| 7 | Perelshteyn, Eugene | 2533 | 0 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | # | 0.5 | 0 | 1 | 4.0 |
| 8 | Brooks, Michael |
2451 | 0 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0 | 0.5 | 1 | 0.5 | # | 0.5 | 0.5 | 4.0 |
| 9 | Yang, Darwin | 2416 | 0 | 0.5 | 0 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 1 | 0.5 | # | 0.5 | 4.0 |
| 10 | Khachiyan, Melikset | 2511 | 0 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.5 | 0 | 0.5 | 0.5 | # | 3.0 |
Update: Ray Robson won the playoff to take the final qualification spot:
