U.S. Chess Championships R2: So Joins Leaders, Naroditsky Defeats Xiong


GM Wesley So joined the leaders in the 2021 U.S. Chess Championship after beating GM Dariusz Swiercz with an impressive positional style in round two. GM Daniel Naroditsky bounced back from his first-round loss with a victory over GM Jeffery Xiong, while the other games were drawn. 

In the U.S. Women’s Chess Championship, WGM Katerina Nemcova scored her second straight win. She defeated WGM Sabina-Francesca Foisor and is now the sole leader with 2/2.

How to watch?
The games of the U.S. Chess Championship can be found here: Open | Women.
2021 US Chess Championships

Sweircz tried an unusual move in the Sicilian Canal Attack and got a defended passed pawn by move 12. However, So used his extra space to squeeze his opponent in a very nice positional victory:

GM Fabiano Caruana miraculously escaped from a horrible position in his game versus GM Leinier Dominguez. That’s a key part of being an elite player: when Caruana is better, he usually wins, but when he is lost, it is extremely difficult (if not nearly impossible) to beat him. Amazing defense by World’s number two!

GM Fabiano Caruana (right) saved half a point in an entirely lost position versus GM Leinier Dominguez (left). Photo: Lennart Ootes/Saint Louis Chess Club.

As for other games, the leaders after round one, GMs John M.Burke and Ray Robson drew their games against GMs Alexander Lenderman and Sam Sevian, respectively. At some point, they were both significantly better, but the opponents never got close to actually losing the games. GM Sam Shankland did not create any problems with White for GM Lazaro Bruzon Batista, and after all of the pieces got traded, they agreed to split the point.

Naroditsky, who suffered a tough defeat in the first round, came back today by beating Xiong—a great win for the popular streamer and commentator!

2021 US Chess Championships Danya
GM Daniel Naroditsky bounced back with a win in the second round. Photo: Bryan Adams/Saint Louis Chess Club.

 U.S. Championship All Games Round 2

Round 2 Standings

2021 US Chess Championships Standings

In the U.S. Women’s Chess Championship, the second round shook up the tournament standings, as now there is only one leader: Nemcova. She outplayed Foisor in a very instructive positional game, having slowly increased her advantage with the Black pieces. We certainly want to learn from this example.

2021 US Women's Championship nemcova
WGM Katerina Nemcova is in clear first place with 2/2. Photo: Crystal Fuller/Saint Louis Chess Club.

The leader is closely followed by two top seeds and an underdog. Those are GM Irina Krush, who drew versus WGM Anna Sharevich, IM Carissa Yip, who outplayed WGM Tatev Abrahamyan in a sharp gambit line, and WIM Ashritha Eswaran, who had the advantage against IM Nazi Paikidze, but drew. 

U.S. Women’s Championship All Games Round 2

Round 2 Standings

2021 US Women's Chess Championship standings

The 2021 U.S. Chess Championships take place October 5-19, 2021 in St. Louis to determine the next chess champions of the United States. The 2021 U.S. Women’s Championship is being held concurrently. Both events have the same format: 12-players, 11-round tournament with a $194,000 prize fund for the U.S. Championship and $100,000 for the Women’s U.S. Championship.


Earlier reports:



Source link

  • Related Posts

    Stephane Bressac Wins Unique 1st Blind Chess Challenge, Open To Everyone

    IM Stephane Bressac won the first edition of the Blindfold Chess Challenge, a tournament with a unique format held July 9-11 in Valencia, Spain, where visually-impaired players faced off with…

    Bullet Brawl July 13, 2024: Naroditsky Wins 21st Brawl, Closes In On Nakamura’s All-Time Record

    GM Daniel Naroditsky has moved one step closer to seizing the top spot on the all-time Bullet Brawl leaderboard after winning the latest edition ahead of GMs Arjun Erigaisi, Hikaru Nakamura,…

    You Missed

    Carlsen thí tốt liên tiếp, đả bại Firouzja

    Carlsen thí tốt liên tiếp, đả bại Firouzja

    Carlsen lỡ chiếu hết, bỏ hậu vẫn thắng Firouzja

    Carlsen lỡ chiếu hết, bỏ hậu vẫn thắng Firouzja

    Di chuột lỗi, Lê Tuấn Minh dừng bước ở Champions Chess Tour

    Di chuột lỗi, Lê Tuấn Minh dừng bước ở Champions Chess Tour

    Kỳ thủ Trường Sơn: ‘Chỉ mong Việt Nam vào top 10 Olympiad’

    Kỳ thủ Trường Sơn: ‘Chỉ mong Việt Nam vào top 10 Olympiad’

    Lê Tuấn Minh thua Carlsen ở Champions Chess Tour

    Lê Tuấn Minh thua Carlsen ở Champions Chess Tour

    Lê Tuấn Minh vượt qua vòng loại ở Champions Chess Tour

    Lê Tuấn Minh vượt qua vòng loại ở Champions Chess Tour