Top Seeds Nakamura, Krush, Lead Going Into Final Day
Last year's U.S. Championship and U.S. Women's Championship ended with twin three-way playoffs. The 2015 U.S. Championship and U.S. Women's Championship could repeat that if everything falls into place in tomorrow's final round.
However, if you focus on the ratings and the colors of the leaders, it is unlikely that round 11 will end with six players still alive for a championship.
Today GM Ray Robson's Scotch Four Knights didn't produce any serious chances against GM Hikaru Nakamura. They drew, keeping Nakamura's buffer at a half-game over Robson (7.0 to 6.5).
The third party to the tiebreak scenario is GM Alex Onischuk, a man who has quietly given himself a chance at his second title. In fact, after Onischuk's convincing win today over GM Sam Sevian, he trails by a point (6.0/10). He's the key player in the equation (he controls his own destiny only if Robson doesn't win); Onischuk plays Nakamura tomorrow as Black.
In the ladies championship, WGM Katerina Nemcova's tenuous lead had been ebbing since round two. Today she finally relaxed her grip completely -- a time pressure blunder led to a loss to IM Nazi Paikidze. Combined with GM Irina Krush's win over WFM Jennifer Yu, Nemcova now trails for the first time since after the opening round. Paikidze caught up to Nemcova (7.0/10) and will hope that Nemcova can duplicate Paikidze's earlier win over Krush (8.0/10).
Today Onischuk, 39, played a model game against Sevian, 14. He won in less than three hours.
It's a common truism that more expierenced players should take youngsters into the endgame, but Onischuk said his decision to do so was made only because of his opponent's play. "Once he played ...Qc6 I thought, 'Man, it's going to be tough for him,'" Onischuk said.
Analysis by GM Ben Finegold:
Onischuk said his cold is still lingering. He's a triathlete and said the longer events aren't a problem. "I remember last year I had so much energy at the end," he said. "Young players are getting tired I think!"
His support team also came to St. Louis today. Team Director Al Lawrence and Onischuk's wife both arrived today. Her flight landed and she arrived at the club minutes before Onischuk sealed victory.
"If I was told before the tournament that I would be in this situation, I would say that I'm having a good tournament," Onischuk said of being one point back and controlling his own destiny.
Could he win as Black against the world number three to get into a tiebreak? "If [Nakamura] will give me a chance of course I will try. Look, I'm playing classical chess...If he plays some crazy line and gives me a chance of course I'll take it."
Today Nakamura could have put the tournament out of reach but Robson ensured no major chances were available.
"Ray doesn't play the Four Knights, but fortunately growing up I played it a lot and I'm familiar with the structure," Nakamura said.
Robson declined to go into a Berlin. "I wouldn't have gotten anything there," he said. "I played this line with h3 which I'm sure was a surprise for Hikaru," Robson said. "I didn't know I would play it until last night."
What about the style of games to expect tomorrow? Bad news for Onischuk's title chances: "I'm going to play something simple and not lose my mind," Nakamura said. The reason for him is simple. Even if Robson wins, a draw by Nakamura ensures a Monday tiebreak.
"I'm better than probably anyone in the world at rapid and blitz," Nakamura said, "except one, and you can probably figure out what that person is!" The implied exception, confirmed by GM Maurice Ashley, is GM Magnus Carlsen. "I've been in a million playoffs," Nakamura added.
Robson will take on the wildy unpredictable GM Timur Gareev, who is likely the best player in the field to face if you need a complicated game (although, when pressed, Robson wouldn't quite name Gareev as the best opponent for this situation: "Timur, with him anything is possible.")
Robson said he had a poor score against Gareev, but he did beat him at the 2014 U.S. Championship. He didn't reflect on his chances against Nakamura if a tiebreak occurs. "If I get into a tiebreak that's a huge success."
Besides the race for the title, the other story of the day was of course how GM Wesley So would fare after his round 9 forfeit. This actually became two stories. First the game, which was a huge success -- beating the reigning champion, GM Gata Kamsky, and as Black to boot.
"I got what I wanted and he probably pushed too hard," So said. He cited 20. h4 as "probably a mistake."
Analysis by GM Ben Finegold:
After the game, Ashley asked So about the Kamsky contest, then gently pressed So to elaborate on yesterday's unprecedented events.
So spoke candidly. "I wrote (on) something besides my score sheet on a piece of paper," So said. "A reminder to me to play hard. Apparently the rules don't allow it...Unfortunately it has been a habit of mine for years.
"Nothing was working for me this tournament so I decided to go back to my old habits...This tournament has been a nightmare for me and I just want it to be finished."
He confirmed that he accepted the result of the forfeit and that his appeal was only for rating points (the appeals committee agreed that they could not help with this).
Ashley then asked him about GM Varuzhan Akobian, his opponent last round.
"I can understand Var not wanting to play against me," So said. "Obviously he wanted a free point."
So and Akobian have been teammates on the U.S. National Team (So just transferred to the U.S. a few months ago but has served as a coach several times).
Akobian called So a "friend" yesterday. Ashley asked So if he considered them to be friends. "We were," So said.
Nakamura, also a teammate of So and Akobian at many events, tweeted this in response:
Very shameful and disrespectful comments by So about Varuzhan Akobian. Blame everyone except yourself for breaking the rules.
— Hikaru Nakamura (@GMHikaru) April 11, 2015
Back to chess! Last year Krush had to come back late in the tournament to earn a right to a tiebreak. Indeed, if this year followed the traditional nine-round format for the women, she and Nemcova would have played a playoff today.
Instead, Krush overtook Nemcova (for the first time all tournament). The six-time champ beat her young opponent without too much of a hassle.
"I didn't play accurately," Krush said. "I played pretty terribly once I got the winning position." She said she was sitting on the move ...g5 until the right position. Once played, the attack flowed freely.
She did allow that the mate was "quite pretty."
When asked if her experience would prove beneficial going into the final day, she said that her one-point advantage and getting White were much more important factors.
As for yet another championship tiebreak (they have become synonymous with Krush over years), the defending champion did not care to go down that road again. "I'm sorry, I'm not interested in drama."
Tomorrow she'll play for her seventh title and fourth in a row. Chess.com asked Krush if she knew which woman had won the most U.S. Championships. "No, but I do hope one day that I will know that person!" she said self-referentially. For trivia buffs, the answer is WIM Gisela Kahn Gresser, who won nine times.
Nemcova's chances for her first championship took a serious hit when she moved her knight to the wrong square while trying to make the final moves before time control. Instead of 33. Nd6?, putting the knight on d4 and scurrying back to f3 to defend the pinned bishop would have saved White. Nemcova was playing mostly on increment by the time she sealed the fateful move.
This was Nemcova's first loss of the event; Paikidze is now the only woman without a defeat.
Paikidze did not seem overly optimistic of overcoming her one-point deficit tomorrow. "[Krush] is playing with White so I don't think there's a good chance she's going to lose," Paikidze said.
There were plenty more wins on the day. WIM Viktorija Ni continued her hot pace, winning again move into fourth. She now has five points from the last six games.
WGMs Tatev Abrahamyan and Anna Sharevich also won today; they are both on +1.
Tomorrow's final round 11 will be at 1 p.m. Central (GMT -6) and will be broadcast live at www.chess.com/tv. If necessary for either section, a playoff will be Monday, also at 1 p.m. Central.
2015 U.S. Championship | Pairings for Round 11
| Table | White | Score | Rating | Black | Score | Rating |
| 1 | GM So, Wesley | 5.5 | 2788 | GM Troff, Kayden W | 5 | 2532 |
| 2 | GM Naroditsky, Daniel | 2.5 | 2633 | GM Kamsky, Gata | 5 | 2683 |
| 3 | GM Shankland, Samuel L | 4.5 | 2661 | GM Akobian, Varuzhan | 5 | 2622 |
| 4 | GM Sevian, Samuel | 4.5 | 2531 | GM Holt, Conrad | 4.5 | 2530 |
| 5 | GM Nakamura, Hikaru | 7 | 2798 | GM Onischuk, Alexander | 6 | 2665 |
| 6 | GM Gareev, Timur | 4 | 2604 | GM Robson, Ray | 6.5 | 2656 |
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2015 U.S. Women's Championship | Pairings for Round 11
| Table | White | Score | Rating | Black | Score | Rating |
| 1 | WIM Ni, Viktorija | 6 | 2188 | WCM Virkud, Apurva | 3.5 | 2132 |
| 2 | IM Paikidze, Nazi | 7 | 2333 | WGM Foisor, Sabina-Francesca | 5 | 2235 |
| 3 | GM Krush, Irina | 8 | 2477 | WGM Nemcova, Katerina | 7 | 2279 |
| 4 | IM Goletiani, Rusudan | 5.5 | 2311 | WFM Yu, Jennifer R | 2 | 2180 |
| 5 | WGM Sharevich, Anna | 5.5 | 2267 | WGM Abrahamyan, Tatev | 5.5 | 2322 |
| 6 | WIM Wang, Annie | 2.5 | 1901 | FM Melekhina, Alisa | 2.5 | 2235 |
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2015 U.S. Championship | Standings After Round 10
| Rank | Name | Score | Rating | TPR |
| 1 | GM Nakamura, Hikaru | 7 | 2798 | 2773 |
| 2 | GM Robson, Ray | 6.5 | 2656 | 2754 |
| 3 | GM Onischuk, Alexander | 6 | 2665 | 2696 |
| 4 | GM So, Wesley | 5.5 | 2788 | 2674 |
| 5 | GM Kamsky, Gata | 5 | 2683 | 2639 |
| 6 | GM Akobian, Varuzhan | 5 | 2622 | 2642 |
| 7 | GM Troff, Kayden W | 5 | 2532 | 2638 |
| 8 | GM Shankland, Samuel L | 4.5 | 2661 | 2606 |
| 9 | GM Sevian, Samuel | 4.5 | 2531 | 2628 |
| 10 | GM Holt, Conrad | 4.5 | 2530 | 2628 |
| 11 | GM Gareev, Timur | 4 | 2604 | 2572 |
| 12 | GM Naroditsky, Daniel | 2.5 | 2633 | 2446 |
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2015 U.S. Women's Championship | Standings After Round 10
| Rank | Name | Score | Rating | TPR |
| 1 | GM Krush, Irina | 8 | 2477 | 2468 |
| 2 | IM Paikidze, Nazi | 7 | 2333 | 2381 |
| 3 | WGM Nemcova, Katerina | 7 | 2279 | 2359 |
| 4 | WIM Ni, Viktorija | 6 | 2188 | 2326 |
| 5 | WGM Abrahamyan, Tatev | 5.5 | 2322 | 2265 |
| 6 | IM Goletiani, Rusudan | 5.5 | 2311 | 2274 |
| 7 | WGM Sharevich, Anna | 5.5 | 2267 | 2263 |
| 8 | WGM Foisor, Sabina-Francesca | 5 | 2235 | 2229 |
| 9 | WCM Virkud, Apurva | 3.5 | 2132 | 2144 |
| 10 | FM Melekhina, Alisa | 2.5 | 2235 | 2079 |
| 11 | WIM Wang, Annie | 2.5 | 1901 | 2056 |
| 12 | WFM Yu, Jennifer R | 2 | 2180 | 1997 |
Previous reports:
- Preview: 2015 U.S. Championship Youngest, Strongest In History
- Opening Ceremony: U.S. Championship Opens, Shabalov Inducted
- Round 1: Leaders Challenged In U.S. Championships Openers
- Round 2: Top Seeds Nakamura, So, Krush Cruise In Round 2
- Round 3: Bad Day For Best Players In St. Louis
- Round 4: Nakamura Holds Off So, Nemcova Takes Clear Lead
- Round 5: Nakamura, Nemcova Stay On Top; Krush, So Half-Step Behind
- Round 6: Nakamura Draws; Robson In 2nd By Beating So
- Round 7: Robson Reduced To 1 Second, Wins To Tie Nakamura
- Round 8: Krush Gets Closer, Nakamura Wins With 'Moronic' Play
- BREAKING: Wesley So Forfeited In Round 9 U.S. Championship
- Round 9: Krush Catches Nemcova, Robson-Nakamura Tomorrow
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Mike Klein began playing chess at the age of four in Charlotte, NC. In 1986, he lost to Josh Waitzkin at the National Championship featured in the movie "Searching for Bobby Fischer." A year later, Mike became the youngest member of the very first All-America Chess Team, and was on the team a total of eight times. In 1988, he won the K-3 National Championship, and eventually became North Carolina's youngest-ever master. In 1996, he won clear first for under-2250 players in the top section of the World Open. Mike has taught chess full-time for a dozen years in New York City and Charlotte, with his students and teams winning many national championships. He now works at Chess.com as a Senior Journalist and at ChessKid.com as the Chief Chess Officer. In 2012, 2015, and 2018, he was awarded Chess Journalist of the Year by the Chess Journalists of America. He has also previously won other awards from the CJA such as Best Tournament Report, and also several writing awards for mainstream newspapers. His chess writing and personal travels have now brought him to more than 85 countries.
