July 2011

2011 U.S. WOMEN’S CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP April 13-28, 2011

# Name 1 IM Irina Krush (S)

2 WGM Camilla Baginskaite (S) 3 WFM Tatev Abrahamyan (S) (F) 4 IM Anna Zatonskih (S) (F)

5 WGM Sabina-Francesca Foisor 6 IM Rusudan Goletiani 7 WIM Iryna Zenyuk 8 FM Alisa Melekhina S = semifinals F = finals

-+-+-tr-+ zpp+-vlpmk- -+lsNp+p+ +-+-zP-zPp -zP-vL-wQ-+ zPq+-+P+- -+-+-tR-zP +-+-+-+K

After 34. Bd4

35. ... Qxa3 36. Rc2?? In time trouble, White cracks under

pressure. 36. h4 Qb3 37. b5 Bd5. 36. ... Bxg5!

Black is simply two pawns up now.

37. Qg3 h4 38. Qg4 Bd5 39. b5 Qd3 40. Rf2 Be7 41. h3 a6?! We were both low on time here. 41. ... g5.

42. bxa6 Qxa6 43. Qf4 Qd3 44. Be3 g5 45. Qd4 Qxd4 46. Bxd4 Rb8 47. Rb2 Kg6 48. Rxb6 Rxb6 49. Bxb6 f5 50. Kf2 Bc6 51. Be3 Bd5?! 52. Bd4 Bd8 53. Ne8 Ba5 54. Nf6 Bc6 55. Bb2 Bd2 56. Bd4 Bf4 57. Bb2 Bg3+ 58. Ke2?? Bb5+! 59. Ke3 Bf1 60. Bd4 Bxh3 61. Ke2, White resigned.

There was a quick break and then game

two, where the fortunes were almost exactly reversed. After achieving connected passed pawns on the queenside, Zaton- skih was outplayed, lost them both, then tried to hold a pawn-down ending. Even- tually the series of queen checks ended and Abrahamyan’s pawn reached pay dirt.

uschess.org Rating

2472 2342 2326 2499 2350 2367 2245 2304

1 2 x

½ x 0 1

3 ½ 1

CHESS CLUB AND SCHOLASTIC CENTER OF SAINT LOUIS Chief Tournament Director: Carol Jarecki

4 1 5 0 6 1

0 ½ ½ 1 x

0 ½ 0 0 x

1 ½ ½ 0 0 0

0 0 ½ 0 0

1 0 x

7 8

1 1 1 1

1 ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 x 1

0 ½ x 0 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ 0

1 ½ 1 1 ½ ½ 1 x

Score

5½ 4½ 4½ 4 4 2 2

1½

Five moves later Zatonskih’s king was checkmated. Zatonskih had again failed to hold a draw to win the match.

This was the closest I ever came to win-

ning the U.S. women’s championship and I knew that this game was going to cost me. I felt that last year I was playing better, yet didn’t finish as well. I’m both excited and terrified even thinking what games and results next year’s tournament will bring. All jokes aside, congratulations to our very deserving champions Anna Zatonskih and Gata Kamsky!

An Armageddon tiebreak would merci-

fully decide the match and the champion. Both players bid more aggressively than the Krush-Zatonskih bids. Abrahamyan, perhaps guessing that Zatonskih would lower her previous bid by only a minute or two, bid 24 minutes, 28 seconds. Zatonskih lowered her Krush match bid by a healthy margin, reducing from 27 minutes to 19 minutes, 55 seconds for the finals. Zatonskih again took black with less time and had draw odds, while Abra- hamyan had white and 45 minutes. They repeated the Advance French of

rapid game one, but like in the Krush match, this again meant Zatonskih could play through the opening without any loss of time. Some grandmaster onlook- ers questioned the lack of originality, even suggesting 1. b3 as a better idea since Zatonskih would have no pattern recognition to save her precious time. Much like the Krush playoff, Zatonskih again achieved opposite-colored bishops and prevented breakthroughs at all costs. After 78 moves of prodding, Abrahamyan could not find a way into the position. The

drawn game gave Zatonskih her fourth title in six years. “I don’t have enough energy to cele-

brate,” Zatonskih said. She remained subdued, lacking superfluous energy after her three games she had played that day. She had made 214 moves, about a third of which were only on increment. Zaton- skih needed six head-to-head games against Abrahamyan before finally best- ing her. Asked when she would play more chess, she said, “Not in the next five years. I cannot believe I will not start a game in the next five minutes!” Zatonskih said she was helped by Abra- hamyan’s static repertoire. “She doesn’t play any other openings against the French Defense,” Zatonskih said. “This is a problem with young players. They are not flexible.” She respected her adver- sary for going through the same emotional process and added, “She deserves to be U.S. champion too.” Once, Zatonskih played a 20-hour blitz

tournament that was comprised of more than 100 games. She said she felt more tired after this U.S. Women’s Champi- onship than that day. “I feel sorry for Daniel [Fridman]. If he

were playing a tournament this long I would have gray hair. Before every game I asked him to promise me that he would not watch my game. He said, ‘I promise.’ But of course he did.” After spending most of April inside St.

Louis’ eponymous chess club, Zatonskih had only nibbled on the catered food and found the luxurious furniture anything but relaxing. “I really want to go to the Grand Canyon some day,” she said. “I like nature and beauty and parks more than buildings.”

. Chess Life — July 2011 35

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