Live Blogging Round 5 - US Chess Championship - Kamsky vs. Nakamaura!

UPDATE: The live broadcast has begun and you can follow all the games at www.uschesschamps.com!

Final update for me today, with only 1 game left to play IM Michael Brooks is proving again, despite refraining from top level play for a while and staying in Missouri, that he can hang with the best players in Missouri. All results are in but his board vs. Julio Becerra. Good night, thanks for reading. 

2350Game Update - Result Akobian defeats GM Ehlvest fending off the queen sacrifice and pulling to the top of the leader board sharing the top spot with GM Shulman. Game below:

Game Update - Result - Nakamura v Kamsky ends in a draw. Kamsky is in the commentary room giving his analysis right now. He seems kind of confused and GM Sutovsky is also failing to make sense of the position.

Game Update: Result - Joel Benjamin defeats Tyler Hughes. (check out my TJoel Benjamin interview here :) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9FRxybDIysY

Anyhoo, here's the game.

Game Update: Result - Friedel looses with white vs. GM Shulman 

Game Update: Result - Shankland falls to Onishuck (3.5)

Game Update: QUEEN SAC! GM Ehlvest has thrown the tournament it's 2nd Queen sacrifice. GM Akobian is not facing any immediate mates but it definitely is causing Akobian reason to pause and consider his next move.

The club and the commentary room are starting to get crowded as students are off and some people are leaving work early to check out the action (not naming any names here :) )

Hopefully we're getting closer to some results,

Game Update: Nakamura v. Kamsky

Nakamura appears to be moving quickly in what looks like an attempt to get through an inferior position by getting Kamsky into time trouble. Looks good for black (Kamsky)

Game Update: Nakamura v. Kamsky. 282 blitz games, played between one another online. Interesting note is that co-commentator of the event GM Emily Sutovsky is Kamsky's "second" and trainer. His commentary has been most enjoyable and he has no problem telling the online and live audience how great Kamsky is. 

Here's the current position as things don't look so good for white and Kamsky has a lot of options. 

Game Update: GM elect Hess has made quite and impression on the older players already and has entered into a very interesting position on Board 5 vs. everyone at the club's favorite GM Kachiyan (alot of the staff really like this guy and it's easy to see why when you talk to him, a real gentleman.) 

Below is the current position:

Game Update: Board 2! GM Friedel plays white against GM Shulman. Shulman has 3 points to Friedel's 2.5. The leaderboard is definitaley clogged at the moment so this game will as important as the first board.

Current position with Friedel as white.

Video Update: Yesterday GM Joel Benjamin, sat down and agreed to be interviewed after analyzing his drawn with IM Brooks. Enjoy the premier link of the video here on chess.com :)

ALl eyes are on Kamsky v Nakamura, while they've played a lot on the ICC they've never faced off in a classcial game before so this is very exciting.

Below is the current position.

Here's some new photos I've taken, today and yesterday, featuring GM Benjamin, Gulko, NM Lawton, Ekert (not in that order) and the sign at the front of the club. 

NM Charles Lawton just stepped in and I asked him how he going to do today. He laughed like he normally does when I ask him stupid questions. But here's what Charles had to say about his game against new tournament entrant FM Doug Ekert.

"I'm playing someone I've got a 7-1-1 record and at this point I wouldn't doubt I'm going to lose..." Charles survived a rough weekend and then suffered a lopsided defeat at the hands of young Tyler Hughes yesterday. 

"Instead of studying chess books I went to a movie instead."

Wolverine, and he like it.  Good luck Charles.

Hello from Saint Louis (again) :) 

I'm back again for round 5. Yesterday was an interesting day with some winning positions winding up in draws as both top tables pushed their endgame to well...the end. Nakamura and Kamsky both winding up in draws will be facing off today. There are 4 players clogging up the top of the leader board right now but the Nakamura, Kamsky match will be the one to watch. 

Several players have arrived here this morning already and the rest slowly tickle in off the streets. 

I was hoping to go the whole tournament without picking up a video camera, but they got me and yesterday I had the honor of interviewing former US Chess Champion GM Joel Benjamin and shot the GM Akobian video. Below is the new Akobian video, the interview was conducted by John Henderson of ICC fame and edit'd, graphic'd by me. Enjoy! 

below as usual a posting of the pairings. 

Board White Rating Result Black Rating 1. GM Hikaru Nakamura (3) 2757 - GM Gata Kamsky (3) 2798 2. GM Joshua Friedel (3) 2568 - GM Yury Shulman (3) 2697 3. GM Jaan Ehlvest (2½) 2649 - GM Varuzhan Akobian (3) 2664 4. IM Samuel Shankland (2½) 2464 - GM Alexander Onischuk (2½) 2736 5. IM Robert Hess (2½) 2545 - GM Melikset Khachiyan (2½) 2632 6. GM Julio Becerra (2) 2672 - IM Michael Brooks (2) 2419 7. IM Ray Robson (2) 2542 - GM Gregory Kaidanov (2) 2662 8. GM Joel Benjamin (2) 2650 - Tyler Hughes (2) 2293 9. IM Irina Krush (1½) 2496 - GM Larry Christiansen (1½) 2681 10. GM Alexander Shabalov (1½) 2620 - IM Enrico Sevillano (1½) 2549 11. GM Ildar Ibragimov (1) 2628 - GM Boris Gulko (1) 2631 12. FM Doug Eckert (0) 2278 - Charles Lawton (0) 2350