Abdumalik vs. Krush

Abdumalik and Krush have an all-decisive score against each other: 3-4 in Krush’s favor. The American grandmaster steered the game into the complex and double-edged Richter-Rauzer Sicilian where Black intentionally allows White to cripple her kingside structure to gain a solid grip of the center squares. 

Even as the queens left the board in a closed position, Krush’s tactical style shone through. Can you find how she unsettled White’s position?

Though Krush gained an advantage and won a pawn, she rejected Abdumalik’s exchange sacrifice and faced challenges in trying to convert an extra yet isolated and doubled pawn. When Abdumalik became overly ambitious, Krush seized her opportunity. She created an outside passed h-pawn that raced down the board faster than its queenside white counterparts.

Krush herself felt that the endgame is “much easier to play on intuition for Black than it is for White.” She finished the game with a dazzling sequence. Try to spot it.

Here’s the full game from their exciting battle.

Harika vs. Paehtz

Harika vs. Paehtz was the longest game of the day, a nearly six-hour, 80-move battle. By move 15, most of Paehtz’s pieces were on the back rank, her King’s Indian Defense struggling against Harika’s vast space gains and greater development. As commentator IM Nazi Paikidze pointed out: “This seems like a Benoni where Black waited 15 moves and let White do everything they wanted.”

Despite this, Paehtz made a fight of it, establishing a potent knight on e5 and trading away some of White’s well-placed forces. Harika won a pawn, and the players headed to a rook ending, which they dueled out for nearly 50 more moves. Though the German number-one had good drawing chances as pawns were traded away, Harika created a passed pawn on the queenside and supported its journey to the other side with her king. 

Zatonskih vs. Dzagnidze

This game was the most balanced one, ending with a fitting result between two equally matched competitors. With the kings castled to opposite sides, Dzagnidze strived to create play on the queenside, pushing her pawns and gaining a bishop vs. knight imbalance. Zatonskih retaliated by bringing her queen to the seventh rank, and the players traded into an even rook ending. They fought on until they reached an impasse with neither king able to cross to the other side. 

Mammadzada vs. Khotenashvili

This game was the shortest due to an unfortunate blunder by Khotenashvili on move nine, mixing up the opening theory and falling into a desperado tactic. 

After the game, Mammadzada shared her reaction to Khotenashvili’s Ng4: “I couldn’t believe my eyes. I thought maybe I was hallucinating because I was sleepy.”

With a 10-hour time difference between St. Louis and Georgia (Khotenashvili’s home country), jetlag may have been a major factor in her blunder. 

Results – Round 1

Standings – Round 1

In round two, we will see the defending champion Humpy face eight-time U.S. Women’s Champion Krush. Additionally, two of the leaders and higher seeds, Kosteniuk and Harika, will meet, offering a chance to pare down the top of the standings. 

Pairings – Round 2

All Games – Round 1