Cover Story / Nakamura, Krush are champs
65. ... Rb8 66. a7 Ra8 67. g7 Ke6 68. Kxf3 Kxe5 69. d7
... with the strange spectacle of three
passed pawns helpless against a well- placed rook that keeps them from graduating.
69. ... Kd6 70. Kf4 Kxd7 71. Ke5 Kc6, White resigned.
Near misses like this kept Stripunsky
from recovering from his opening round blunder, and from bettering his lifetime score against Nakamara. He has now lost three consecutive games as white to Naka- mura in U.S. championship play.
Kamsky’s ascent to the lead culminated
in round nine, when Nakamura had his second 100-mover against Lenderman. In that game, from moves 52-91 pieces roamed the board somewhat aimlessly without pawns advancing or any captures occurring. The eventual draw, coupled with Kamsky’s blistering onslaught against Seirawan, meant the two would battle in round ten with Nakamura trailing for the
first time all event. Kamsky won the best game prize of
$1,500, even though he needed almost no time for the salient moves. In fact, coupled with the 30-second increment from move one, Kamsky had more time than he began with after 20 moves. His first mean- ingful pause was on move 26, when the game was already won and the clock read 1:28-0:01. “That’s not even long,” Kam- sky said. “I have had preparation go up to 40 moves.” Both players claimed ana- lyzing the exact variation before, but Kamsky’s recall was better (he prepared against the variation for his 2009 match against GM Veselin Topalov). “I remember I spent like a week on this line,” Kamsky said. Eight hours a day with trainers. Chess is like this. You can analyze for years ... the chance that you will go for this one ...” “I have the strongest impression that I’d
looked at this sometime myself,” Seirawan said. “I don’t mind losing. Losing is a part of chess. But I’d like to learn some- thing.”
2012 U.S. Women’s Championship Rating
IM Anna Zatonskih
IM IRINA KRUSH, CHAMPION IM Rusudan Goletiani WIM Viktorija Ni
WGM Sabina-Francesca Foisor WGM Tatev Abrahamyan WIM Iryna Zenyuk FM Alisa Melekhina
WGM Camilla Baginskaite WFM Alena Kats
2012 U.S. Championship
GM HIKARU NAKAMURA, CHAMPION GM Gata Kamsky
GM Alexander Onischuk GM Varuzhan Akobian GM Aleksandr Lenderman GM Yury Shulman GM Ray Robson GM Robert L. Hess
GM Gregory S. Kaidanov GM Alejandro Ramirez GM Yasser Seirawan
GM Alexander Stripunsky 26 August 2012 | Chess Life
Rating 2775 2741 2660 2625 2587 2571 2614 2635 2594 2593 2643 2562
1 x
0 2 ½ 0 3 1 4 1 5 6 7
1 ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 x
½ 0 ½ x ½ ½ 0 0 ½ x
8 1
x ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1
9 1 ½ ½ ½ 0
1 ½ 1 1
1 1 1
10 11 12 1 1
1 ½ ½ 1 1
0
½ 0 ½ ½ x ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ x ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 0 ½ ½ 1 0 ½ 0 0
0 ½ ½ 0 1 0 0
½ 0 ½ 0 0 0
0 ½ 0 ½ 0 0
1 ½ 1 x
0 ½ ½ ½ 0 1 ½ ½ ½ 0
0 ½ 0 ½ 1 1
1 ½ 1 x
0 ½ 1 0
0 x
0
0 ½ 1
0 ½ 1 x
1
1 0 x
Score 8½ 7½ 6½ 6 6 6
5½ 5 4 4
3½ 3½
2510 2457 2333 2228 2364 2329 2224 2242 2358 2137
Losin’ and learnin’ GM Gata Kamsky (2741) GM Yasser Seirawan (2643) 2012 U.S. Championship (9)
21. Ne5 Bxc5? 21. ... Rad8 22. b4 and then Black
attempts to open the queenside is the main line according to Kamsky.
22. Bxh6 Like all the other moves, played nearly
1
2
3
4 0
5
1 0
6
x ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 ½ x ½ 1 0 ½ x ½ 0 ½ 0 0
1 0
0 0
0 ½ 0 ½ ½ 0 0 0
1 ½ x 0 ½ 1 1 0
0
1 0
0
7 1
8 1
1 ½ 1 1
x ½ ½ 0 0 x
1
0 ½ ½ 0 0
1 ½ ½ 1 1
0 0
1
9 10 1 1 1
1 ½ 1 1 ½ 1 1
0 ½ x 1
0 1
x ½ 0 ½ 1 x
0 ½ 0 1
1 0 x
Score 7 7
5½ 5
4½ 4½ 4½ 3½ 2
1½
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