Nakamura At The Italian Club Championships
National chess leagues or team championships take place in most countries, not only those with the highest profile events such as the Schachbundesliga and the Russian Team Championships.
The Italian Team Chess Championship recently took place in Arvier, Aosta Valley between 27 April and 1 May. The event was a 7-round Swiss with 14 teams competing and some big-name imports were playing.
The winners were Obiettivo Risarcimento from Padova, who numbered Fabiano Caruana and Hikaru Nakamura among their squad.
Interestingly, when Nakamura and Caruana both played it was Nakamura who played on top board, although it's not clear how the choice was made between these two closely matched young rivals.
The final team standings were:
| # | Team | W | L | D | MP | BP |
| 1 | Ob. Risarcimento Padova | 6 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 19.0 |
| 2 | Scavolini Datagest Pesaro | 6 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 20.5 |
| 3 | Chieti | 4 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 16.5 |
| 4 | Libertas Nereto | 3 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 16.5 |
| 5 | Centro Studi Test Palermo | 2 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 15.5 |
| 6 | SS Triestina | 3 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 14.0 |
| 7 | Latina | 3 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 13.5 |
| 8 | Acc. Scacch. Italiana Bologna | 3 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 13.5 |
| 9 | SS Milanese | 2 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 12.5 |
| 10 | L'Arrocco A di Roma | 2 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 12.0 |
| 11 | CPS Banca Nuova | 2 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 11.5 |
| 12 | Pizzato Elettr. Scacchi Marostica | 1 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 10.5 |
| 13 | SS Eporediese Ivrea | 1 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 10.5 |
| 14 | CSKB Torveca Caffè Vigevano | 1 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 10.0 |
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Nakamura's participation is part of his preparation for the 2012 US Chess Championships starting 8 May in St.Louis. Nakamura blogged yesterday about his activities since his 6th place finish at Tata Steel in January, and answered some recent criticism of his participation in the Grand Pacific Open, in Victoria, Canada:
"I am also aware that certain people on other blogs felt the need to belittle me for playing a weekend tournament with masters and experts in an attempt at picking up rating points. While rating points do matter, this tournament was simply an opportunity for me to play chess, enjoy a weekend with friends and have the opportunity to give back to the British Columbia chess community. The countless kids and parents who wanted photographs or signatures is what ultimately matters most. Having the ability to make a difference in the lives of people and be an inspiration is what will comprise the lasting memories I have of chess long after I have quit".
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