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US Championship 2009
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Five players lead in US Championship
12.05.2009 – The 2009 U. S. Chess Championship is being held, this year for the first time,
in the beautiful new St. Louis
Chess Club and Scholastic Center. In round two the youngest player in the
tournament, Ray Robson, 14, was victorious over the oldest player,
GM Boris Gulko. Top seed Gata Kamsky leads, together with
four GM colleagues. Big illustrated report after round four. |
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US Championship: Shulman and Akobian make their move
13.05.2009 – In round five defending champion Yury Shulman and Varuzhan Akobian broke from the pack to take the joint lead. Akobian easily outplayed GM Jaan Ehlvest, who tried a dramatic queen sacrifice but was foiled by the cool defence of his 25-year-old opponent. Gata Kamsky, Hikaru Nakamura Alexander Onischuk and Robert Hess are half a point behind the leaders. Big illustrated report. |
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US Championship: Shulman and Akobian hold the lead
14.05.2009 – As overnight leaders, defending Champion Yury Shulman and North Hollywood GM Varuzhan Akobian were matched up in round six. A win would have given the victor sole possession of first place, but the two drew in 33. They share the lead with 4.5 points, followed by a pack of six players, including Kamsky, Nakamura and Onischuk, half a point behind. Illustrated round six report. |
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US Championship: Three top seeds plus rising star lead
15.05.2009 – Musical chairs: the two round six leaders, Yury Shulman and Varuzhan Akobian, lost their games (to Alexander Onischuk and Hikaru Nakamura). Gata Kamsky beat three-time US champion Joel Benjamin, to join Onischuk and Nakamura at the top of the table. But wait: 17-year-old Robert Hess defeated Josh Friedel to join them at 5.0/7 points. Report with great pictures by Betsy Dynako. |
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US Championship: young players take over the US Championship
16.05.2009 – On the free day of the spornsoring Scholastic Center appropriately staged a scholastic match. Students from two St. Louis schools experienced the thrill of playing chess on the same tables and in the same room where the 2009 U.S. Chess Championship is being contested. They even had their own name signs, just like the champs. The result: happy faces all around. |
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US Championship: young guns battle for the US title
17.05.2009 – In the penultimate round 21-year-old Hikaru Nakamura beat the GM aspirant Michael
Brooks to take the lead at the St.
Louis Chess Club and Scholastic Center. He was joined at the top
by Robert Hess, 17, who beat defending champion Yury Shulman.
Kamsky, Onischuk and Akobian are half a point behind going into what promises
to be a very exciting final round. Watch it unfold on Playchess! |
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Hikaru Nakamura is the US Champion 2009
18.05.2009 – Not Gata? – we hear you cry. No, top seed Gata Kamsky was a point behind and took home $7,500, while Nakamura, who defeated Josh Friedel in the final round (actually he crushed him in 22 moves), got the title and the first prize of $40,000. Second was 17-year-old Robert Hess, who only managed to draw in round nine. From a wonderful championship we sign off with a final illustrated report. |
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