US Championships Round 1
The first of 9 rounds of the US Chess Championships kicked off on Friday 8th May in the attractive surroundings of the Saint Louis Chess Club And Scholastic Centre.
The big clash thrown up by the draw for the opening round was Hikaru Nakamura versus Alexander Shabalov, both previous champions. After a lively encounter, it was Nakamura who emerged the winner.
However, the big upset of the first round came when the lowest ranked player in the championship, NM Tyler Hughes defeated GM Boris Gulko - with the black pieces, no less! Tyler, rated 2293 USCF, qualified to participate by winning the 2008 US Junior (Closed) Championship.
The full results are below. Clicking on the players names takes you to their biography at the official website.
| Board | White | Rating | Result | Black | Rating |
| 1. | GM Yury Shulman (0) | 2697 | 1-0 | IM Enrico Sevillano (0) | 2549 |
| 2. | GM Ildar Ibragimov (0) | 2628 | 0-1 | GM Gata Kamsky (0) | 2798 |
| 3. | GM Hikaru Nakamura (0) | 2757 | 1-0 | GM Alexander Shabalov (0) | 2620 |
| 4. | GM Joshua Friedel (0) | 2568 | ½-½ | GM Alexander Onischuk (0) | 2736 |
| 5. | IM Robert Hess (0) | 2545 | 1-0 | GM Larry Christiansen (0) | 2681 |
| 6. | GM Julio Becerra (0) | 2672 | 1-0 | IM Ray Robson (0) | 2542 |
| 7. | IM Anna Zatonskih (0) | 2503 | 0-1 | GM Varuzhan Akobian (0) | 2664 |
| 8. | GM Gregory Kaidanov (0) | 2662 | ½-½ | IM Irina Krush (0) | 2496 |
| 9. | IM Samuel Shankland (0) | 2464 | ½-½ | GM Joel Benjamin (0) | 2650 |
| 10. | GM Jaan Ehlvest (0) | 2649 | 1-0 | IM Michael Brooks (0) | 2419 |
| 11. | Charles Lawton (0) | 2350 | 0-1 | GM Melikset Khachiyan (0) | 2632 |
| 12. | GM Boris Gulko (0) | 2631 | 0-1 | Tyler Hughes (0) | 2293 |
Unfortunately the organisers had technical difficulties in the first round with the digital boards used to record and broadcast the moves, so many of the game scores are incomplete. However, the great victory by Tyler Hughes seems to be fully intact, and can be seen below. Hopefully, the technological gremlins can be sorted out in time for the 2nd round games. Live games will, hopefully, be available here. The draw for the second round is:
| Board | White | Rating | Result | Black | Rating |
| 1. | GM Gata Kamsky (1) | 2798 | - | GM Varuzhan Akobian (1) | 2664 |
| 2. | GM Jaan Ehlvest (1) | 2649 | - | GM Hikaru Nakamura (1) | 2757 |
| 3. | GM Melikset Khachiyan (1) | 2632 | - | GM Yury Shulman (1) | 2697 |
| 4. | IM Robert Hess (1) | 2545 | - | GM Julio Becerra (1) | 2672 |
| 5. | Tyler Hughes (1) | 2293 | - | GM Alexander Onischuk (½) | 2736 |
| 6. | GM Joshua Friedel (½) | 2568 | - | GM Gregory Kaidanov (½) | 2662 |
| 7. | GM Joel Benjamin (½) | 2650 | - | IM Irina Krush (½) | 2496 |
| 8. | GM Larry Christiansen (0) | 2681 | - | IM Samuel Shankland (½) | 2464 |
| 9. | IM Ray Robson (0) | 2542 | - | GM Boris Gulko (0) | 2631 |
| 10. | IM Anna Zatonskih (0) | 2503 | - | GM Ildar Ibragimov (0) | 2628 |
| 11. | GM Alexander Shabalov (0) | 2620 | - | IM Michael Brooks (0) | 2419 |
| 12. | IM Enrico Sevillano (0) | 2549 | - | Charles Lawton (0) | 2350 |
