U.S. Championship 2012 / Round 9
Kamsky played a beauty today and (personal opinion) is playing the ‘best’ chess of the 2012 U.S. Championship. His wins smack of complete domination; speculation is in the background and his wins give a very commanding style where the result appears inevitable. His win today put him in sole possession of first place; a half point ahead of Nakamura who drew.
On the receiving end of a Kamsky onslaught was former U.S. Champion Yasser Seirawan. Seirawan played his favorite Caro Kann defense – classical variation. The players castled on opposite wings; that means that a common motif is to open up lines against the opposing King. In this case, using Black’s ‘h6′ as an excuse/target, White played ‘g4′ on move 17. Yasser took the Pawn giving White an open ‘g’ file; if he did not, you can bet that the ‘g’ Pawn was destined to play to ‘g5′ opening lines whichever way Black decided to go. Even here, although passive, Black was OK. Yasser has stated on several occasions that he enjoys grabbing Pawns when he can, holding onto the material advantage while he diffuses the ‘attempt’ at attack against his position. His Pawn Grab on move 21 (Diagram) was NOT the Pawn to grab. Rad8 would have gotten another piece into play, contested the ‘d’ file, left his Bishop defending the Kingside and leaving White to think about what he was eventually going to do with that Pawn on ‘c5′. AFTER that grab, Kamsky showed why he is the current U.S. Champion. The attack he unleashed beginning with a Bishop sacrifice on ‘h6′ was so overwhelming with a Rook penetration (sacrifice again) on ‘d7′, that Yasser had to part with he Queen. The finish of the game was forcefully executed. Wow – One of the best games of this tournament.
For the remaining decisive games of the U.S. Championship and the U.S. Women’s Championship – See Comments.
2 Responses to U.S. Championship 2012 / Round 9
Polls
Loading ...
- Report on restructuring and amending Handbook May 23, 2013Report on restructuring and amending Handbook Last year the General Assembly amended the Statutes and Electoral Regulations. Now it is time to deal with the rest of the Handbook. There is confusion in finding information in the current Handbook and I suggest a simpler layout. I am recommending that the Handbook be reduced from six to two sections. The first […]
- FIDE Grand Prix in Thessaloniki: Round 2 May 23, 2013The second round of the FIDE Grand Prix tournament in Thessaloniki produced more decisive results and now we have as many as five players sharing the lead with 1,5 points each. Alexander Morozevich, Fabiano Caruana and Alexander Grischuk took advantage of the white pieces and signed important victories. The other three games were drawn. Hikaru Nakamura, arri […]
- World Junior Chess Championship 2013 May 22, 2013The World Junior U20 Chess Championship 2013 will take place in Hatay, Türkiye, from 12th September (Arrival) to 27th September (Departure) 2013.Please download the REGULATIONS of the tournament. […]
- Laws of Chess May 22, 2013Proposed changes to the Laws of Chess will be further discussed at the EB in Tallinn in October 2013 to be implemented in 2014. There will be no changed to the Laws of Chess at 1st July 2013. […]
- FIDE Grand Prix in Thessaloniki 2013 May 21, 2013FIDE is pleased to announce the fourth stage of the FIDE Grand Prix Series will be held in Thessaloniki (Greece) between the 21st of May and 4th of June 2013. The 5-star Makedonia Palace Hotel and its owner, international business investor and philanthropist Ivan Savvidi, are FIDE's sponsors for the 12-player Grand Prix Chess Tournament. "This even […]
- Nationwide Search - Executive Director of the US Chess Federation May 23, 2013The United States Chess Federation (USCF) is accepting applications for the position of Executive Director. The desired start date for this full-time position with benefits is between September and December 2013. […]
- Washington International & Razuvaev Memorial Set for Aug 6-11 May 23, 2013The Washington International returns to Rockville, MD from Aug. 6 -11 concurrent with the Razuvaev Memorial featuring four top women players vs. four GMs including GMs Kosteniuk and Gulko. […]
- Kamsky & Nakamura in Greece May 22, 2013Our #1 rated player Hikaru Nakamura and the reigning US Champ, Gata Kamsky are playing in the FIDE Grand Prix in Greece. Round one brought good and bad news for American fans. […]
- Jennifer's Blog: Saint Louis Highlights May 22, 2013CLO editor Jen Shahade talks about some highlights of her trip to Saint Louis for the US Chess Champs, including the Ramirez-Kamsky final, visiting the ICA school and commentary with GMs Ashley and Seirawan (content/view/12210/343/). […]
- The May Check is in the Mail May 22, 2013This month's check is in the mail by Alex Dunne features an annotated game by Kenneth Holroyd, our newest International Correspondence Chess Master. […]
[Event "US Championsip 2012"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2012.05.17"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Onischuk, Alex "]
[Black "Kaidanov, Gregory "]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "127"]
[EventDate "2012.05.08"]
[SourceDate "2012.05.17"]
1. c4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. e3 e6 4. Nc3 d5 5. d4 Nf6 6. a3 a6 7. dxc5 Bxc5 8. b4
Ba7 9. Bb2 O-O 10. Be2 dxc4 11. Bxc4 Qxd1+ 12. Rxd1 Rd8 13. Rxd8+ Nxd8 14. Ke2 b5 15. Bd3 Bb7 16. Nd2 Rc8 17. f3 Nd7 18. Rd1 f5 19. Nb3 Ne5 20. Na5 Nxd3 21. Rxd3 Ba8 22. Rd6 Nc6 23. Rxe6 Bb8 24. Nb3 Kf7 25. Nc5 Rd8 26. g4 fxg4 27. fxg4 Be5 28. h3 a5 29. bxa5 Bxc3 30. Bxc3 Rd5 31. Rxc6 Bxc6 32. Bd4 Rd8 33. a6 Ra8 34. Kd3 Bg2 35. h4 Bh3 36. Kc3 Ke7 37. Kb4 Kd6 38. Kxb5 Rb8+ 39. Nb7+ Kd5 40. g5 Bf1+ 41. Kb6 Rc8 42. Nc5 g6 43. a7 Bg2 44. Nd7 Kd6 45. Nf6 Ba8 46. Nxh7 Rc1 47. Nf6 Rb1+ 48. Ka5 Bc6 49. a4 Rg1 50. Kb4 Rg2 51. a5 Ra2 52. e4 Ra4+ 53. Kc3 Rxa5 54. e5+ Ke6 55. h5 gxh5 56. g6 Ra3+ 57. Kb4 Rg3 58. Nxh5 Rg5 59. Nf4+ Kf5 60. e6 Rxg6 61. Nxg6 Kxe6 62. Kc5 Ba8 63. Ne5 Ke7 64. Nc4 1-0
[Event "US Championsip 2012"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2012.05.17"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Robson, Ray "]
[Black "Akobian, Varuzhan "]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "115"]
[EventDate "2012.05.08"]
[SourceDate "2012.05.17"]
1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. c4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Bg5 Be6 7. Be2 Qa5 8. c5 Ne4 9. Bd2 Nxd2 10. Qxd2 g6 11. Bb5 Bg7 12. Nf3 O-O 13. h3 Qc7 14. O-O f6 15. Rab1 a6 16. Bxc6 bxc6 17. b4 Bf5 18. Rb3 e5 19. a4 Be4 20. Ne2 Rab8 21. Ne1 Bf5 22. Nc2 Bxc2 23. Qxc2 f5 24. dxe5 Qxe5 25. Rd1 Rfe8 26. Re3 Qb2 27. Qxb2 Bxb2 28. Rxe8+ Rxe8 29. Kf1 Rb8 30. Nd4 Bxd4 31. Rxd4 Kf7 32. Ke2 Ke6 33. Kd3 g5 34. Kc3 f4 35. Rd2 Kf6 36. Re2 h6 37. g4 Kf7 38. f3 Kf6 39. Re1 Kf7 40. h4 gxh4 41. Rh1 Re8 42. b5 axb5 43. axb5 cxb5 44. Kd4 b4 45. c6 b3 46. Rxh4 Re1 47. Rh2 Rc1 48. Kxd5 Rc2 49. Rxh6 b2 50. Rh7+ Ke8 51. Rb7 Kd8 52. Ke5 Rxc6 53. Rxb2 Rc4 54. Rd2+ Ke7 55. Rd4 Rc5+ 56. Kxf4 Kf6 57. Rd6+ Kg7 58. g5 1-0
[Event "US Championsip 2012"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2012.05.17"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Hess, Robert "]
[Black "Stripunsky, Alexander "]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "65"]
[EventDate "2012.05.08"]
[SourceDate "2012.05.17"]
1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e3 Bf5 5. Nc3 e6 6. Nh4 Be4 7. f3 Bg6 8. Qb3
Qc7 9. Bd2 Be7 10. Nxg6 hxg6 11. O-O-O a6 12. Kb1 dxc4 13. Bxc4 b5 14. Be2 c5 15. dxc5 Nbd7 16. c6 Qxc6 17. Rc1 Qb6 18. g4 O-O 19. g5 Nh5 20. f4 Rfd8 21. Ne4 Nc5 22. Qc2 Rac8 23. Rhd1 Qb7 24. Bf3 Kh8 25. Ba5 Rxd1 26. Bxd1 Kh7 27. Bxh5 Nb3 28. Qxc8 Qxe4+ 29. Qc2 Qxc2+ 30. Rxc2 Nxa5 31. Be2 Bd6 32. Rc8 e5 33. Ra8 1-0
[Event "U.S. Women's Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2012.05.17"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Krush, Irina "]
[Black "Kats, Alena "]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "111"]
[EventDate "2012.04.06"]
[SourceDate "2012.05.17"]
1. c4 c5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nc3 e6 4. e3 Nc6 5. d4 cxd4 6. exd4 d5 7. c5 Be7 8. Bb5
O-O 9. O-O Bd7 10. Rb1 Ne4 11. Qe1 Nxc3 12. Qxc3 e5 13. dxe5 Nxe5 14. Qxe5 Bxb5 15. Rd1 Bf6 16. Qf5 Qc8 17. Qxc8 Raxc8 18. Be3 Rfd8 19. b4 Bc4 20. Bd4 b6 21. cxb6 Bxd4 22. Nxd4 axb6 23. a4 Ra8 24. Ra1 Ra6 25. Ra3 Rda8 26. Rda1 Kf8 27. f3 g6 28. Kf2 Ke7 29. b5 Ra5 30. Nc6+ Kd6 31. Nxa5 Rxa5 32. Ke3 Kc5 33. Kd2 Kb4 34. Re3 d4 35. Re4 Rxa4 36. Rxa4+ Kxa4 37. g4 Kxb5 38. Rxd4 Kc5 39. Rd8 b5 40. Rh8 Kd4 41. g5 Ke5 42. Ke3 b4 43. Rxh7 b3 44. Rh8 Be6 45. Rb8 Bc4 46. Rb7 Bd5 47. Rb5 Kd6 48. Kd4 Bxf3 49. Rxb3 Bg4 50. Rb6+ Ke7 51. Ke5 Bf3 52. Ra6 Ke8 53. Kf6 Bd5 54. Ra7 Bc4 55. Ra8+ Kd7 56. Rf8 1-0
[Event "U.S. Women's Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2012.05.17"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Zenyuk, Iryna "]
[Black "Baginskaite, Camilla "]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "168"]
[EventDate "2012.04.06"]
[SourceDate "2012.05.17"]
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Bd3 c5 6. a3 Bxc3+ 7. bxc3 b6 8. Ne2 Ba6 9. e4 Ne8 10. O-O Nc6 11. Ng3 Na5 12. Qe2 cxd4 13. cxd4 Rc8 14. c5 Bxd3 15. Qxd3 bxc5 16. dxc5 Nb7 17. Be3 Nxc5 18. Qb5 d6 19. e5 a6 20. Qe2 dxe5 21. Bxc5 Rxc5 22. Qxa6 Ra5 23. Qe2 Nf6 24. Rfd1 Qa8 25. Qe3 h6 26. h3 Rc8 27. Rdc1 Rxc1+ 28. Rxc1 e4 29. Ra1 Ra4 30. Nf1 Nd5 31. Qg3 f5 32. Rb1 Kh7 33. Qd6 Ra6 34. Qd7 Qc6 35. Qxc6 Rxc6 36. Ra1 Ra6 37. Ne3 Nc3 38. Kf1 Kg6 39. Ke1 Kf6 40. Nc4 Rc6 41. Nd2 Na4 42. Rd1 Rc2 43. Ra1 g5 44. Kd1 Rc3 45. Nb1 Rb3 46. Nd2 Rb2 47. Ke1 h5 48. Rc1 Ra2 49. Nc4 Nc5 50. Nb2 Nb3 51. Rb1 Nd4 52. Nc4 Nc2+ 53. Kf1 Nxa3 54. Nxa3 Rxa3 55. g3 h4 56. gxh4 gxh4 57. Kg2 Ra2 58. Kg1 Ke5 59. Rb6 Kf4 60. Rb3 Rd2 61. Kg2 Rd3 62. Rb6 Ke5 63. Rb5+ Rd5 64. Rb8 f4 65. Rh8 f3+ 66. Kh2 Rd2 67. Rh5+ Kd4 68. Kg1 Rd1+ 69. Kh2 Rd2 70. Kg1 e3 71. fxe3+ Ke4 72. Ra5 e5 73. Rb5 Re2 74. Kf1 Rh2 75. Rb4+ Kxe3 76. Rb3+ Kf4 77. Kg1 Rxh3 78. Rb2 e4 79. Rb8 Rg3+ 80. Kh2 f2 81. Rf8+ Ke3 82. Rf7 Rg1 83. Rf6 f1=Q 84. Rf3+ Qxf3 0-1
[Event "U.S. Women's Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2012.05.17"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Abrahamyan, Tatev "]
[Black "Melekhina, Alisa "]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "125"]
[EventDate "2012.04.06"]
[SourceDate "2012.05.17"]
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e5 6. Ndb5 d6 7. Bg5 a6 8.
Na3 b5 9. Bxf6 gxf6 10. Nd5 Bg7 11. Bd3 Ne7 12. Nxe7 Qxe7 13. O-O f5 14. c4 O-O 15. cxb5 d5 16. exd5 e4 17. Qe2 Qb4 18. Bc4 Qxb2 19. Nc2 axb5 20. Bb3 Qe5 21. Rad1 f4 22. Rfe1 Re8 23. d6 f3 24. gxf3 Bh3 25. Kh1 Qf4 26. d7 Red8 27. Qxe4 Qxe4 28. fxe4 Rxd7 29. Rxd7 Bxd7 30. Ne3 Be6 31. Rd1 Kf8 32. Rd6 Bh3 33. Rd3 Rc8 34. Nc2 Bf1 35. Rd7 Bc4 36. Ne3 Ke8 37. Rb7 Bd4 38. Nf5 Rd8 39. Kg2 Kf8 40. Bxc4 bxc4 41. Rb4 Be5 42. Rxc4 f6 43. a4 Kf7 44. h4 Ra8 45. Kf3 Rb8 46. h5 Rb1 47. a5 Ra1 48. Rc8 Rxa5 49. Rh8 Ra1 50. Kg2 Ra4 51. Rxh7+ Kg8 52. Rg7+ Kh8 53. h6 Bf4 54. Re7 Ra5 55. Kf3 Rxf5 56. exf5 Bxh6 57. Kg4 Kg8 58. Kh5 Bg5 59. Kg6 Kf8 60. Rf7+ Ke8 61. Rxf6 Bxf6 62. Kxf6 Kf8 63. Ke6 1-0
[Event "U.S. Women's Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2012.05.17"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Goletiani, Rusudan "]
[Black "Zatonskih, Anna "]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "190"]
[EventDate "2012.04.06"]
[SourceDate "2012.05.17"]
1. Nf3 d5 2. c4 d4 3. b4 c5 4. bxc5 Nc6 5. g3 e5 6. d3 Bxc5 7. Bg2 Nf6 8. O-O
O-O 9. Ba3 Bxa3 10. Nxa3 Bf5 11. Rb1 Rb8 12. Qa4 Re8 13. Nh4 Bd7 14. Nb5 Na5 15. Qc2 Bxb5 16. Rxb5 b6 17. Rfb1 Rc8 18. Qa4 e4 19. Qa3 g6 20. Qc1 Nb7 21. a4 Nd6 22. R5b2 Rc5 23. Bf1 Qd7 24. Ra1 Ra5 25. Qd1 g5 26. Ng2 Ng4 27. e3 dxe3 28. Nxe3 Nxe3 29. fxe3 exd3 30. Qxd3 Qe7 31. Rd1 Ne4 32. Qd7 Nc5 33. Qxe7 Rxe7 34. Rd5 h6 35. h4 f6 36. hxg5 fxg5 37. Rd6 Kg7 38. Rh2 Re6 39. Rd8 Rxa4 40. Rf2 Rxe3 41. Kh2 Re7 42. Rff8 Ra2+ 43. Kg1 Ne6 44. Rg8+ Kf6 45. Rd5 Kf7 46. Rb8 Kg7 47. Re5 Rf7 48. Rxe6 Ra1 49. Kg2 Raxf1 50. Kh3 R1f6 51. Re4 Rf8 52. Rxf8 Rxf8 53. Kg4 Kg6 54. Re6+ Rf6 55. Re7 h5+ 56. Kh3 g4+ 57. Kg2 a5 58. Ra7 Kf5 59. c5 bxc5 60. Rxa5 Rc6 61. Kf2 Ke4 62. Ke2 Kd4 63. Ra8 Re6+ 64. Kd2 Rf6 65. Rd8+ Kc4 66. Rh8 Rf5 67. Rh7 Kd4 68. Rd7+ Ke4 69. Ke2 c4 70. Rc7 Kd4 71. Rd7+ Kc3 72. Rc7 Re5+ 73. Kd1 Rd5+ 74. Kc1 Rd3 75. Ra7 Rd5 76. Ra3+ Kd4 77. Kd2 Rf5 78. Ra8 Rf2+ 79. Kd1 Rh2 80. Ra3 Rh3 81. Ra5 Kd3 82. Rd5+ Kc3 83. Rb5 Rh1+ 84. Ke2 Kc2 85. Rb6 c3 86. Rb5 Rh2+ 87. Ke3 Kc1 88. Rb3 c2 89. Rb5 Rg2 90. Kf4 Kd1 91. Rd5+ Rd2 92. Rxh5 Rd4+ 93. Ke5 Rc4 94. Rh1+ Ke2 95. Kf5 Kf3 0-1